AZRep: Suns to Wait on Free Agency

[WuRaider]

Pursuit of free agents a waiting game

http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/2008/06/29/20080629suns.html

by Paul Coro - Jun. 29, 2008 10:54 PM
The Arizona Republic

The NBA free-agency contact window will open at 9 p.m. Monday Arizona time, and the Suns will make the obligatory calls of interest for certain free agents.
And then wait . . . and wait . . . and wait.

For the Suns and many teams facing a luxury tax, it will take more than an eight-day moratorium for free agency to play out. Teams can sign free agents starting July 9, but the Suns will wait for a trickle-down effect before filling their roster.

First-round draft pick Robin Lopez gives the Suns 10 players. If second-round pick Goran Dragic can't break his contract in Spain this year, the Suns would need to add at least three players. That likely would be done with one-year, minimum-salary deals to two veterans and a free-agent rookie who could come out of a summer team coached by new assistant coaches Dan Majerle and Igor Kokoskov.

At minimum, the Suns' payroll figures to exceed the projected luxury-tax threshold by $3 million to $5 million. Teams must pay a tax based on how much they have surpassed that threshold in February.

The Suns have a mid-level exception but are unlikely to use it. Fewer teams are using the exception, which allows teams over the salary cap to spend up to $5.8 million on a free agent. The Suns do not have a biennial exception because they signed forward Grant Hill with it last year.

Phoenix will target a backup point guard, a shooter and a big man in free agency. The Suns are determined to lighten 34-year-old point guard Steve Nash's load.

"One thing we'd like to do with Steve is not just cut down on his minutes but maybe cut down on his games, too," Suns General Manager Steve Kerr said. "He's played about 80 games almost every year. I'd like to see that go to 70. I think it'd help Steve to get a night off occasionally. It's easier when you have a guy you can rely on. D.J. (Strawberry) has a chance to play some minutes there, but we need to make sure we have a veteran in that role who can start some games and play some big minutes."

The point-guard target list includes 31-year-old Tyronn Lue. The speedy 6-footer is a 39 percent career 3-point shooter and friend of Suns center Shaquille O'Neal. In March, he considered the Suns before signing with Dallas.

Anthony Johnson, a 33-year-old who has switched teams nine times, and Chris Duhon, a pricier prospect, also interest the Suns.

For a wing player, the Suns like Jarvis Hayes. He played for the Detroit Pistons last season when new Suns coach Terry Porter was an assistant there.

Hayes, a sturdy, 6-8 forward, hit 37.6 percent of his 3-pointers last season and averaged 6.7 points but played only once in the Eastern Conference finals.
The need for a shooter makes a Gordan Giricek return feasible.

Retired guard Allan Houston still is a possibility. He has been at US Airways Center recently to work out with Suns athletic trainers he met through Hill.

Houston, 37, retired in 2005 due to knee injuries with a career scoring average of 17.3. He tried a comeback last season in New York after considering the Suns, but it ended after one preseason game.

The Suns hope to fill the big-man role by bringing back Brian Skinner or Sean Marks.

An uninspiring free-agent class, tighter budgets and few teams with salary-cap room will slow the process.

It might be August before the Suns can effectively recruit with the good-team, good-city card.

Trade rumors involving Leandro Barbosa and Boris Diaw won't die, especially now that they soon will shed their status as base-year compensation players. That limited their outgoing value to half their salaries in a trade.

Barbosa is enticing to other teams, but the Suns said they have not come close to dealing him or Diaw, who could be the Suns' starting small forward.

In the next four years, Barbosa is owed $27.4 million, while Diaw is due $36 million.

 

[WuRaider]

Quick Recap:
-Needs:Candidates
1. Backup PG: Lue, Johnson, Duhon
2. Wing: Jarvis Hayes, Allan Houston, Undrafted FA
3. Big Man: Skinner, Marks, Undrafted FA
4. Barbosa/Diaw will lose BYC status making them more tradeable


I see them signing Johnson, Skinner, Rookie FA thats a defensive wing with a decent shot. I'm hoping Barbosa is involved with some deal with Portland but I think the Blazers will use their assets to make a deal for an upper tier player.

 

[Irish]

or Diaw, who could be the Suns' starting small forward.

This would mean the end to the D'Antoni small ball offense and might relate to dicussions about using Hill as a backup PG.

One other implication is that it would mean the Suns would be giving up the idea of using Boris as a backup big. If they go that route, then keeping both Skinner and Marks becomes feasible because the Suns have traditionally carried 5 inside guys even not all that big.

