Hunter traded for 2 2nd round picks.

[Mainstreet]

It seems this might be the year (season) of the second round pick.

I mean the Suns got James Jones (a steal) for a second round pick and Skita for a second round pick (well worth the gamble).

Now, what could the Suns get if they choose to use another second round pick and the TE?

Even more enticing, what player could the Suns get using a first round pick and the TE? I bet there are some players that could be had that might make Suns' fans salivate especially if Amare cannot return this season.

I just do not know if the Suns would pull the trigger unless there is a big man out there that is already signed for several years with a reasonable salary.

 

[Errntknght]

The team needs someone with some muscle more than another guy who's merely tall. KT, Marion and Diaw are all pretty good rebounders but when there's a scrum around the basket we lose out almost every time. Al Harrington and Drew Gooden aren't that tall but they had field days rebounding against us... LaBron didn't do bad either.

Off the bench we're in even worse shape - JJones is probably our best rebounder but that's not saying much. At least he's trying now but he doesn't show any strength. Burke looks he could provide some but looks are deceiving in his case. Soon we'll have Skita - it's kindly of the Suns to give him a chance to save his career under his old coach but even if that happens it's highly unlikely he'll provide anything the team needs. Statistically, he lags behind Hunter at rebounding about as far as Hunter lags behind KT and his physique doesn't hint at much strength.

 

[Treesquid PhD]

IMO, the only thing Hunter brought us was a threat of a shot-blocker. I don't think he ever intimidated anybody enough to keep them from driving and he couldn't rebound worth a damn.

he was cheap too.

 

[panfolk]

It seems this might be the year (season) of the second round pick.

I mean the Suns got James Jones (a steal) for a second round pick and Skita for a second round pick (well worth the gamble).

Now, what could the Suns get if they choose to use another second round pick and the TE?

Even more enticing, what player could the Suns get using a first round pick and the TE? I bet there are some players that could be had that might make Suns' fans salivate especially if Amare cannot return this season.

I just do not know if the Suns would pull the trigger unless there is a big man out there that is already signed for several years with a reasonable salary.

I'd much rather we trade up with our picks and get a proven performer from college. Anyone know why Boone's game has slipped relative to Armstrong's? Those two are interesting. Along with the pipedream of trading up high enough to get Williams. I like what I read about Horford or maybe Hairyass or whatever that guys name is.

There aren't really cheap bigs to be had unless you draft. Guys like Blount got huge signings. We really have to realize that we got lucky with Hunter (however dubious that sounds) and not try and fish the bottom of the barrel as a strategy. Obviously the signing of Skita shows we'll give anybody a chance on the cheap I guess.

 

[F-Dog]

My feeling was that the Suns were done with Hunter, so it doesn't surprise me that they didn't go after him. I think he'd be an asset because he has length that the rest of the team doesn't have, but my opinion isn't worth much in the grand scheme of things.

My guess is that the Suns will eat the rest of their TE. If Brian Grant ever gets back, they'll be set (until another player gets injured, anyway).



When I first hear the rumor of this, it was Steven Hunter for Arvydas Macijauskas. I wonder what happened to the Macijauskas part...


Anyway, I hope Hunter does well in NOOKC.

 

[panfolk]

What kind of big are we looking for? I agree we need someone to muscle for rebounds but would that conflict with the strategy of surrounding Amare with players who can shoot from the perimeter? I'd like to see a banger like Williams on our roster but offensively how would he stay out of Amare's way? Whereas we still suffer in rebounding and postplay with a guy like Haryasz but he could play the pick and pop offensively and stay out of Amare's way. Just curious what everyone thinks. Also, do you think D'A is committed to doing without a shotblocker? Anything to do with JCs longtime influence on that position?

 

[F-Dog]

IIRC the Suns are top 5 in shot-blocking this year, so it's hard to argue the current team needs a specialist. And, of course, the future team will have Amare at C.


What I remember is the fourth quarter of game 1 or 2 of the San Antonio series, where D'Antoni was shuttling Hunter in and out of the game like crazy. The problem was, the Suns couldn't score when Hunter was on the floor, and they couldn't get a stop when he was on the bench.

My guess is that D'Antoni expects his bigs to have two skills: shooting and defending the post. That's how they wound up with Kurt Thomas and Brian Grant this year.

 

[Mainstreet]

My guess is that the Suns will eat the rest of their TE. If Brian Grant ever gets back, they'll be set (until another player gets injured, anyway).

My thought is the Suns will not let the TE expire without making use of it as it is an asset. There must be many ways the Suns could acquire another asset with it either this season or next.

I'm wondering if the TE could somehow be packaged with Jim Jackson for another expiring contract (a big man) if Amare does not come back. Just who that player would be, I have no idea.

