Is There Anyone Else Worth Signing?

[George O'Brien]

There has been a lot of discussion about Kobe and what it would take to sign him. There has also been discussion about the pros and cons of dealing for T-Mac.

Is there anyone else worth signing as an impact FA?

I have to admit I a leary of high priced FA's. One Grant Hill can kill a franchise for years. It is hard to tell if their success on another team will transfer. Sometimes it is great and other times the guy kills the chemistry.

That being said, I would not be upset with signing a solid player like Brett Barry (currently getting $5.4 million) to just slightly above the mid cap level (if there is a bidding war) to a 4 year deal. He's no Kobe, but he wouldn't need $15 million + for 7 years either.

Getting a Brett Barry gives you a guy averages about 11 ppg, but that's because he takes good shots. He shoots 49.1% from the field 43.3% for three's, 5.2 apg and 3.2 rpg. He's 6'6" and plays both guard positions.

In comparing Kobe to Barry, there is little doubt that Kobe is better player. But to sign Kobe means that more players have to be dumped, draft picks traded away, and current players not be re-signed. And that's assuming it's even possible.

Maybe Brett Barry isn't the answer. Is there anyone else worth looking at?

 

[Joe Mama]

Recent history says the Phoenix Suns will use the extra salary to overpay someone. My hope is that the Phoenix Suns have figured out by now that they should only pay the big-money to the very top tier players. I think they would like to get someone here who brings in the crowds. If they go out this summer and throw all their money at a player like Quentin Richardson I'll be as upset as Eric (Elindholm) is right now. I'll be more upset if that's possible.

If the Phoenix Suns cannot get Kobe Bryant (assuming he is acquitted and they really want him) or swing a trade for another superstar I would rather than just sat on their money.

Joe Mama

 

[SirStefan32]

Originally posted by Joe Mama

If the Phoenix Suns cannot get Kobe Bryant (assuming he is acquitted and they really want him) or swing a trade for another superstar I would rather than just sat on their money.

Joe Mama

I agree Joe.

 

[Chris_Sanders]

I would love to see Ginobili in a Suns uniform.

 

[newfan101]

Originally posted by Joe Mama


If the Phoenix Suns cannot get Kobe Bryant (assuming he is acquitted and they really want him) or swing a trade for another superstar I would rather than just sat on their money.

Joe Mama

I agree completely


1. Kobe

2. Ginobili (4-6 million a year)

3. Sit on the money and show some patience ... for once

 

[slinslin]

Watching this team play at least as well as they did with Marbury could it mean that the Suns don't need more stars?

We have a core of Marion and Amare right now, isn't that enough?

Teams with too many stars are maybe bound to struggle, watch the Mavs or Lakers this season unless those stars perfectly complement each other.

The Kings on the other hand always look like a team without individual stars and a great team performance.

Would it be smarter for the Suns to give one star player a lot of money or add a bunch of players who are simply good and don't have star ambitions?

The Nuggets, Bucks etc they are winning without big names.

Signing Kobe would probably still be a smart move because he would most likely sell out AWA for years to come and just help the Phoenix sports market.

Despite the concerns I would still go after Kobe.


If we were to sign role players I would definately look at Brent Barry or Stromile Swift the problem is that I don't think any FA other than Kobe is really worth more than the MLE in which case we have no advantage over other teams that offer their MLE unless we overpay which I don't want to do.

Ginobili shouldn't be a Sun.

We would have to get into a bidding war with San Antonio which I definately wouldn't want.
Ginobili will definately be overpayed if he doesn't resign with San Antonio.

I am not sold on Ginobili being better than Joe Johnson. That would only cause problems.
Especially regarding what JJ has been doing the last 2 games without Marbury.

I am also worried about adding too many foreign born players.
We already have many that need to be develloped.
If we continue to add foreign players at this rate we will probably have problems working US players into the mix at some point.

Barbosa/JJ seem to work just fine together so far.

 

[SirStefan32]

See, Manu would've been a perfect SG for Marbury- tough, aggressive guy, good active defender, can hit open threes. I'd still like to see him in the Ssuns uniform, but Marbury/ Ginobilli would have been deadly.

 

[slinslin]

Ginobili is shooting just 35% from behind the arc despite playing inside-out with Duncan all the time.
40% from the field.

Ginobili is more of a slasher than shooter.

