Free Agency 2018

[Hoop Head]

Give me a break. The guy is a sellout. I see him as weak-willed.

Exactly why it's difficult to see him as a "Warriors" player. His legacy will be odd, when he hangs them up. He should have gone down as one of the most skilled players to play the game and best of a generation but instead he'll go down as a soft, weak-willed, wanna-be who would rather coast to a title than compete for one.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Give me a break. The guy is a sellout. I see him as weak-willed.

Not sure why "gimme a break" He does not seem to me to be a legit, Warrior. I will always associate him with OKC more than the Warriors.

 

[Superbone]

Not sure why "gimme a break" He does not seem to me to be a legit, Warrior. I will always associate him with OKC more than the Warriors.

Sorry, the "gimme a break" is just my disdain for Durant coming out. I don't think about what team I'm going to associate him with when all is said and done. I just associate him with the phrase, "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em."

 

[pokerface]

Exactly why it's difficult to see him as a "Warriors" player. His legacy will be odd, when he hangs them up. He should have gone down as one of the most skilled players to play the game and best of a generation but instead he'll go down as a soft, weak-willed, wanna-be who would rather coast to a title than compete for one.

Yeah but couldn't that be said of LeBron when he bailed on the Cavs to join the Heat with Wade and Bosh?

 

[Mr. Boldin]

okay... let's get crazy here. Say LeBron is interested in playing here (I know... it's DREAMING)

Would you guys trade #1, JJ, our pick next year and the bucks pick, and Chandler for AD?

LeBron/Booker/AD would be freaking terrifying and could win a couple titles... and then still be set up for a Booker/AD run after Bron retires.

In a heartbeat.

 

[GatorAZ]

Yeah but couldn't that be said of LeBron when he bailed on the Cavs to join the Heat with Wade and Bosh?

Durant joined a 73-win team that he choked against.

 

[Hoop Head]

Yeah but couldn't that be said of LeBron when he bailed on the Cavs to join the Heat with Wade and Bosh?

Like Gator said, Durant joined a 73 win he choked again. Lebron still hadn't won a title when he teamed with his buddies in Miami and I know that Durant didn't win one before going to Golden State also but the dynamic was different. He formed a contender with his friends, Durant joined a contender. Since then Lebron has won a title on his own, I doubt Durant wins a title outside of what he gets with the Warriors. There are few differences there that make things a bit different.

 

[ColdPickleNachos]

I'm reading far too much into this, but still...

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The official Suns twitter account features Payton as the main wallpaper?

 

[AzStevenCal]

I'm reading far too much into this, but still...

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The official Suns twitter account features Payton as the main wallpaper?

I don't think you are. I'm pretty sure we're signing him unless someone comes in with a bigger offer. And I'm okay with that (signing him). Adding Elfrid and Ayton to our core should work out nicely.

 

[Phrazbit]

I also doubt the people who do social media graphics have an inside line on the GM's thinking.

 

[ColdPickleNachos]

I also doubt the people who do social media graphics have an inside line on the GM's thinking.

I heard the official Suns twitter account doubles as one of McDonough's burner accounts, and that he's super into wallpaper.

I figure the twitter team doesn't know a ton, but there's probably at least some organizational synchronicity, and I figure this may have just a smidgeon of insight into whether the organization views Payton favorably or not.

Though, to repeat, I'm probably reading too much into this.

 

[elindholm]

Speaking of wallpaper, selling a house that has wallpaper on the walls ought to be an imprisonable offense. It always looks like crap, it's impossible to get off, and realtors always assure you that it's not a big deal, which is a lie.

 

[GatorAZ]

I don't think you are. I'm pretty sure we're signing him unless someone comes in with a bigger offer. And I'm okay with that (signing him). Adding Elfrid and Ayton to our core should work out nicely.

Ugh...

 

[AzStevenCal]

Ugh...

I certainly wouldn't turn down a better point guard but I do think Elfrid is/can be a much better player than we've seen.

 

[Mainstreet]

The Suns will need a veteran PG to start even if they address the position in the draft. I could be fine with Payton at the right price.

What concerns me a bit, is I never hear much about him in regards to the Suns team or players. I know he will be a RFA... but still. It's too quiet.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

I certainly wouldn't turn down a better point guard but I do think Elfrid is/can be a much better player than we've seen.

