How good is Booker?

[AsUpRoDiGy]

And that's why the Suns can't afford to tank. They need to start winning now.

Suns are going to turn into the Browns. The young guys get so used to losing that it just becomes the norm, and then there's no hope after that. At least the 6ers are doing OK after their rebuild project, but they're in the East...where you can suck and still make it into the playoffs. Not so much in the west.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

You guys act like once you’re bad you can never recover. That’s ridiculous. It happens in every sport. Almost every year.

 

[JCSunsfan]

You guys act like once you’re bad you can never recover. That’s ridiculous. It happens in every sport. Almost every year.

Good franchises may be bad at times, but they do not stay there. There is truth to the "culture of winning/losing" argument.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Good franchises may be bad at times, but they do not stay there. There is truth to the "culture of winning/losing" argument.

For years the falcons were a dreg of the nfl and they’ve had good seasons. Same with lions. Same with clippers, even under sterling. The browns being so bad for so long is more an anomaly than the norm.

 

[AsUpRoDiGy]

For years the falcons were a dreg of the nfl and they’ve had good seasons. Same with lions. Same with clippers, even under sterling. The browns being so bad for so long is more an anomaly than the norm.

Clippers have the LA attraction for players...so even when they suck it's still a somewhat attractive opportunity for FA's. For Phoenix...not so much.

 

[JS22]

And that's why the Suns can't afford to tank. They need to start winning now.

But...but...ping pong balls! The Suns might miss out on the "next great prospect!"

I'm sure Booker is 100% on board with losing for the next few years. Because, you know. #timeline

Edit: Sarcasm aside, I'm terrified that Booker is going to grow tired of this organization and pull a Bledsoe. The Suns will probably have a top 5 pick this season. With a roster full of potential, a top 5 pick, and multiple future firsts they should have more than enough to make a big move in the offseason. What that is? I don't know. But that's why McD is the GM and I am not.

 

[Ronin]

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[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Clippers have the LA attraction for players...so even when they suck it's still a somewhat attractive opportunity for FA's. For Phoenix...not so much.

That wasn’t your argument. Your argument essentially was when you’re bad you will always be bad. And I don’t think the LA draw has ever been that big for clippers as they’ve always been the ugly little step brother of the lakers. As someone living in the greater LA area the clippers are not an attraction.

You talk about Phoenix as a destination as is if it’s cleveland or Detroit as a destination. While LA, NY and Miami might be draws, Phoenix as an area is likely more attractive than virtually any other NBA city.

 

[AsUpRoDiGy]

That wasn’t your argument. Your argument essentially was when you’re bad you will always be bad. And I don’t think the LA draw has ever been that big for clippers as they’ve always been the ugly little step brother of the lakers. As someone living in the greater LA area the clippers are not an attraction.

You talk about Phoenix as a destination as is if it’s cleveland or Detroit as a destination. While LA, NY and Miami might be draws, Phoenix as an area is likely more attractive than virtually any other NBA city.

My argument was that losing consistently creates a culture where losing becomes the accepted norm... that's all the players are used to. With a group of young players... that has to kill their psyche/ confidence moving forward. It's always "next year... next year we'll be better", and then top 5 pick, here we come. The suns have a good group of young guys with potential, but at what point do you hold the team accountable for translating that potential into success. Other teams are obviously going through the same rebuild process, so it's not the end of the world...would just suck to see these young guys squandered into a losing oblivion.

 

[Matt L]

I am starting to come around on Bender. I hope he adds muscle this offseason and is able to take over as the starting 4. I think Tucker and Chriss are showing that they should be on the second unit. Hopefully Booker, Jackson, Bender, and Chandler can be 2-5. I think we could pick up a second(3rd Tier) point guard in free agency and have a chance to compete.

This seems like the best draft to need a center as there are about 4 that could be top 10 picks.

 

[Raindog]

For years the falcons were a dreg of the nfl and they’ve had good seasons. Same with lions. Same with clippers, even under sterling. The browns being so bad for so long is more an anomaly than the norm.

I don't know if anyone here has heard of a team called the Houston Astros. They lost 100 games three straight years, then 90 games the year after that. That last season was just three years ago.

They are a baseball team, a sport where it is a lot harder to draft one or two players that will quickly turn around your fortunes. Yet they won the championship this year, largely by accumulating players through drafting and good scouting. One major trade (Verlander) helped put them over the top this year, but they had a legitimate chance to win it all even without him.