 

[newfan101]

Originally posted by slinslin
Watching this team play at least as well as they did with Marbury could it mean that the Suns don't need more stars?

We have a core of Marion and Amare right now, isn't that enough?

No. Marion, In my opinion, is a very good role player whose paid like a star. But he is definitely not a star.

Would it be smarter for the Suns to give one star player a lot of money or add a bunch of players who are simply good and don't have star ambitions?

The Nuggets, Bucks etc they are winning without big names.

Signing Kobe would probably still be a smart move because he would most likely sell out AWA for years to come and just help the Phoenix sports market.

Despite the concerns I would still go after Kobe.

Good points, but most great teams need a star who can create, and a star big man. Assuming Amare can develop into a star big man, I would be completely happy if the Suns were to have only Kobe and Amare as their max players. I'll go as far as saying I would give away Marion for nothing if having his salary off the books guaranteed signing Kobe.

Ginobili shouldn't be a Sun.

We would have to get into a bidding war with San Antonio which I definately wouldn't want.
Ginobili will definately be overpayed if he doesn't resign with San Antonio.

I am not sold on Ginobili being better than Joe Johnson. That would only cause problems.
Especially regarding what JJ has been doing the last 2 games without Marbury.

Barbosa/JJ seem to work just fine together so far.

Joe does seem to be playing very confident since the trade, but I'd still like to see his consistancy the rest of the year.

I'd love Ginobili for the MLE, but that probably isn't realistic.

 

[George O'Brien]

Originally posted by newfan101

I'd love Ginobili for the MLE, but that probably isn't realistic.

If the Suns do not go for Kobe, they should be able to afford to pay slightly more than mid-cap without any salary dumps and still sign a high draft pick (I'm not sure about signing two high lottery picks). But Suns cannot compete for Ginobili if the Spurs decide they want to keep him.

The only situation where the Spurs might not try to keep Ginobili would be if they went after Kobe themselves. They are in roughly the same position as the Suns next year if they don't try to sign Ginobili and Kobe might be tempted to play with Duncan. If that happened, the Suns would have a real shot at Manu assuming they want him.

 

[George O'Brien]

Originally posted by Joe Mama

If the Phoenix Suns cannot get Kobe Bryant (assuming he is acquitted and they really want him) or swing a trade for another superstar I would rather than just sat on their money.

Joe Mama [/B]

Unless he's signed an extension not listed by HoopsHype, Ray Allen is scheduled to come off contract summer of 2005. Any thoughts?

 

[Joe Mama]

Originally posted by George O'Brien
Unless he's signed an extension not listed by HoopsHype, Ray Allen is scheduled to come off contract summer of 2005. Any thoughts?

I love Ray Allen's game, but he's injury prone and going to be paid superstar money. I'm also not a fan of signing Ginobili. His best attributes are the same as JJ's and Marion's. The same goes for Richardson.

I think Brent Barry would fit in very well with Joe Johnson and Leandro Barbosa, but I would hate for the Suns to kill their future flexibility by overpaying a 34-year-old complementary player. I do agree with slin that it would be better to fill the team with a bunch of good role players than to overpay someone that really isn't a star.

Joe Mama

 

[George O'Brien]

Originally posted by Joe Mama

I think Brent Barry would fit in very well with Joe Johnson and Leandro Barbosa, but I would hate for the Suns to kill their future flexibility by overpaying a 34-year-old complementary player. I do agree with slin that it would be better to fill the team with a bunch of good role players than to overpay someone that really isn't a star.

Joe Mama

OK. How much is "overpaid" in this case?

 

[JCSunsfan]

Originally posted by slinslin
Watching this team play at least as well as they did with Marbury could it mean that the Suns don't need more stars?

We have a core of Marion and Amare right now, isn't that enough?

Teams with too many stars are maybe bound to struggle, watch the Mavs or Lakers this season unless those stars perfectly complement each other.

Ginobili shouldn't be a Sun.

We would have to get into a bidding war with San Antonio which I definately wouldn't want.
Ginobili will definately be overpayed if he doesn't resign with San Antonio.

Barbosa/JJ seem to work just fine together so far.

I agree with you Slin. What this team could use is some vet role players who are efficient in their production and have real grit.

Brent Barry seems to fit that mold. And there is no reason to over pay. Just because we have the money doesn't mean we have to spend it. BB could be had for 4-5 million and keep the contract short, two years or so.

