Lonzo Ball

[TJ]

I hope the rumors that Boston is in love with Tatum are true. That means we get at least Josh Jackson. Would certainly ease the pain of being screwed out of the Top 3. We'd get our guy, anyway.

 

[Chaplin]

Just got an update on my phone that Chad Ford is reporting that we are trying to trade up to get Ball.

 

[elindholm]

Just got an update on my phone that Chad Ford is reporting that we are trying to trade up to get Ball.

This franchise, I swear.

 

[elindholm]

I wouldn't necessarily have an objection to taking Ball. I don't really believe he will be a game changer for the Suns, but he COULD turn out to be an above average PG and would allow us to move Bledsoe for more assets.

This way of thinking is dangerous. If the Suns get Ball and decide he's not the answer, then he's not going to have a lot of trade value.

Also, if the whole point of Ball (or Fox) is to replace Bledsoe, you aren't getting much out of the high draft pick, because the upgrade from Bledsoe to either of those two players is probably small. If the Suns see a player who could provide a dramatic upgrade over what they have, they should take him; otherwise they should trade the pick while its value is highest. If the Suns come away with only a minor upgrade, they've blown their opportunity.

Ultimately, I see a grave possibility that selecting Ball leads to just another layer of disappointment and misery for us Sund fans.

Quite likely, I would say.

 

[Chaplin]

This way of thinking is dangerous. If the Suns get Ball and decide he's not the answer, then he's not going to have a lot of trade value.

Also, if the whole point of Ball (or Fox) is to replace Bledsoe, you aren't getting much out of the high draft pick, because the upgrade from Bledsoe to either of those two players is probably small. If the Suns see a player who could provide a dramatic upgrade over what they have, they should take him; otherwise they should trade the pick while its value is highest. If the Suns come away with only a minor upgrade, they've blown their opportunity.

Who do you think is a major upgrade at #4? I guess it depends on your opinion of TJ Warren.

 

[Bodha]

Ramona Shelburne @ramonashelburne

Also: Lonzo Ball has yet to schedule any talks or meetings with other teams. Lakers remain the only team he's worked out for.

Ive been saying it from the start, the Ball/Lakers dynamic fascinates me.

Lavar Ball decided Lonzo was getting drafted by the Lakers....without the Lakers having a say so. Their approach may have completely alienated LA from taking him. Just so they can say "we're in charge here, not you".

Shame. I like Lonzo. Hes a good kid. His Dad is derailing his career.

 

[SirStefan32]

My only concern with Warren is not knowing the real story of his "head injury". Before that "injury", he looked like the best player on the team. I don't think Tatum or Isaac will be better than he was. Jackson might be better defensively. In all fairness, there is more playing time for Warren and Jackson as they can both play 3 and 4, while Ball and Bledsoe are limited to one position.

 

[SirStefan32]

Ive been saying it from the start, the Ball/Lakers dynamic fascinates me.

Lavar Ball decided Lonzo was getting drafted by the Lakers....without the Lakers having a say so. Their approach may have completely alienated LA from taking him. Just so they can say "we're in charge here, not you".

Shame. I like Lonzo. Hes a good kid. His Dad is derailing his career.

I don't buy that. GMs care about making their teams better, not about whipping them out to see who's bigger.

 

[3rdside]

We want someone throwing the ball to Booker to shoot, and to Chriss to catch lobs from everywhere....and what a bonus if they can shoot the three and finish in the lane.

Ball is that guy and then some.

There's not a player in this draft that will impact this team more than he could - it's not even close imo (part of that equation is removing Bledsoe of course..) and it sounds like McD knows this also.

Ball! Ball! Ball!

 

[Bodha]

I don't buy that. GMs care about making their teams better, not about whipping them out to see who's bigger.

Partially. If Lonzo is far away the best player then of course theyd take him.

But say you have 2 prospects pretty close in grade. Thats when the Lavar factor can push them into selecting the other guy. Odds are that might be the case if they have the options of Tatum/Ball/Jackson/even Fox.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

(or Fox) is to replace Bledsoe, you aren't getting much out of the high draft pick, because the upgrade from Bledsoe to either of those two players is probably small.
.

I disagree here. While a younger, uninjured, 6'6 pg is an upgrade over Bledsoe, it's the incremental upgrades to all the rest of the players sharing the floor with ball as a result of ball's superior vision and bball IQ that makes the upgrade huge.

 

[3rdside]

Lavar is not stupid imo - he'll back off, even more so if lonzo is out of LA.

 

[SirStefan32]

That video of Lonzo making fun of Lavar alleviates most of my Lavar concerns.

 

[SirStefan32]

I disagree here. While a younger, uninjured, 6'6 pg is an upgrade over Bledsoe, it's the incremental upgrades to all the rest of the players sharing the floor with ball as a result of ball's superior vision and bball IQ that makes the upgrade huge.

That is an excellent point. I am not 100% sold he is a Nash or Kidd-level floor general, and I have concerns with his shot, but you make an excellent point about how much better everyone else would be if they had a point guard who wasn't a ball-stopper. I would love to see what Booker, Chriss, and Warren would look like with someone feeding them the ball consistently.

 

[Bodha]

Lavar is not stupid imo - he'll back off, even more so if lonzo is out of LA.

I think the LA trash talk will go into hyper drive if LA doesnt take him. He will be on every radio show and street corner talking about stupid LA is for passing on Lonzo and thats why the Lakers are such a joke organization now, etc.

Will be entertaining regardless.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

I think the LA trash talk will go into hyper drive if LA doesnt take him. He will be on every radio show and street corner talking about stupid LA is for passing on Lonzo and thats why the Lakers are such a joke organization now, etc.

Will be entertaining regardless.

