Please lockup Diaw NOW

[Goldfield]

He brings defence, passing, driving to the hoop. 3 things that help win games.

With Diaw & Nash passing to Marion & Amare the suns will be VERY hard to beat IMO.

 

[thegrahamcrackr]

He isn't eligible for an extension until this summer

 

[green machine]

He isn't eligible for an extension until this summer

Please lockup Diaw THEN

 

[goldseraph]

What sort of deal should we be willing to give Diaw?
Is he worth a 4 year 35 mil sort of deal at this point?

 

[elindholm]

The only prediction I'll make about Diaw's extension is that it will be for more than anyone on this board thinks is realistic.

 

[thegrahamcrackr]

The only prediction I'll make about Diaw's extension is that it will be for more than anyone on this board thinks is realistic.

I wouldn't go that far, I expect it to be rather large....


And Goldseraph, you are probably undercutting it by 20 million

 

[mathbzh]

I think Diaw will not be too greedy. He doesn't seem fascinated by the money.
He doesn't need to be a superstar (note: he may become one if he stays here).
Moreover after his bad experience in Atlanta, he will probably carefull to chose a TEAM and not a bunch of lonesome players.
Diaw and suns play match almost perfectly and he know that.

 

[Ollie]

The only prediction I'll make about Diaw's extension is that it will be for more than anyone on this board thinks is realistic.

Pretty funny, but I think exactly the opposite.

I honestly believe that Boris doesn't care THAT much about money and that he would happily agree to a very reasonable extension, for less than anyone thinks realistic (I'd say 5 years/30 to 40 millions range... and no, no one will get what I'm smoking, in case you're wondering).

 

[MastersofCombat]

Does Diaw have a player option cause otherwise he is locked up for 2 more seasons.

 

[Ollie]

No he doesn't have any player option and he's under contract 'til the end of 2006/2007, when he'll become RFA (with 2007/2008 subject to Qualifying Offer).

 

[Sundance]

What are you guys basing your opinion on that Diaw doesn't like money. Has he said this somewhere, and I just missed it? Do the French just not like money in general, and I'm just unaware of it?

Steve Nash wasn't suppose to like money either, remember?


Before Joe Johnson's break out season last year, the Suns were willing to extend him for 45million dollars, if I recall correctly. Diaw is going to ask and get more than 45 million. He puts up triple-double-like numbers. Plenty of teams are going to come calling for a guy like that. He wont get maxed out, but he's going to get a nice fat payday. 50-60 million dollar range sounds about right.

 

[thegrahamcrackr]

I love it when people claim that they dont think someone cares much about money, so they will settle less than market value...

Do you guys honestly think loyalty runs deeper than 20 million dollars? Boris will look for , at minimum, his fair market value, as will every other player in the league...

 

[mathbzh]

Did we say he doesn't like money?
I just think it is not his main priority.
I can't imagine Boris playing for NYK because they proposed him a few millions more.
But of course he will asks for his value.

This has nothing to do with his nationality (cf. Tony "I wanabe a star" Parker and Mike "I deserve more PT" Pietrus).

 

[scotsman13]

i think we will see both barbosa and diaw will be signed up this summer. barbosa will be signed for somewhere around 35 with an opt out after a couple years and diaw will be signed for about 45 with no opt out.

 

[Ollie]

I never said that he doesn't care about money, but that he doesn't care THAT much.

He'd known an NBA nightmare with the Hawks and Woodson, realized that he could have been out of the league if he didn't get traded, despite playing the same game that made him a trendy pick for MIP.

For what I know, he's really happy in Phoenix, loves the way the team plays and the way D'Antoni uses him.

He knows the Suns system made him a better player in the league, being able to slowly master his skills before becoming dominant, or at least borderline dominant.

Add to these facts that he's not the kind of prima-donna stardom hungry guy, but a player who'll always try to play and act the better way for the team and I'm convinced that he'll settle for a reasonable amount of money without bidding war (excepted if his mate Parker tries to lure him to the Spurs, but it seems unlikely).

It may be seem pretty naive but Boris plays primary for the love of the game and winning titles, earning a ton of dough is not his goal, he's already quite wealthy now. (it's not related to the fact he's french or any similar bull$hite, though, see Parker, Tony).
Don't forget he withdraw his name from the draft twice because he doesn't felt ready to play in the NBA. He then played in France, and as a young player earned peanuts : I'm pretty sure a lot of guys would have chosen the NBA and the money (see Parker, Tony or last year's Petro, Johan) but he didn't.

