NBA Trade Deadline news and rumors 2019-20 season

[Mainstreet]

Ayton, Booker and Rubio are carrying the load tonight.

 

[Chris_Sanders]

There are multiple people on this board that make better calls on personnel than whomever the Sun's GM happens to be

Which just shows that it isn't the GM but the owner

After all the crap that has come out about what McDonough had to go through I had to retire the McDumbass name.

GM is a figurehead until the ownership changes. At least James Jones buys fans beer

 

[Chris_Sanders]

Ayton, Booker and Rubio are carrying the load tonight.

Really happy with Ayton tonight

 

[SunnyBaller]

Suns pull out to a 97-81 lead. I not dare blink.

I think you're posting these to the wrong thread main Street ha

 

[sinsay]

Why again does anyone think James Jones still deserves to be GM?

He got Kelly for nothing.

Signed Rubio who has helped a young suns team compete

He hired Monty who is changing the culture.

Drafted Cam who projects to be a good shooter.

He has made his share of mistakes, but he also is improving the team and culture.

 

[1Sun]

He got Kelly for nothing.

Signed Rubio who has helped a young suns team compete

He hired Monty who is changing the culture.

Drafted Cam who projects to be a good shooter.

He has made his share of mistakes, but he also is improving the team and culture.

He wanted Dillon Brooks over Kelly.

Signing Rubio was fine, but also an obvious move, and any GM would have at LEAST brought in a stop gap like Rubio to fill that two year hole. That said, he wanted Terry Rozier over Rubio.

Monty was a no-brainer hire that my dog could have made.

Cam projects to be out of the league before his rookie contract is up. Tonight he had one of his best games in a very long time and STILL shot a subpar 4-9.

The team culture is precisely the same as it was last year.

That being said, tonight's effort, especially by Ayton, Rubio and Booker, was nice overall despite the slow start. Saric, Cam and Baynes continue to be useless, though, and we continue to have no bench.

 

[Muggz]

If Booker gets pissy and starts asking for a trade. Trade him to Minnesota FOR KAT, piss off the world, blow up the internet drop the mic.

 

[1Sun]

There are multiple people on this board that make better calls on personnel than whomever the Sun's GM happens to be

Which just shows that it isn't the GM but the owner

After all the crap that has come out about what McDonough had to go through I had to retire the McDumbass name.

GM is a figurehead until the ownership changes. At least James Jones buys fans beer

And since Sarver is a young 59 and has no intention whatsoever of giving up control, and since his minority partners are content to sit back and let Sarver continue running things as long as the value of the franchise doesn't tank, we are therefore stuck with this mess for another at least 20-30 years...which brings me back to the question of whether we are better off with Sarver moving the team and starting over with a new franchise that can reacquire the Suns name and logo a la the Charlotte Hornets...

 

[Phrazbit]

I believe he is a good third player on a good team. He keeps defenses from doubling Booker.

Is that worth the max? Probably not but top tier guys just aren't coming to this franchise right now so may as well gamble on a young guy

Booker's relationship is just a bonus

I also wanted to trade the #4 pick for Kyrie, which is basically much better Russell

Fair. I especially agree about the Kyrie part, he is a much better Russell, that is a good comp.

Personally, I think Russell and Booker, in terms of skill, are not a good fit. And I find it more worrisome that they are so close. IMO, a big reason in Booker's defensive improvement is being surrounded by quality defensive players, it forces him to make an effort on that end. I think he and Russell together would play to each others faults.

I may just be jaded because of things like uniting the Morris twins and bringing in Goran's brother, Harpo Dragic. Bringing in players because they're close to someone else on the roster... those moves have blown up in our face bad, and while Russell is better than those players, he also would be far more expensive to attain and carry far more risk.

If Booker could push us to the playoffs and then play like a stud once we got there, I would lean a bit more towards bending over backwards to appease him. But I think a Booker/Russell tandem would lead to a locker room clique, and a couple extremely entitled max contract players who, by virtue of always having each others backs, would feed on each others worst tendencies.

