Harpring agrees to stay with Utah Jazz

[newfan101]

http://www.deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,640192167,00.html

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

wow. i'm having patience joe mama, i'm having patience.

 

[NastyOne]

Unless we traded Jones, Harpring wouldnt have been a good fit.

Plus hes injury prone.

Could've been Brian Grant all over again.

I wan't our MLE to go to either Speedy Claxton or Mike James.

 

[devilalum]

The SUns are going to have to trade for a player.

They've got lots of picks and that exception to use in a deal.

 

[NastyOne]

The SUns are going to have to trade for a player.

They've got lots of picks and that exception to use in a deal.

Only if Sarver is willing to spend the money.

 

[NastyOne]

"Claxton verbally agreed on Monday afternoon to sign with the Hawks, his agent, Bill Duffy, said. The contract, a reported four-year deal worth an estimated $25 million, can't be signed until July 12, the first day offseason transactions can be made official."

So if Claxton got over $6Mil per, Mike James will get even more.

So there goes our chances at James too.

And since we are only offering free agents $3Mil (Thomas and Hunter), Looks like we won't be getting anyone that can contribute anything other than another body on the bench.

 

[devilalum]

Only if Sarver is willing to spend the money.

He'd better be. After reading that article this morning I believe the Suns are kicking themselves right now for not giving TT the 21 mil. My belief now is that they were totally unprepared for the Clips offer and dropped the ball.

For the time being I believe that the Suns were just inept and not cheap on that one.

 

[ShuHanGuanYu]

He'd better be. After reading that article this morning I believe the Suns are kicking themselves right now for not giving TT the 21 mil. My belief now is that they were totally unprepared for the Clips offer and dropped the ball.

For the time being I believe that the Suns were just inept and not cheap on that one.

They repeatedly said beforehand that they were willing to offer Tim Thomas the value that was fair for them, and they were fully aware that an offer could come along that would blow theirs out of the water. Seriously, where are you coming up with this stuff?

Tim Thomas is not worth $6 million to this team.
.

 

[devilalum]

They repeatedly said beforehand that they were willing to offer Tim Thomas the value that was fair for them, and they were fully aware that an offer could come along that would blow theirs out of the water. Seriously, where are you coming up with this stuff?

Tim Thomas is not worth $6 million to this team.
.

My opinion is based on all the other signings that have taken place.

Value is determined by the market. You can't just stand around and say, "We're only gonna pay what we think is fair." If you do you'll get left in the dust.

 

[NastyOne]

They repeatedly said beforehand that they were willing to offer Tim Thomas the value that was fair for them, and they were fully aware that an offer could come along that would blow theirs out of the water. Seriously, where are you coming up with this stuff?

Tim Thomas is not worth $6 million to this team.

He got 4 years 5.25Mil, and yes he is worth the MLE.

Hes worth way more than the BS offer we gave him, $3mil is ridiculous, and even the posters on this board knew it would take atleast $4Mil+ to re-sign TT, yet somehow we still lowball him.

 

[ASUCHRIS]

wow. i'm having patience joe mama, i'm having patience.

This is feeling frighteningly like a Cards offseason...is backup point our O-line?

 

[ShuHanGuanYu]

My opinion is based on all the other signings that have taken place.

Value is determined by the market. You can't just stand around and say, "We're only gonna pay what we think is fair." If you do you'll get left in the dust.

Not true. Overpaying some people is fair. Overpaying some others is not. Tim Thomas would have been sitting on the bench a hell of a lot. $6 million for a guy that is going to be your #7 or #8 on the team is not smart any way you try to spin it.

 

[ShuHanGuanYu]

He got 4 years 5.25Mil, and yes he is worth the MLE.

Hes worth way more than the BS offer we gave him, $3mil is ridiculous, and even the posters on this board knew it would take atleast $4Mil+ to re-sign TT, yet somehow we still lowball him.

He may have been worth that, but not to us. You do not pay $6 million in a new contract for a guy who is going to be riding the bench for the majority of every game. Well, maybe you do. It's not a perfect world, and we can't afford to just throw money away. Locking up Tim at an average of $6 mil per year would hamper our future. That coupled with the fact that he never seems to measure up to expectations would make me even more wary of him long-term. He was nothing more than a temporary patch.

 

[hcsilla]

wow. i'm having patience joe mama, i'm having patience.

