AYTON TRADED!

[Mainstreet]

For sure but the market was limited meaning there were few buyers available to start with. The looming tax apron changes make things worse. The Suns were one of the only teams to go all in despite that. That’s why Dame wasn't traded until Portland was able to avoid luxury tax. A bunch of teams are going to join them over the next couple seasons.

The Trail Blazers wanted to keep Lillard, but they couldn't put a team around him so he put in a request to be traded.

Then they sign Jerami Grant to a terrible contract. How does that fit?

 

[Covert Rain]

The Trail Blazers wanted to keep Lillard, but they couldn't put a team around him so he put in a request to be traded.

Then they sign Jerami Grant to a terrible contract. How does that fit?

I believe the Jeremy Grant signing was before Dame requested a trade. I seem to recall someone saying on TV they would not have made that signing had they known Dame was going to demand a trade. Prior to that he was acting like he was a Blazer for life. I could be remembering that wrong.

 

[Mainstreet]

I believe the Jeremy Grant signing was before Dame requested a trade.

This fits with what I said. The Trail Blazers wanted to keep Lillard until he requested a trade to the Heat in September.

 

[Covert Rain]

This fits with what I said. The Trail Blazers wanted to keep Lillard until he requested a trade to the Heat in September.

First day of Free agency was June 30th. Some reports say Dame requested to be traded right after that. The Blazers had to act like they want led to keep him. No?

Blazers’ Jerami Grant Contract Among NBA’s Worst, Says Analyst

Jerami Grant signed a five-year, $160 million contract with the Portland Trail Blazers on the first day of free agency, just before Damian Lillard requested a trade.

www.blazersedge.com

 

[Mainstreet]

First day of Free agency was June 30th. Some reports say Dame requested to be traded right after that.

Blazers’ Jerami Grant Contract Among NBA’s Worst, Says Analyst

Jerami Grant signed a five-year, $160 million contract with the Portland Trail Blazers on the first day of free agency, just before Damian Lillard requested a trade.

www.blazersedge.com

I don't get your point. If the Trail Blazers were worried about the tax apron, why sign Jerami Grant to that huge contract.

 

[Covert Rain]

I don't get your point. If the Trail Blazers were worried about the tax apron, why sign Jerami Grant to that huge contract.

I would imagine they thought with Dame paying some tax was worth it. So they were willing to take that chance with Grant. Once their franchise player demanded a trade that changed everything but they already had signed Grant. If they had known Dame was going to demand a trade I bet they don’t sign Grant. Then again @Phrazbit is saying they are a really bad front office. I have not paid them much attention.

 

[Phrazbit]

The Trail Blazers wanted to keep Lillard, but they couldn't put a team around him so he put in a request to be traded.

Then they sign Jerami Grant to a terrible contract. How does that fit?

Their front office is awful. Not much of what they've done for several years fits any semblance of logic. They seem to have hoped that status quo + Scoot was going to convince Lillard to stay.

 

[Mainstreet]

I'm looking forward to Media Day.

 

[Covert Rain]

Their front office is awful. Not much of what they've done for several years fits any semblance of logic. They seem to have hoped that status quo + Scoot was going to convince Lillard to stay.

How funny would it be if Dame thought the signing of Grant was so bad that it was his catalyst for demanding a trade? Maybe he thought to himself this team will never surround me with the right guys. Up to that point all his comments seem to be “Blazer for life”.

 

[Mainstreet]

Their front office is awful. Not much of what they've done for several years fits any semblance of logic. They seem to have hoped that status quo + Scoot was going to convince Lillard to stay.

Lillard did try to rescind his trade request after the Miami trade became unlikely.

Blazers Rejected Damian Lillard's Ask To Rescind Trade Request

Blazers Rejected Damian Lillards Ask To Rescind Trade Request - RealGM Wiretap

basketball.realgm.com

 

[Covert Rain]

Lillard did try to rescind his trade request after the Miami trade became unlikely.

Blazers Rejected Damian Lillard's Ask To Rescind Trade Request

Blazers Rejected Damian Lillards Ask To Rescind Trade Request - RealGM Wiretap

basketball.realgm.com

I don’t blame him. Wasn’t one of the other rumors the Raptors? At this stage in his career he is ring chasing now. I can’t remember all the rumors. Were any of the other teams legit contenders? He may have felt Miami was his only viable shot. Because him teaming up with Giannis is probably something he could have only imagined. Maybe the Blazers already had good feelers with the Bucks after nothing could get done with Miami.

 

[Cheesebeef]

I'm so glad we won't have to hear much more of this perspective. He wasn't "asked to sacrifice parts of his game." The Suns consistently fed him the ball, game after game, until doing so became so detrimental that they couldn't justify it anymore. If he had the aggression to go for 20-25 points most nights, the Suns would have been delighted to facilitate him.