The point-guard target list includes 31-year-old Tyronn Lue. The speedy 6-footer is a 39 percent career 3-point shooter and friend of Suns center Shaquille O'Neal. In March, he considered the Suns before signing with Dallas.

Ironically, I think Lue chose Dallas because he figured D'Antoni would never let him play; but Avery didn't let him play either.

Good quickness... Good defender... Takes care of the ball... Can consistently create his own shot and hit it... Not a great playmaker.

http://hoopshype.com/players/tyronn_lue.htm

Anthony Johnson is bigger and may be a better playmaker than Lue. However, Hoopshype say's "lack's quickness".
http://hoopshype.com/players/anthony_johnson.htm

Duhon is supposedly the best "floor general" of the group, but it is hard to see him fitting into the Suns offense unless Gentry changes the Suns dramatically. http://hoopshype.com/players/chris_duhon.htm

Duhon 22.6 minutes, 5.9 ppg, 38.7% shooting and 34.8% for three 4.0 apg
Lue 14.7 minutes, 5.8 ppg, 44.7% shooting, 45.3% for three, 1.5 apg

 

[Joe Mama]

Without using any of the mid-level exception Giricek is gone. He will get offered at least $2.5 million from some team out there. There's no way Duhon is going to sign as a backup for the minimum. Someone out there will give him a chunk of their mid-level exception for a few years. Lue and/or Anthony Johnson might actually be a possibility if everyone else passes on either one of them. He may feel that there's a very good chance for a strong year here that would increase its value dramatically.

Joe

 

[YouJustGotSUNSD]

I really hope the Suns send Giricek a fruitcake and drug his agent so we can sign him to the vet min.

Same for Skinner. I was very happy with both of their production levels for the amount they cost the team.

 

[Griffin]

"One thing we'd like to do with Steve is not just cut down on his minutes but maybe cut down on his games, too," Suns General Manager Steve Kerr said. "He's played about 80 games almost every year. I'd like to see that go to 70. I think it'd help Steve to get a night off occasionally. It's easier when you have a guy you can rely on. D.J. (Strawberry) has a chance to play some minutes there, but we need to make sure we have a veteran in that role who can start some games and play some big minutes."

I can understand limiting a veteran player's minutes, especially one with chronic ailments, but to have him actually sit out games? Even if you disregard for a minute the fact that the Suns have historically lost just about every game that Nash missed, and lost badly, this just doesn't seem like the sort of strategy most teams employ. When a key player misses 10+ games during the season, it's usually due to injury, not to keep him fresh for the playoffs.

 

[Joe Mama]

I can understand limiting a veteran player's minutes, especially one with chronic ailments, but to have him actually sit out games? Even if you disregard for a minute the fact that the Suns have historically lost just about every game that Nash missed, and lost badly, this just doesn't seem like the sort of strategy most teams employ. When a key player misses 10+ games during the season, it's usually due to injury, not to keep him fresh for the playoffs.

That didn't make much sense to me either. I think it's borderline insane to suggest that anybody, much less Steve Nash, is just going to take the night off in the Western Conference as competitive as it is. I mean who are they expecting to sign as a backup point guard with only the league minimum to offer.

They need to cut back Steve Nash's minutes, and they also need to stop relying on him to do everything in the offense. I actually think that's one of the things that Steve Kerr argued with Mike D'Antoni about, and I agree with Kerr. They've got three guys in the frontcourt who are good at the post-up game. They need to go there more often to keep these players engaged and more importantly to give Steve Nash a break from running around like a chicken with his head cut off for 20 seconds .

Unless he's hurt he shouldn't be taking the night off in this Western Conference.

Joe

 

[mojorizen7]

IMO flirting with the possability of losing 15 games thru Nov/Dec/Jan rather than 10 if Nash sits out 5 games isn't gonna decide our playoff fate. Seeding is overrated. I would also entertain the idea of sitting Hill a few times early in the season as well as Shaq and Bell. These guys are TIRED and OLD.

 

[Folster]

Jarvis Hayes would be an awesome addition, and Duhon would be my choice for the pg position.

That would gives us

Nash, Duhon, Strawberry
Bell, Barbosa, Tucker
Hill, Diaw, Hayes
Stoudemire, Skinner/Marks
O'Neal, Lopez

That's 13 assuming we keep one of Marks or Skinner. My guess is that Marks is the one we keep. Hayes would also make a wing player expendable. Barbs?

