Elfrid Payton finally gets a hair cut?

[Superbone]

Here you go, Chaplin. Definitive proof that the Suns professional staff thought Payton's hair was affecting his shot:

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[JCSunsfan]

Here you go, Chaplin. Definitive proof that the Suns professional staff thought Payton's hair was affecting his shot:

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Yep. I wonder if we have plans to keep him. McD loves to get everything he can out of every asset.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Bordow said that it had a bearing on whether the Suns would bring Elfrid back or not.

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[Chaplin]

Here you go, Chaplin. Definitive proof that the Suns professional staff thought Payton's hair was affecting his shot:

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Better late than never, I guess. But if that really was the case, why did it take 6 MONTHS for the front office to make him do something about it??

 

[JCSunsfan]

Better late than never, I guess. But if that really was the case, why did it take 6 MONTHS for the front office to make him do something about it??

Want a guess? I think they gave it one month of observation and then told him that if he wanted to resign in Phoenix, the hair had to go. His first game was Feb 10. The conversation happened around the beginning of March. The last month of the season Payton pouted about it and played poorly.

All absolute conjecture.

 

[JRakes]

I would like to McD put some pressure on Ainge by offering Restricted free agent terry Rozier a nice contract. He fits in with our time table, he is proving himself on a big stage, and Ainge will have to pay Irving $35+ per year...can boston afford it? Somewhere in the 4 yr 55 million range..keep payton as a back up if he wants to stay for 2 yr 10 mill.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Bordow said that it had a bearing on whether the Suns would bring Elfrid back or not.

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Color me not surprised at all.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Better late than never, I guess. But if that really was the case, why did it take 6 MONTHS for the front office to make him do something about it??

Youre still arguing against this argument despite explicit commments confirming it???

 

[Chaplin]

Youre still arguing against this argument despite explicit commments confirming it???

Jesus, it's a question--if you DON'T want to answer it, DON'T REPLY. Pretty simple, isn't it??

 

[Hoop Head]

We were tanking at the end of last season, Payton playing poorly then isn't much of a surprise. He didn't do himself any favors with how he played but if he played great and helped win some games would people be happy with his performance? He was in a tough spot.

 

[Mainstreet]

Give the kid the max!!

His value has escalated IMO. I think he could be a legitimate starter at PG for the Suns. I'm excited if he will make the hair a non issue in the future. Of course the price has to be right and he wants to be here.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Jesus, it's a question--if you DON'T want to answer it, DON'T REPLY. Pretty simple, isn't it??

That’s fair. I’ll answer . . .

The truth there are myriad reasons for how this played out. Maybe, as JC said, they gave him the benefit of the doubt initially. Or maybe they told him to cut it and he refused and there was a power struggle - which imo would better explain his lame play down the stretch in a contract year verses the “he’s just not motivated” or “it was the tank!” excuses for his play. And now that he’s a FA his agent could be gathering opinions from front offices who are likely saying the same thing that suns front office said. So Elfrid is like “gotta cut the hair to get a job.”

All that said, at the end of the day Bordow, a respected journalist, stated the suns position. You’re continuing to question the veracity intimates that either bordow, or the organization, are lying about this. And there’s just no incentive for either to do so. So i don’t get where your question even comes from and why you don’t just accept that’s the truth.

 

[JCSunsfan]

I would like to McD put some pressure on Ainge by offering Restricted free agent terry Rozier a nice contract. He fits in with our time table, he is proving himself on a big stage, and Ainge will have to pay Irving $35+ per year...can boston afford it? Somewhere in the 4 yr 55 million range..keep payton as a back up if he wants to stay for 2 yr 10 mill.

Rozier isn't a RFA this year is he?

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

We were tanking at the end of last season, Payton playing poorly then isn't much of a surprise. He didn't do himself any favors with how he played but if he played great and helped win some games would people be happy with his performance? He was in a tough spot.

A tough spot? He was in a contract year with little competition. Didn’t seem to detract from JJ’s performance.

 

[Chaplin]

That’s fair. I’ll answer . . .

The truth there are myriad reasons for how this played out. Maybe, as JC said, they gave him the benefit of the doubt initially. Or maybe they told him to cut it and he refused and there was a power struggle - which imo would better explain his lame play down the stretch in a contract year verses the “he’s just not motivated” or “it was the tank!” excuses for his play. And now that he’s a FA his agent could be gathering opinions from front offices who are likely saying the same thing that suns front office said. So Elfrid is like “gotta cut the hair to get a job.”

All that said, at the end of the day Bordow, a respected journalist, stated the suns position. You’re continuing to question the veracity intimates that either bordow, or the organization, are lying about this. And there’s just no incentive for either to do so. So i don’t get where your question even comes from and why you don’t just accept that’s the truth.

What? I wasn’t questioning Bordow, I was questioning why this was done now and not when he was acquired, ESPECIALLY if the organization thought his hair affected his play. That’s a pretty relevant question IMO, even if you don’t think it is.