And yes, Graham, I think that for some sportsmens (mainly european ones, but I may be wrong), loyalty worth that kind of money.

It's my opinion, backed by things I know about him, interviews I've read, etc... and I have a strong feeling that he'll happily surprise a lot of people with his contract. Time will tell.

 

[myrondizzo]

the thing that is comforting is that he has already played on a crappy team. he isnt going to shop us like joe did. not that i think he'll give us a discount but i dont think that he will go shopping for a inflated contact with a bottom of the barrel team.

 

[jbeecham]

I really like Diaw, but he's averaging 12ppg, 6apg, 6rpg........those are good numbers, but not $10 mil a season type numbers. I'm pretty sure Joe Johnson was offered a 6yr $45 mil extention, but now players can only be offered 5 year extentions so the $ amount should go down to about $35-40mil.

 

[DevonCardsFan]

I really like Diaw, but he's averaging 12ppg, 6apg, 6rpg........those are good numbers, but not $10 mil a season type numbers. I'm pretty sure Joe Johnson was offered a 6yr $45 mil extention, but now players can only be offered 5 year extentions so the $ amount should go down to about $35-40mil.

People forget that Diaw has real unique skills, that can only translate on certain teams, look at how he played on the Hawks. Most teams would play him at the 2 or 3 and he can't shoot, he is not overly offensively great. He is perfect for the Suns, but I do not see a team throwing big bucks at him, to fit into a system that Diaw would struggle in.

 

[jibikao]

Mmmm, just curious... how do you determine a player's "fair" market value?

I mean Diaw was basically unknown before he comes to here. Wouldn't that too big of a jump if he determines what JJ wanted? Ok, so he has a FINE year so far. It is still early to give him huge amount of money. I guess it all depends how Diaw responds in the playoffs since that's how an elite team decides if the player fits or not.

We are not a rebuilding team anymore so if Diaw can't perform in the playoff or for whatever reason he breaks down later, we don't need to risk it by giving him huge money.

I like what I see in Diaw. He is young, athletic, and very versatile with his rather "big" size.

Do you think other teams want him as bad as Hawks wants JJ??? Which teams would love to have him? I mean it's different when Diaw plays with Nash, Marion and Amare than playing with... say Portland? lol "Decent" players tend to look great on an elite team since star players make their role players GREAT. I consider Diaw a role player.

Hopefully we can keep Diaw without sacrificing too much money.

 

[jibikao]

People forget that Diaw has real unique skills, that can only translate on certain teams, look at how he played on the Hawks. Most teams would play him at the 2 or 3 and he can't shoot, he is not overly offensively great. He is perfect for the Suns, but I do not see a team throwing big bucks at him, to fit into a system that Diaw would struggle in.

That's exactly what I think! If the market demand is not that high, we don't need to give him that much money. I know Suns LOVES Diaw but would other teams want him as bad as we do? Diaw still has a lot to prove. He needs to improve his offense (mainly shooting from outside and going in strong). He already has great passing which many big "men" don't have. He is unselfish which is another good trait.

 

[DeAnna]

On another note, coming soon!

www.borisdiaw.com

Maybe he'll tell us how he really feels about staying in Phoenix.

 

[F-Dog]

I'm still not sure what to think about Diaw's contract. On the one hand, Diaw has been the difference-maker this year, in the same way Nash was the difference-maker last year. He dominated at the Euro championships, too--he was in the same class as Kirilenko and Gasol there. Just based on the last eight months, I could absolutely see Diaw getting a Joe Johnson-type RFA offer down the road.

On the other hand, he was worse than awful in Atlanta--not only was he worthless there, he showed no signs of turning things around. That has to give pause to teams that have money to spend (most of whom are bad). Even now, Diaw still seems to be on track to be a complementary player throughout his career. I also think he'll display some loyalty to the Suns, both because of his personality and because of the contrast in how Atlanta and Phoenix have treated him.



If the Suns re-sign Diaw for less than $40m, I'll be thrilled. I think there's a legitimate chance they'll be able to do that, especially if Amare comes back and Diaw moves back to the bench.

In any case, I'm more worried about getting Diaw and Barbosa re-signed than I am about the price at the moment.

 

[Amare32]

Signing Boris for anything less than 40 million will be a good move. His value keeps on increasing and increasing. Just like his best friend's Is...

 

[thegrahamcrackr]

Signing Boris for anything less than 40 million will be a good move. His value keeps on increasing and increasing. Just like his best friend's Is...

The good thing is his best friend is already locked into a contract. The spurs don't have to worry about it anymore