Worth drafting ball for that reason alone!

 

[elindholm]

Who do you think is a major upgrade at #4? I guess it depends on your opinion of TJ Warren.

I think Tatum could be better than Warren by the end of his rookie season. But even if the concerns about his defense make him a risky choice, the Suns would be better off with Jackson or Isaac than with another PG. I like Chriss a lot, but Len and Bender are hopeless, so the Suns have an acute need for tall guys who can play.

That doesn't mean you "reach" for someone, but it means that if you're in a position where you have to take Ball, it makes a lot more sense to trade down. And trading up for Ball would be absolutely idiotic.

 

[Chaplin]

I think Tatum could be better than Warren by the end of his rookie season. But even if the concerns about his defense make him a risky choice, the Suns would be better off with Jackson or Isaac than with another PG. I like Chriss a lot, but Len and Bender are hopeless, so the Suns have an acute need for tall guys who can play.

That doesn't mean you "reach" for someone, but it means that if you're in a position where you have to take Ball, it makes a lot more sense to trade down. And trading up for Ball would be absolutely idiotic.

Why is Bender hopeless?

 

[Bodha]

Why is Bender hopeless?

Because his starting point was so far behind everybody else. 15 year old Lebron in high school would dominate Bender today. People argue hes growing everyday. Yeah, but after 5 years he might be as good as a normal NBA rookie. Thats how raw he was/is.

You cant learn how to play basketball while playing in the NBA. You have to already be good coming in. Bender isnt even good. Hes just tall.

 

[Hoop Head]

I think Tatum could be better than Warren by the end of his rookie season. But even if the concerns about his defense make him a risky choice, the Suns would be better off with Jackson or Isaac than with another PG. I like Chriss a lot, but Len and Bender are hopeless, so the Suns have an acute need for tall guys who can play.

That doesn't mean you "reach" for someone, but it means that if you're in a position where you have to take Ball, it makes a lot more sense to trade down. And trading up for Ball would be absolutely idiotic.

It sounds like you're completely against drafting the BPA, wanting to reach back 4-5 picks for a pick? That doesn't make sense. Where did you want the Suns to land in the lottery? Who would you pick if they'd gotten 1 or 2 because those players should be available at 4 the way things are playing out.

 

[3rdside]

I think Tatum could be better than Warren by the end of his rookie season. But even if the concerns about his defense make him a risky choice, the Suns would be better off with Jackson or Isaac than with another PG. I like Chriss a lot, but Len and Bender are hopeless, so the Suns have an acute need for tall guys who can play.

That doesn't mean you "reach" for someone, but it means that if you're in a position where you have to take Ball, it makes a lot more sense to trade down. And trading up for Ball would be absolutely idiotic.

I would trade up for Ball in a New York City second - our pick this year and Miami's next year maybe, even our first next year with some protection, that's how much I want him.

Assuming Warren is fit, then Ball, Booker, Warren, Chriss and Chandler / Len is your starting team for the next three years which I'd have FULL confidence in.

 

[Zobaczcie suki]

I disagree here. While a younger, uninjured, 6'6 pg is an upgrade over Bledsoe, it's the incremental upgrades to all the rest of the players sharing the floor with ball as a result of ball's superior vision and bball IQ that makes the upgrade huge.

Nailed it.

But since LA is going to take him, now what?

 

[elindholm]

It sounds like you're completely against drafting the BPA, wanting to reach back 4-5 picks for a pick? That doesn't make sense. Where did you want the Suns to land in the lottery? Who would you pick if they'd gotten 1 or 2 because those players should be available at 4 the way things are playing out.

I'm against drafting the BPA if that player isn't the best way to improve the team. Of course it's best to land as high in the lottery as possible. That pick then becomes an asset. Maybe it's a single player, or maybe it makes more sense to convert it to multiple players.

Look at what the Celtics did. They got the #1 pick, but they don't think Fultz will help them as much as the #3 plus something else. So rather than (a) take the BPA at #1, or (b) take someone who "fits" at #1 but who isn't the BPA, they're converting the value of the #1 pick in the way that best addresses their needs.

 

[3rdside]

Looking at d'angelo russell - he's a 6'5" PG who's projecting well (15.6pts and 4.8ast)....Why does LA need Ball?

This is shaping up for the Suns - BALL! BALL! BALL!

 

[CardsFan88]

I think our offense has been lost without a facilitator (aka ever since Nash left). We were quite blessed to have them for a very long time. KJ/Kidd/Nash

Our offense has been helter skleter ever since. I think this prevents our players from playing at the peak of their individual strengths. Our offense just looks broken.


At this point, the two I want are Jackson and Ball. I can be happy about many other players mentioned in all these threads, but if we have the chance to get a Marion-like talent or a Kidd-type of talent in this draft, I'd be ecstatic with either. Of course Marion and Kidd might be superior, but still.

What can help us most? Probably a facilitator. Get the most out of our young athletic guys. We don't want them dribbling around trying to create shots. They aren't very good at that. What they seem to be good at is getting the ball close to the rim and making something happen.

I think a facilitator like Ball could give Booker better shots, while giving easy rim action to guys like Warren and Chriss. I think that old buzzword 'synergy' comes into play here.

I think the flow of our offense gets running to a beat, and everyone else on the team can attach itself to that. We haven't had that in a long time.

Heck both of those guys will likely be gone, but it's weird that at this point people are projecting Ball falling more than Jackson. Quite a few mocks are putting Ball 4-5-6, I might have even saw a 7.

Maybe Ball busts... who knows. But I feel we need someone with Ball's skills as a PG, to pull our offense together, before we turn things around, and I don't see that anywhere else. Not on this team. Not elsewhere in this draft. Not coming in FA.