Poll: Is Eric Bledsoe a #1 player on a championship team

[JCSunsfan]

Bledsoe is good around the basket. The further he gets away from the basket the more average he becomes. This isn't just my opinion. The numbers bear it out. It's also why Dragic is in a similar boat.

But around the basket he is REALLY good. If the floor spreads at all he gets to the rim with ease and has a stupidly high efficiency scoring at the rim for a guard.

 

[sunsfan88]

Bledsoe needs to keep getting to the FT line. A guy with his athleticism and ability should be going to the FT line about 5-7 times every single game.

That should be his bread and butter.

 

[JCSunsfan]

His best games this season so far have been when he's focused on getting to the rim and let the 3-pointers come in the flow. When he's forcing it, he's not been good.

And I have no problem whatsoever having a pg with that skill set. Get to the rim, get threes in the flow. Put a highly athletic 3 and D sg with that and you have a deadly combination. We need to draft a Ray Allen type.

 

[Phrazbit]

And I have no problem whatsoever having a pg with that skill set. Get to the rim, get threes in the flow. Put a highly athletic 3 and D sg with that and you have a deadly combination. We need to draft a Ray Allen type.

Passing on McLemore stings.

 

[Mainstreet]

Passing on McLemore stings.

I do think the Suns underestimated the severity of Len's ankle problems. No sugar coating that. However, I do think Len was a long term project if that helps. I'm hoping in time, Goodwin will ease the sting.

 

[Chaplin]

I do think the Suns underestimated the severity of Len's ankle problems. No sugar coating that. However, I do think Len was a long term project if that helps. I'm hoping in time, Goodwin will ease the sting.

You do? I wonder... Considering how good our training staff is, I'm not sure they didn't know that this would be a possibility of happening. Certainly doesn't sound like this was at all unexpected.

 

[elindholm]

You do? I wonder... Considering how good our training staff is, I'm not sure they didn't know that this would be a possibility of happening.

I thought I read that the training staff never looked at him; they just went on McDonough's say-so.

Certainly doesn't sound like this was at all unexpected.

Well, not by some of us, anyway.

 

[KloD]

I thought I read that the training staff never looked at him; they just went on McDonough's say-so.

I find that extremely hard to believe. You don't invest that kind of money or that high of a pick without fully evaluating the product.

Well, not by some of us, anyway.

There's no guarantee on anyone staying injury free and although Len may have issues with his feet/ankles that derail his career, IMO some of you are jumping to conclusions. Anyone who's had these kind of injuries can tell you that it's slow to heal and there are often setbacks because it's nearly impossible to rest our feet as needed. Took me over a year to heal two broken feet. I had setbacks and pain for some time, but I've never had another issue with them once they fully healed. Although I'm not a pro athlete, I still do martial arts tournaments and work out on them hard 3 or 4x a week. No reason to write him off yet.

IMO they should sit Len this season and rest those feet as much as possible.

 

[Chaplin]

I thought I read that the training staff never looked at him; they just went on McDonough's say-so.

How can that be? Didn't we not look at Noel but still passed on him? What makes Len any different if the training staff didn't look at either one?

Well, not by some of us, anyway.

I know you're being your snarky self here, but that wasn't what I meant. I'm thinking the front office knew him sitting out some time would be a possibility--but not a dealbreaker. That's the key.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Passing on McLemore stings.

agreed. i think this could be the one big black mark on this year's off-season. McD did great everywhere else, but I fear taking Len over McLemore will be something he wishes he could have done over.

man...Bledsoe/McLemore could have been an absolutely filthy young, super athletic backcourt, with Bledsoe being able to break the D down like no one's business and McLemore shooting the lights and slashing ability.

 

[sunsfan88]

You do? I wonder... Considering how good our training staff is, I'm not sure they didn't know that this would be a possibility of happening. Certainly doesn't sound like this was at all unexpected.

Yea McDonough, Hornacek and Len have all said that they expected Len to have soreness and suffer a setback or two after his May surgery.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Passing on McLemore stings.

Hindsight is 20/20. They knew they wanted to trade Gortat, and you can't go without a center. They really liked Len but big men take time to develop.

They had no idea they would be able to trade for Bledsoe or Plumlee.

No GM hits home runs all the time. I am glad we have one who recognizes a good move when it is in front of him and jumps on it. That takes confidence and courage.

 

[elindholm]

How can that be? Didn't we not look at Noel but still passed on him? What makes Len any different if the training staff didn't look at either one?

Well, they had only one pick at #5, so there was a maximum of one lottery player they could take. Maybe I don't understand the question. They passed on Noel because they never liked him in the first place, from what I understand.