My big wish last year was for Brogdon. Wish we'd found a way to make that one happen. He's a stud, far better than I expected.

 

[sinsay]

21 wins in 2018

17 wins so far

That seems like improvement

 

[1Sun]

Fair. I especially agree about the Kyrie part, he is a much better Russell, that is a good comp.

Personally, I think Russell and Booker, in terms of skill, are not a good fit. And I find it more worrisome that they are so close. IMO, a big reason in Booker's defensive improvement is being surrounded by quality defensive players, it forces him to make an effort on that end. I think he and Russell together would play to each others faults.

I may just be jaded because of things like uniting the Morris twins and bringing in Goran's brother, Harpo Dragic. Bringing in players because they're close to someone else on the roster... those moves have blown up in our face bad, and while Russell is better than those players, he also would be far more expensive to attain and carry far more risk.

If Booker could push us to the playoffs and then play like a stud once we got there, I would lean a bit more towards bending over backwards to appease him. But I think a Booker/Russell tandem would lead to a locker room clique, and a couple extremely entitled max contract players who, by virtue of always having each others backs, would feed on each others worst tendencies.

That's a legitimate concern. Just know that unless and until we bring in much better talent around him and start winning, we risk Booker's frustration boiling over and him becoming the next to do what Anthony Davis did last year and what Kawhi Leonard did the year before...and that risk accelerates greatly if Russell and Towns are united on a different team.

And without Devin Booker, this roster is historically bad (as we have seen this season in terms of level of play whenever Booker is not on the floor).

 

[1Sun]

21 wins in 2018

17 wins so far

That seems like improvement

In terms of record, yes.

In terms of roster construction, outside of Rubio starting at point guard instead of Melton/Okobo/Tyler Johnson, where has our roster improved?

 

[Phrazbit]

That's a legitimate concern. Just know that unless and until we bring in much better talent around him and start winning, we risk Booker's frustration boiling over and him becoming the next to do what Anthony Davis did last year and what Kawhi Leonard did the year before...and that risk accelerates greatly if Russell and Towns are united on a different team.

And without Devin Booker, this roster is historically bad (as we have seen this season in terms of level of play whenever Booker is not on the floor).

Again, putting Booker, Russell and Towns on the same roster is virtually impossible. IMO, that fear is wildly over blown.

Secondly, those other guys you mentioned were at the end of their contracts and had leverage to force issues, if the Spurs or Pelicans had 4 1/2 years remaining on the contracts of those players, as the Suns do with Booker, they would not have moved them.

 

[Matt L]

In terms of record, yes.

In terms of roster construction, outside of Rubio starting at point guard instead of Melton/Okobo/Tyler Johnson, where has our roster improved?

Starting Center and Power Forward have been better this year. I don't think he has been great since taking over GM responsibilities but I think you are being way to hard on him.

 

[1Sun]

Again, putting Booker, Russell and Towns on the same roster is virtually impossible. IMO, that fear is wildly over blown.

Secondly, those other guys you mentioned were at the end of their contracts and had leverage to force issues, if the Spurs or Pelicans had 4 1/2 years remaining on the contracts of those players, as the Suns do with Booker, they would not have moved them.

Even if that's the case, what good would it be to us to have an angry, sulking Booker whom we know wants out on the roster for the interim 2-3 seasons as he looks longingly at his united friends playing for another team?

Hence my Warriors trade proposal for discussion.

 

[1Sun]

Starting Center and Power Forward have been better this year. I don't think he has been great since taking over GM responsibilities but I think you are being way to hard on him.

Starting center now is exactly the same...Ayton. Starting center otherwise, Baynes, isn't one-tenth as good as Ayton.

As for power forward, as one dimensional as he was, we were better off with Warren starting at power forward than we are with Saric starting there now. Neither can defend, though Warren is actually a better defender than Saric. Both are poor rebounders for the position. The difference is that Warren, while being as good of a shooter, can also put the ball on the floor and score different ways, making him a superior scorer and rendering it tougher for opponents to defend our line-up (instead of now where opponents know all Saric can do is camp out at the three point line and shoot set shots...and erratically at that).