Amen.

 

[Germz249]

Why weren't they playing this tune before the Nurkic trade not that I was in favor of it. It was a reach by the Suns.

Not sure. One of them read or heard of it somewhere.

 

[Chaplin]

I'm so glad we won't have to hear much more of this perspective. He wasn't "asked to sacrifice parts of his game." The Suns consistently fed him the ball, game after game, until doing so became so detrimental that they couldn't justify it anymore. If he had the aggression to go for 20-25 points most nights, the Suns would have been delighted to facilitate him.

Exactly. I’ve railed about this excuse in the past.

 

[GatorAZ]

Nurkic weight loss 2023

Supposedly weighs 270.

Article seems kinda sketchy. Hard to tell from this photo:
.

xc_hide_links_from_guests_guests_error_hide_media

 

[AzStevenCal]

Article seems kinda sketchy. Hard to tell from this photo:
.

xc_hide_links_from_guests_guests_error_hide_media

As long as he's lost enough weight to outrun that cactus. Regardless, slimmed down or not, I have no doubt we'll get great effort from him this season if we can keep him healthy.

 

[BirdGangThing]

I'm so glad we won't have to hear much more of this perspective. He wasn't "asked to sacrifice parts of his game." The Suns consistently fed him the ball, game after game, until doing so became so detrimental that they couldn't justify it anymore. If he had the aggression to go for 20-25 points most nights, the Suns would have been delighted to facilitate him.

Right? Ayton is long gone and I knew the excuses would continue on - but martyrdom?

 

[Mainstreet]

I don’t blame him. Wasn’t one of the other rumors the Raptors? At this stage in his career he is ring chasing now. I can’t remember all the rumors. Were any of the other teams legit contenders? He may have felt Miami was his only viable shot. Because him teaming up with Giannis is probably something he could have only imagined. Maybe the Blazers already had good feelers with the Bucks after nothing could get done with Miami.

Once a player asks to be traded, it all becomes fair game. It's risky. Lillard did end up in a good spot with the Bucks though.

 

[Mainstreet]

Not sure. One of them read or heard of it somewhere.

If it were a problem issue, I'm sure I would have heard about it previously from the Germz spread. I trust my sources more.

 

[Chris_Sanders]

Hollinger's analysis:

Is Deandre Ayton better than Jusuf Nurkić?​

For the specific timeline of the Suns, perhaps not. You have to separate whatever Ayton might do in Portland from what he was giving the Suns. Ayton is very talented, but also was frustrating. He had a very underwhelming 2022-23 season and seemed unhappy in Phoenix. Ironically, both Ayton and Nurkić were inconsistent enough that it had fans wondering if their backups were better. Well, Nurkic’s backup in Phoenix is now, once again, Drew Eubanks.

My numbers project Nurkić better than Ayton this season, but it’s not because of some sky-high belief in Nurk. The bigger factor is Ayton’s major performance drop-off last season when he seemed notably half-hearted, even in playoff games. Nurkić is a better passer off short rolls, though, which could be more helpful given how Phoenix will likely play this season.

I have a feeling the change of scenery will help Ayton quite a bit because he’ll see the ball so much more. I’ve always felt he could be a volume scorer with his face-up game in the right situation. We’ll see if I’m right, because Portland will need him to get buckets on its gutted roster. One more thing: Ayton is four years younger. Even if you think Nurkić-Ayton is a wash this season, it likely won’t be by 2025-26 when both players are still under contract.

However, the bigger win for Phoenix was the mere act of splitting Ayton’s deal into three smaller contracts with Nurkić, Allen and Little. Because other teams were reluctant to take on Ayton’s deal, and Phoenix’s other contracts are all minimum or near-minimum deals, the Suns had near-zero flexibility for in-season trades prior to this move.

Between this trade and a couple of creative shenanigans with future pick swaps that yielded extra second-round picks, the Suns can now work on the trade market if needed, using three middle-class contracts that could potentially be part of a salary match. Additionally, Phoenix’s depth situation was iffy enough that grabbing a fringe starter in Allen is kind of a big deal, especially for them to get through the regular season with a decent seed.

Keep an eye on Little, too. It was somewhat surprising to see the oft-injured 23-year-old thrown in while he’s on the first season of a four-year, $30 million extension. Portland didn’t need to include his salary to complete the deal, although it would have kept them in the tax pending a Holiday move, and possibly complicated matters for next summer.

Now, Phoenix has 17 players and must cut two of them. I’m guessing the recently arrived Johnson and the non-guaranteed Ish Wainwright are the two, but if I were Jordan Goodwin or Bol Bol, I’d make sure I have a good training camp and stay late after practice every day. A follow-up trade to drop one of their surplus seconds on another team to take Johnson’s $2.8 million salary would save the Suns several million dollars in tax payments, so keep an eye on that.

