Raja Bell- the newest sun

[Cheesebeef]

I would like to re-sign Hunter and get one more forward/center.

I would too - but I think that's a pipe dream Chaz. How many teams are there that actually have 3 good Power players in the league? The Pistons are the only ones who even come to mind. The Spurs don't, I guess it can be argued that the Nuggets do as do the Jazz, but it's rare to have 3 guys that can actually contribute at the 4/5 positions.

 

[Cheesebeef]

do we know how much of the MLE Bell took? I wonder if it's enough to split the difference with Stephen Hunter for a 2.5 million dollar/year deal?

 

[fordronken]

Woohoo! We spent money!

 

[Chaz]

I would too - but I think that's a pipe dream Chaz. How many teams are there that actually have 3 good Power players in the league? The Pistons are the only ones who even come to mind. The Spurs don't, I guess it can be argued that the Nuggets do as do the Jazz, but it's rare to have 3 guys that can actually contribute at the 4/5 positions.

Yea, well even if it is a smaller 4 they still need more depth in the front court. Even if they get Hunter back.

Unless you think Voskuhl will contribute next season.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Yea, well even if it is a smaller 4 they still need more depth in the front court. Even if they get Hunter back.

Unless you think Voskuhl will contribute next season.

honestly - I don't expect anyone out of the 8 man rotation to contribute next season - or really any season if we're title contenders. I just don't think with the contracts we're shelling out and with the way the NBA is, that you can really have much depth in this league. If we found another guy who could actually play at the 4/5 - GREAT - but considering I still think we'll see a decent dose of skill-ball as well, it's not as pressing a need for us.

 

[sunsfn]

I think this will end the hunt for any more guards. Point or otherwise.
I would think that Bell can bring the ball up court and we will not need any more point guard.

Good signing, we toughened up our defense and he is a young guy that should stay here a while.

 

[Chaplin]

Nice to get him if this is true, but I'm really worried that he wants the whole MLE.

 

[fordronken]

I'd love to see Nash play just 30 a game. So, with 96 minutes to split between the two guard spots, if we put in JJ for 40 again(at both guard spots) that means 26 a game for Bell, Barbosa and Jackson(with some of Bell and Jackson's extra time coming at the expense of Marion, or, Thomas when they go small).

Okay. Here's the thing. The following minutes per, breakdown seems to make a lot of sense to me in regards to what I'd like to see per person.

Nash- 30
Johnson- 40
Amare- 40
Thomas- 33
Marion- 37
Jim Jackson- 25
Bell- 25
Barbosa- 10

=240 Minutes...which, incidentally, is how many minutes there are total for the five players out on the floor.

That's a solid 8 player rotation. If we sign a big man, we're in really good shape.

Who's Dijon Thompson?

 

[Yuma]

I would too - but I think that's a pipe dream Chaz. How many teams are there that actually have 3 good Power players in the league? The Pistons are the only ones who even come to mind. The Spurs don't, I guess it can be argued that the Nuggets do as do the Jazz, but it's rare to have 3 guys that can actually contribute at the 4/5 positions.

The Pistons should have 4, if their coach would ever let Darko get minutes and develop into an NBA player! OK, that was my Coach Brown gripe for the day!

 

[playstation]

raja seems like a good/great defender and a good spot up shooter, but how would he be considered a pg (1.4 ast/1.3 turnover in 30 min/gm)? I don't see him giving nash a breather. Does this mean there's a lot of pressure on Barbosa to become a pass-first player for next year? That prospect scares me, because I'm sure D'Antoni will then once again resort to playing Nash in that 35 min range rather than the 30 min range. Maybe Payton is still a possibility? No, that's probably out now...

 

[fordronken]

Guys, Joe Johnson and Jim Jackson are more than capable of keeping the offense going. Especially, now, if Amare becomes this "point center". Barbosa can come in as, effectively, the "point", but Joe will be running the offense and guarding the bigger guards.

 

[Yuma]

Nice to get him if this is true, but I'm really worried that he wants the whole MLE.

Me, too! I was hoping to split that up for two guys. I think this guy will help us, I just worry about his reported money. It is an ESPN rumor, and they are just a step up from RealGM sometimes!

 

[fordronken]

I'm also excited about scenarios when a point guard is giving us trouble. When Nash rests, Bell can come in and guard the point while Joe and Amare run the offense.

 

[playstation]

wait...so you run jj at point, raja at 2, matrix at 3, and KT at 4, with a much more defensively intelligent Amare at 5. Isn't that pretty much a lockdown defensive team?

Is Raja Bell our Bruce Bowen?

 

[Cheesebeef]

wait...so you run jj at point, raja at 2, matrix at 3, and KT at 4, with a much more defensively intelligent Amare at 5. Isn't that pretty much a lockdown defensive team?

tell me that lineup isn't Phil Jackson's wet dream - big guards, slashing SF, a dominant big man and a grunt next to him. He'd kill to have that team out there.

 

[arthurracoon]

wait...so you run jj at point, raja at 2, matrix at 3, and KT at 4, with a much more defensively intelligent Amare at 5. Isn't that pretty much a lockdown defensive team?

Is Raja Bell our Bruce Bowen?

beautiful

think of the possibilities.

the versatility!