 

[Phrazbit]

Even if that's the case, what good would it be to us to have an angry, sulking Booker whom we know wants out on the roster for the interim 2-3 seasons as he looks longingly at his united friends playing for another team?

Hence my Warriors trade proposal for discussion.

Yuck. I'd rather send him somewhere for young players and picks than an older player on a massive contract coming off a terrible injury.

I think Booker is bright enough to understand that if, somehow, the Wolves get Russell, the huge salary the Suns gave Booker makes it essentially impossible for the Wolves to trade for him while also having Towns and Russell's contracts.

Furthermore, I recall everyone thinking that Booker was going to hate the franchise and would never resign after they cut his previous "best friend" Tyler Ulis... only a few weeks later Booker signed a massive extension. It turned out Booker is capable of understanding the business side of things.

 

[Matt L]

Starting center now is exactly the same...Ayton. Starting center otherwise, Baynes, isn't one-tenth as good as Ayton.

As for power forward, as one dimensional as he was, we were better off with Warren starting at power forward than we are with Saric starting there now. Neither can defend, though Warren is actually a better defender than Saric. Both are poor rebounders for the position. The difference is that Warren, while being as good of a shooter, can also put the ball on the floor and score different ways, making him a superior scorer and rendering it tougher for opponents to defend our line-up (instead of now where opponents know all Saric can do is camp out at the three point line and shoot set shots...and erratically at that).

Saric is definitely an upgrade. Warren is not a better defender than Saric and is a much worse rebounder. He can score but he can't pass or make any other player on the floor better.

Baynes is definitely an upgrade over Bender.

 

[Matt L]

Yuck. I'd rather send him somewhere for young players and picks than an older player on a massive contract coming off a terrible injury.

I think Booker is bright enough to understand that if, somehow, the Wolves get Russell, the huge salary the Suns gave Booker makes it essentially impossible for the Wolves to trade for him while also having Towns and Russell's contracts.

Furthermore, I recall everyone thinking that Booker was going to hate the franchise and would never resign after they cut his previous "best friend" Tyler Ulis... only a few weeks later Booker signed a massive extension. It turned out Booker is capable of understanding the business side of things.

I have to be honest...if we can't get over 40 wins by the summer of 2022, we should be looking at moving on from Booker.

 

[SunnyBaller]

I have to be honest...if we can't get over 40 wins by the summer of 2022, we should be looking at moving on from Booker.

If we don't get over 40 next year we should think about moving him, I don't see him giving the sun's any longer then next year before he asks out

 

[Phrazbit]

I have to be honest...if we can't get over 40 wins by the summer of 2022, we should be looking at moving on from Booker.

Exactly.

And if we combine him with Russell, I don't think we've made much improvement at all in our roster and we're absolutely married to that lineup for 4 seasons... you sure as hell couldn't move one without the other.

 

[Matt L]

If we don't get over 40 next year we should think about moving him, I don't see him giving the sun's any longer then next year before he asks out

Would any team give up what the clippers have up for PG?

 

[1Sun]

Saric is definitely an upgrade. Warren is not a better defender than Saric and is a much worse rebounder. He can score but he can't pass or make any other player on the floor better.

Baynes is definitely an upgrade over Bender.

https://www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/2982334/tj-warren

https://www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/3032978/dario-saric

Saric's rebounding numbers are better, but still poor for a power forward. Everything else across the board, including PER, isn't even close. And Saric very well might be the worst defensive 4 or 5 in the league. He is a sieve.

And Bender wasn't the starting center last year.

 

[1Sun]

Would any team give up what the clippers have up for PG?

Corollary question: Is anyone on this board okay with suffering another rebuilding process of at least 4-5 years without so much as a single winning season, let alone playoff appearance, to show for it, and with the Suns at that point setting the all-time NBA record for longest playoff drought?...

 

[SunnyBaller]

Would any team give up what the clippers have up for PG?

Idk what we'd get for booker if we ended up trading him but considering he's an elite scorer with improving defense and is in his early 20s I'd imagine itd be a good haul, definitely a good young player/players and draft picks