I'm thinking the front office knew him sitting out some time would be a possibility--but not a dealbreaker. That's the key.

Yes, that's certainly possible, but it's looking more and more like McDonough was going by what he remembered of Len in Ukraine, setting aside the more recent evidence because his mind was already made up.

 

[Gaddabout]

And I have no problem whatsoever having a pg with that skill set. Get to the rim, get threes in the flow. Put a highly athletic 3 and D sg with that and you have a deadly combination. We need to draft a Ray Allen type.

This is 50-win kind of thinking, IMO. Your point guard has to be able to hit from some kind of range against better defensive teams.

Let me clarify: The man who's on the ball most has to be able to hit from some kind of range. If that's going to be Bledsoe, he has to stretch defenses or those driving/passing lanes are going to get shut down eventually.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Hindsight is 20/20.

it's not hindsight when you call for the move BEFORE it happened, as Phrazbit and others did, pretty vociferously.

They knew they wanted to trade Gortat, and you can't go without a center. They really liked Len but big men take time to develop.

this doens't wuite wash with me. I agree the needed to trade Gortat, but that doesn't mean you automatically go with a C. They liked Len with ankle problems more then McLemore and that's why the selected him...I hope. If they're just drafting for need at #5 instead of BPA (who I believed McLemore was) then we have an institutional problem. I don't think that's the case, at least I hope not. I'm hoping a) Len pans out and b) if he doesn't we just whiffed on a pick.

They had no idea they would be able to trade for Bledsoe or Plumlee.

I find this to be a somewhat dubious claim. Bledsoe was on the market and everyone knew it. and even if he wasn't...what does Bledsoe, a PG, have to do with drafting a silky smooth SG like McLemore?

No GM hits home runs all the time. I am glad we have one who recognizes a good move when it is in front of him and jumps on it. That takes confidence and courage.

this is true and like I said, the Len pick could (NOT will as I'm sure most people will somehow read into my post) be that strikeout, but overall, the rest of the off-season looks like he did a bang-up job.

 

[Superbone]

Hindsight is 20/20. They knew they wanted to trade Gortat, and you can't go without a center. They really liked Len but big men take time to develop.

They had no idea they would be able to trade for Bledsoe or Plumlee.

No GM hits home runs all the time. I am glad we have one who recognizes a good move when it is in front of him and jumps on it. That takes confidence and courage.

It's way too early for 20/20 hindsight, IMO. It could still be the right decision AFAWK.

 

[Chaplin]

Yes, that's certainly possible, but it's looking more and more like McDonough was going by what he remembered of Len in Ukraine, setting aside the more recent evidence because his mind was already made up.

True, but based on what we've seen from McDonough so far, that seems completely out of character.

 

[Phrazbit]

Hindsight is 20/20. They knew they wanted to trade Gortat, and you can't go without a center. They really liked Len but big men take time to develop.

They had no idea they would be able to trade for Bledsoe or Plumlee.

No GM hits home runs all the time. I am glad we have one who recognizes a good move when it is in front of him and jumps on it. That takes confidence and courage.

Dont get me wrong, overall I am thrilled with McD's work. But IMO the writing was on the wall before the draft. I know its beating a dead horse... but feet problem in bigs is terrifying. He already had feet issues and his play at Maryland was uninspiring anyway. Given the team the Suns said they were trying to create, and now have put together a nice foundation for... I thought a super athletic wing that can shoot with length to play D would have been a really good fit.

And frankly I dont think they were at all concerned with having a replacement ready for Gortat at the start of this year, especially seeing as Len can't play and the shipped of Gortat anyway.

But again, I absolutely love what McD has done overall. No GM bats 1.000, and IMO he has already hit some big homeruns with the Bledsoe trade and Plumlee.

Yes, that's certainly possible, but it's looking more and more like McDonough was going by what he remembered of Len in Ukraine, setting aside the more recent evidence because his mind was already made up.

True, but based on what we've seen from McDonough so far, that seems completely out of character.

I dunno, in whats perceived as a weak draft it seems reasonable from McD's point of view to go with what he felt familiar with. It seems to me he gambled that the dude he saw in the Ukraine was the real Alex Len and the guy at Maryland was a victim of his surroundings. I really hope he gets proven right on that wager, but right now I dont like his odds.

I also dont buy the idea that none of this has caught the team off-guard. The 2nd surgery was something they caught after the draft. And we heard in August that Len expected to be ready for training camp... then in September we heard he was supposed to be ready for the start of the season, and now we hear they expect his ankle to be an issue all year long. It all seems very grim to me.

