in a league where everyone is constantly trying to get better the suns can be no exception. nash and stoudemire are the premiere players at thier positions. i'm a big johnson fan and absolutely think that he should be re-signed. im sure he wants to stay here and will take a little less then the max in order to keep this team rich with talent. but if the max is available i believe that he is deserving of it. jackson and hunter are cheap and have filled in well off the bench. they should be here next year as well. i agree with the consensus that the full mid level exception should be offered to marshall with max raises. he is the perfect big body off the bench. he can grab boards, play d, shoot the three, and run the floor. nash should return the favor to the suns and go as far as making a recruiting trip to let marshall know that he should be here.
marion and richardson are excellent athletes. they have more well rounded games, they are scrappier, they have more hustle, and they are younger quicker and stronger then most in the league. they play far bigger then their height indicates as well. during the regular season they are stellar teammates and as reliable as anyone else. that said, they both didn't show up in the playoffs when it mattered the most. richardson does not shoot the ball well enough for his job on this squad and his skill set has been reduced so much until he became one demensional. marion can not score in the post, play post d (he intimidates no one coming into the lane), or put a body on the premiere power forwards in the league. they can both prosper better on other squads where they are allowed to play to their strengths. in order for this team to progress they have to go and bring in players who are better suited to fill the roles assigned to them on this phoenix suns squad.
the recent mistake of almost trading richardson for a player who should not be and would not be in the suns starting lineup because of a need for a big man has made me nervous. marion is not the man this team needs at small forward and should not be moved back to that position for a mediocre power forward to step in and be less then stellar. that type of basketball is not what made people around the world fall in love with this team. we should never make a trade like that.
there are three main groups of players at each position. the first group consist of the stars. the second group consist of elite. the third group consists of the talented.
the groups read like so
sg 1 : BRYANT, WADE, ALLEN, GINOBILI, CARTER
sg 2 : REDD, HUGHES, J. RICHARDSON, MAGGETTE, HAMILTON
sg 3 : GORDON, MILLER, CRAWFORD, STACKHOUSE, MOBLEY
sf 1 : MCGRADY, JAMES, PIERCE, STOJAKOVIC, ARTEST
sf 2 : JEFFERSON, KIRILENKO, JAMISON, ROSE, LEWIS
sf 3 : ANTHONY, HILL, SZEZERBIAK, PRINCE, KORVER
pf 1 : DUNCAN, NOWITZKI, GARNETT, ONEAL, WALLACE
pf 2 : GASOL, BRAND, RANDOLPH, OKAFOR, MARTIN
pf 3 : BOSH, CHANDLER, BOOZER, ODOM, MURPHY
c 1 : ONEAL, MING, WALLACE, CAMBY, MILLER
c 2 : ILGAUSKAS, DALEMBERT, BOGUT, CURRY, LAFRENTZ
c 3 : DAMPIER, MAGLOIRE, HAYWOOD, KAMEN, MOHAMMED
i am a huge basketball fan. i watch every game i possibly can. i read hoopshype daily. i can recite back to you every teams roster, who is under what contract and how much money they're making. I can tell you how many years a player has been in the league, what teams he has played for, his stats along with his height and weight.
that said, when i came up with these groups i took into account things such as contribution to team success, how they fill thier roll assigned to them by their team, individual talent such as intangables and versatility, performance under pressure, killer instinct, leadership, team play, conditioning, attitude, potential vs. peek, and whatever else you can think of.
the shooting guards list i stand behind. the small forwards list was hard to do because of the position being so deep so you're more then welcome to add bowen, mason, jones, simmons, and howard to that list. power forward is by far the most dominant position. couple them with the centers and i consider group one of both spots pretty much untouchable, or atleast untouchable to the suns with only marion and richardson to offer. but i'd give marion and richardson for any of the group one power forwards or the top two players at any other position.
the suns are off this list so i remain impartial but nash would be point guard number one obviously (there is no point guard list because for the purpose of this post it is not needed), stoudemire would be center number one (i understand he does not want to play center but he is insane at that position and should stay there unless a better suited big man comes along who should start and cannot play the power forward spot well), and joe johnson would be in the second group of shooting guards. since i am lobbying for a trade of richardson and marion i will not rank them.
