Roster ideas and rumors for Suns

[Muggz]

A former top 10 pick buried on a team with championship ambition might be more attractive to the Spurs than a 33 year old who will provide "veteran leadership" to a team that won't compete.

It sure is more attractive to me. I love Stix and would love to be around to see him grow. But we need SIZE at the 4 now. Stix isn't ready yet and he wont get ready sitting on a bench.

 

[JCSunsfan]

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Yup. No-brainer.

Basketball wise, sure. Cap-wise, I think it's untenable. You basically would have four max deals going forward.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

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Basketball wise, sure. Cap-wise, I think it's untenable. You basically would have four max deals going forward.

Ah why you gotta go and bring up reality?

 

[AzStevenCal]

Basketball wise, sure. Cap-wise, I think it's untenable. You basically would have four max deals going forward.

I think we could handle a couple of Max deals and a couple of near Max deals as long as we weren't talking about a Super Max.

 

[Mainstreet]

Only food for thought but I was looking at salaries and players that might fit in trade. I think Kevin Knox of the Knicks might be such a candidate. It appears he has fallen out of their rotation.

His playing time and stats have diminished every season. His salary is presently $5,845,978 and he is a RFA next season so his salary wouldn't be a long term problem. If the Suns should give up on Stix a straight up trade would work.

Kevin Knox Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft Status and more | Basketball-Reference.com

Checkout the latest stats of Kevin Knox. Get info about his position, age, height, weight, draft status, shoots, school and more on Basketball-Reference.com

www.basketball-reference.com

 

[AzStevenCal]

Only food for thought but I was looking at salaries and players that might fit in trade. I think Kevin Knox of the Knicks might be such a candidate. It appears he has fallen out of their rotation.

His playing time and stats have diminished every season. His salary is presently $5,845,978 and he is a RFA next season so his salary wouldn't be a long term problem. If the Suns should give up on Stix a straight up trade would work.

Kevin Knox Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft Status and more | Basketball-Reference.com

Checkout the latest stats of Kevin Knox. Get info about his position, age, height, weight, draft status, shoots, school and more on Basketball-Reference.com

www.basketball-reference.com

I've never believed in Knox as an NBA player, I'd stay far away from him. Jalen might be a long shot too but he could impact the game on both ends if he does develop.

 

[Hoop Head]

Only food for thought but I was looking at salaries and players that might fit in trade. I think Kevin Knox of the Knicks might be such a candidate. It appears he has fallen out of their rotation.

His playing time and stats have diminished every season. His salary is presently $5,845,978 and he is a RFA next season so his salary wouldn't be a long term problem. If the Suns should give up on Stix a straight up trade would work.

Kevin Knox Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft Status and more | Basketball-Reference.com

Checkout the latest stats of Kevin Knox. Get info about his position, age, height, weight, draft status, shoots, school and more on Basketball-Reference.com

www.basketball-reference.com

I like Knox and if this was a trade past season, Stix for Knox, I would have been for it but he's struggled to get time for another season. I think Stix has a better chance of being what we need but I wouldn't be that disappointed in swapping them.

I wish there was another way to make it happen. What sucks is he makes too much that we couldn't acquire him with the DPE, which would be worth applying for if New York would give him up for a couple of 2nd rounders.

 

[AzStevenCal]

I like Knox and if this was a trade past season, Stix for Knox, I would have been for it but he's struggled to get time for another season. I think Stix has a better chance of being what we need but I wouldn't be that disappointed in swapping them.

I wish there was another way to make it happen. What sucks is he makes too much that we couldn't acquire him with the DPE, which would be worth applying for if New York would give him up for a couple of 2nd rounders.

I haven't followed Knox all that much since college but I really disliked his game at Kentucky. Since he was mentioned here I checked out his stats and now I want him even less than I did before.

You cannot win with Knox in your rotation IMO. A 9.1 PER for a player that's started a lot of games in his first 3 seasons with plenty of minutes and plenty of opportunities and doesn't help the team on defense is a huge problem AFAIC.

Paul Millsap is a pale shadow of the player he used to be but he's a much better player even today than Knox will ever be IMO. If he was willing to be behind Jae and Cameron Johnson (plus maybe even Frank at times), I think he'd be a much better choice. I suspect he thinks he's worth more minutes and money than we'd offer him but if the market dries up for him he wouldn't be a horrible choice.

I'm still more in favor of holding the spot for a better acquisition but we could do worse than Millsap, maybe he can teach Jalen to be a little tougher and a lot sneakier.

 

[GatorAZ]

Knox would’ve fit well on those Earl Watson teams that had no idea what they were doing. I still think Thad Young is a great target. He can pretty do anything in the post in limited minutes.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Knox would’ve fit well on those Earl Watson teams that had no idea what they were doing. I still think Thad Young is a great target. He can pretty do anything in the post in limited minutes.

