AYTON TRADED!

Covert Rain

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I'm thinking Dame told Portland he didn't want to be on a team with DeAndre Ayton - lol - even if it was during the off-season - because of the possibility of Dame staying - and that's why the Suns had to wait months before making the trade

Haha and I don't blame Dame one bit
It appears Portland was going to move Dame despite media reports so that doesn't appear to be a real thing. Per what was posted above it was all about Portland avoiding the luxury tax.
 

TJ

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All the insiders are now coming out being very expressive about how they were actively trying to get Ayton off the team. I totally buy it. I also think that the decision is more mutual than being let on. I can’t imagine that Ayton ever recanted his requests for more touches on offense.
 

Covert Rain

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All the insiders are now coming out being very expressive about how they were actively trying to get Ayton off the team. I totally buy it. I also think that the decision is more mutual than being let on. I can’t imagine that Ayton ever recanted his requests for more touches on offense.
This move screams James Jones. He shipped out CP3 before he could become a distraction (that's where it was headed) and now Ayton.
 

TJ

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This move screams James Jones. He shipped out CP3 before he could become a distraction (that's where it was headed) and now Ayton.
Agree. I think Ishbia would’ve been fine with paying DA’s contract if the distraction didn’t exist
 

Ouchie-Z-Clown

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Yeah I have more questions about how the pieces will fit together than I do about our depth. I suspect that if our stars go down, we're going to lament our lack of depth and if our stars stay mostly healthy, we're going to love how deep we are.
If one star goes down I think we are fine. If two go down, or one star and nurkic go down I could see us struggling. But even struggling being around a .500 club.
 

Ouchie-Z-Clown

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I can't speak to why he mentioned Davis but not Hibbert regardless of his success. Again, maybe he feels Davis was a better fit in his system not that it can't work to a lesser degree with other players. My hope is his system works here with what we have.
Well Davis is a better fit than hibbert in ANY system. That’s not a system thing.
 

Ouchie-Z-Clown

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Well, Anthony Davis when healthy is the best center for ANY team, so to say that’s Vogel’s system, and using that as proof that he wasn’t just fluffing DA, especially in the face of Hibbert being the Center he used to great effect elsewhere, doesn’t mean much to me.
Borg
 

ASUCHRIS

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If one star goes down I think we are fine. If two go down, or one star and nurkic go down I could see us struggling. But even struggling being around a .500 club.
Nurkic averages 46 games a year. Completely unreliable.
 

Ouchie-Z-Clown

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I think Nassir Little could surprise. He has tremendous athleticism and the Suns will have him on a 4-year reasonable contract.
Yup. I’ve been quietly optimistic about him. He is immediately our top athlete. If he plays with the top guys he should be left all alone and that could result in some poster dunks.
 

ASUCHRIS

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Ayton averages the same amount of reliable games whether he’s on the court or not.
Not comparable - we have lots of injury concerns, and traded one of our most reliable players from an injury standpoint for a guy that is 7 ft, 300 pounds, and oft injured in his 20's.

I'll take unreliable performance from Ayton over street clothes Nurkic - we simply have very little depth at the 5, and if Nurkic goes down, we'll be seeing a whole lot of wings every game.
 

ASUCHRIS

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But as has been said some of that was healthy sits first tanking purposes. I won’t be surprised if we get 60 outta him this season. Maybe slightly more.
I hope you're right - Ayton was our last real trade chip, and we traded him for a terrifying injury risk. We'll be relying heavily on questionable big men on minimum deals if Nurkic ends up being unreliable.
 

Finito

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I hope you're right - Ayton was our last real trade chip, and we traded him for a terrifying injury risk. We'll be relying heavily on questionable big men on minimum deals if Nurkic ends up being unreliable.

This is what pisses me off more than anything. Trading him with not a single pick back was a mistake.

We have nothing if this doesn’t work
 

Mainstreet

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I actually really really like Allen. I think he’s going to be great in the system

I like Allen's game. He can be an excellent player, so long as he doesn't go the way of Dillon Brooks.
 

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I'll take unreliable performance from Ayton over street clothes Nurkic - we simply have very little depth at the 5, and if Nurkic goes down, we'll be seeing a whole lot of wings every game.
If Nurkic goes down we'll still likely have 2 players 6'10" or taller on the court at all times - unless Vogel intentionally goes small ball - and none of them will be an emotional basketcase

We don't need an all star center - we need our Center to be a complimentary side piece - to be where he's supposed to be - grabbing boards and taking up space
 

ASUCHRIS

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If Nurkic goes down we'll still likely have 2 players 6'10" or taller on the court at all times - unless Vogel intentionally goes small ball - and none of them will be an emotional basketcase

We don't need an all star center - we need our Center to be a complimentary side piece - to be where he's supposed to be - grabbing boards and taking up space
Who? Not a real NBA starter. Probably a min dude- not great!
 

JCSunsfan

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Ayton will average 20-11 for Portland and there will be a lot of hand-wringing here. We just have to remember that there is no way that he would have averaged that on this team. There just would not be the offensive touches.

Still don't like the trade, but if they just don't want Ayton, well they don't want him.
 
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