Raptors waive Dwayne Jones

[Errntknght]

George,

Warrick if very different from Amundson. He can score pretty well, but does not have a history of being a great rebounder. In my mind, he is an "odd" PF to team up with Frye, although he may be better shot blocker than Amundson.

I thought you paid a little attention to stats... careerwise Lou blocks four times as many shots as Hakim. Among all PF who played over 1000 minutes last year, Warrick is the 8th worst out of 46 and Amundson was second only to Ty Thomas (blocks per minute played.) Heck, Dejuan Blair who has trouble getting both feet off the floor at once blocked twice as many as Warrick.

 

[Errntknght]

You left out the biggest question mark. Where does Frye fit in? Does he slide into the starting pf slot or is he that backup 5? If he slides into the backup 4 role where does that leave Lawal and Warrick?

Also, there is this guy named Dudley that will demand time. This is going to be a year of drama for message boards with cries about why Frye, Warrick, Lawal, Clark, or even Dudley isn't getting more minutes.

The Suns have too many decent players and not enough great players. "Addition by subtraction" will happen this year.

IMO, whats going to happen is that the second unit will actually be better than the first unit and will play just as many minutes so the question of which unit a guy is on doesn't mean much.

I expect it to shake out like this - first unit: Nash, Richardson, Hill, Turkoglu & Lopez. Second unit: Dragic, Childress, Dudley, Lawal & Frye. Warrick is our offensive wildcard, subbing as needed for both units. Hill probably plays very short minutes in 2nd games of back-to-backs, for example. Or if Frye is firing blanks, slide Lawal to C and insert Warrick. Clark plays as much as he's earned, which figures to be close to zero.

I don't think Nash, JR, Hedo, Frye, Robin works too well because it has three weak defenders and Hill hasn't done well coming off the bench - admittedly, the first unit I gave isn't that much better defensively and is pretty badly undersized at PF. When the latter becomes a critical factor Gentry could sub Frye for Hill in short stints or, even better, Lawal.

One of the saving graces of playing both units the same amount is that no one gets to exploit their mismatches for too long at a time.

Looking at those line ups reminds me what a blunder it was not to sign Scottie Reynolds - if either Nash or Dragic goes out for any length of time our running game will suffer badly - and this team is going to depend on wearing out the opponents. Reynolds was not a 100% in the SL but he still consistently pushed the ball up the floor. (And, yeah, I'm aware of the argument that Scottie developes faster overseas and we might well snag him later. Thats only valid if one is convinced we are not going to contend this year.)

 

[Irish]

Nash is a bit of a paradox. He is a superstar on offense, but not quick enough or strong enough to do much on defense. Indeed, his best move on defense is to get run down by opponents in quest of charges.

I think Hill is ideal at SF. He should not be forced to play long minutes to avoid injuries and wearing down while Dudley deservices the minutes.

Unless the Suns mess it up, they should be below the cap BEFORE taking into account the $14.4 million J-RICH represents. I'm not sure there is anyone worth that kind of money, but it's at least what the Suns had going into 2004.

I don't know what will happen with Frye. I don't like Frye and Warrick together, but they cans score. I just with that was what the team needed.

 

[carey]

I just with that was what the team needed.

Irishism decode needed please.

Edit -> "I just wish that was what the team needed." Got it.

 

[Irish]

Irishism decode needed please.

Edit -> "I just wish that was what the team needed." Got it.

Making posts late at night just makes my tendency toward typos worse.

It's odd that the best rebounder the Suns have had over the past half decade has been Marion. Shawn was too small to play bigs straight up and tended to leak out for fast break points. My fear is that Warrick will be a better offensive player than Marion, but not nearly as good a rebounder as Shawn with the same issues guarding bigs. Fronting bigs generates steals, but puts a huge demand on the weak side defender.

.

 

[MarkWest]

There's no way Warrick will be better offensively than Marion. Warrick has been sitting the bench since he entered the league for a reason. This was a horrible signing by the Suns.

 

[Irish]

There's no way Warrick will be better offensively than Marion. Warrick has been sitting the bench since he entered the league for a reason. This was a horrible signing by the Suns.