I agree with this.

 

[Phrazbit]

yeah, I'm not out on Elfird.

He isn't a ball hog, he is really athletic, he has a decent assist to turnover... the shooting is... worrisome. But with good coaching I think he is somewhere between a good backup and a mediocre starter and I think we can probably keep him pretty cheap. Something like 5-6 mil a year.

 

[AzStevenCal]

yeah, I'm not out on Elfird.

He isn't a ball hog, he is really athletic, he has a decent assist to turnover... the shooting is... worrisome. But with good coaching I think he is somewhere between a good backup and a mediocre starter and I think we can probably keep him pretty cheap. Something like 5-6 mil a year.

Other than the salary, I agree with everything you said here. I doubt he'll be available at that price. I'd say 12 mil minimum especially with the anticipated cap increase due to legalization of sports betting.

 

[GatorAZ]

Haven’t seen anything in 4 years to suggest an average talent takes a significant leap. I like Igor but I don’t think he’s a miracle worker. We’re paying enough average players as it is IMO.

 

[JCSunsfan]

I don't think you are. I'm pretty sure we're signing him unless someone comes in with a bigger offer. And I'm okay with that (signing him). Adding Elfrid and Ayton to our core should work out nicely.

I am ok with this. Igor's specialty is teaching pg's to shoot.

 

[Phrazbit]

Other than the salary, I agree with everything you said here. I doubt he'll be available at that price. I'd say 12 mil minimum especially with the anticipated cap increase due to legalization of sports betting.

Well... if it's 12 mil annually I'd only be down to sign him for one year, if at all.

And I doubt teams go ham on players like him even if there is a big cap jump. The last time the cap made a big jump and a lot of wonky deals got handed out the teams who did the spending spent more assets dumping many of those deals a year later.

I suspect the league has learned that 12 mil a year on a multi year deal for a guy like Payton would be just as stupid as the deals thrown to dudes like Plumlee and Mozgov a couple years ago.

 

[Magnus]

I heard the official Suns twitter account doubles as one of McDonough's burner accounts, and that he's super into wallpaper.

This is a normal wallpaper. Move on, find a new slant.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Well... if it's 12 mil annually I'd only be down to sign him for one year, if at all.

And I doubt teams go ham on players like him even if there is a big cap jump. The last time the cap made a big jump and a lot of wonky deals got handed out the teams who did the spending spent more assets dumping many of those deals a year later.

I suspect the league has learned that 12 mil a year on a multi year deal for a guy like Payton would be just as stupid as the deals thrown to dudes like Plumlee and Mozgov a couple years ago.

I think 12 is soon going to be on the low end for starters. Keep in mind, even without the future gambling bump, 12 per already just barely gets you onto the top 100 salary list.

And the big problem with the way the cap went up had to do with an unwillingness of the players association to smooth out the increase. That's not likely to be the problem this time.

 

[Phrazbit]

I think 12 is soon going to be on the low end for starters. Keep in mind, even without the future gambling bump, 12 per already just barely gets you onto the top 100 salary list.

And the big problem with the way the cap went up had to do with an unwillingness of the players association to smooth out the increase. That's not likely to be the problem this time.

I don't think many... well... any teams will view Payton as a starter. I said I think he could be a mediocre starter IF he improves his shot (and his defense needs a lot of work too).

We're talking about a dude that just got shipped for a 2nd round pick and that we're not even sure if the Suns will extend a QO. IMO there is absolutely zero chance he gets a 12 mil, multi year deal. I will stamp that with the same odds I gave Len getting a big deal last summer. No chance.

I'm guessing the most he could get is something like 3 years 21 mil or 2/18.

 

[Hoop Head]

I can't see the gambling change effecting the salary cap that much. It'll increase it but I'd be surprised if it raised things more than $10 million annually. That won't effect salaries all that much. I think it will help teams try to balance things out with how crazy they got with the TV money. We're talking about the cap going from $100 million to $110. That isn't that large of an increase and I could see the players conceding to leveling the increase and implementing it over a year or two rather than all at once. I think everyone learned their lesson from the TV jump. Free agents since the jump have struggled to find deals because teams over paid in that first year. That won't happen again.