The point being they took their lumps for four years and invested in building through a youth movement. In fact, most of the successful franchises in all of pro sports these days are getting there doing the same thing. Baseball is a key example - pretty much all of the contenders this year, as well as the last few WS winners, were largely built from the ground up. Even the dominant team in the NBA right now (GSW) was built that way. They gilded the lily later by adding Durant as a FA, but he only went there after the foundation was in place.

I get that we live in a self-centered, instant gratification society, nowadays more so than ever. But some patience is required to build a legitimately good foundation for winning these days. You know in recent years who has scrambled around dealing away draft picks and young prospects for "star veterans"? The likes of the Knicks and the Nets. And you can see where it has gotten both of them.

 

[CardsSunsDbacks]

I feel like something that continues to be overlooked is that this team has technically only been bad for the last 2.5 seasons. They won 48 games in 13/14 and were pretty good in the first half of 14/15. Then that's when everything from a chemistry standpoint fell apart. We are only really two years into our current rebuild because we essentially had to start over after that 14/15 season. Sure we haven't made the playoffs since 09/10, but we haven't exactly been terrible that whole time either.

 

[BC867]

Booker growing frustrated?

https://www.azcentral.com/story/spo...oker-frustration-demands-attention/864552001/

Hey, Tank Commanders and sympathizers. If you haven't read this very specific article about our new face of the organization . . . PLEASE DO!

It is not about general philosophies. It is about a specific situation. The things that have made Devin Booker so good, so quickly, will also turn him against the team if they are not addressed. He has started showing that frustration and I don't blame him.

We can argue from now 'til doomsday if he has the right to be frustrated. Is there any argument about the Suns needing to show him support? Showing him that there is more involved than Sarver making a larger profit? I just read that his bank is doing quite well. The Phoenix Suns are not a street corner bank.

Dan Bickley is a professional sports writer. A professional Arizona sportswriter. He is getting paid to address the feelings of the fans, for whom he writes every day.

His article is spot on. And Devin Booker has the right to expect better than ongoing mediocrity that has become the trademark of the Suns for seven plus seasons. He certainly has the right to expect better than the downright embarrassing behavior of the owner and General Manager these past two seasons. Obviously, he couldn't come out and say that, so he referred to feeling like he was a visitor in our arena.

The Suns need to make some smart moves and not plod along with business as usual. And, if they don't, Devin gets pissed off and we will have lost the newest face of the organization. Another embarrassment!

Again I say, if you haven't read Bickley's article, posted on AzCentral.com/Arizona Republic today, PLEASE DO! And see if you feel that business as usual has to change. That is what this is about.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Hey, Tank Commanders and sympathizers. If you haven't read this very specific article about our new face of the organization . . . PLEASE DO!

It is not about general philosophies. It is about a specific situation. The things that have made Devin Booker so good, so quickly, will also turn him against the team if they are not addressed. He has started showing that frustration and I don't blame him.

We can argue from now 'til doomsday if he has the right to be frustrated. Is there any argument about the Suns needing to show him support? Showing him that there is more involved than Sarver making a larger profit? I just read that his bank is doing quite well. The Phoenix Suns are not a street corner bank.

Dan Bickley is a professional sports writer. A professional Arizona sportswriter. He is getting paid to address the feelings of the fans, for whom he writes every day.

His article is spot on. And Devin Booker has the right to expect better than ongoing mediocrity that has become the trademark of the Suns for seven plus seasons. He certainly has the right to expect better than the downright embarrassing behavior of the owner and General Manager these past two seasons. Obviously, he couldn't come out and say that, so he referred to feeling like he was a visitor in our arena.

The Suns need to make some smart moves and not plod along with business as usual. And, if they don't, Devin gets pissed off and we will have lost the newest face of the organization. Another embarrassment!

Again I say, if you haven't read Bickley's article, posted on AzCentral.com/Arizona Republic today, PLEASE DO! And see if you feel that business as usual has to change. That is what this is about.

I read it. It’s a lot of whining without offering solutions. In fact, it’s typical Bickley . . . awful.

 

[AsUpRoDiGy]

I read it. It’s a lot of whining without offering solutions. In fact, it’s typical Bickley . . . awful.

The solution is to...

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

The solution is to...