The You Clips suggests Warrick can get to the basket, something that became a smalller part of Marion's game as he went on. Shawn was not much of a shooter. I'm not sure Warrick is much better, but at least he won't keep jacking up three's like Shawn did. Maybe I've giving Warrick too much credit (Chap thinks I don't give him enough). I just don't see him being what the team needs.

 

[Chaplin]

The You Clips suggests Warrick can get to the basket, something that became a smalller part of Marion's game as he went on. Shawn was not much of a shooter. I'm not sure Warrick is much better, but at least he won't keep jacking up three's like Shawn did. Maybe I've giving Warrick too much credit (Chap thinks I don't give him enough). I just don't see him being what the team needs.

He's no star, that's for sure, but he's a player that fits our system and most people are rating Lou Amundson higher. I love Lou, but as an overall player, ranking him higher than Warrick (who isn't exactly breaking the bank with his contract) is ludicrous. Again, he's no Amare replacement, but he's certainly better than a stick of gum and a six-pack of Pabst.

 

[Yuma]

He's no star, that's for sure, but he's a player that fits our system and most people are rating Lou Amundson higher. I love Lou, but as an overall player, ranking him higher than Warrick (who isn't exactly breaking the bank with his contract) is ludicrous. Again, he's no Amare replacement, but he's certainly better than a stick of gum and a six-pack of Pabst.

I agree. People liked Lou because he hustled on a team of guys who tried to get by on talent alone. He was a horrible free throw shooter, who got fouled a lot. He had limited offense, but did get better this year I have to admit. His main attribute was hustling for boards, some blocked shots, and help defense. People are comparing Warrick to Amundson, but I think Lawal fits into the Lou role more. Same game as Lou, but better offense. Lawal will be our hustle guy to replace Amundson who was our old hustle guy.

Also this: "Toronto later waived Jones, whom the Suns will consider re-signing.

Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/2010/08/18/20100818phoenix-suns-grant-hill-barack-obama.html#ixzz0xAPZdnoF"

 

[Covert Rain]

There's no way Warrick will be better offensively than Marion. Warrick has been sitting the bench since he entered the league for a reason. This was a horrible signing by the Suns.

I agree with you. Marion in his hey day here was as explosive as any player at that position. HW is no Amare or Marion. There is a reason the Suns kept dealing and brought in more guys like HT. The SF/PF position are going to played by committee because there is no true PF replacement on this team. My guess is that HT will be playing both positions from time to time.

If the Suns really though HW could get the job and be another Marion or Amare, I am not sure they still make the HT trade. They might have gone in another direction possibly. Then again, I can't tell what the FO is thinking these days.

 

[Sunburn]

I agree with you. Marion in his hey day here was as explosive as any player at that position. AK is no Amare or Marion. There is a reason the Suns kept dealing and brought in more guys like HT. The SF/PF position are going to played by committee because there is no true PF replacement on this team. My guess is that HT will be playing both positions from time to time.

If the Suns really though AK could get the job and be another Marion or Amare, I am not sure they still make the HT trade. They might have gone in another direction possibly. Then again, I can't tell what the FO is thinking these days.

Andre Kirilenko?

 

[AzStevenCal]

Andre Kirilenko?

Yeah, I was lost also. All I could come up with was Andre Kirilenko and Arthur Kennedy and Arthur didn't ball as far as I know.

Steve

 

[Mainstreet]

I know initials are used on this board for identifying players like using KT for Kurt Thomas. I do it. However, (IMO) it doesn't work well for all players. I think using HT is one of these (for identifying Hedo Turkoglu). I think using Hedo is not that hard. Anyway, HT doesn't work well for me. Also HW doesn't work well for Warrick.

Oh well, that's me.

I'm ready for training camp.

 

[Covert Rain]

Andre Kirilenko?

Yeah, I was lost also. All I could come up with was Andre Kirilenko and Arthur Kennedy and Arthur didn't ball as far as I know.

Steve

Wow...I must have been spacing today. I fixed it. I have no idea where AK came from. I really don't. I would love to tell some story how I was writing on another board about Kirelenko or someone else. I was simply spacing I guess.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Wow...I must have been spacing today. I fixed it. I have no idea where AK came from. I really don't. I would love to tell some story how I was writing on another board about Kirelenko or someone else. I was simply spacing I guess.

Well, I don't know about the others but you actually had me a bit worried. I was afraid that I was the one that was spacing out.

Steve