 

[Joe Mama]

IMO flirting with the possability of losing 15 games thru Nov/Dec/Jan rather than 10 if Nash sits out 5 games isn't gonna decide our playoff fate. Seeding is overrated. I would also entertain the idea of sitting Hill a few times early in the season as well as Shaq and Bell. These guys are TIRED and OLD.

Well, I would disagree with the idea that seeding is overrated, but that's not really the point. My guess is that even if the Phoenix Suns are completely healthy when we look at their record at the end of the season five games would be the difference between making and missing the playoffs altogether.

Joe

 

[jandaman]

I want Nash and Hill even O'neal to take games off.

It does wonders to the body, a week rest in the middle of the season allows most muscle tear, joint inflammation and fatigue to heal.

Its under rated.

Which also means, the Suns definitely NEED players off the bench, this is definitely not the D'Antoni ran team anymore, as he basically played players til they get injured.

Bell could reduce his minutes also.

Suns definitely need a veteran point guard, or someone stepping up, Strawberry or hopefully Dragic.

Small forward wise, Diaw should give Hill more rest at the 3. Lopez should get many minutes also to rest O'Neal and develop next to Stoudemire.



I trust Porter to implement a much better rotation of 8-9 players night in and out.

 

[Mainstreet]

Well, I would disagree with the idea that seeding is overrated, but that's not really the point. My guess is that even if the Phoenix Suns are completely healthy when we look at their record at the end of the season five games would be the difference between making and missing the playoffs altogether.

Joe

I agree with your premise, however, there are usually at least 5 or more games a season the Suns could give Steve Nash a rest (especially against some Eastern Conference opponents) and have a strong probability of winning.

What I'm reading into all this (right or wrong), is that the Suns are going to play three PGs this season if one counts Strawberry developing as a PG. Thus there would be Nash, a veteran PG and probably Strawberry. If the Suns could get Dragic now things might shape up differently. Thus if Nash took a rest against a hopefully weaker opponent, the Suns would still have two PGs to get the job done.

I just wish I were more hopeful that Strawberry can carry the load for a given stretch at PG.

 

[sunsallday]

This year is very important for our future. I think we should get James Jones for his three point shooting. If we get Dragic, and sign Alando Tucker to be a back shooting guard, then Bell minutes can be cut. Call us a old team, but did that stop the Spurs who have butt raped over the past few years.

If Dragic comes, we have

Nash/Dragic or Free Agent/Strawberry
Bell/Tucker(to small for SF)/Barbs
Diaw/Hill/Free Agent(hopefully James Jones, a three point assassin)
Stoudemire/Skinner or Marks
SHAQ/Lopez

I like Tucker despite what everyone says, he played real well when Dantoni gave him the minutes, and he seems like a hard worker he practices his game at every chance. So if he plays well, I can see Bell's minutes getting cut back drastically.

Anyway, Kerr better build a quality team around Stoudemire in the coming years or Stoudemire, no matter how loyal he is, will be forced to leave. We don't want another Timberwolves scenario here.

 

[myrondizzo]

If the suns start sitting healthy players I'm not going to go to a single game. my luck i pick the game that they decide to rest nash.

 

[BC867]

If the suns start sitting healthy players I'm not going to go to a single game. my luck i pick the game that they decide to rest nash.

Basketball is, of course, a revenue-producing form of entertainment. So your point is valid.

So is healing from injury or being run down, as jandaman posted -- muscle tear, joint inflammation and fatigue.

But I prefer reduced minutes rather than sitting out games in order to be ready for the second season -- something the Suns have not mastered.

Would it reduce some players' stats? Yes. Is that more important, especially in these next two years, than being in top shape for the playoffs? No.

And that provides for another situation that's done us in each year. Injuries or foul trouble occurring during the stretch and post-season.

Having players ready to move up in the rotation, who are already part of team chemistry. 6-9 ready to step into the starting lineup. 10-13 ready to step into 6-9.

In other words, the opposite of D'Antoni's tunnel vision which left us flat-flooted each post-season.

 

[jagu]

GG played his best ball here in Phoenix IMO. He should come back just so he can have fun and play bball like he wants to rather than chasing the bucks. LOL easy for me to say.

 

[B-Dogg]

Diaw should absolutely be starting and so should Barbosa for that matter. Bring Bell and Hill off the bench they are past their primes and having Veteran leadership coming in with the second unit would make that unit much stronger. In addition you could have Hill run some point forward as well. The other thing it does is that if you decide to blow things up and build around Amare next year having Diaw and Barbosa start will increase their trade values. IMO.

