Isaiah Thomas To Suns

[95pro]

Was upset that we were going after him given the projected price that he could cost, but the deal looks fine. Not mad but not happy either for ANOTHER guard.

 

[SLO]

We need Bledsoe and Thomas working on 3 point shooting every day with Horny. If they can both get to 38%+ it could create some really interesting things.

I watched a lot of Kings games last season and I can say IT is great 3pt shooter, he only need to improve is his defence. But on offensive end of floor he is top 5 PG in league on my opinion.

 

[Suns_fan69]

My issue isn't necessarily the number of point guards, it's what we'll have to pay them all. Assuming both Bledsoe and Dragic sign around 15M, we could be using more than half our cap on 3 point guards.

EDIT: And yes, I know Dragic's deal isn't up until next year and that the cap is rising each year.

 

[Superbone]

I like.

Never can have enough PGs. I especially like playing two PGs when opposing teams are totally committed to stopping one PG. I saw too much of this when Steve Nash played. Two ball handlers can drive opposing teams crazy when either guard can run the offense.

Yeah, I remember how we could never get any decent PGs to back up Nash for a number of years. Our performance used to fall of drastically when Nash would come out. Remember the Marcus Banks experiment?

 

[FutureSuperstar]

If the Suns only had 7 million in cap room, then fans (This goes for other team's fans too - It's amazing how little non-Suns fans know about the Suns and their cap situation) might make sense when questioning the decision to go after a PG instead of a big guy ... But we still have so much cap room left!

This move does not hamper the Suns ability to go after a big in any way ... When you have as much cap space as the Suns, you really do have the luxury of picking the BPA because a "need" (such as another PF) can simply be addressed w/ the remaining cap space or a trade (There's no PF available worth 20 million / yr. anyway)

Also, COMPETITION is so underrated by fans ... Having Thomas push Bledsoe/Dragic/Goodwin/Ennis this summer & throughout the season will just makes all of the players better - If Bledsoe/Dragic (or any player) goes into a season, game, or offseason workout w/ the mindset of "I'm guaranteed 35 minutes a night", there's a greater chance that effort (Not going after that 1 loose ball, not sprinting to finish out a drill during practice, only studying film 2 hours instead of 3, etc.) suffers - and players may not even realize it - because the consequences of playing bad are less severe (W/ Thomas ... There's an added consequence of "less playing time") ... All this stuff is so minuscule when looked at individually, but when the difference between the 9th and 5th seed in the West is 5 games, the difference between winning and losing is fighting through fatigue to make one shot at the end of a game, COMPETITION (and the feeling that "someone can take my spot") can make a huge difference ...

 

[Mainstreet]

Yeah, I remember how we could never get any decent PGs to back up Nash for a number of years. Our performance used to fall of drastically when Nash would come out. Remember the Marcus Banks experiment?

Yup. This is why I like PGs but signing Marcus Banks was a terrible mistake. If I recall correctly, I think D'Antoni let David Griffin make the decision to sign Banks. Yes, that David Griffin who is the Cavaliers GM.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2525540

 

[KloD]

The fact is that there aren't good PF and C available in free agency this year. The Suns have the ability to spend above the cap this year only because of Bledsoe and Tuckers small cap holds. The long term plan likely isn't to keep Dragic, Bledsoe, Thomas, and Eliis on the roster, but see one or two of them as tradable assets for the future. It may not be this year, but get it while you can. What was the alternative? Spend $9+ million a year for Hill??? They aren't signing guys to bad deals. They are getting good talent at reasonable prices. If they went the route of just keeping our free agents, nobody is going to trade something to bring back Frye at $8 million a year for 3 or 4 years. If they didn't sign Frye and only get Tucker and Bledsoe under contract than they are near the cap or close enough and next year they don't have the ability to do what they are doing now. I for one hope they find another 1 or 2 guys no matter their position that are young, rising talent, and at a reasonable price. These are assets, not long term commitments no matter the length of the contract.

 

[AzStevenCal]

I love this deal. I thought he'd cost a lot more but at this price and assuming he's an addition rather than a replacement I think this is great for us.

Steve

 

[JCSunsfan]

Fat Lever on KTAR right now talking about IT. He is former player development guy for Sacramento.

Saying good things about IT. Says he can do anything he wants to in the NBA. Says he is a much better defender than Gambo gives him credit for. Says he was let go because of a regime change. Sac decided they wanted to go with a bigger stronger pg. Says IT has proven himself in this league. Considers it a very positive move for Phoenix.

 

[Mainstreet]

I love this deal. I thought he'd cost a lot more but at this price and assuming he's an addition rather than a replacement I think this is great for us.

Steve

Free Agency can be like the NBA Draft, choose BPA. If a team stockpiles quality talent at a reasonable price, there is always a market for it.

