Bring on training camp!

[Chris_Sanders]

Now that the Olympics are over, I can't wait for training camp and see the new Suns.

I really believe this team will be a lot of fun to watch this year. The training camp battle to watch is JJ vrs Q. It's nice we now have two starters for the 2...but are either of them bench players? We know that JJ wasn't...maybe he has matured since then though.

 

[jbeecham]

Q played off the bench when Odom was on the Clippers and Maggette started, but he started all of last season so it should be an adjustment for either off those guys to play off the bench. This season looks like it should be really fun to watch. We've got a solid starting lineup and a pretty solid bench (Barbosa, Q, CJ, Zarko, Lampe, & probably Voshkul). As long as everyone stays healthy and the chemistry gels, we should be in the playoffs. I could see this team being a top 5 team, behind Minnesota, SA, Sacramento & possibly Dallas.

 

[fordronken]

Q was excellent off the bench for the Clippers in the past. I think he finished in the top three or so in 6th man of the year voting.

 

[elindholm]

a pretty solid bench (Barbosa, Q, CJ, Zarko, Lampe, & probably Voshkul

Voskuhl? I hope no one expects that Hunter is going to come in and look like a starting center. Remember, this is someone who was waived in the last year of his rookie contract, then went unclaimed by all the teams with any cap room.

I think, for a minimum pickup, he's great to take a look at, but I'll be surprised if he makes the regular rotation.

 

[scotsman13]

elindholm, hunter wasnt ingored by teams with cap room. the hawks made a play for him but they were to set on saving money and wanted to give him the min money. so he became a free agent and could go where he wanted. guess where that was? back with his old college teammate Q.


hunter is a good defender and someone who should fit in well with the starting line. the thing that he brings to the table is shot blocking one of the bigger weaknesses on this team. also the suns have shown that they like to bring jake off the bench because of the energy that he brings.

 

[elindholm]

elindholm, hunter wasnt ingored by teams with cap room. the hawks made a play for him but they were to set on saving money and wanted to give him the min money.

If the Hawks, Bobcats, or anyone else was seriously interested in him, they could have simply claimed him off waivers. A player claimed off waivers has no say on whether he goes to the team or not. It was only after he cleared waivers that he got to choose between minimum offers from multiple teams.

 

[thegrahamcrackr]

I am not expecting that much out of Hunter this year, but I will be optimistic though.

For what it is worth, the Suns brass told Hunter the center spot was wide open this year. Hunter supposedly thinks he has the starting spot locked down.

I wouldn't be to surprised by it either. The team has been pretty big on having Jake come off the bench. It might be because Hunter is better, but I would say 70% sure he will start most of the games (unless he sucks it up real bad)

 

[carey]

If the Hawks, Bobcats, or anyone else was seriously interested in him, they could have simply claimed him off waivers.

Yes, but wouldn't that team have had to pay his 1.8 million dollar contract for this season?

 

[elindholm]

Yes, but wouldn't that team have had to pay his 1.8 million dollar contract for this season?

And if anyone in the league thought he had a chance to be a starting-caliber center, don't you think they would have jumped at the chance to take a one-year gamble on him at that price?

 

[Yuma]

I am not expecting that much out of Hunter this year, but I will be optimistic though.

For what it is worth, the Suns brass told Hunter the center spot was wide open this year. Hunter supposedly thinks he has the starting spot locked down.

I wouldn't be to surprised by it either. The team has been pretty big on having Jake come off the bench. It might be because Hunter is better, but I would say 70% sure he will start most of the games (unless he sucks it up real bad)

Exactly! Hunter compared to the other talent we have at center has a HUGE chance to be second at least in the rotation. I could see if he was a rookie two guard trying to get playing time on this roster, but at center everyone on our squad has a chance of playing minutes in every game. Noone at center has a spot locked down!

 

[slinslin]

I thought he signed a 2yr or 3yr deal with Orlando in the sign and trade?

I doubt any team would pick up a player off of waivers if he doesn't want to play for them.