He is, he's just out of our price range probably.

 

[Hoop Head]

I haven't followed Knox all that much since college but I really disliked his game at Kentucky. Since he was mentioned here I checked out his stats and now I want him even less than I did before.

You cannot win with Knox in your rotation IMO. A 9.1 PER for a player that's started a lot of games in his first 3 seasons with plenty of minutes and plenty of opportunities and doesn't help the team on defense is a huge problem AFAIC.

Paul Millsap is a pale shadow of the player he used to be but he's a much better player even today than Knox will ever be IMO. If he was willing to be behind Jae and Cameron Johnson (plus maybe even Frank at times), I think he'd be a much better choice. I suspect he thinks he's worth more minutes and money than we'd offer him but if the market dries up for him he wouldn't be a horrible choice.

I'm still more in favor of holding the spot for a better acquisition but we could do worse than Millsap, maybe he can teach Jalen to be a little tougher and a lot sneakier.

I didn't pull up his latest stats. I just remember liking him when he came into the league but he hasn't done much of anything since. He's still young enough to turn it around but at this point its less likely he does, which is why I wouldn't give up much for him. 2nd round picks aren't much and I think he has as good of a chance of panning out as most 2nd rounders would.

Like I said I wouldn't trade Stix at this point for him but I would trust JJ if he did. I think its unlikely he would though. I wouldn't give up anything of value for him so its not worth comparing to who I'd rather have because he isn't really an option since I wouldn't trade anything to get him, which takes the idea of acquiring him off the table.

 

[Muggz]

*waves hand* "These aren't the droids you're lookin for"

We have a bench full of small dudes that "can" play PF why get one more. Unless he's a stud.
6'9 min
250lbs min
Or we WILL just get Muscled out of the playoffs again

 

[AzStevenCal]

*waves hand* "These aren't the droids you're lookin for"

We have a bench full of small dudes that "can" play PF why get one more. Unless he's a stud.
6'9 min
250lbs min
Or we WILL just get Muscled out of the playoffs again

They couldn't muscle us out of the playoffs until AFTER CP3, Booker and Payne all got injured. Maybe the answer is to add another weapon like those three so that the Bucks and other teams can't afford to play 27 big men against us at the same time?

I wouldn't turn down the chance to acquire a good big man beyond what we have but it wasn't Beast that killed Beauty, it was Beauty coming up lame that did us in.

Hopefully adding Javale will help a lot but there's no denying that power forward will probably again be our weakest position. Size alone won't change our fortune though IMO. I think we need someone that could fight Crowder for that starting spot or someone older that can play to that level in limited minutes only and is willing to sit behind Jae and Cameron.

 

[Muggz]

They couldn't muscle us out of the playoffs until AFTER CP3, Booker and Payne all got injured. Maybe the answer is to add another weapon like those three so that the Bucks and other teams can't afford to play 27 big men against us at the same time?

I wouldn't turn down the chance to acquire a good big man beyond what we have but it wasn't Beast that killed Beauty, it was Beauty coming up lame that did us in.

Hopefully adding Javale will help a lot but there's no denying that power forward will probably again be our weakest position. Size alone won't change our fortune though IMO. I think we need someone that could fight Crowder for that starting spot or someone older that can play to that level in limited minutes only and is willing to sit behind Jae and Cameron.

They could AND they did. We didn't lose because of CP3 or Payne, we lost because of Dario goin down then Giannis saw that gaping hole at the PF spot and drove it down our throats over and over and over and over again.

 

[Hoop Head]

They could AND they did. We didn't lose because of CP3 or Payne, we lost because of Dario goin down then Giannis saw that gaping hole at the PF spot and drove it down our throats over and over and over and over again.

Dario didn't play PF. He was Ayton's backup at Center. The Suns lost because no one other than Booker was a consistent scoring threat. CP3 turned Into a turnover machine because his hand was jacked up and Cam Payne was no longer able to blow by defenders while attacking the basket and he couldn't run the offense with any sort of speed or urgency while he was the only PG on the floor.

Giannis played great all series. He didn't turn it on in the final 4 games. He got more help in those games and they were a more balanced team.

 

[Mainstreet]

They could AND they did. We didn't lose because of CP3 or Payne, we lost because of Dario goin down then Giannis saw that gaping hole at the PF spot and drove it down our throats over and over and over and over again.

The loss of Dario Saric left a gaping hole at backup center. I wouldn't worry about labels (whether he is called a power forward or a center) because it's more about what position a player plays.

