Kurt Thomas out of game

[Absolute Zero]

The article this morning indicated he may be out up to 3 weeks.

 

[msdundee]

The article this morning indicated he may be out up to 3 weeks.

Leander's write-up on suns.com is less optimistic -- says they were told 3-6 weeks.

 

[fordronken]

As long as he's full force for the playoffs, it'll be fine. The annoying thing is that he may be the difference between the 1 and 2 seed in the playoffs. On the plus side, though, if the Spurs keep stinking it up, they'll be the 4 seed anyway.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Leander's write-up on suns.com is less optimistic -- says they were told 3-6 weeks.

good god, just once i'd like to have a relatively injury-free season. just not gonna happen i guess.

 

[msdundee]

az.central just reported Kurt's out 4-6 weeks "with hyperextended elbow." No details on the extent of the injury.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=Aus2dmvbS0wvTtxUVynkZ3mkvLYF?slug=sunsthomas&prov=st&type=lgns

No surgery mentioned, so that's good.

 

[Mainstreet]

az.central just reported Kurt's out 4-6 weeks "with hyperextended elbow." No details on the extent of the injury.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=Aus2dmvbS0wvTtxUVynkZ3mkvLYF?slug=sunsthomas&prov=st&type=lgns

No surgery mentioned, so that's good.

Trying to put a postive spin on the matter, if KT is only out 4-6 weeks this is probably the best time of year for him to have such an injury (so the Suns can get him back before the playoffs). Also I'm presuming this type of injury would allow KT to keep running which is so important for him to stay in shape so he can continue to play the Suns' style game.

If possible I would like for the Suns to add another big man in the frontcourt for depth (preferably for additional shotblocking, rebounding and defense) or a tall SG that can help slow inside penetration by many of the swing players. I'm thinking of Josh Howard and Jerry Stackhouse of the Mavericks in particular as problematic.

I think the Suns needed to try to acquire such a player even before KT's injury. The loss of signing Salmons in the offseason is proving more costly than I thought as Banks does not appear to be the type of backup PG the Suns need.

Of course, if Jumaine Jones could step up the Suns could still put a fairly good 8 man rotation on the court until KT returns. However, Banks does appear to be the odd man out with the future LT looming, so I think he will be moved sooner or later.

 

[TJ]

This sucks that he got injured; however, Im confident that this is just a small ***** in the armor. Amare is probably going to have to play about 5 more minutes per game, and one of the bench warmers is going to have to step up. Remember, this is the deepest this team has been since 04-05

 

[fordronken]

Okay, let's assume two months until he's actually healthy. That means he'll be good for the playoffs. And remember, he's not all that important against some teams we'd likely be facing in the first round. Kurt Thomas is important when the Suns play San Antonio, Miami, the Clippers, sometimes the Lakers(when Bynum plays well) and the Rockets(though even then, Diaw does a bizarrely good job). As long as Kurt Thomas is available for the necessary playoff series, we'll be fine.

As I stated earlier, the biggest concern will be missing out on the top seed-- although more for having to face San Antonio in the second round than playing Dallas on the road. Nash is a beast in Dallas.

 

[nathan]

Phoenix Trade Breakdown
Outgoing:
Marcus Banks, 6-2 PG from UNLV, 4.2 ppg, 1.0 rpg, 1.2 apg in 9.8 minutes
Incoming:
Steven Hunter, 7-0 C from DePaul, 4.3 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 0.2 apg in 15.4 minutes

Philadelphia Trade Breakdown
Outgoing:
Steven Hunter, 7-0 C from DePaul, 4.3 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 0.2 apg in 15.4 minutes
Incoming:
Marcus Banks, 6-2 PG from UNLV, 4.2 ppg, 1.0 rpg, 1.2 apg in 9.8 minutes

Successful Scenario
Due to Phoenix and Philadelphia being over the cap, the 25% trade rule is invoked. Phoenix and Philadelphia had to be no more than 125% plus $100,000 of the salary given out for the trade to be accepted, which did happen here. This trade satisfies the provisions of the Collective Bargaining Agreement.

 

[Espo]

Phoenix Trade Breakdown
Outgoing:
Marcus Banks, 6-2 PG from UNLV, 4.2 ppg, 1.0 rpg, 1.2 apg in 9.8 minutes
Incoming:
Steven Hunter, 7-0 C from DePaul, 4.3 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 0.2 apg in 15.4 minutes

Philadelphia Trade Breakdown
Outgoing:
Steven Hunter, 7-0 C from DePaul, 4.3 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 0.2 apg in 15.4 minutes
Incoming:
Marcus Banks, 6-2 PG from UNLV, 4.2 ppg, 1.0 rpg, 1.2 apg in 9.8 minutes

Successful Scenario
Due to Phoenix and Philadelphia being over the cap, the 25% trade rule is invoked. Phoenix and Philadelphia had to be no more than 125% plus $100,000 of the salary given out for the trade to be accepted, which did happen here. This trade satisfies the provisions of the Collective Bargaining Agreement.