we now know what richardson is capable of bringing in off a trade. it is not worth it. MARION, RICHARDSON, BARBOSA, and VOSKUHL should be shopped as a group. our only effective men off the bench were JACKSON and HUNTER so i see no reason to hold on to anyone else. bottom line on barbosa is he is not the back up point guard this team needs, if you're a suns fan i don't think i have to elaborate.
moving these four as a package will allow the suns to obtain the best player possible (with above average second guys) for the worth of this group as a whole.
i've come up with the 8 best scenarios i could of feasable trades to improve the suns. every trade scenario i've come up with consist of a big man (power forward/ center) and a scorer (shooting guard/ small forward). Either the big man is a stud or the scorer is extremely talened. either way the second man in the deal is more then adequate to fill HIS ROLE on this squad (they have to be because you cannot give up marion without getting big man help). money and picks can be tossed around to fine tune things but pretty much all contracts match up or would match up (i understand how pricey this starting five is looking but you have to get the best five you can to start no matter the cost. you'll be right around the luxary mark. you save money on your bench).
so... MARION, RICHARDSON, BARBOSA, VOSKUHL for...
1) GASOL, MILLER, and WELLS-
if they are not willing to part ways with miller, then take WILLIAMS instead (insane point guard tandem). It still works. gasol is insane and if he is available he should be taken by us. miller fills the role better then richardson. he shoots great percentages. he is a complete player who can also create on his own. he would plain just fit better. wells would be huge off the bench. he fits in here just fine. then he can be resigned for the mle next offseason. suns are much, much better if this trade goes through.
2) PIERCE and LAFRENTZ-
a great deal if we can work it. pierce is serious and on a whole other level then richardson. lafrentz is perfect for this team as well. a big who can shoot the three, block shots, play d, rebound, and run the floor. he fills the role better then marion although marion is the better athlete. the suns are much better if this could happen.
3) ALLEN and EVANS-
since both are free agents this may have a strong chance of happening. if you can get allen you take him. evans is tough as nails although he is unrated he is very strong. he is young, he can rebound, and he can play d. this team would be vastly improved.
4) REDD, BOGUT and either MASON, GADZURIC, SMITH, KUKOC, BOOTH in that order-
I figure you ask for the first three. If they say no you ask for them to s and t the fourth. If the deal is still not working you offer to take on the fifth's contract. for redd and bogut it is worth it. if redd refuses to come back it might force the issue as well. huge upgrade over richardson and bogut can play either center or power forward. he is serious. he made my list just from his college ball. once again the suns are better. that applies to all my trade proposals so i'll just stop saying it.
5) DALEMBERT, KORVER, IGUODALA and either JACKSON or MCKIE-
obviuosly you ask for jackson (who could be huge) and push for him but ultimately you take mckie to make this work. korver's game is continuously evolving and becoming more complete. his game is better suited for this team then richardsons. i dont get that nervous feeling watching him drive that i do with richardson. dalembert is going to become one of the best bigs in the league very soon. iguodala may be the deal breaker but he is very quick and talented and could be a huge defensive assit. he is capable of triple doubles.
6) MARTIN, ANTHONY and NAJERA-
this trade also works with CAMBY instead of MARTIN. anthony is an upgrade over richardson. although he does not shot the three as well he is a much better player to have. martin and camby will make this team much better defensively and both provide an inside presence. they bring things to the table that marion does not although marion has a more well rounded game. najera is a bonus as a back up big man and a bench leader. his energy will push his teammates at practice and in games. he is also extremely useful to through out and frustrate the elite power forwards in this league.
7) BOSH, ROSE, and MARSHALL-
this frees up the mle to explore other options. i've already explained why marshall is a great player to have off the bench. bosh and rose are just great players. i find myself saying the same things over and over but bosh can scoe in the post and intimidate as a big man. rose is underrated. he is much better then richardson.he'd be great for the suns.
8) KIRILENKO, HARPRING, and GIRICEK-
unlikey and even so im not sure im sold on it. i think id rather have marion since they do the same thing. i probably wouldn't let marion go for any small forward that isn't at the top, not atleast without a big man involved. theres always boozer and okur but i really dont think any trade with the jazz could help. i'd rather have marion then both of them as well. i'm not really sure why i put the jazz here at all. i'm sorry for wasteing time. i'll add one more to make up for it.
