Goran Dragic traded to Heat

[3rdside]

You gotta be pretty stoked if you're Miami.

 

[ASUCHRIS]

We got a 23 year old near all-star caliber player for a protected first round pick that will require serious lotto luck to get this year and its value was likely to steeply decline when the Lakers blow their wad in a desperate attempt to return to relevancy.

If the lotto gods actually smile on that pick and the like 10% chance that it ends up outside the top 5 this year happens... then it will sting, but in all likelyhood that pick is going to end up like 10th-20th in the 2016 draft.

I can stomach losing that for an under 25 potential all-star.

Well said. I don't think people appreciate how good Knight is.

 

[sunsfan88]

Man I'm on the Bucks board right now and most of them are saying the same thing about Knight that we said about IT.

Hero ball/iso/selfish/ and the only difference is they also add "thank god we don't have to pay him this summer".

I really hope their all full of s**t.

 

[Joe Mama]

We got a 23 year old near all-star caliber player for a protected first round pick that will require serious lotto luck to get this year and its value was likely to steeply decline when the Lakers blow their wad in a desperate attempt to return to relevancy.

If the lotto gods actually smile on that pick and the like 10% chance that it ends up outside the top 5 this year happens... then it will sting, but in all likelyhood that pick is going to end up like 10th-20th in the 2016 draft.

I can stomach losing that for an under 25 potential all-star.

20% chance (according to Eric) of that turning into a lottery pick him with the Phoenix luck it's about 90% now.

My personal preference would have been to keep the Lakers pick. I also believe the Lakers will still be well in the lottery in 2016.

Joe

 

[Phrazbit]

You gotta be pretty stoked if you're Miami.

They're an aging non-contender that just surrendered two future first with minimal protection for a UFA they're likely going to have to give an enormous contract to keep.

That move is one made by an old GM, living in the moment without a lot of thought for the guy who is going to have to clean up the disaster on the horizon.

Heat probably should have been sellers, not buyers.

 

[Mainstreet]

According to an ESPN article today:

In Knight, the Suns are getting an upgrade over Goran Dragic -- who Phoenix dealt to the Heat on Thursday -- by most measures. Knight is averaging more points and assists per game this season, with a higher player efficiency rating and more win shares than Dragic, according to ESPN's Stats & Information.

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/1...lliams-miles-plumlee-tyler-ennis-3-team-trade

 

[Rab]

I am not overly thrilled with the prospect of Knight/Bledsoe in the backcourt. I think Knight is a tad overrated and I don't think he'll be a wonderful fit here. Unless this is a temporary stop for him, I don't see the point (pun intended) honestly. Given the circumstances though, it could've been worse. I am hoping that we didn't make a mistake in giving that Lakers pick away.

They do seem to be serious about playing small. I really hope this all opens the door for Warren to play some more minutes. I would really like to see what he can do given consistent time.

 

[sunsfan88]

You gotta be pretty stoked if you're Miami.

Their fans are going insane.

http://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=1373582#start_here

I have a couple friends in Miami who said many Heat fans are getting together to celebrate this at sports bars in South Beach.

 

[Rab]

According to an ESPN article today:



http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/1...lliams-miles-plumlee-tyler-ennis-3-team-trade

An upgrade? Not in the least IMO. Good player, but I think Goran is a step higher on the ladder.

 

[slinslin]

McDonough obviously thinks that one important key to success is to always have a capable PG on the floor and that is only possible if you have 2 very good ones that play together for some time.

 

[AzStevenCal]

I am not overly thrilled with the prospect of Knight/Bledsoe in the backcourt. I think Knight is a tad overrated and I don't think he'll be a wonderful fit here. Unless this is a temporary stop for him, I don't see the point (pun intended) honestly. Given the circumstances though, it could've been worse. I am hoping that we didn't make a mistake in giving that Lakers pick away.

They do seem to be serious about playing small. I really hope this all opens the door for Warren to play some more minutes. I would really like to see what he can do give consistent time.

I agree but I cringe every time someone suggest we play him at the 4. He's not Shawn Marion, the guy is a small forward and I really don't want to see us take him down any other path. Tucker, although shorter, is far better equipped to clown around at the power forward spot than Warren is.

I'm more positive on Knight than you appear to be. He's a very smart player and he's improved considerably each year. IMO in two years he'll easily be the best player involved in today's trades. I'm just not sure he'll be playing for us though.

Steve

 

[AzStevenCal]

An upgrade? Not in the least IMO. Good player, but I think Goran is a step higher on the ladder.

I think if you could magically substitute Knight in for Goran last season, the team would take a big hit. But this year, I'm not sure he isn't a better fit for us because at least it gives us one guy that can actually catch and shoot from more than the corner 3 spot. But love him or hate him, I think it's safe to say that Kidd knows point guard play and apparently he doesn't think Knight is a good long term choice for that role. Hopefully the move to a half and half role will suit him better.

Steve

 

[Rab]

I agree but I cringe every time someone suggest we play him at the 4. He's not Shawn Marion, the guy is a small forward and I really don't want to see us take him down any other path. Tucker, although shorter, is far better equipped to clown around at the power forward spot than Warren is.

I'm more positive on Knight than you appear to be. He's a very smart player and he's improved considerably each year. IMO in two years he'll easily be the best player involved in today's trades. I'm just not sure he'll be playing for us though.

Steve

Agreed. I do not want him at the 4 either.

Knight just doesn't excite me that much. We just went through this with Goran/Bledsoe, but I actually thought they played well off each other before IT. I can't imagine we'll see the same with new guys. But...I am always happy to be wrong if it means it works out great.

 

[BC867]

They do seem to be serious about playing small.

