Old Gambo Rumor

[nowagimp]

I've read all your arguments about KT's tremendous importance to the team, nowagimp, but I do believe you're overstating it.

My principal reason for disagreeing is that KT was missing for the playoff run and the Suns did very well - that is simply more important than what happened in the regular season. The Suns had to adjust a lot when KT went down and it took time for that to be worked out - for example, TT was filling in for him to a considerable extent and his game is very different from KT's. Heck, for a few games D'Antoni experimented with Burke. In fact the Suns were still adjusting and improving as the playoffs progressed - that is when Diaw really came into his own. Its fairly likely that with KT playing Boris would not have blossomed as much.

Also, JCSunsfan does have a legitimate point about James Jones and along that same line, Eddie House's shooting went into the toilet down the stretch - with the indirect effect that Nash had to play considerably longer minutes, causing his efficiency to drop on both ends of the floor.

Perhaps I have overstated KT's contribution, perhaps not. The suns overcame rebounding and defensive limitations this year by the narrowest of margins against the clippers and lakers. The suns did not face Tim Duncan, good thing. Kwame Brown looked GOOD against the suns. Im not sure that effectively replacing TT with Amare(coming back from injury) would make them a better team, defensively. Teams will try to really bang the suns with Amare coming back, especially if KT is not here. In physical play scenarios, who will enforce in the lane, Boris, Shawn, Amare, Lampe?? The spurs will have TD, the clippers will be bigger and stronger, the lakers will have a perimeter shooter(Vlad) that would almost certainly have allowed them to beat last years suns in the playoffs. They now will be able to spread the floor better and use bigs down low more effectively.

Or, maybe all the above is overstating the suns competition and Amare will come back with an explosion and the suns will win the title.

 

[Errntknght]

Teams will try to really bang the suns with Amare coming back, especially if KT is not here. In physical play scenarios, who will enforce in the lane, Boris, Shawn, Amare, Lampe??

I think KT will be back and certainly hope he is - and back to his old form, as well, because there will be times, as you say, that we'll need him. You will note that I didn't say that Kurt was of little importance, merely that you exaggerated it and discounted everything else.

I should add that I think the playoffs do give a pre-view of what D'Antoni will aim at this year, assuming that Amare rounds into form as the season progresses. By that I mean he will prefer forcing the opponents to go small in order to match up with our frontcourt of Amare, Diaw & Marion rather than playing KT to match up with their bigs. Of course, he will have to go to the bench for at least 36 minutes of frontcourt PT and right now it sure looks like KT is our best option. But if Jr comes back better than before he could get a decent chunk of those minutes for more small ball. Heck, if Banks works out well and Barbs gets it going consistently Bell might slide up to SF some.

I'm not a proponent of small ball for its own sake but the way the Suns can force opponents to change from the their preferred line ups in order to match up in the frontcourt, I like it.

 

[SirStefan32]

Kurt's value is really obvious- he is the only physical player Phoenix has inside. He is the only player on the Suns' roster who can guard anyone one on one in the paint. THIS IS HUGE! He is also the only Sun who knows how to block out and grab a rebound.

Kurt Thomas is a very valuable and important part of the Suns, and he is not going anywhere.

 

[F-Dog]

Kurt Thomas is a very valuable and important part of the Suns, and he is not going anywhere.

He's definitely not going to the playoffs, if the Suns give him more than 20 mpg in the regular season.

Brian Grant used to be a very valuable and important part of his team, too.

 

[Chaplin]

Brian Grant used to be a very valuable and important part of his team, too.

When?

 

[George O'Brien]

He's definitely not going to the playoffs, if the Suns give him more than 20 mpg in the regular season.

Brian Grant used to be a very valuable and important part of his team, too.

This is so dumb I can't believe it. Here's the simple math. PF + C = 96 available minutes. PF and C at 35 each is 70. 96-70=26.

With Amare's knees, there is no reason to believe he will play 35 minutes a game with 30 more likely, leaving 31 minutes inside. Even accounting for small ball, I'd say KT is more likely to get closer to 30 than 20 minutes a game.

 

[F-Dog]

With Amare's knees, there is no reason to believe he will play 35 minutes a game with 30 more likely, leaving 31 minutes inside. Even accounting for small ball, I'd say KT is more likely to get closer to 30 than 20 minutes a game.

Last year KT played 26 minutes per game, and he was done for the year by February. If he plays 30 mpg this year, he might not last 'til Christmas.

Besides, you forgot all the PF minutes James Jones will be playing.

When?

Back when he was 31 or 32.

Actually, Grant did a decent enough job for the Suns last year, for the first month and half.

 

[Chaplin]

Back when he was 31 or 32.

Actually, Grant did a decent enough job for the Suns last year, for the first month and half.

Huh? You said that Grant was a "valuable and important part of the team". I asked when that was. He was never a valuable piece of the Suns.