 

[sunsallday]

Diaw should absolutely be starting and so should Barbosa for that matter. Bring Bell and Hill off the bench they are past their primes and having Veteran leadership coming in with the second unit would make that unit much stronger. In addition you could have Hill run some point forward as well. The other thing it does is that if you decide to blow things up and build around Amare next year having Diaw and Barbosa start will increase their trade values. IMO.

Diaw could start even though I don't like him(sooooffftttttyy), but Barbosa should remain our sixth man because:

1. He is too small to be a starting shooting guard. He is only 6'3, and would have trouble guarding other shooting guards. He has long arms and speed, but that is really only good enough for multiple steals. Plus, he would have a hard time finishing to the basket against bigger guards like Kobe or T-Mac. Barbosa should just be our Ginobli. I really love Barbosa's scoring and the way he shoots.

For our starting SG, we will either have to get one through free agency or make either Strawberry or Tucker our SG depending on how much they improve and how good they score when they get playing time.

I see Tucker having a better chance because even though he couldn't shoot when Dantoni was here, he shot well in the D-League. Not a good indicator, but it gives us something. He also shot 40% from 3. That doesn't mean he will be good in the NBA. But if he does prove himself and continues to impress Kerr, he could be a starter.

Strawberry could be our starting SG as well if he too improves his shooting and 3 point shooting.

 

[green machine]

I can understand limiting a veteran player's minutes, especially one with chronic ailments, but to have him actually sit out games? Even if you disregard for a minute the fact that the Suns have historically lost just about every game that Nash missed, and lost badly, this just doesn't seem like the sort of strategy most teams employ. When a key player misses 10+ games during the season, it's usually due to injury, not to keep him fresh for the playoffs.

I think there are a few games every year that Nash probably should sit out; games where he's banged up, could use the break, but plays anyway. My guess is these are the games he'd be missing.

 

[Irish]

I think there are a few games every year that Nash probably should sit out; games where he's banged up, could use the break, but plays anyway. My guess is these are the games he'd be missing.

Back to back games are the worst. It is not even so much getting tired, it is the extra chance of injury.

 

[Bigdez22]

I have no problem giving Stevie Bucketts a night off here and there. He was done last year in the playoffs. He had no giddy up in his step. He was just tired.

If you can give him a night off against the Sonics,Grizz,Bobcats,etc, all the better

maybe we could get off our Nash dependency, and learn to play basketball with out him.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

I have no problem giving Stevie Bucketts a night off here and there. He was done last year in the playoffs. He had no giddy up in his step. He was just tired.

If you can give him a night off against the Sonics,Grizz,Bobcats,etc, all the better

maybe we could get off our Nash dependency, and learn to play basketball with out him.

amen!

actually, with how the team is currently built, i think porter will do that automatically. thank goodness.

 

[Covert Rain]

I really hope they find a way to keep GG. IMO we really need this guy. I doubt that anybody of his calibur is going to fall to us. Then again, I thought that last year before he fell to us too.

I just wish there was a way to keep him.

 

[Rab]

I wouldn't mind Nash taking off a game here and there, but it does seem odd that the GM would suggest that kind of measure publically, other than just saying "I want to cut his minutes down". Wonder what Nash thinks about that.

Moving onto the FA's. I think Jarvis Hayes would be a good fit here. I've always thought he was a good, solid roleplayer in this league. He can shoot the ball well, he's a good defender, and is a strong, active body at the SF position. I like that idea a lot.

As far as PG's go, I know the Suns have like Duhon for a long time. He's a good defensive minded PG, who can pass the ball, but his shot has always been subject, and I'm not sure the Suns want to pay him.

We already know the Suns have looked at Lue. They wanted him last year after he was waived by the Kings. I'm not too big on Lue, I think he's a little overrated, but he has been a consistent shooter from distance for years, and is still pretty quick. I don't know how good of a defender he really is. I think he kind of lived off that reputation of "giving Iverson fits" in the 01 Finals.

Anthony Johnson is your classic backup NBA PG, and has been for years. He's just solid. There's really nothing special about him. He just does everything a little better than average IMO. I wouldn't mind going after him.

 

[BigRedRage]

the NBA is so blatently rigged im not sure if I can watch like I have been. I can turn it on to watcht he suns be awesome but if we get bent over in the playoffs as always what is the point?