Errntknght said:
I don't really have any idea what Vlade thinks, but I rarely get a chance to agree with Slinslin so I'm going to seize this opportunity! I can certainly imagine Vlade liking the idea of playing with and helping his countrymen. I can also imagine him liking the idea of playing on a team with a strong international flavor, for which the Suns surely qualify. The NBA is thinking of expanding to Europe and I wouldn't be at all surprised that Vlade sees himself playing a significant role in that - strengthening ties with the Suns would be a good move and if he were to help turn the franchise around he'd raise his stock all around the league.
Lastly I expect some sort of a shakeup in Sac in the offseason and simply because of Vlade's age they might not see much of future role for him with the team. They might prefer to shed Webber but that won't be easy to do.
I wouldn't expect the Suns to sign both Dice and Etan Thomas and between them I prefer Thomas. It looks like Beidrins may well fall to the Wiz and if he does they might not match an offer in the 4-5 million range for Thomas. I see him backing up Amare and at the same time giving us a power low post player to replace Jahidi. Likely he'd defend against teams' low post guys, regardless of what position they played.
I don't think Divac is going anywhere. There is no viable scenerio where the Kings can blow up their team and recover within five years. The best they can hope for is to pick up some useful backups (why they let Jimmy Jackson leave is a huge mystery) and hope to get lucky. For that to happen, they need Divac even if he plays fewer minutes.
I think it is entirely reasonable that the Suns might sign both Dice and Thomas, if the price is right (the Biedrins thing may help as you say). Assuming White goes to the Bobcats, the Suns could have five inside guys:
Stoudemire, Voskuhl, Lampe, Thomas, and McDyess.
That's only five guys. They carried six this past season. Except for mayby Voskuhl, the other guys can play either position depending on matchups. If Lampe develops into a solid starting center, it gives the Suns great depth. If he does not develop quickly, the Suns can run a "three headed monster" at center with Dice, Thomas, and Voskuhl - with Dice also backing up Amare.
I would be willing to gamble that Dice will be able to make the kind of recovery that Camby did - as long as it's not for too much money. The Suns could do what Memphis did this season in terms of giving a lot of guys minutes - except with more talent.