 

[George O'Brien]

Last year KT played 26 minutes per game, and he was done for the year by February. If he plays 30 mpg this year, he might not last 'til Christmas.

Why? There has been nothing reported that KT's injury was in any way career threating.

As for his per game minutes, it is important to remember than he always had the toughest defensive assignment which is why he ended up with foul problems. In Jan, KT averaged 30.9 minutes a game and had two games of over 40.

Besides, you forgot all the PF minutes James Jones will be playing.

If Jones gets hot he might steal some minutes from KT, but KT is the only real post defender on this team, so I think he'll get a good bit of court time.

 

[F-Dog]

Huh? You said that Grant was a "valuable and important part of the team". I asked when that was. He was never a valuable piece of the Suns.

Actually, I said "valuable and important part of his team". But even the wrong way, "the team" doesn't refer specifically to the Suns, does it?

Why? There has been nothing reported that KT's injury was in any way career threating.

No, the injury wasn't career-threatening. But he got the injury because he was thirty-three years old, which definitely qualifies as a career-threatening condition for his type of player.

Next year, KT will be 34. Notice how his condition continues to deteriorate.

In Jan, KT averaged 30.9 minutes a game and had two games of over 40.

And then what happened in February? Oh yeah, right, stress fractures in his foot, done for the year.

I'm sure those two important facts are not related in any way, though.

 

[nowagimp]

Kurt's value is really obvious- he is the only physical player Phoenix has inside. He is the only player on the Suns' roster who can guard anyone one on one in the paint. THIS IS HUGE! He is also the only Sun who knows how to block out and grab a rebound.

Kurt Thomas is a very valuable and important part of the Suns, and he is not going anywhere.

Its interesting how many posters' reaction to the suns success last year is that KT will not be needed in the playoffs. If ANY of Raja's big shot, or TT's big shot, or Boris' Big shot dont fall, the board would sound quite different. A one shot difference, and all you'd hear all about is the need for preventing offensive rebounds and post defense. KT would be the messiah, who could have prevented the first round exit. The suns were one shot away from a first round exit!

 

[Covert Rain]

Look, if Gambo says 'A' is going to happen, and 'B' happens instead, he was WRONG, not right. You can't give Gambo credit for saying 'something' was going to happen. Of course SOMETHING was going to happen. Something happens every off-season! But he's got to get it right (or God forbid, close to right), or he's no more expert than any of us on here! If Gambo gets credit for everything that ends up happening just because he makes some predictions, then let me take his place: This offseason, some players will leave the Suns, the Suns will try to get other players and fail, they'll talk trade with some folks, and they'll end up getting some new players. Gambo's got nothing on me.

He missed on Salmons. He missed on the big man / back-up PG with the eastern conference team. He missed on Banks (scooped by Paul Coro). He's a hack.

That's just dumb. First off in sports talk radio they talk about stuff that might happen or stuff they would like to happen. There is a difference between a prediction and a trade rumor.

Second, what he said on the radio is that the Suns were considering or exploring trades. The scenarios mentioned before were scenarios that his sources with the Suns were exploring.

He never said that either trade was 100% certain. Only that the Suns were seeking those trades. So how in your estimation was he wrong? Gambo has no control over the completion of those trades. He only reports was his sources tell him.

This is not about credit. This about him getting inside information and passing it on to the fans. It would be one thing if he reported it and then later it came out the Suns never were considering that trade and all the reports were false. That would mean he is wrong. Oh and by the way, Salmons offer was on the table and he CHOSE Toronto. I guess Gambo is responsible for Salmons decision? So if he had chosen the Suns he would be right? Give me a break.

To say that people on here are just as good of experts as Gambo is freaking hilarious. Does his opinion mean more then ours? No ofcourse not. Our OPINIONS are just as valid. However, he has one thing we don't....access to players, teams and management. They give him off the record statements and leak information all the time.

 

[Mainstreet]

IMO, almost everyone is saying KT would be valuable in the playoffs if he makes it through the season healthy. I can agree with this part. However, the key is ... can the Suns get through the season and still have a healthy KT for the playoffs?

Unless the Suns medical staff feel this was a fluke injury and not likely to reoccur, I think the only way to accomplish this is to limit his minutes throughout the season to approximately no more than 20 minutes a game. This is a lot of money for a role player during the season... but perhaps a primary contributor or starter in the playoffs. That said, I think D'Antoni will play KT as much as he feels he needs him during the season. This is why I still wish the Suns would pick up some more frontcourt depth at the 4/5... someone D'Antoni will play. This way maybe KT gets some timeoff (perhaps Amare as well) during the season.

Can anyone think of a player being used in such a fashion as described above? I'm sure there are such examples. As valuable as KT can be, he is not going to be of much help if he is not available for play during the stretch drive and the playoffs.

