Melvin Ely?

[Mainstreet]

This is the first time I've ever been enthusiastic about the need for insurance.

Agreed. This is just plain reasonable on the eve of training camp. I'm not optimistic that Amare is ready to play anywhere near 100% and I think his minutes will need to be limited. Also I think it is unrealistic to expect KT to hold up all season if given too many minutes with the Sun's running style. The red flags are there if anyone wants to see.

I wish the Suns still had that TE.

 

[Chaplin]

He's not my favorite player, but if the Knicks do buy out Maurice Taylor, would he be worth a look? If his buyout is pretty good, it may be a Tim Thomas sort of situation where he would sign with us for the minimum. I'd be ok with that. He's at least better than Melvin Ely.

 

[Mainstreet]

He's not my favorite player, but if the Knicks do buy out Maurice Taylor, would he be worth a look? If his buyout is pretty good, it may be a Tim Thomas sort of situation where he would sign with us for the minimum. I'd be ok with that. He's at least better than Melvin Ely.

I'm negotiable as I'm not locked into a particular player. However, I haven't seen much of Maurice Taylor so maybe he would work as you know the Suns's style.

The primary reason I keep mentioning Ely is because I believe he may still be available (and the Suns can make just about any player look good with legitimate NBA talent). Unfortunately, I don't think the Suns can make Burke and Marks rise to their level of play.

 

[Ballamania]

i'm not sure Mo Taylor would work in Phoenix. without question he can score in the post but he doesnt rebound or defend well. he actually doesnt look like he wants to play D. from the times i've watched him from team to team he's played with, he also has a black hole syndrome sometimes.( pass it in and you probably are not going to get it back)

 

[elindholm]

I don't think Maurice Taylor is quick enough to work on the Suns. If the Knicks decide to buy out Malik Rose instead, however, he would definitely be worth a look. Of course, that's pretty unlikely, since Rose has two years left...

 

[hcsilla]

From a talent standpoint it's a bad trade for Golden State. Their motivation, if these rumors are legitimate, is to get out from under Dunleavy's contract.

That would be a very good trade for the Warriors.

I would rather have Gerald Wallace than Mickael Pietrus. I do think that Dunleavy has a massive negative trade value.

 

[Chaplin]

Bonzi Wells is signing for 2 years with Houston, so I bet the Charlotte/Golden State deal is dead.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Bonzi Wells is signing for 2 years with Houston, so I bet the Charlotte/Golden State deal is dead.

IF - and that's a big IF - T-Mac is healthy and the above is true, that could be a very scary Houston team.

 

[Chaplin]

IF - and that's a big IF - T-Mac is healthy and the above is true, that could be a very scary Houston team.

They'll be pretty decent, but I have my doubts about Bonzi as a 6th man, and they have no frontcourt scoring other than Yao. Definitely an interesting team though.

 

[Ballamania]

the main reason i dont ever fear houston or miami for that matter is because yao and shaq are rarely effective. its almost funny to watch them try to get up and down the floor at that pace. sometimes they hardly play major minutes because of the pace which give us the advantage.houston is formidable to others but i would never be too worried about them.oh yeah and Bonzi he'll be okay for them. he's not the missing piece or nothing though.

 

[George O'Brien]

I'm not a Van Gundy fan but the Rockets should make the playoffs.

 

[Mainstreet]

So Chaplin, you nailed it. Maurice Taylor was waived by New York. Admittedly I have not watched much of Taylor, but at least superficially, he could provide some nice insurance upfront (if he can be had for the veteran minimum).

I know D'Antoni will probably only play an 8 or 9 man rotation, but Taylor might be good insurance in case of injury or he might be useful to bang in the playoffs with his bulk.

Anyway, I think he would be worth more than a passing thought. Taylor might be willing to ride the bench for a Championship contender.

 

[George O'Brien]

I don't think the Suns are going to pick up an aging veteran as insurance unless there is a real concern about a rotation player's health. Once training camp gets going, they'll knew if Amare and KT are healthy.

 

[Mainstreet]

I don't think the Suns are going to pick up an aging veteran as insurance unless there is a real concern about a rotation player's health. Once training camp gets going, they'll knew if Amare and KT are healthy.

But George, he doesn't turn age 30 until October 30th and I'm only thinking about a veteran minimum contract. Besides, none of us are getting any younger.

Maybe a low risk, high return type player?