 

[JCSunsfan]

What? I wasn’t questioning Bordow, I was questioning why this was done now and not when he was acquired, ESPECIALLY if the organization thought his hair affected his play. That’s a pretty relevant question IMO, even if you don’t think it is.

I got it.

Before you said if it was an issue, the Suns would have said something. You assumed they hadn't. Now its clear they had. So now you are asking why they waited so long. I think that is another bad assumption. We do not know they waited that long. They could have already said something long ago. But I do not think they have the power to MAKE him cut his hair except maybe to sit him on the bench. Maybe they even did that.

Anyway. Moving on.

 

[Hoop Head]

A tough spot? He was in a contract year with little competition. Didn’t seem to detract from JJ’s performance.

A PG has different responsibilities. JJ went out there to play his tail off while Payton's job as starting PG was to get everyone else going. If he knew the team wasn't trying to win and they were trying to bottom out, why get others going? Most of our quality players were sat so Payton had JJ as a target and that's pretty much it. I know he was playing for a contract and he should have cut his hair as soon as the Suns said something to him about it but he didn't, he seemed to be indifferent towards the end.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

What? I wasn’t questioning Bordow, I was questioning why this was done now and not when he was acquired, ESPECIALLY if the organization thought his hair affected his play. That’s a pretty relevant question IMO, even if you don’t think it is.

Guess I read your question with the wrong inflection. I think it WAS discussed earlier and it was a point of contention. But that’s conjecture on my part.

 

[BC867]

How about this point of view? A young player in the greatest, most competitive professional basketball league in the world found a gimmick to set himself apart.

He got the publicity. Certainly on this site, judging by the quantity of posts about his hair.

And he might be given the opportunity to compete for the starting Point Guard position. Now it's about basketball.

I don't usually appreciate fluff in a professional situation, but it happened, this is now and let's see if he can be a good potential Point Guard backup.

 

[AzStevenCal]

I think we told him we had interest in bringing him back next year but only if he cut his hair AFTER the season was over. Why risk blowing up the tank?

 

[Mainstreet]

I think we told him we had interest in bringing him back next year but only if he cut his hair AFTER the season was over. Why risk blowing up the tank?

It's a good point but I'm not sure if this factored into Payton's thinking back then. What puzzles me is why he didn't get the haircut before the end of the season so he could better display his skills.

 

[AzStevenCal]

It's a good point but I'm not sure if this factored into Payton's thinking back then. What puzzles me is why he didn't get the haircut before the end of the season so he could better display his skills.

I'm not sure I'm following you? When he was first traded, one of his comments was that he was pretty sure he was going to cut his hair (I think he said after the season but not sure). The Suns got a look at his play and decided it needed to go in order for him to be effective. And we didn't want him to be particularly effective this season.

 

[Mainstreet]

I'm not sure I'm following you? When he was first traded, one of his comments was that he was pretty sure he was going to cut his hair (I think he said after the season but not sure). The Suns got a look at his play and decided it needed to go in order for him to be effective. And we didn't want him to be particularly effective this season.

I'm trying to look at it through Payton's eyes. I'd want to put my best foot forward so to speak going into free agency... not just save it for the Suns. Getting the haircut before the end of the season would seem to benefit him. The Suns are not the only team to consider.

 

[Hoop Head]

I'm trying to look at it through Payton's eyes. I'd want to put my best foot forward so to speak going into free agency... not just save it for the Suns. Getting the haircut before the end of the season would seem to benefit him. The Suns are not the only team to consider.

I agree with that but he might have burned the Suns by helping them win a game or two that would have hurt in the tank race. Priority #1 was not winning when Payton was acquired. He played great the first 2-3 weeks here but fell off hard after that. Perhaps he was told to cut his hair then and quit putting forth 100% effort. Everyone could see we were tanking with how many games Booker and Warren missed, as well as Chandler and others. A headache got them listed on the injury report and sat out. So why would he go all out for us when the team wasn't going all out? I know he'd want to get paid but it wouldn't surprise me if something was said to him that caused his game to drop so far. He put up 2 triple doubles right after he came in and was awful for the final month. It was odd.

 

[Mainstreet]

I agree with that but he might have burned the Suns by helping them win a game or two that would have hurt in the tank race. Priority #1 was not winning when Payton was acquired. He played great the first 2-3 weeks here but fell off hard after that. Perhaps he was told to cut his hair then and quit putting forth 100% effort. Everyone could see we were tanking with how many games Booker and Warren missed, as well as Chandler and others. A headache got them listed on the injury report and sat out. So why would he go all out for us when the team wasn't going all out? I know he'd want to get paid but it wouldn't surprise me if something was said to him that caused his game to drop so far. He put up 2 triple doubles right after he came in and was awful for the final month. It was odd.

So Payton will be our starting PG barring another team overpaying him. Next problem.