 

[Treesquid PhD]

He may have been worth that, but not to us. You do not pay $6 million in a new contract for a guy who is going to be riding the bench for the majority of every game. Well, maybe you do. It's not a perfect world, and we can't afford to just throw money away. Locking up Tim at an average of $6 mil per year would hamper our future. That coupled with the fact that he never seems to measure up to expectations would make me even more wary of him long-term. He was nothing more than a temporary patch.

He wouldn't be sitting the bench, 1) there is no way you can tell me James Jones would see playing time over TT. James Jones is a total regular season hero and I think a total hack with a pansy little leg kick, he is cheap and that is it.

Secondly, KT will definately go down at somepoint and maybe someone else as well, I am sure Amare wil have his nights when he is sore. As it stands we have Eric Whateverski and he sucks.

 

[devilalum]

He wouldn't be sitting the bench, 1) there is no way you can tell me James Jones would see playing time over TT. James Jones is a total regular season hero and I think a total hack with a pansy little leg kick, he is cheap and that is it.

Secondly, KT will definately go down at somepoint and maybe someone else as well, I am sure Amare wil have his nights when he is sore. As it stands we have Eric Whateverski and he sucks.

Totally agree.

TT would get minutes over JJ and lots of minutes when players miss games. The real X factor for T2 is that he takes his game to a higher level in the playoffs. Based on what I've seen the last couple of days I bet the Suns are kicking thmselves for not giving him the 21 mil.

They'll never admit it but they are.

 

[Joe Mama]

He may have been worth that, but not to us. You do not pay $6 million in a new contract for a guy who is going to be riding the bench for the majority of every game. Well, maybe you do. It's not a perfect world, and we can't afford to just throw money away. Locking up Tim at an average of $6 mil per year would hamper our future. That coupled with the fact that he never seems to measure up to expectations would make me even more wary of him long-term. He was nothing more than a temporary patch.

Actually, it's not the $6 million per season that the real problem. There are two problems with giving the 4 years, $21 million that Tim Thomas wanted. First, the Phoenix Suns need a backup point guard more than they need another 3/4 frontcourt player. Second, the deal is too long. If Tim Thomas would have taken a two-year deal for the full mid-level (hypothetical... I would next that Tim to take this) I would have been fine with it. I might have even given in to 3 years, $16 million or something like that.

He wouldn't be sitting the bench, 1) there is no way you can tell me James Jones would see playing time over TT. James Jones is a total regular season hero and I think a total hack with a pansy little leg kick, he is cheap and that is it.

Secondly, KT will definately go down at somepoint and maybe someone else as well, I am sure Amare wil have his nights when he is sore. As it stands we have Eric Whateverski and he sucks.

I wouldn't necessarily say that Kurt Thomas will "definitely go down at some point", but it is entirely possible. It's quite likely that AT LEAST one of the frontcourt players will miss significant time this season. It's the nature of the game. We were very lucky two years ago when the team suffered no serious injuries until JJ went down in the playoffs (what's with the injuries in the playoffs?). nevertheless, even if he didn't see significant playing time when the team was completely healthy he would probably be worth the money just to have as insurance.

Joe Mama

 

[slinslin]

"The Suns had targeted a few FA's they like but none was available for them. Mike D'Antoni: We didn't feel like we should sign someone just for the sake of signing someone."

 

[slinslin]

Actually, it's not the $6 million per season that the real problem. There are two problems with giving the 4 years, $21 million that Tim Thomas wanted. First, the Phoenix Suns need a backup point guard more than they need another 3/4 frontcourt player. Second, the deal is too long. If Tim Thomas would have taken a two-year deal for the full mid-level (hypothetical... I would next that Tim to take this) I would have been fine with it. I might have even given in to 3 years, $16 million or something like that.

So where is that backup PG?
Claxton gone, Jackson gone, Hunter gone, Cassel gone, James out of our price range?

Knight? Traded him a a couple of years ago probably out of their price range too.

Banks? Probably no interesst.

Jay Williams? May not be ready.

 

[Evil Ash]

He wouldn't be sitting the bench, 1) there is no way you can tell me James Jones would see playing time over TT. James Jones is a total regular season hero and I think a total hack with a pansy little leg kick, he is cheap and that is it.

He's a young player that has a good chance of improving. Calling him a regular season hero and a bad playoff player based on one postseason is overreaction at its finest.

Secondly, KT will definately go down at somepoint and maybe someone else as well, I am sure Amare wil have his nights when he is sore. As it stands we have Eric Whateverski and he sucks.

