Gambo on Arizona Sports Report

[Joe Mama]

Gambo was on the Arizona sports report tonight. One of the things he talked about was what he is hearing about the Phoenix Suns draft pick. First he said that there are rumors the Suns will trade pick to Charlotte to load a contract. He speculated that contract with the Howard Eiseley's, but I think that is wishful thinking. He said in the end he thinks the Suns want to keep the pick though. He said the guys they like the most at this point are Josh Smith and Andre Iguodala. I guess earlier today on the radio he was also saying that their interest in Martynas A. is a smokescreen.

Take it for what it's worth... probably not much.

Joe Mama

 

[scotsman13]

wasnt it a month ago that the kobe and tmac deals were as good as done by him? unless the suns are really set on unloading marion's contact i dont see them going after those guys. it doesnt make sense. bring in milos (ok he can play both guards spots) with barbosa at the 1 that means you can play jj at the 2 and 3 on top of marion and zarko. dang there goes all of those heavy mins of jjs.

 

[George O'Brien]

I have always considered Andi's "promise" to be a smoke screen. If the Suns are interested in someone like Biedrins, then they will talk about every other player who even MIGHT be in the lottery. Sure we knew about Zarko, but I don't think anyone outside their inner circle talked about getting Amare.

I expect to hear a lot of bogus stuff over the next month. I wouldn't take any of it seriously - particulary if it come from Gambo.

 

[scotsman13]

yea george the suns are great at throwing up smoke screens. they brought amare in early and then took him to a d-back game. so later when word got out that the suns had promised amare to pick him, the suns said no they hadnt.

 

[slinslin]

There was never a rumor that the Suns promised Amare.

In fact half of this board fell for the Tsikitsvill media rumors or thought Nene was their man.

 

[elindholm]

There was never a rumor that the Suns promised Amare.

Yes there was, but unfortunately I won't be able to look up the source. I am quite certain of it, however.

A lot of players on this board wanted Nene, but I think most of us agreed that he'd be gone by the time the Suns picked.

 

[elindholm]

First he said that there are rumors the Suns will trade pick to Charlotte to load a contract. He speculated that contract with the Howard Eiseley's, but I think that is wishful thinking.

Using the pick to unload White's contract is absolutely not worth it, unless they get Bryant, which they won't.

As George O'Brien has pointed out, eliminating White would require them to add a FA center. Okur is probably better than White, but the advantage of keeping White is that he'd be here only another year, after which the Suns could re-evaluate their options. If they give Okur a lengthy deal, they're stuck with him.

And as others have pointed out, White's trade value will go up as the season progresses.

Even though the #7 pick doesn't look all that great right now, it is far too high a price to pay for one year of some extra cap room, especially with the only marquee free agent on the market (Bryant) unlikely to leave his own team.

 

[sunsfn]

I believe the 7th pick is very valuable.
As the draft gets closer and the teams have their player evaluations done, someone will want to trade up.

The 7th pick can turn into an all-star down the road. I would be very surprised if the suns trade that pick to get rid of a contract.

 

[hcsilla]

And as others have pointed out, White's trade value will go up as the season progresses.

Only cap space's value will go up faster.

 

[elindholm]

Only cap space's value will go up faster.

Thay's true, but I still say the #7 pick is too high a price.

 

[fordronken]

It's amazing how quickly a player goes from being someone you have to give things up with to trade, to, come February, one who will be getting things offered for him.

 

[JCSunsfan]

There was never a rumor that the Suns promised Amare.

In fact half of this board fell for the Tsikitsvill media rumors or thought Nene was their man.

Yes there was, it was just that most on this board (including me) refused to believe it. The Curry/Chandler/Bender experiments weren't going well and we figured that the Suns brass had more smarts than to sign a high schooler with family issues.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Only cap space's value will go up faster.

Cap space doesn't rebound, score, or produce wins. It is only a means to an end and not an end in itself. If you give up players for cap space, but do not add players that improve your team, the cap space has no value (unless you are discarding completely extraneous players).

If we give up a pick and Jahidi, we've got to replace those two players with a player(s) that will improve our team. I don't there is much potential of that.

I think Charlotte is likely to take Jahidi in the expansion draft without any incentive beyond $3 million cash.

Keep the pick. In this draft, the #7 is as good as the #2.