 

[elindholm]

True, but based on what we've seen from McDonough so far, that seems completely out of character.

Only if you decide to screen out his mistakes and focus only on his successes.

 

[Chaplin]

Only if you decide to screen out his mistakes and focus only on his successes.

What mistakes (other than the possible one of picking Len)?

 

[elindholm]

What mistakes (other than the possible one of picking Len)?

Well, as I've said before, I think he got impatient with Gortat and sold pretty low on him. A late first-round pick is really the minimum that Gortat should have been worth. Maybe no better offer would have materialized later, but odds are he could have fetched more at the deadline when other teams in the league were feeling their needs more immediately. This board liked the trade only when they thought the Suns would get something out of Okafor.

I just don't like the argument that says, "Most of McDonough's moves have been good, so therefore he's infallible, and every move must be good, even those that right now appear to be mistakes." And yet a lot of people are making that argument to defend the Len pick. If the Len pick was a mistake, it was a mistake, even if the person responsible for it also made some good decisions.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Well, as I've said before, I think he got impatient with Gortat and sold pretty low on him. A late first-round pick is really the minimum that Gortat should have been worth. Maybe no better offer would have materialized later, but odds are he could have fetched more at the deadline when other teams in the league were feeling their needs more immediately. This board liked the trade only when they thought the Suns would get something out of Okafor.

I just don't like the argument that says, "Most of McDonough's moves have been good, so therefore he's infallible, and every move must be good, even those that right now appear to be mistakes." And yet a lot of people are making that argument to defend the Len pick. If the Len pick was a mistake, it was a mistake, even if the person responsible for it also made some good decisions.

I'm not sure that's true. I would have said that this board liked the trade when they thought getting rid of Gortat improved our tanking odds. Okafor was (and still is) just icing on the cake for most here IMO. I guess we could ask for a show of hands.

Steve

 

[Chaplin]

Well, as I've said before, I think he got impatient with Gortat and sold pretty low on him. A late first-round pick is really the minimum that Gortat should have been worth. Maybe no better offer would have materialized later, but odds are he could have fetched more at the deadline when other teams in the league were feeling their needs more immediately. This board liked the trade only when they thought the Suns would get something out of Okafor.

I just don't like the argument that says, "Most of McDonough's moves have been good, so therefore he's infallible, and every move must be good, even those that right now appear to be mistakes." And yet a lot of people are making that argument to defend the Len pick. If the Len pick was a mistake, it was a mistake, even if the person responsible for it also made some good decisions.

Is that any different than taking the attitude that this is bound to be a mistake, just by the law of averages? If everything he has done has been at worst average, why is it so easy to just write off the Len pick as a mistake? Nothing in McDonough's history has shown that.

I certainly didn't think we'd get anything out of Okafor. Even if that were a possibility, I'd rather he never suited up for the Suns at all. Whether he's part of a trade for a good player or just expiring this summer, that's the only value I see from him.

You know we got a first round pick for Gortat, right? And if we get it, it will be mid-first round at worst. One can argue that his value dictated that he would garner a better pick without protection, but nobody is going to trade an unprotected pick (or even one with minimal protection) in the next draft. They would be stupid to do so.

 

[elindholm]

If everything he has done has been at worst average, why is it so easy to just write off the Len pick as a mistake? Nothing in McDonough's history has shown that.

If you evaluate the Len pick independent of "McDonough's history," it looks like a bad pick. I don't give the Len pick bonus points because McDonough made it. Viewed on its own merits, it sure looks like a bad pick right now.

You know we got a first round pick for Gortat, right?

Yes, that's why I referred to trading Gortat for a pick.

One can argue that his value dictated that he would garner a better pick without protection, but nobody is going to trade an unprotected pick (or even one with minimal protection) in the next draft. They would be stupid to do so.

That's a straw-man argument. I wasn't suggesting that the Suns could have gotten an unprotected pick. But maybe they could have gotten a marginal prospect thrown in, or a second-round pick, or something. I do know that Gortat's trade value was much more likely to go up than down over the next few months.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Well, as I've said before, I think he got impatient with Gortat and sold pretty low on him. A late first-round pick is really the minimum that Gortat should have been worth. Maybe no better offer would have materialized later, but odds are he could have fetched more at the deadline when other teams in the league were feeling their needs more immediately. This board liked the trade only when they thought the Suns would get something out of Okafor.

What board were you reading who only liked the trade thinking they'd get something out of Okafor?! That's just making stuff up to back up a relatively dubious/completely evidence free claim that Gortat would have been worth more then a possible mid 1st in a loaded draft.