 

[fordronken]

Exactly! Hunter compared to the other talent we have at center has a HUGE chance to be second at least in the rotation. I could see if he was a rookie two guard trying to get playing time on this roster, but at center everyone on our squad has a chance of playing minutes in every game. Noone at center has a spot locked down!

Well to be fair, on this team he may be competing with shooting guards for playing time at the center spot.

 

[sunsfn]

Hunter signed a new deal for ? It was pretty high 3-5 mil to make the trade work. No one was going to calim him because of this.
It had a 1 mil. buy out put in it to let Cleveland buy him out so they would not have to pay him the new contract price.
Hunter went along with it because he received 1 mil to do so.
If he would not have done this the trade would not have worked and he also wanted out of Orlando. He would have had a contract for next year at 1.8.

 

[Gaddabout]

Hunter has looked like a starting center on occasion. He's also looked like a guy that should be available on the waiver wire. Nobody knows which end of the spectrum he's headed for his career, so only the desperate teams were willing to shell out any money for an up-close look at the boy in action.

 

[SweetD]

Sorry but it is not like Tmac gave anyone else a chance to touch the ball in Orlando. Hunter has played well off and on. I am not sold on him yet but I will give him the starting job right now over Jake. He fills a need the Suns have and that is a shot blocker. We don't need him to score and when your a lotto pick they expect you to score. Maybe with his pure focus on D will make him even better.

 

[George O'Brien]

Hunter has had more mixed reviews than any other player I can think of. I think the problem is that he is like the nursery rhyme about the "girl with curl" - when she was good she was very very good and when she was bad she was horrid.

Hunter has the physical talent to be very good. He is tall, long, and athletic. However, he has a reputation for looking completely lost on the court for extended periods. Perhaps with increased dedication, better coaching, and a winning atmosphere the "very very good" side will come out. But it is hardly a sure thing, which is why no other team was willing to go for more than a minimum contract.

Hunter would not have to become great to become a starter. If he plays hard and pays attention to the coaches, he could become a big help. This is because he can do the one thing the Sun's centers don't do well - block shots. Having a shot blocker would make it possible for the Suns to pressure the ball on defense.

 

[Mainstreet]

I want Bryan Colangelo to bring home a bright, young, athletic center he discovered at the Olympics that is not under contract!

Anyway, I think the Suns need at least one more serviceable center or center/PF type on our roster. I would think Scott Williams is a better option for a front office job for the Suns than as a player. I'm not sure if Scott has another year left in the tank and Steven Hunter is not a sure thing.

 

[Joe Mama]

slin, sunsfn, I don't doubt you guys, but where did you pick up that information about Hunter signing a new deal to make that trade happen? I don't remember it.

Well to be fair, on this team he may be competing with shooting guards for playing time at the center spot.

LOL. Ain' t that the truth!

Joe

 

[slinslin]

Because Hunter was RFA. If he had not signed a deal they could not have traded him at all.

 

[Joe Mama]

Because Hunter was RFA. If he had not signed a deal they could not have traded him at all.

Ahh, thanks. That's right. The Orlando Magic declined to pick up his fourth year option.

Joe Mama

 

[George O'Brien]

The Orlando Magic declined to pick up his fourth year option.

Joe Mama

The way I heard it, the Magic passed on signing him a year ago after he had been injured during 2002-03 and he had not looked good during the summer. Once he started playing well last November, they had second thoughts but faced having to deal with him as a free agent this summer after Aug. 15.

The whole contract situation seems muddled. As best as I can tell, by failing to give him a qualifying offer the Magic lost his Bird rights so signing him for anything above the minimum would have counted against their MLE cap space space. The same was true with the Cavs, which is why they cut him.

The fact that the Magic knew Hunter was not going to be coming back may have led them to play other people. It was like the Suns not giving Googs minutes once it was clear he was not part of their future. That doesn't mean Hunter deserved more minutes, but it suggests a reason why there was no attempt to give him more experience.

None of this means he will be any good. However, it gives hope that maybe things aren't exactly as they seem.