It might be fun to get into a bidding war for Ginobili, to lose it, on purpose, ala Mark Cuban. Just make SA pay a little more.

 

[George O'Brien]

Originally posted by JCSunsfan
I agree with you Slin. What this team could use is some vet role players who are efficient in their production and have real grit.

Brent Barry seems to fit that mold. And there is no reason to over pay. Just because we have the money doesn't mean we have to spend it. BB could be had for 4-5 million and keep the contract short, two years or so.

It might be fun to get into a bidding war for Ginobili, to lose it, on purpose, ala Mark Cuban. Just make SA pay a little more.

Actually, you don't have to make real proposals. Just wine and dine the guy and make a big fuss over him.

 

[JerkFace]

i wonder if we can do to memphis what miami did last year to the clippers. miami signed brand to an off sheat, clippers matched it, but then didn't have enough to match miami's next off sheet to odom.
we should give pau gasol an offer sheet, and then after memphis matches it maybe we could nab swift.

 

[Joe Mama]

I'm not sure Stromile Swift really has a place on this team. I know Swift is better than Harvey, but for the difference in salaries that would rather have Harvey.

Joe Mama

 

[Chaplin]

Originally posted by Joe Mama
I'm not sure Stromile Swift really has a place on this team. I know Swift is better than Harvey, but for the difference in salaries that would rather have Harvey.

Joe Mama

Agreed. My "I like Swift" stage is long over.

 

[slinslin]

I like Kwame.

I like his potential, I like that his potential is way higher than the price tag on him and he is an absolute solid defender.

Has anyone else noticed that almost never a big man has a good offensive game against Kwame?

He is legit 7' , strong as an ox and athletic. He could be the perfect complement to Amare.

Not sure if he is available but I thought that Washington didn't pick up his option and he is in the same class as Gasol.

He also had some strong double-doubles this season.

 

[JerkFace]

we could also try doing the miami thing with chicago's chandler and curry.

 

[thegrahamcrackr]

Originally posted by offset
we could also try doing the miami thing with chicago's chandler and curry.

At this point, would you really want any of them??

Chandler has a bad back at 21 years of age. That doesn't go away. Ever.

Curry is unmotivated, and appears to have constant weight problems.


Neither of them are apealing to me.


Honestly, I say Kobe or nothing. Plain and simple. If we don't land Kobe, there really isn't another FA I would want for a long term deal. Use next season to let our young guys play more, and maybe try and absorb someone else's contract. (Teams under the cap can absorb another players contract, without having to match numbers)

 

[JerkFace]

Originally posted by thegrahamcrackr
At this point, would you really want any of them??

Chandler has a bad back at 21 years of age. That doesn't go away. Ever.

Curry is unmotivated, and appears to have constant weight problems.


Neither of them are apealing to me.


Honestly, I say Kobe or nothing. Plain and simple. If we don't land Kobe, there really isn't another FA I would want for a long term deal. Use next season to let our young guys play more, and maybe try and absorb someone else's contract. (Teams under the cap can absorb another players contract, without having to match numbers)

as long as we have ivaroni as an assistant i'd be willing to take a chance on either of them. ivaroni is one of the best at teaching young big men.

 

[F-Dog]

Originally posted by slinslin
I like Kwame.

I like him too.

He reminds me a little of Jermaine O'Neal while he was still with Portland.

Plus, any basketball player who hates MJ gets an extra check-mark in my book.



I wonder whether any of the other teams remember who Adonal Foyle is? His price tag must be going down by the hour.

 

[thegrahamcrackr]

Originally posted by offset
as long as we have ivaroni as an assistant i'd be willing to take a chance on either of them. ivaroni is one of the best at teaching young big men.

That may be, but none of the reasons I mentioned had to do with skills. I actually think Curry has a lot of nice moves.

Chandler will be a health risk for the rest of his career. Bad backs will do that to you.

Curry is unmotivated, and has weight problems.

None of this can being directly corrected by a coach.

 

[George O'Brien]

Originally posted by offset
we could also try doing the miami thing with chicago's chandler and curry.

The Miami trick worked because the Clipper players were restricted free agents. None of the Chicago players are restricted free agents.

Realistically, they tried to structure the deal to discourage the Clippers from matching for Brand. It didn't work. With Odom, the Clips were not that high on him in the first place and weren't prepared to go very high. Miami may have overpaid.