They can still make trades or go after other players. We are looking for depth players to do their role and not lose us the game especially at PG

When the season is about to start and all we've added is Eric Piatkowski then there's a reason to panic but we're just 3 days into FA. Big difference

 

[Joe Mama]

So where is that backup PG?
Claxton gone, Jackson gone, Hunter gone, Cassel gone, James out of our price range?

Knight? Traded him a a couple of years ago probably out of their price range too.

Banks? Probably no interesst.

Jay Williams? May not be ready.

I don't know slin, but would you rather have drastically overpaid for a guy like Jackson? They tried to get Hunter, but he preferred to stay with the Pistons. Obviously they didn't feel so strongly about him that they felt the need to overpay. You know, there are other ways to obtain a backup point guard. The Phoenix Suns do have assets.

Look, we all bitch and moan when the team goes out and signs mediocre talent to big contracts, especially in a few seasons when they are stuck with the player. That's what they're trying to avoid. They did not see anyone in this free agency they felt so strongly about like a Steve Nash or Raja Bell to rush out and throw big money at them.

In a month or two if they haven't done anything to improve the backup point guard situation or added a big man who can help via free agency or a trade than flame away. Just have a little patience.

Joe

 

[ShuHanGuanYu]

He wouldn't be sitting the bench, 1) there is no way you can tell me James Jones would see playing time over TT. James Jones is a total regular season hero and I think a total hack with a pansy little leg kick, he is cheap and that is it.

Secondly, KT will definately go down at somepoint and maybe someone else as well, I am sure Amare wil have his nights when he is sore. As it stands we have Eric Whateverski and he sucks.

James Jones was a big reason why the Suns had the top 2 defense in the NBA, because he uses his long arms to double team. They played mostly man defense, but when they did double they were able to shut people down. I was also impressed with his defense in the playoffs. Tim Thomas is a revolving door on defense. He is fools gold. The team's scoring improves by some, but the defense suffers by a lot. James Jones is learning to contribute in other ways when he can't score, while Tim Thomas has not learned that in his entire career and probably never will. He gets some rebounds, yes. But that is size, not hustle. There's a good reason that Tim Thomas always has terrible plus/minus ratings. There's no way I will ever be convinced that Tim Thomas is worth $6 million per year for this team when they have to resign Diaw and have at least two draft picks next year. No way.

 

[ShuHanGuanYu]

Totally agree.

TT would get minutes over JJ and lots of minutes when players miss games. The real X factor for T2 is that he takes his game to a higher level in the playoffs. Based on what I've seen the last couple of days I bet the Suns are kicking thmselves for not giving him the 21 mil.

They'll never admit it but they are.

Correction, he takes his shooting to a higher level. His defense was still atrocious in every way shape and form, and it will always be. Signing Tim Thomas automatically punches Shawn Marion's ticket out of here in my opinion.

 

[ShuHanGuanYu]

I wouldn't necessarily say that Kurt Thomas will "definitely go down at some point", but it is entirely possible. It's quite likely that AT LEAST one of the frontcourt players will miss significant time this season. It's the nature of the game. We were very lucky two years ago when the team suffered no serious injuries until JJ went down in the playoffs (what's with the injuries in the playoffs?). nevertheless, even if he didn't see significant playing time when the team was completely healthy he would probably be worth the money just to have as insurance.

Joe Mama

Damn, too bad every team can't afford to have a $6 million dollar insurance policy to hang around on the bench but then spring into action "just in case" something happens...

 

[Covert Rain]

James Jones was a big reason why the Suns had the top 2 defense in the NBA, because he uses his long arms to double team. They played mostly man defense, but when they did double they were able to shut people down. I was also impressed with his defense in the playoffs. Tim Thomas is a revolving door on defense. He is fools gold. The team's scoring improves by some, but the defense suffers by a lot. James Jones is learning to contribute in other ways when he can't score, while Tim Thomas has not learned that in his entire career and probably never will. He gets some rebounds, yes. But that is size, not hustle. There's a good reason that Tim Thomas always has terrible plus/minus ratings. There's no way I will ever be convinced that Tim Thomas is worth $6 million per year for this team when they have to resign Diaw and have at least two draft picks next year. No way.

He was a big reason?!?!? Let's not get carried away sparky. He didn't play enough minutes to be a big reason. He was decent off the bench but also dissappeared in a ton of games this season both offensively and defensively. Not to mention the playoffs.

So I think Tim Thomas was a better all around offensive player. I think that James Jones was a better defender. However, that wasn't saying much. James is no Raja, Marion or Kurt Thomas.