Besides Giannis the Suns had a problem defending Bobby Portis as well. He played backup center for the Bucks. Ayton had a heavy load as the Suns starting center without a lot of height to support him. Giannis was relentless attacking the basket. Kaminsky never seemed to earn Monty's trust. Saric would have helped some but I'm not sure if it would have been enough. Brook Lopez is not small either.

Essentially McGee replaces Saric as the backup center on the Suns roster. The Suns have an open roster position. Presumably they are waiting for the right player to become available. We will see how they use it.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

They could AND they did. We didn't lose because of CP3 or Payne, we lost because of Dario goin down then Giannis saw that gaping hole at the PF spot and drove it down our throats over and over and over and over again.

I’m curious, who do think was available to the suns could have stopped, or even slowed, giannis?

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

The loss of Dario Saric left a gaping hole at backup center. I wouldn't worry about labels (whether he is called a power forward or a center) because it's more about what position a player plays.

Besides Giannis the Suns had a problem defending Bobby Portis as well. He played backup center for the Bucks. Ayton had a heavy load as the Suns starting center without a lot of height to support him. Giannis was relentless attacking the basket. Kaminsky never seemed to earn Monty's trust. Saric would have helped some but I'm not sure if it would have been enough. Brook Lopez is not small either.

Essentially McGee replaces Saric as the backup center on the Suns roster. The Suns have an open roster position. Presumably they are waiting for the right player to become available. We will see how they use it.

The Bobby Portis talk is a fallacy. He had two games where he played “well”:

11pts 8rebs on 4-11 shooting
16pts 3rebs

his other four games:

9pts 3rebs
5pts 3rebs shot 2-5
3pts 5rebs shot 1-6
2pts 2rebs

he averaged:

7.7pts 4rebs on 42.5% shooting for the series.

even if you just look at the four wins his averages are:

9.75pts 4.75rebs on 42.4% shooting

 

[Muggz]

I’m curious, who do think was available to the suns could have stopped, or even slowed, giannis?

No one that's the problem. I'm not saying Dario could have stopped G but he would have helped.

 

[Mainstreet]

I’m curious, who do think was available to the suns could have stopped, or even slowed, giannis?

The best strategy I've seen to defend Giannis is to build a wall but that creates offensive opportunities for other players if the Suns defense can't rotate quick enough to cover open shooters.

Ayton is probably the Suns best individual defender to slow down Giannis but that is a recipe for foul trouble. Without Saric the Suns could have used more depth to absorb the fouls and help clog the middle.

 

[Mainstreet]

The Bobby Portis talk is a fallacy. He had two games where he played “well”:

11pts 8rebs on 4-11 shooting
16pts 3rebs

his other four games:

9pts 3rebs
5pts 3rebs shot 2-5
3pts 5rebs shot 1-6
2pts 2rebs

he averaged:

7.7pts 4rebs on 42.5% shooting for the series.

even if you just look at the four wins his averages are:

9.75pts 4.75rebs on 42.4% shooting

Portis was the Bucks bench in Game 6 scoring all 16 bench of their bench points.

It's not just Bobby Portis though, the Bucks were a much bigger team outside of Ayton with Lopez, Portis and Giannis.

 

[95pro]

It wasn't Portis that killed us, it was the game where Holiday got hot on us in our own building. No one expected that.

 

[Mainstreet]

It wasn't Portis that killed us, it was the game where Holiday got hot on us in our own building. No one expected that.

That may have been game 5.

The play where Holiday stole the ball from Booker when he turned around looking to pass in the final seconds was brutal.

The Bucks did have more overall height. Once Saric went down, especially since Kaminsky never received consistent minutes, Ayton had a heavy load to carry as the Suns primary big man.

 

[Phrazbit]

Only food for thought but I was looking at salaries and players that might fit in trade. I think Kevin Knox of the Knicks might be such a candidate. It appears he has fallen out of their rotation.

His playing time and stats have diminished every season. His salary is presently $5,845,978 and he is a RFA next season so his salary wouldn't be a long term problem. If the Suns should give up on Stix a straight up trade would work.

Kevin Knox Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft Status and more | Basketball-Reference.com

Checkout the latest stats of Kevin Knox. Get info about his position, age, height, weight, draft status, shoots, school and more on Basketball-Reference.com

www.basketball-reference.com

I doubt Smith is ready to play but I suspect he is better than Knox right now.

In another year Knox will be signing in China. He’s a disaster.

 

[Mainstreet]

I doubt Smith is ready to play but I suspect he is better than Knox right now.

In another year Knox will be signing in China. He’s a disaster.

Yeah, I was looking at player salaries that fit in a trade and came across Knox. I think Stix has more value and upside.

The only way it would make any sense whatsover is if the Suns have given up on Smith, previously had interest in Knox and wanted to kick the tires knowing they wouldn't have to keep him beyond this season.