8 (again) STOJAKOVIC, MILLER and THOMAS, SKINNER, or WILLIAMSON-
again unlikely to happen but a no brainer if it came up so i wont talk about it that much. but a stojakovic thomas for marion trade may be interesting. then i guess you can move rich and thomas for a better big in some sort of three team swing but i wont get into that either.
all the above mentioned scenarios are not just fabrications out of thin air. these teams are said to be looking to make moves and have pieces we should except if they are on the table. all line-ups are in my mind without a doubt championship combinations with a serious shot at a 70 win season.
i dont mention BRAND, RANDOLPH or OKAFOR for several reasons. They are the cornerstones of their individual franchises and none of their teams would move them for MARION. none of them are quick enough for this offense anyway. i would still trade marion for all three but a possibility of that seems very unlikely. CHANDLER, CURRY, and GORDEN are not going anywhere. the bulls have made that perfectly clear. ILGAUSKAS is too slow and is not worth trading MARION. ODOM and MURPHY are not enough in return for MARION and their shooting guard compliants are untouchable. I wouldnt even trade RICHARDSON straight up for one of the third team centers.
to recap that is
NASH, JOHNSON, (sf), (pf), STOUDEMIRE
(pg), (sg), JACKSON, MARSHALL (mle), HUNTER
the (sf) and (pf) spots will be filled off a trade. i'm a huge advocate of the ten man line-up. having the option of a line change is a plus so just bringing in anyone is not a choice. the popular option of adding finley or payton for the vet. exception can now be exercised for either of the back-up spots although i find it unlikely fin would come here unless he is garaunteed a starting spot. payton will also more likely then not go somewhere where he will recieve more money. so the draft picks will come in here. it seems that all the guards are slipping below the bigs in this draft anyway so that may play to this teams benefit allowing them to draft whoever they think is best. but there is still always hope that someone with above average talent will want a championship badly enough to come here for next to nothing.
marion and richardson are great athletes and any team would be lucky to have them. but i would still make any of the above mentioned trades because each of them makes this team better.
that's about as much as i've ever said, or typed at one time so i guess i'll stop. thankyou for reading my post and if you can repost it on other suns sites such as realgm i'd appreciate it. i just recently (in the past week) started reading these forums and this is the first one to admit me. i love the idea of everyone reading my thoughts.
p.s.- i'd also like to see a new asst. coach brought in who has success preaching d.
marion and richardson are excellent athletes. they have more well rounded games, they are scrappier, they have more hustle, and they are younger quicker and stronger then most in the league. they play far bigger then their height indicates as well. during the regular season they are stellar teammates and as reliable as anyone else. that said, they both didn't show up in the playoffs when it mattered the most. richardson does not shoot the ball well enough for his job on this squad and his skill set has been reduced so much until he became one demensional. marion can not score in the post, play post d (he intimidates no one coming into the lane), or put a body on the premiere power forwards in the league. they can both prosper better on other squads where they are allowed to play to their strengths. in order for this team to progress they have to go and bring in players who are better suited to fill the roles assigned to them on this phoenix suns squad.
the recent mistake of almost trading richardson for a player who should not be and would not be in the suns starting lineup because of a need for a big man has made me nervous. marion is not the man this team needs at small forward and should not be moved back to that position for a mediocre power forward to step in and be less then stellar. that type of basketball is not what made people around the world fall in love with this team. we should never make a trade like that.
there are three main groups of players at each position. the first group consist of the stars. the second group consist of elite. the third group consists of the talented.