Additional Note:

Also I'm not so sure players that have stress fractures are doomed to such a fate of having them constantly reoccur. Actually, I remember a lot of younger players getting stress fractures in their feet, without the worry they would constantly happen again. But maybe it's different the older a player gets. I don't know. I haven't heard any medical opinion about this from a physician associated with the Suns.

 

[Divide Et Impera]

I would be happy as hell if both KT and Nash only averaged in the mid-20's in minutes per game during the regular season. This does 2 things. Obviously, it keeps them rested, yet in shape for the playoffs, but maybe more importantly, it opens up plenty of playing time for all the others, particularly the bench players, so that they can develop their games and get accustomed to being an important asset to the team in regards to winning....

 

[Mainstreet]

I would be happy as hell if both KT and Nash only averaged in the mid-20's in minutes per game during the regular season. This does 2 things. Obviously, it keeps them rested, yet in shape for the playoffs, but maybe more importantly, it opens up plenty of playing time for all the others, particularly the bench players, so that they can develop their games and get accustomed to being an important asset to the team in regards to winning....

I can agree with this. However, D'Antoni seems inclined towards playing the players he has the most confidence in getting the job done. And the rotation seems only to get shorter as the season progresses. This is why I'm so relieved the Suns signed Banks as all too often a tired Nash would have to come off the bench to save the day.

 

[Cheesebeef]

I would be happy as hell if both KT and Nash only averaged in the mid-20's in minutes per game during the regular season. This does 2 things. Obviously, it keeps them rested, yet in shape for the playoffs, but maybe more importantly, it opens up plenty of playing time for all the others, particularly the bench players, so that they can develop their games and get accustomed to being an important asset to the team in regards to winning....

playing Nash for mid-20's means one thing - the sky is yellow and the sun is blue because that's bizarro world you're talking about. Nash playing only mid-20's would have have end up as the 4 or 5 seed - no thank you. He's the MVP - he needs to get at least 30 minutes, but no more than 32. Mid-20's is ridiculously unrealistic.

 

[Chaplin]

playing Nash for mid-20's means one thing - the sky is yellow and the sun is blue because that's bizarro world you're talking about. Nash playing only mid-20's would have have end up as the 4 or 5 seed - no thank you. He's the MVP - he needs to get at least 30 minutes, but no more than 32. Mid-20's is ridiculously unrealistic.

Absolutely, positively, definitely true 100%. Nash playing 25 minutes a game? Shyeah, and pigs will fly too.

 

[myrondizzo]

Absolutely, positively, definitely true 100%. Nash playing 25 minutes a game? Shyeah, and pigs will fly too.

thats true but it would be a nice option to have him play less min against crappy teams that we are blowing out. you know not have to have to play him the last 5min of a game when we are up by 20.

 

[Errntknght]

I'm going out to check the sun and sky forthwith - Chaplain and Cheese agreeing with each other must mean something incredible has happened!

 

[boisesuns]

I'm going out to check the sun and sky forthwith - Chaplain and Cheese agreeing with each other must mean something incredible has happened!

Maybe someone stole their login info?

 

[Chaplin]

I'm going out to check the sun and sky forthwith - Chaplain and Cheese agreeing with each other must mean something incredible has happened!

Hey Errntknght, you've been on this board a long time and you still haven't figured out the difference between "Chaplain" and "Chaplin"??

I definitely am no Chaplain--another thing Cheese would probably agree with...

 

[Errntknght]

Hey Errntknght, you've been on this board a long time and you still haven't figured out the difference between "Chaplain" and "Chaplin"??

What can I say, Chap... I've been careful to spell your name right for the last couple of years but I didn't proofread what I typed this time. Sorry. Believe me, its purely an orthographic error, I do not think of you as being 'chaplainesque'. It would help if I thought of you as Chaplinesque, I suppose...

 

[George O'Brien]

I'm not really sure the "Nash is worn out and that's why we lost" theory is all that overwhelming. The problem is that deep in the playoffs, the opposition is a lot better. So whether Nash plays 38 minutes or 32, there is no room for a bad 10 to 16 minutes due to a star being on the bench.

I think there are a lot of reasons why the Suns don't play well with Nash on the bench, but Banks should help reduce the drop off. Banks is better than House at everything but long range shooting. My suspicion is that Bank's defense will give the Suns an enormous lift and teamed with Bell and Marion will generate a lot of fast breaks.

During the playoffs I mentioned that speed can be intimidating. Power players begin to lose their confidence as opponents fly by them to the basket. This was a problem for the Lakers and Clippers before the Suns added Banks.

 

[Hugh D'Man]

Speed Kills

 

[Covert Rain]

I'm not really sure the "Nash is worn out and that's why we lost" theory is all that overwhelming.

Agreed. Everyone is tired by the end of the playoffs. We lost because we couldn't stop teams down the stretch and couldn't rebound to reduce second chance points.