 

[JCSunsfan]

9 Million a year for Jordan Hill.

 

[slinslin]

My issue isn't necessarily the number of point guards, it's what we'll have to pay them all. Assuming both Bledsoe and Dragic sign around 15M, we could be using more than half our cap on 3 point guards.

EDIT: And yes, I know Dragic's deal isn't up until next year and that the cap is rising each year.

Dragic is our shooting guard and Isaiah Thomas our 6th man bench scorer.

 

[KloD]

Fat Lever on KTAR right now talking about IT. He is former player development guy for Sacramento.

Saying good things about IT. Says he can do anything he wants to in the NBA. Says he is a much better defender than Gambo gives him credit for. Says he was let go because of a regime change. Sac decided they wanted to go with a bigger stronger pg. Says IT has proven himself in this league. Considers it a very positive move for Phoenix.

The Sac fans are pissed too. Not that it means anything, but it's nice to see they are very unhappy that IT is gone and at that price.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Free Agency can be like the NBA Draft, choose BPA. If a team stockpiles quality talent at a reasonable price, there is always a market for it.

It's scary not having a solution at power forward but with Bledsoe's apparent minutes limitations it's great to have another legitimate threat at guard. Hopefully this will let us keep Eric's court time down so he can be a disruptive force on defense. When he gets up above the 30 minute mark he seems to run out of gas. I could be wrong but I don't think that will go (completely) away as he becomes accustomed to playing regularly.

Unless there's another big move on the horizon (and I consider Thomas to be a big move) we're looking at Markieff as the starter at 4 which is going to weaken our bench considerably. So Thomas should get some time working with the starters as a facilitator and some time working with the second team as the primary scoring option. Maybe?

Steve

 

[JCSunsfan]

Best comment from the discussion on the RealGM Sacramento board

Thomas is now the best contract in the NBA.

 

[JS22]

This is a steal.

Anyone who thinks otherwise is nuts.

If Thomas were 6"1 he'd be getting close to the max. People overlook him because of his size.

 

[BC867]

You could put 4 monkeys on the floor with Duncan and win.

I just saw "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes" on its Phoenix release. The villain among the Apes was named Koba. Every time I heard his name, I couldn't help but think, "Kobe." and smile.

The hero and leader is named Caesar, of course. That reminded me of the great buffet at Caesar's Palace (their new Bacchanal Buffet), which now puts them back in the #1 spot over Bellagio. On my last visit I ate at both. Yup, I choose Caesar's.

OK, back to Isaiah Thomas.

 

[Cheesebeef]

If Thomas were 6"1 he'd be getting close to the max. People overlook him because of his size.

and if my aunt had a penis, she'd be my uncle. 5'9 to 6'1 is a huge difference.

 

[Ronin]

and if my aunt had a penis, she'd be my uncle. 5'9 to 6'1 is a huge difference.

 

[BC867]

and if my aunt had a penis, she'd be my uncle. 5'9 to 6'1 is a huge difference.

5'9 to 6'1. That's pretty big for a . . . Pinocchio? Never mind.

 

[Griffin]

Definitely good value. Had a very good PER last year. But, I do have to wonder why he would want to move back to a bench role when he was a starter last year, playing 35 minutes a game. Seems like a step back, career wise. Unless, of course, he has good reason to believe he will start soon enough.

 

[BC867]

Definitely good value. Had a very good PER last year. But, I do have to wonder why he would want to move back to a bench role when he was a starter last year, playing 35 minutes a game. Seems like a step back, career wise. Unless, of course, he has good reason to believe he will start soon enough.

Which makes even stronger the conclusion that Bledsoe (or at least the Bledsoe we saw in uniform half of the time) will be gone soon.

 

[Phrazbit]

If we're keeping Bledsoe and using Thomas as a superduper sub, then I love this move. Thats a steal for a guy who can put up the numbers he does. If he is going to start along side Dragic... then yikes.

 

[82CardsGrad]

The fact is that there aren't good PF and C available in free agency this year. The Suns have the ability to spend above the cap this year only because of Bledsoe and Tuckers small cap holds. The long term plan likely isn't to keep Dragic, Bledsoe, Thomas, and Eliis on the roster, but see one or two of them as tradable assets for the future. It may not be this year, but get it while you can. What was the alternative? Spend $9+ million a year for Hill??? They aren't signing guys to bad deals. They are getting good talent at reasonable prices. If they went the route of just keeping our free agents, nobody is going to trade something to bring back Frye at $8 million a year for 3 or 4 years. If they didn't sign Frye and only get Tucker and Bledsoe under contract than they are near the cap or close enough and next year they don't have the ability to do what they are doing now. I for one hope they find another 1 or 2 guys no matter their position that are young, rising talent, and at a reasonable price. These are assets, not long term commitments no matter the length of the contract.

Great post... You're en fuego in this thread!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[sunsfan88]

I just don't understand what's the point of putting in more than $37 million on 3 guards and not a single one of them has ever even made AS team.