the groups read like so
sg 1 : BRYANT, WADE, ALLEN, GINOBILI, CARTER
sg 2 : REDD, HUGHES, J. RICHARDSON, MAGGETTE, HAMILTON
sg 3 : GORDON, MILLER, CRAWFORD, STACKHOUSE, MOBLEY
sf 1 : MCGRADY, JAMES, PIERCE, STOJAKOVIC, ARTEST
sf 2 : JEFFERSON, KIRILENKO, JAMISON, ROSE, LEWIS
sf 3 : ANTHONY, HILL, SZEZERBIAK, PRINCE, KORVER
pf 1 : DUNCAN, NOWITZKI, GARNETT, ONEAL, WALLACE
pf 2 : GASOL, BRAND, RANDOLPH, OKAFOR, MARTIN
pf 3 : BOSH, CHANDLER, BOOZER, ODOM, MURPHY
c 1 : ONEAL, MING, WALLACE, CAMBY, MILLER
c 2 : ILGAUSKAS, DALEMBERT, BOGUT, CURRY, LAFRENTZ
c 3 : DAMPIER, MAGLOIRE, HAYWOOD, KAMEN, MOHAMMED
i am a huge basketball fan. i watch every game i possibly can. i read hoopshype daily. i can recite back to you every teams roster, who is under what contract and how much money they're making. I can tell you how many years a player has been in the league, what teams he has played for, his stats along with his height and weight.
that said, when i came up with these groups i took into account things such as contribution to team success, how they fill thier roll assigned to them by their team, individual talent such as intangables and versatility, performance under pressure, killer instinct, leadership, team play, conditioning, attitude, potential vs. peek, and whatever else you can think of.
the shooting guards list i stand behind. the small forwards list was hard to do because of the position being so deep so you're more then welcome to add bowen, mason, jones, simmons, and howard to that list. power forward is by far the most dominant position. couple them with the centers and i consider group one of both spots pretty much untouchable, or atleast untouchable to the suns with only marion and richardson to offer. but i'd give marion and richardson for any of the group one power forwards or the top two players at any other position.
the suns are off this list so i remain impartial but nash would be point guard number one obviously (there is no point guard list because for the purpose of this post it is not needed), stoudemire would be center number one (i understand he does not want to play center but he is insane at that position and should stay there unless a better suited big man comes along who should start and cannot play the power forward spot well), and joe johnson would be in the second group of shooting guards. since i am lobbying for a trade of richardson and marion i will not rank them.
we now know what richardson is capable of bringing in off a trade. it is not worth it. MARION, RICHARDSON, BARBOSA, and VOSKUHL should be shopped as a group. our only effective men off the bench were JACKSON and HUNTER so i see no reason to hold on to anyone else. bottom line on barbosa is he is not the back up point guard this team needs, if you're a suns fan i don't think i have to elaborate.
moving these four as a package will allow the suns to obtain the best player possible (with above average second guys) for the worth of this group as a whole.
i've come up with the 8 best scenarios i could of feasable trades to improve the suns. every trade scenario i've come up with consist of a big man (power forward/ center) and a scorer (shooting guard/ small forward). Either the big man is a stud or the scorer is extremely talened. either way the second man in the deal is more then adequate to fill HIS ROLE on this squad (they have to be because you cannot give up marion without getting big man help). money and picks can be tossed around to fine tune things but pretty much all contracts match up or would match up (i understand how pricey this starting five is looking but you have to get the best five you can to start no matter the cost. you'll be right around the luxary mark. you save money on your bench).
so... MARION, RICHARDSON, BARBOSA, VOSKUHL for...
1) GASOL, MILLER, and WELLS-
if they are not willing to part ways with miller, then take WILLIAMS instead (insane point guard tandem). It still works. gasol is insane and if he is available he should be taken by us. miller fills the role better then richardson. he shoots great percentages. he is a complete player who can also create on his own. he would plain just fit better. wells would be huge off the bench. he fits in here just fine. then he can be resigned for the mle next offseason. suns are much, much better if this trade goes through.
2) PIERCE and LAFRENTZ-
a great deal if we can work it. pierce is serious and on a whole other level then richardson. lafrentz is perfect for this team as well. a big who can shoot the three, block shots, play d, rebound, and run the floor. he fills the role better then marion although marion is the better athlete. the suns are much better if this could happen.
3) ALLEN and EVANS-
since both are free agents this may have a strong chance of happening. if you can get allen you take him. evans is tough as nails although he is unrated he is very strong. he is young, he can rebound, and he can play d. this team would be vastly improved.
4) REDD, BOGUT and either MASON, GADZURIC, SMITH, KUKOC, BOOTH in that order-
I figure you ask for the first three. If they say no you ask for them to s and t the fourth. If the deal is still not working you offer to take on the fifth's contract. for redd and bogut it is worth it. if redd refuses to come back it might force the issue as well. huge upgrade over richardson and bogut can play either center or power forward. he is serious. he made my list just from his college ball. once again the suns are better. that applies to all my trade proposals so i'll just stop saying it.