You must be registered for see images attach

Haha. That’s super easy to say.

 

[hsandhu]

Bickley is human garbage, who I'm sure no one in the organization talks to. Gambo has sources, he is pretty much 100% confident booker is signing the max contract next summer, I'm guessing his source is booker himself.

And oh yeah, read this, kind of more important than bickley, an espn interview with booker:

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/21375942/devin-booker-being-face-phoenix-suns,

he is totally on board with the timeline it seems:

"For us, we have to keep developing, and we know that. We have a really good young core that is competing against grown men. The Golden State Warriors, San Antonio Spurs, teams that have been together for five, 10-plus years. So I think we're right on track, honestly. In a few years with the experience that we have, with the young core that we have, we'll be in a good spot."

 

[hsandhu]

Oh btw, did anyone just watch the sixers vs. the lakers?

Embiid and Simmons are beasts, if they stay healthy over their careers they will win a title. Yet, there were many people on this board saying the process wasn't working, ha!

 

[elindholm]

Oh btw, did anyone just watch the sixers vs. the lakers?

Embiid and Simmons are beasts, if they stay healthy over their careers they will win a title. Yet, there were many people on this board saying the process wasn't working, ha!

Simmons is amazing. He could be a top-ten player as early as next season.

 

[hsandhu]

Simmons is amazing. He could be a top-ten player as early as next season.

You watched the game and the first take away was simmons? who I agree is great

Embiid, if healthy, will be the best player in the league someday. I'm taking him over giannis, anthony davis, porzingis.

 

[elindholm]

You watched the game and the first take away was simmons? who I agree is great

No, I've watched other Philadelphia games, but not this one.

Embiid, if healthy, will be the best player in the league someday. I'm taking him over giannis, anthony davis, porzingis.

Could be. Simmons has been more consistent so far, but it's a small sample either way.

 

[pokerface]

Oh btw, did anyone just watch the sixers vs. the lakers?

Embiid and Simmons are beasts, if they stay healthy over their careers they will win a title. Yet, there were many people on this board saying the process wasn't working, ha!

Yeah Philly was supposed to be the poster child of the anti tank mob. "Don't do this or you'll be like Philly"...SUP!

 

[elindholm]

Yeah Philly was supposed to be the poster child of the anti tank mob. "Don't do this or you'll be like Philly"...SUP!

I said two or three years ago that the Sixers had better long-term fundamentals than the Suns, and got laughed off the board.

 

[AsUpRoDiGy]

Difference is the Sixers had 4 straight years with either the #1 pick or the #3 pick, so their talent pool picking that high is much better than where the Suns have been. We haven't had the chance to draft a Simmons, or an Embiid. We could've gotten the Greek Freek, but geeze, the Bucks really lucked out on that one. So following the Sixers plan...you have to just suck so bad that you're guaranteed a top 2 pick during drafts where there's practically sure fire stars.

 

[Mainstreet]

Hey, Tank Commanders and sympathizers. If you haven't read this very specific article about our new face of the organization . . . PLEASE DO!

It is not about general philosophies. It is about a specific situation. The things that have made Devin Booker so good, so quickly, will also turn him against the team if they are not addressed. He has started showing that frustration and I don't blame him.

We can argue from now 'til doomsday if he has the right to be frustrated. Is there any argument about the Suns needing to show him support? Showing him that there is more involved than Sarver making a larger profit? I just read that his bank is doing quite well. The Phoenix Suns are not a street corner bank.

Dan Bickley is a professional sports writer. A professional Arizona sportswriter. He is getting paid to address the feelings of the fans, for whom he writes every day.

His article is spot on. And Devin Booker has the right to expect better than ongoing mediocrity that has become the trademark of the Suns for seven plus seasons. He certainly has the right to expect better than the downright embarrassing behavior of the owner and General Manager these past two seasons. Obviously, he couldn't come out and say that, so he referred to feeling like he was a visitor in our arena.

The Suns need to make some smart moves and not plod along with business as usual. And, if they don't, Devin gets pissed off and we will have lost the newest face of the organization. Another embarrassment!

Again I say, if you haven't read Bickley's article, posted on AzCentral.com/Arizona Republic today, PLEASE DO! And see if you feel that business as usual has to change. That is what this is about.

Please BC. Bickley loves this type stuff. I don't want vinegard on my cereal.

There are better arguments to be made.