Chad Ford reports Amare's return to Suns unlikely

[Divide Et Impera]

I suggested Larry Sanders a few months back and NBADraft.net has him as a mid-first. What about a Stoudemire s&t to CHI or MIA for Sanders and another starter?

And I mentioned Ed Davis for us last March (2009) on here (or somewhere around that period). How would he project for us now that he's not behind Hansbrough?

 

[AzStevenCal]

The good news is that the Spurs may finally be in retreat, and Denver/Dallas/Utah all seem to be treading water. So the Suns should at least be in the playoff picture for the foreseeable future.

I agree with much of your post but I think we're closer to the playoff ledge than it appears. The teams you've mentioned plus the teams that missed the playoffs this year all have better draft situations than we do and only the Spurs look to decline as rapidly as us. And I just don't see Nash having another year like this one. Since the All-Star break he's teetered between being great and being horrible and I expect that trend to continue or worsen.

I look forward to seeing what Dragic can do on a more regular basis but unless we replace Amare with a true power player I think he's going to have some significant growing pains. Anyone expecting Dragic to pick up where Nash left off is likely to be disappointed. Also, it's unlikely that Hill will continue at this level of play.

We can expect continued growth from Lopez, Dragic and possibly Dudley but I don't think it's enough to offset the declines we're likely to face. I can't argue that the organization will try and replace Amare in an effort to maintain or improve but I'm afraid it's likely to be nothing more than a soggy band-aid, destined to fall off.

Steve

 

[Joe Mama]

I agree that the Suns should still be among the better teams in the West, as long as they replace Stoudemire (and presumably Frye) with decent bigs. Perhaps Barbosa could be used in a trade toward that aim. But, at least based on these past two games, it looks like the gap between the Lakers and the Suns is still pretty big. Unless the Suns are going to be much better next year than they were this year, the Lakers look out of reach.

Yeah, but you never know what's going to happen. An injury to Gasol and the Lakers go from being the clear favorite in the West to the middle of the playoff pack. One of the other teams who matches up better with the Lakers could take them out of the playoffs. Unfortunately the Lakers are a very bad matchup Phoenix Suns right now. But that doesn't mean you should go and pull off the team because they may beat us discouragingly in the playoffs.

Actually, if the Pacers want to blow things up, they might do Murphy and Granger for Stoudemire and Barbosa. Murphy would fill Frye's role for a year (he expires in 2011), I guess Hill would be demoted to the bench, and Dudley would have to find his minutes at backup SG, which he could probably handle. It's not a great fit positionally, but Granger could also play some PF, as he did for the Pacers last year. In terms of talent, it's not a bad deal.

you think Amare Stoudemire wants to go to Indiana?

This is going to be a crazy summer. Even though we will all miss the basketball I'm sure it will be a lot of fun with new free agent signing/trade rumors every day. Maybe the Phoenix Suns will surprise me and give Amare Stoudemire a big contract. I don't think I would do it, but perhaps they will. One thing that would really help is if Earl Clark had a big summer and came in next season ready to knock down some shots and make an impact on defense.

Right now, I just hope they can keep this series with the Lakers going. Maybe they can get a hold of some flubber or something.

Joe

 

[Cheesebeef]

Right now, I just hope they can keep this series with the Lakers going. Maybe they can get a hold of some flubber or something.

lol. good to see ya around again Joe. you're presence has been sorely missed.

 

[BC867]

lol. good to see ya around again Joe. you're presence has been sorely missed.

I agree. It's good to see your posts again.