5) DALEMBERT, KORVER, IGUODALA and either JACKSON or MCKIE-
obviuosly you ask for jackson (who could be huge) and push for him but ultimately you take mckie to make this work. korver's game is continuously evolving and becoming more complete. his game is better suited for this team then richardsons. i dont get that nervous feeling watching him drive that i do with richardson. dalembert is going to become one of the best bigs in the league very soon. iguodala may be the deal breaker but he is very quick and talented and could be a huge defensive assit. he is capable of triple doubles.
6) MARTIN, ANTHONY and NAJERA-
this trade also works with CAMBY instead of MARTIN. anthony is an upgrade over richardson. although he does not shot the three as well he is a much better player to have. martin and camby will make this team much better defensively and both provide an inside presence. they bring things to the table that marion does not although marion has a more well rounded game. najera is a bonus as a back up big man and a bench leader. his energy will push his teammates at practice and in games. he is also extremely useful to through out and frustrate the elite power forwards in this league.
7) BOSH, ROSE, and MARSHALL-
this frees up the mle to explore other options. i've already explained why marshall is a great player to have off the bench. bosh and rose are just great players. i find myself saying the same things over and over but bosh can scoe in the post and intimidate as a big man. rose is underrated. he is much better then richardson.he'd be great for the suns.
8) KIRILENKO, HARPRING, and GIRICEK-
unlikey and even so im not sure im sold on it. i think id rather have marion since they do the same thing. i probably wouldn't let marion go for any small forward that isn't at the top, not atleast without a big man involved. theres always boozer and okur but i really dont think any trade with the jazz could help. i'd rather have marion then both of them as well. i'm not really sure why i put the jazz here at all. i'm sorry for wasteing time. i'll add one more to make up for it.
8 (again) STOJAKOVIC, MILLER and THOMAS, SKINNER, or WILLIAMSON-
again unlikely to happen but a no brainer if it came up so i wont talk about it that much. but a stojakovic thomas for marion trade may be interesting. then i guess you can move rich and thomas for a better big in some sort of three team swing but i wont get into that either.
all the above mentioned scenarios are not just fabrications out of thin air. these teams are said to be looking to make moves and have pieces we should except if they are on the table. all line-ups are in my mind without a doubt championship combinations with a serious shot at a 70 win season.
i dont mention BRAND, RANDOLPH or OKAFOR for several reasons. They are the cornerstones of their individual franchises and none of their teams would move them for MARION. none of them are quick enough for this offense anyway. i would still trade marion for all three but a possibility of that seems very unlikely. CHANDLER, CURRY, and GORDEN are not going anywhere. the bulls have made that perfectly clear. ILGAUSKAS is too slow and is not worth trading MARION. ODOM and MURPHY are not enough in return for MARION and their shooting guard compliants are untouchable. I wouldnt even trade RICHARDSON straight up for one of the third team centers.
to recap that is
NASH, JOHNSON, (sf), (pf), STOUDEMIRE
(pg), (sg), JACKSON, MARSHALL (mle), HUNTER
the (sf) and (pf) spots will be filled off a trade. i'm a huge advocate of the ten man line-up. having the option of a line change is a plus so just bringing in anyone is not a choice. the popular option of adding finley or payton for the vet. exception can now be exercised for either of the back-up spots although i find it unlikely fin would come here unless he is garaunteed a starting spot. payton will also more likely then not go somewhere where he will recieve more money. so the draft picks will come in here. it seems that all the guards are slipping below the bigs in this draft anyway so that may play to this teams benefit allowing them to draft whoever they think is best. but there is still always hope that someone with above average talent will want a championship badly enough to come here for next to nothing.
marion and richardson are great athletes and any team would be lucky to have them. but i would still make any of the above mentioned trades because each of them makes this team better.
that's about as much as i've ever said, or typed at one time so i guess i'll stop. thankyou for reading my post and if you can repost it on other suns sites such as realgm i'd appreciate it. i just recently (in the past week) started reading these forums and this is the first one to admit me. i love the idea of everyone reading my thoughts.
p.s.- i'd also like to see a new asst. coach brought in who has success preaching d.