I guess I should be happy that we regressed to 2 Point Guards who will finish games instead of 3.

Maybe the reverse domino effect will see Len playing Center to close games when he returns.

And a starting lineup worthy of finishing at their positions.

And a team with players who know their roles and are relatively happy with them.

It will be interesting to see if Hornacek will have more control over the new roster than he did over the previous.

We're still the Suns who put on a glitzy show rather than with substance in the NBA.

 

[slinslin]

It will be interesting to see what happens to Dragic.

He might regress in Miami.. Suns were #2 in pace, Heat are #30 in pace.

Bosh pick and roll sounds nice but Bosh is not anywhere near the threat from 3 that Frye was.

Wade does not spot up, he wants the ball too.

 

[Rab]

I guess I should be happy that we regressed to 2 Point Guards who will finish games instead of 3.

Maybe the reverse domino effect will see Len playing Center to close games when he returns.

And a starting lineup worthy of finishing at their positions.

And a team with players who know their roles and are relatively happy with them.

It will be interesting to see if Hornacek will have more control over the new roster than he did over the previous.

We're still the Suns who put on a glitzy show rather than with substance in the NBA.

All good points.

 

[CardsFan88]

Agreed. I do not want him at the 4 either.

Knight just doesn't excite me that much. We just went through this with Goran/Bledsoe, but I actually thought they played well off each other before IT. I can't imagine we'll see the same with new guys. But...I am always happy to be wrong if it means it works out great.

This year we had a three headed monster.

We reverted to a two headed monster, trading out a guy who wanted to leave and was nearing the end of his prime, for a guy who isn't pissed at us, and is still years away from entering his prime. That and he's going to be a RFA not a UFA. Basically we had today or lose Dragic. Now we have this summer or next summer, or we can keep the much younger Knight. Knight won't be Dragic's age until about 2020. He's 5 years and 7 months younger then Dragic. In fact, with his birthday in December, Knight is BARELY 23.

Knight is way ahead of where Dragic was at his age.

Two quality point guards is much more manageable then three.

 

[BC867]

Two quality point guards is much more manageable then three.

But still less manageable than one with a solid backup.

Hey, the Front Office went from FUBB (the B's are for Beyond Belief) back to not quite so FU'd.

Woo woo!

 

[Mainstreet]

This year we had a three headed monster.

We reverted to a two headed monster, trading out a guy who wanted to leave and was nearing the end of his prime, for a guy who isn't pissed at us, and is still years away from entering his prime. That and he's going to be a RFA not a UFA. Basically we had today or lose Dragic. Now we have this summer or next summer, or we can keep the much younger Knight. Knight won't be Dragic's age until about 2020. He's 5 years and 7 months younger then Dragic. In fact, with his birthday in December, Knight is BARELY 23.

Knight is way ahead of where Dragic was at his age.

Two quality point guards is much more manageable then three.

You are correct. Also the Suns chemistry was a mess. Signing IT was a mistake and it kept on rolling.

 

[Rab]

This year we had a three headed monster.

We reverted to a two headed monster, trading out a guy who wanted to leave and was nearing the end of his prime, for a guy who isn't pissed at us, and is still years away from entering his prime. That and he's going to be a RFA not a UFA. Basically we had today or lose Dragic. Now we have this summer or next summer, or we can keep the much younger Knight. Knight won't be Dragic's age until about 2020. He's 5 years and 7 months younger then Dragic. In fact, with his birthday in December, Knight is BARELY 23.

Knight is way ahead of where Dragic was at his age.

Two quality point guards is much more manageable then three.

I agree that the Suns did what they had to do. I have no problem ditching the 3 headed PG experiment, and given the circumstances, they didn't do a bad job in trading away some of these guys. Knight is a good player, but I was kind of hoping to move away from the 2 PG look if we had to lose Goran, and trade IT.

 

[slinslin]

age-wise our core matches up pretty well now..

Len 21
Markieff 25
Warren 21
Knight 23
Bledsoe 25

 

[hcsilla]

We got a 23 year old near all-star caliber player for a protected first round pick that will require serious lotto luck to get this year and its value was likely to steeply decline when the Lakers blow their wad in a desperate attempt to return to relevancy.

If the lotto gods actually smile on that pick and the like 10% chance that it ends up outside the top 5 this year happens... then it will sting, but in all likelyhood that pick is going to end up like 10th-20th in the 2016 draft.

20th in the 2016 draft?

There is no way that the Lakers will be a solid play-off team next season.

It's highly unlikely that they will make the play-off. They might have enough cap room (provided the salary cap will be about 67 mil. next year, as projected) for one max. FA (BTW, who will be this one?) and that's it.

That is NOT a play-off team in the West.

So we gave away a #4-14 pick, that's the sad fact unless something dramatic will happen to at least some play-off teams.

 

[Mainstreet]

age-wise our core matches up pretty well now..

Len 21
Markieff 25
Warren 21
Knight 23
Bledsoe 25

Also I think Bogdan Bogdanovic might be a pleasant surprise.

 

[Azlen]

Goran's goodbye tweets

https://twitter.com/Goran_Dragic/status/568547506440650753
https://twitter.com/Goran_Dragic/status/568547859533922304
https://twitter.com/Goran_Dragic/status/568548043768733696
https://twitter.com/Goran_Dragic/status/568548229576421376
https://twitter.com/Goran_Dragic/status/568548624730230784
https://twitter.com/Goran_Dragic/status/568548643021545472

 

[hcsilla]

BTW, if Brandon Knight is so much needed in Phoenix why not sign him to a big offer sheet next summer?

I highly doubt that the Bucks would have matched it.

But now thank God we have the upper hand...