Phoenix also earned a $1.1 million trade exception by including Camara, a promising late second-rounder who unfortunately needed to be in the deal for the salary match to work. Don’t spend it all in one place, fellas. Camara is a developmental 4, but goes to a great situation for him in Portland. He might play right away.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Hollinger's analysis:

Is Deandre Ayton better than Jusuf Nurkić?​

For the specific timeline of the Suns, perhaps not. You have to separate whatever Ayton might do in Portland from what he was giving the Suns. Ayton is very talented, but also was frustrating. He had a very underwhelming 2022-23 season and seemed unhappy in Phoenix. Ironically, both Ayton and Nurkić were inconsistent enough that it had fans wondering if their backups were better. Well, Nurkic’s backup in Phoenix is now, once again, Drew Eubanks.

My numbers project Nurkić better than Ayton this season, but it’s not because of some sky-high belief in Nurk. The bigger factor is Ayton’s major performance drop-off last season when he seemed notably half-hearted, even in playoff games. Nurkić is a better passer off short rolls, though, which could be more helpful given how Phoenix will likely play this season.

I have a feeling the change of scenery will help Ayton quite a bit because he’ll see the ball so much more. I’ve always felt he could be a volume scorer with his face-up game in the right situation. We’ll see if I’m right, because Portland will need him to get buckets on its gutted roster. One more thing: Ayton is four years younger. Even if you think Nurkić-Ayton is a wash this season, it likely won’t be by 2025-26 when both players are still under contract.

However, the bigger win for Phoenix was the mere act of splitting Ayton’s deal into three smaller contracts with Nurkić, Allen and Little. Because other teams were reluctant to take on Ayton’s deal, and Phoenix’s other contracts are all minimum or near-minimum deals, the Suns had near-zero flexibility for in-season trades prior to this move.

Between this trade and a couple of creative shenanigans with future pick swaps that yielded extra second-round picks, the Suns can now work on the trade market if needed, using three middle-class contracts that could potentially be part of a salary match. Additionally, Phoenix’s depth situation was iffy enough that grabbing a fringe starter in Allen is kind of a big deal, especially for them to get through the regular season with a decent seed.

Keep an eye on Little, too. It was somewhat surprising to see the oft-injured 23-year-old thrown in while he’s on the first season of a four-year, $30 million extension. Portland didn’t need to include his salary to complete the deal, although it would have kept them in the tax pending a Holiday move, and possibly complicated matters for next summer.

Now, Phoenix has 17 players and must cut two of them. I’m guessing the recently arrived Johnson and the non-guaranteed Ish Wainwright are the two, but if I were Jordan Goodwin or Bol Bol, I’d make sure I have a good training camp and stay late after practice every day. A follow-up trade to drop one of their surplus seconds on another team to take Johnson’s $2.8 million salary would save the Suns several million dollars in tax payments, so keep an eye on that.

Phoenix also earned a $1.1 million trade exception by including Camara, a promising late second-rounder who unfortunately needed to be in the deal for the salary match to work. Don’t spend it all in one place, fellas. Camara is a developmental 4, but goes to a great situation for him in Portland. He might play right away.

Good article, and it all sounds reasonable to me.

 

[Mainstreet]

The Suns rumored interest in TJ McConnell will not die. I thought the Ayton trade was finalized.

Could Grayson Allen still be traded? It's the only salary that would work.

Suns Interested In Trading For TJ McConnell

Suns Interested In Trading For TJ McConnell - RealGM Wiretap

basketball.realgm.com

 

[AzStevenCal]

The Suns rumored interest in TJ McConnell will not die. I thought the Ayton trade was finalized.

Could Grayson Allen still be traded? It's the only salary that would work.

Suns Interested In Trading For TJ McConnell

Suns Interested In Trading For TJ McConnell - RealGM Wiretap

basketball.realgm.com

I'd be thrilled with that trade. They each would bring something to the court that we need but I think TJ's advantage in leadership and chemistry make it a smart move for us.

 

[Covert Rain]

The Suns rumored interest in TJ McConnell will not die. I thought the Ayton trade was finalized.

Could Grayson Allen still be traded? It's the only salary that would work.

Suns Interested In Trading For TJ McConnell

Suns Interested In Trading For TJ McConnell - RealGM Wiretap

basketball.realgm.com

Been on conference calls all morning. Is this just fan fodder or is there actual reports out there that the Ayton deal may change?

 

[Chaplin]

Been on conference calls all morning. Is this just fan fodder or is there actual reports out there that the Ayton deal may change?

This would be separate from the Ayton deal if made. And I believe we have 4 trade exceptions at the moment.