Another thought, but I don't think the Sonics would let the Suns have Reggie Evans expiring contract for a second round pick nor that the Suns would even want him as he is primarily a banger. However, I like his game and his youth as he is only 25 years of age.

 

[Joe Mama]

I hate Reggie Evans. he's the most ridiculous flopper in the game today.

 

[panfolk]

I hate Reggie Evans. he's the most ridiculous flopper in the game today.

No way is he more excessive than Ginobili. Reggie can't shoot so his value to us is limited.

 

[F-Dog]

My thought is the Suns will not let the TE expire without making use of it as it is an asset. There must be many ways the Suns could acquire another asset with it either this season or next.

I'm wondering if the TE could somehow be packaged with Jim Jackson for another expiring contract (a big man) if Amare does not come back. Just who that player would be, I have no idea.

You can't package a player and a TE together. At least, that's the latest I've heard.


Here's the question I keep coming back to: Do the Suns really want any more assets? Including Amare, the Suns have each of their top eight players locked in for at least another year and a half. Why would they spend money to acquire and/or develop assets when they could get the same results (in the near term, at least) by filling the team out with cheap veteran role players?

 

[jbeecham]

Right now, the Suns are primarily using an 8 man rotation (assuming our big guys aren't in foul trouble). Once Amare comes back, the Suns are going to have a 9 man rotation. If Brian Grant is healthy or if Skita shows any talent then we could have a 10 man rotation. I really don't know if we have room for any more projects unless we can't resign players after this year. We do need a young big guy to eventually replace KT and/or Grant and hopefully we'll find someone through the draft.

 

[Mainstreet]

You can't package a player and a TE together. At least, that's the latest I've heard.

I'm not really good at this TE stuff, but I thought if there was a player out there that the Suns wanted who had a higher salary than Jim Jackson (in a hypothetical trade) the TE would allow the Suns to acquire the higher payed player in return up to 3.6 million over Jim Jacksons's salary.

In other words, Suns trade Jim Jackson (2.5 million) for player X (up to 3.6 million over Jim Jackson's 2.5 million contract not just the 25% difference).

I guess I will probably never figure out the CBA.

Anyway, I think there is some way the Suns should be able to garner some asset with the use of the TE perhaps combined with Jim Jackson's expiring contract.

 

[SweetD]

I'm not really good at this TE stuff, but I thought if there was a player out there that the Suns wanted who had a higher salary than Jim Jackson (in a hypothetical trade) the TE would allow the Suns to acquire the higher payed player in return up to 3.6 million over Jim Jacksons's salary.

In other words, Suns trade Jim Jackson (2.5 million) for player X (up to 3.6 million over Jim Jackson's 2.5 million contract not just the 25% difference).

I guess I will probably never figure out the CBA.

Anyway, I think there is some way the Suns should be able to garner some asset with the use of the TE perhaps combined with Jim Jackson's expiring contract.

Nope the TE can not be used in conjunction with another player.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

Correct, You would have to do two separate trades in order to make it work.

 

[Gaddabout]

Nope the TE can not be used in conjunction with another player.

But it can be used in conjunction with multiple players going both ways. This is where I think it gets confusing.

I.E. Suns send Jim Jackson and the TE to the Warriors for Andris Biederins (Jackson contract) and Mickael Pietrus. I'm not saying that's a good deal, just giving an example of how the Suns can package a player and the TE.

 

[Chaplin]

But it can be used in conjunction with multiple players going both ways. This is where I think it gets confusing.

I.E. Suns send Jim Jackson and the TE to the Warriors for Andris Biederins (Jackson contract) and Mickael Pietrus. I'm not saying that's a good deal, just giving an example of how the Suns can package a player and the TE.

But then, that's actually not one deal, that's two deals--i.e. Beidrins for the TE and Pietrus for Jim Jackson.

You cannot, however send the TE and Jackson to the Warriors for just Pietrus.

 

[coloradosun]

It will be interesting to be see what the Nuggets do this summer, both Nene and Elson are FA. I would assume that if Nene is not traded Elson will be resigned. If Nene is still in their plans there is no reason to keep Elson around. In my opinion, if he could be had for the same salary as Hunter was signed for, he would be a much better player for the Suns system than Hunter ever was.

 

[George O'Brien]

I was suprised that Hunter went quite that cheaply, but I was pretty sure that Hunter was overrated by people who saw his physical talent and not his productivity. Hunter was too much of a specialist in that he was great at defending tall, thin offensive guys like KG and Gasol but not strong enough for most other big guys and has little to offer on offense.

Some day he might become a player, but his limits are too great for his price.