 

[F-Dog]

Raja Bell is a two. He can guard PGs like Joe Johnson can, but he's a two.

Nevertheless, it's a good signing. If they take the rest of the MLE and sign Mikki Moore with it, they'll have made an excellent start to the offseason.


It's too bad the Suns won't get any of those big-ticket players and/or Finley, but it can't be helped now. If you want to play for the Suns, you've got to be ready to shake hands on July 1.

 

[SweetD]

Raja Bell is a two. He can guard PGs like Joe Johnson can, but he's a two.

Nevertheless, it's a good signing. If they take the rest of the MLE and sign Mikki Moore with it, they'll have made an excellent start to the offseason.


It's too bad the Suns won't get any of those big-ticket players and/or Finley, but it can't be helped now. If you want to play for the Suns, you've got to be ready to shake hands on July 1.

Mikki Moore is not even worth the vet min. The guy had one good game and it was against the Suns, No way I would give him more than the min.

 

[KingLouieLouie]

Raja Bell is a two. He can guard PGs like Joe Johnson can, but he's a two.

Nevertheless, it's a good signing. If they take the rest of the MLE and sign Mikki Moore with it, they'll have made an excellent start to the offseason.


It's too bad the Suns won't get any of those big-ticket players and/or Finley, but it can't be helped now. If you want to play for the Suns, you've got to be ready to shake hands on July 1.

I've never been completely too sold on Mikki Moore... Coming from a former life-long Pistons fan who was following Moore during his time there...He's somewhat of softy.... He may be around 7'0, but tends to play like he's 6'2.... In fact... he had some weight issues, but of the other kind... They had to force him to gain weight and he had problems in doing so....I guess he had some problem with his metabolism...

Perhaps that's been since corrected, but I wouldnt be too thrilled if the Suns signed him.....

I know I might be flamed for suggesting this player (and in fact he was discussed some on this message board last season), but what about Marcus Fizer? I know he's bounced around some, but whenever he plays he grabs rebounds and can score in a flurry...Would be perfect to complement Marion and Amare......

 

[tobiazz]

I have no problem with this signing. I would prefer Finley for personal reasons, but Bell could be a very good fit as long as he keeps his 3pt% up.

He is certainly not Q though. He may be a good defender, but he does not average many steals, and steals greatly help the Suns' offense. He averaged 0.7/G (1.18/48min) whereas Q averaged 1.2/G (1.62/48min). Q also played more minutes, which makes his numbers look better.

Anyway, if he can hit the open threes and play good D, he will be a good bench player making far less money than Q. Everything will start with KT. If KT, Amare, and Marion can all avg 10+ rebs, the Suns will be looking beautiful.

 

[arthurracoon]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2098485

Guard Raja Bell told ESPN.com's Marc Stein on Friday that he's planning to join the Suns later this month, as soon as NBA free agents are allowed to formally sign new contracts.

"We're still negotiating the terms and everything, but that's where I intend to sign," Bell said Friday afternoon.

Even though no contracts can be officially signed until July 22, teams were allowed to commence negotiations with free agents as of 12:01 a.m. Friday morning. Knowing that Bell is bound to attract considerable interest from teams looking for a quality defender who's also underrated as a shot-maker, Phoenix was apparently quick to offer Bell a multi-year deal.

Bell, 28, averaged 11.6 points in two seasons with the Jazz to augment his reputation for sticky perimeter defense.

The Suns began the free-agent period with two top priorities -- re-signing restricted free agent Joe Johnson and signing All-Star forward Amare Stoudemire to a contract extension.

Bell would be the second major addition to a team that won 62 games last season, following this week's trade of Quentin Richardson to New York for veteran forward Kurt Thomas.

The Suns also struck quickly in free agency last July, reaching a verbal agreement to lure eventual league MVP Steve Nash from Dallas to the desert on the first day of negotiations. Nash and Bell are pals from their season together as Mavericks teammates.

"Raja Bell intends to sign a contract with the Suns when the moratorium ends," his agent, Herb Rudoy, told ESPN Insider Chad Ford. "Raja really wanted to play with Steve Nash and saw a great opportunity to do just that."

Suns GM Bryan Colangelo declined comment on the story, citing league policy that prohibits NBA teams from commenting on free-agent negotiations during the moratorium.

 

[playstation]

if we get no more backcourt players, JJ is REALLY important. I would have thought we'd get some sort of playmaker to back up Nash, and we know Barbosa just isn't that guy. So JJ is our Nash replacement along with supershooter?

Man, i don't know how a guy can go from utterly dispensable to absolutely prized possession in 18 months, but he did it.

 

[nothin' but net]

Now lets go sing a big!

We're ready....any particular song you have in mind?

 

[JCSunsfan]

Bell is obviously the replacement for Q. I assume Bell is a better defender, and it looks like he's a quality shooter from outside. That's a perfect combo.

He has really been brought here for one purpose, slow down Ginobili--we all know that Q didn't.

Quality vet role player who does well at exactly what you need.

If the Blazers, Lakers, and Mavs have taught us anything over the past few years its this--you can have too many stars--even old ones. Its better to round out your team with vet role players who are specialists.

 

[arthurracoon]

He has really been brought here for one purpose, slow down Ginobili--we all know that Q didn't.

It's all about the Spurs.