Besides, I've been wanting a banger for the Suns frontline for a very long time. Just consider it a cosmetic change if you like but I want a big guy on the bench that can play a little if needed... who at least looks like he can rattle some cages.

I'm tired of the Suns being the victims of players that just survive by brute force. I want to feel like I just bought a Hummer.

 

[Chaplin]

It would be nice to have some kind of bruiser up front to counter Shaq, for example, or cover for us if Amare AND Kurt get into foul trouble.

But then, I guess since we have Sean Marks, we'll be ok.

 

[msdundee]

Mainstreet

"I want to feel like I just bought a Hummer."

I tend to agree -- a Hummer with an attitude thrown in with our garage full of speedy, sporty models -- for the intimidation factor, some protection, and six good fouls, if nothing else. At times it's like the Suns are just a little too "nice." We need a Raja clone with about another 100 pounds on him.

 

[elindholm]

Maurice Taylor isn't exactly an enforcer. He's big and wide, but I don't recall him having any particular defensive impact. In fact, I think it's his bad defense that tends to keep him off the floor.

 

[George O'Brien]

It would be nice to have some kind of bruiser up front to counter Shaq, for example, or cover for us if Amare AND Kurt get into foul trouble.

But then, I guess since we have Sean Marks, we'll be ok.

From what I can tell, Taylor is mostly an offensive player who doesn't bang the boards, so Marks may be a better fit than Taylor.

 

[Mainstreet]

Maurice Taylor isn't exactly an enforcer. He's big and wide, but I don't recall him having any particular defensive impact. In fact, I think it's his bad defense that tends to keep him off the floor.

If he's big and can frown a lot, he might at least scare a few kids.

Or maybe, Raja could rough him up in practice or something and instill some attitude.

Seriously, Taylor couldn't hurt. I liked Ely even better. I'm not really that picky.

 

[Joe Mama]

I'd like another strong frontcourt player as much as the rest of you, but Maurice Taylor isn't the right player. I dealt the Phoenix Suns have considered him at all.

Joe

 

[Mainstreet]

I'd like another strong frontcourt player as much as the rest of you, but Maurice Taylor isn't the right player. I dealt the Phoenix Suns have considered him at all.

Joe

Joe, I have very little doubt that Eric and you are probably right that Taylor isn't the right player. However, right now I'm looking at adding only the 14th player to the Suns roster. If you can add a better big frontcourt player on the cheap, I'll take him.

So if no Taylor or Ely... what about Jahidi White. Now you have to admit that Jahidi gives the "appearance" of being physically intimidating. I'm not sure what his status is with Charlotte??? I'm throwing some of these names out here with a little tongue and cheek as I know how some of the fans on this board really dislike some of these players.

Anyway, I still want a banger for the Suns. How about the undersized Marcus Fizer if he becomes available.

To put this post in perspective, I am so glad I can just talk about the Suns with my football teams going down the tubes. It's good to be able to mentally tinker with adding a 14th player to a Championship caliber basketball team.

I think we can all agree on this. How about if the Suns just extend Diaw, then Amare and the rest of the Suns stay healthy.

 

[Amare32]

Looks like Ely is heading to GS according to hoopshype

 

[msdundee]

"...what about Jahidi White. Now you have to admit that Jahidi gives the "appearance" of being physically intimidating. I'm not sure what his status is with Charlotte???"

Suns had Jahidi a couple of years ago and I thought he did a pretty decent job. For some short minutes off the bench in situations where you want to use up fouls and detour traffic in the paint I'd rate him several notches above Burke, even if the fans do love the Irishman. Size-wise Jahidi's a Hummer for sure, and pretty solid. No stats on him last year -- anybody know why he didn't play?

 

[msdundee]

"How about if the Suns just extend Diaw and Amare and the rest of the Suns stay healthy."

Best thought yet.
I thought Amare's contract was already extended.
Regardless, not too early to start counting the days to Halloween. I'm even taking my annual broom ride the night before ........

 

[George O'Brien]

I loved the intimidation factor of having White. I remember one time he got the ball at the foul line and drove the basket, causing everyone to clear out. No one in his right mind was going to take a charge from Jahidi.

None the less, White's hands of stone, unbelievably bad foul shooting, and conditioning made him too much of liability to have on the floor.

White's conditioning problem is similar to Tractor Traylor's. Traylor at least has pretty good hands and could score. But while even if Traylor did not have health issues with his heart, he could not have keep up with the Sun's pace. Jahidi's worse.