I'd rather have an injured Banks and a bag of balls instead of bringing back Steven Hunter

 

[sunsfn]

Hunter failed a physical or he would have been traded already.

Does anyone know why he failed the physical? If it was posted I did not see it.

 

[msdundee]

Of course, if Jumaine Jones could step up the Suns could still put a fairly good 8 man rotation on the court until KT returns.

This could be a chance for JuJones to give us another one of those pleasant surprises we've had over the past couple of years when somebody gets hurt. He's listed as SF but he's close to Kurt's size -- 1" and 5 lbs difference --and had some decent rebounding stats before this year. We already have one very determined shotblocker in Amare (and now Nash!) and Jones is wide enough to fill a lot of space inside. Having to put him in for some playing time at this point in the season could be a forced blessing in disguise.

 

[FArting]

thomas out 4 to 6 weeks

 

[jlove]

Like I said before, a trade with Detroit would benefit us better. Hunter can suck it. Detroit fans like it too.

Suns get Nazr (Davis doesn't fit our team and I don't think anyone wants Dice back after he screwed the Suns over....TWICE) and Flip Murray

Pistons get Banks, Rose and Pike (waiving Pike)

I'd even throw in our 2nd for that deal.

It would give the Suns another Big who rebounds and is an above average defender and another outside shooter.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Like I said before, a trade with Detroit would benefit us better. Hunter can suck it. Detroit fans like it too.

Suns get Nazr (Davis doesn't fit our team and I don't think anyone wants Dice back after he screwed the Suns over....TWICE) and Flip Murray

Pistons get Banks, Rose and Pike (waiving Pike)

I'd even throw in our 2nd for that deal.

It would give the Suns another Big who rebounds and is an above average defender and another outside shooter.

i don't think we could get flip murray for banks straight up much less mohammed too.

 

[HooverDam]

That deal w/ the Pistons sounds crazy, doubt they'd do it. Maybe if the Suns threw in their own first rounder, then MAYBE.

I'm kind of annoyed by this whole situation, there was no reason for this injury to happen. I just want to yell at KT and say "you aren't a high flyer, knock it off." KT barely jumps when he shoots, why was he trying a quasi alley oop? Oviously he doesn't think of all that during the game, and Im glad he was giving it his all, but it was also very avoidable.

 

[elindholm]

I'd even throw in our 2nd for that deal.

I'm assuming this was a joke, in which case bwahahaha, good one!

 

[F-Dog]

Looks to me like KT might be done for the year. Yahoo says 6-8 weeks, so one setback and it's last year all over again.




At least the Suns are only paying him $8m next year. Even with the lux tax, that won't be too much more than $16m, right?

 

[BillsCarnage]

If possible I would like for the Suns to add another big man in the frontcourt for depth (preferably for additional shotblocking, rebounding and defense)

That's likely a given, but the rest of the league knows this now. The Suns don't need a starter per sae, but do a need a big that can start from time to time.

They have Banks, Jones x2 and draft picks to work with, so getting a deal done shouldn't really be a problem.

Figure few, if any, west teams will help them out, so scouring the East bottom feeders might be a good place to start.

Maybe Melvin Ely will makes his way to PHX. Who knows.

 

[SactownSunsFan]

4-6 weeks means he'll be back sometime between the all-star game to two weeks after the all-star game, meaning he'll miss somewhere between 14 to 22 games, if that timetable is correct.

He should be back WAY before the playoffs start, and if he's not then something will have to have gone terribly wrong. Let's not hit the panick button just yet.

 

[F-Dog]

One other thing--whatever the Suns actually say, you can add another 2 weeks right off the bat. They're always far too optimistic where injuries are concerned.

 

[elindholm]

I have to admit, I'm surprised. I know Thomas is getting older, but he had an excellent health record before coming to the Suns. During his seven years with the Knicks, he missed a total of 12 games.

 

[green machine]

I have to admit, I'm surprised. I know Thomas is getting older, but he had an excellent health record before coming to the Suns. During his seven years with the Knicks, he missed a total of 12 games.

This was a freak thing as well as his injury last year. I don't think of him as injury prone as much as unlucky so far in his Suns' tenure.

 

[cly2tw]

If Pistons were to consider Jaric for Nazr trade, then Banks/Pike/2nd-rounder would definitely be a better deal, particularly Banks defensively fits what they do there.

If we could swap Rose for Flip Murray later, it'd be fine with me too.

I think Nazr would thrive in Suns system. He is a very good rebounder and weakside blocker. He always played us well, which means that he might be well fitted for an uptempo style. With more involvement, it's less likely that he'd revert to the 2-month shine and fade mode again.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Banks, Pike, Burke and maybe a second rounder for Dice.

As much has I hate Dice, I think he's attainable and he fits not only our system, but the hole that KT leaves at the moment.