 

[slinslin]

Iguodala and Josh Smith on top of the list could also mean that there is truth to the TMac for Marion and Johnson rumor as one of them would replace Marion or Johnson.

 

[George O'Brien]

Iguodala and Josh Smith on top of the list could also mean that there is truth to the TMac for Marion and Johnson rumor as one of them would replace Marion or Johnson.

Too many maybe's here. I can make a case for Iggy if they think he might become a point guard. I am not convinced Josh Smith is going to produce more than Outlaw and Ebi did this past season.

 

[slinslin]

Outlaw and Ebi were never projected as top3 or even top10 picks like Josh Smith.

Also Josh is coming out of Oak Hill Academy the by far best highschool basketball program in the country.

Also Smith is build solid and doesn't really need to put up any more weight. Outlaw and Ebi were both rail thin.

 

[George O'Brien]

Outlaw and Ebi were never projected as top3 or even top10 picks like Josh Smith.

Also Josh is coming out of Oak Hill Academy the by far best highschool basketball program in the country.

Also Smith is build solid and doesn't really need to put up any more weight. Outlaw and Ebi were both rail thin.

But..... Josh Smith is not much of an outside shooter and is not an established defensive player. Yes, he might be the next Amare, but I doubt it.

 

[slinslin]

How do you know that?

By most accounts Josh Smith is a pretty good shooter.

 

[Joe Mama]

I'm not sure how I really feel about Josh Smith, but I don't think it's fair to compare him to Outlaw and Ebi. Both of those guys were absolute twigs when they were drafted and went to very deep teams. Josh Smith has an NBA ready body, and he would be going to a team that likes to get its young prospects into action early.

Joe Mama

 

[Chaplin]

Also Josh is coming out of Oak Hill Academy the by far best highschool basketball program in the country.

Where he played high school ball doesn't always mean much. Michael Wright went to Farragut, for crying out loud.

 

[slinslin]

Who came out of Farragut except Kevin Garnett?

Look at Oak Hill.... Carmelo Anthony, Jerry Stackhouse, Josh Smith, Desagana Diop and Amare played there for some time as far as I know.
I am sure that's not everyone.

 

[Joe Mama]

Who came out of Farragut except Kevin Garnett?

Look at Oak Hill.... Carmelo Anthony, Jerry Stackhouse, Josh Smith, Desagana Diop and Amare played there for some time as far as I know.
I am sure that's not everyone.

You're reaching now, Slin.

Joe

 

[George O'Brien]

I have a tendency to put more emphasis on "weaknesses" of players. Here is nbadraft.net:

Weakness: Will need to improve on his overall ball handling … This will aid him in taking opposing players off the dribble … While he has three point range he lacks consistency … Will need to work on his shot selection as he can get a little too carried away … Lacks any real post up game to take advantage of mismatches … Mid range shooting remains questionable off the dribble … Has a tendency to get careless with the ball … Concentration level tends to vary as he can seem almost uninterested in the game … Defensively he needs to work on becoming more committed … Settles at times for taking outside shots instead of driving to the basket … Decision making has some questions surrounding it due to his average basketball awareness …

Here is draftcity.com:

Raw. So very raw. Smith, as amazing a prospect he is, does not have anything amounting to a complete game (on offense or defense). While he can leap high, that is generally all he can do on offense. His handle is not yet proficient enough to be able to drive against the better defenders in the NBA. Nor is his outside shot consistent enough (some games he can get very hot though) to deserve respect from a smart defender who would rather lay off and prevent the drive, daring Smith to shoot. Most of his scoring comes near the basket where he can simply sky over the smaller defenders or from putbacks. He cannot yet create his own shot consistently. His defense, other than the eerie shotblocking ability, is atrocious. For all his speed and athleticism he doesn't have the lateral quickness to play the faster players on the perimeter. He is also very lax on defense, barely trying at times. He simply cannot be asked to cover any better than average offensive player on the perimeter. The key in his weaknesses can be summed up in one word really: consistency. He needs more consistency instead of simply the flashes that he does show.

BTW, these are two boards that have Josh Smith ranked very very high. Some think he is a "good" shooter while others don't think he is that great. I'm inclined to be skeptical of HS players being able to make the jump to contribute right away. Smith is physically ready to play, but I have serious doubts about him having the skills and maturity.