Ryan McDonough New GM

[Griffin]

Yep. The problem was not cheapness, it was arrogance.

Or you can look at it this way: the Suns could have waited to see if the player they wanted would be available and only then make the trade. So why did they not wait? Perhaps, because they were afraid that if their player is gone and the Bulls pull out of the trade, they will be forced to pay high lotto pick guaranteed salary to a player they didn't really want. The gamble would have been to wait and see. By trading that pick right away, they took the safe way out in order to avoid paying $3M+/year to a player who wouldn't contribute for a few years anyway. I think that move was as much about money as anything else, imo.

 

[Chaplin]

Or you can look at it this way: the Suns could have waited to see if the player they wanted would be available and only then make the trade. So why did they not wait? Perhaps, because they were afraid that if their player is gone and the Bulls pull out of the trade, they will be forced to pay high lotto pick guaranteed salary to a player they didn't really want. The gamble would have been to wait and see. By trading that pick right away, they took the safe way out in order to avoid paying $3M+/year to a player who wouldn't contribute for a few years anyway. I think that move was as much about money as anything else, imo.

Depending on your point of view, there are pros and cons of both alternatives. Especially with as vociferous a fan base as we have here, having a useless player and paying him a ton of guaranteed money would not have sat well. I'm having that issue with Markief Morris and I'm going to go out on a limb and say I'll feel that way about Marshall next year as well.

 

[Errntknght]

It was not that high of a pick - #7 - and worst case they'd have been stuck with Deng. I'm not sure they did their due diligence in that draft - they wasted the #33 pick(from Chi as part of the deal) on Jackson Vroman, the sausage king, and it appears they were down on Deng in addition to misguessing how high Iggy would go. On top of that they didn't realize the Bulls were poised to move up in the standings the next year so the pick from them would be of lesser value. How many more ways could they have got it wrong?

 

[Superbone]

Or you can look at it this way: the Suns could have waited to see if the player they wanted would be available and only then make the trade. So why did they not wait? Perhaps, because they were afraid that if their player is gone and the Bulls pull out of the trade, they will be forced to pay high lotto pick guaranteed salary to a player they didn't really want. The gamble would have been to wait and see. By trading that pick right away, they took the safe way out in order to avoid paying $3M+/year to a player who wouldn't contribute for a few years anyway. I think that move was as much about money as anything else, imo.

Or, we could have done like Golden State and reneged on the deal when we discovered that Iggy was available. But that wasn't the way of the Colangelos.

 

[Phrazbit]

I dont think misjudging if Iguodala would be on the board or not fits here. The pick was still in our control when the clock hit, they could have taken Iggy, kept him and told Chicago "sorry but our guy was on the board still".

I think it was a combination of bad scouting, D'Antoni's distaste for rookies and an overestimation of Quentin Richardson's ability.

 

[Phrazbit]

Or, we could have done like Golden State and reneged on the deal when we discovered that Iggy was available. But that wasn't the way of the Colangelos.

I dont think it would even be like what Golden State did. The Suns could easily tell Chicago that they have a deal, but dependent on what is on the board at the time. While with Golden State Curry was the guy we were targeting, they took our guy, their fans got super excited... and they wimped out on the deal and kept him.

I really doubt Chicago would have had the right to gripe about the Suns using the pick on a totally different player.

 

[Griffin]

I think it was a combination of bad scouting, D'Antoni's distaste for rookies and an overestimation of Quentin Richardson's ability.

Yes, but none of these factors should have prevented the Suns from still making that pick. Teams routinely sign players to win now but still draft players for the future, be it to develop or use as trade asset, when they have an opportunity. What the Suns did that summer was to start a new paradigm in which picks and assets were mortgaged off in order to pay for a team that could win now. I don't see that draft as any different as what happened the following years.

 

[Errntknght]

I dont think misjudging if Iguodala would be on the board or not fits here. The pick was still in our control when the clock hit, they could have taken Iggy, kept him and told Chicago "sorry but our guy was on the board still".

I think it was a combination of bad scouting, D'Antoni's distaste for rookies and an overestimation of Quentin Richardson's ability.

There are deals like that made in every draft, often many, and I've never heard of a team reneging on one. Perhaps it is possible but for some reason no one ever does it.

 

[Mainstreet]

Or you can look at it this way: the Suns could have waited to see if the player they wanted would be available and only then make the trade. So why did they not wait? Perhaps, because they were afraid that if their player is gone and the Bulls pull out of the trade, they will be forced to pay high lotto pick guaranteed salary to a player they didn't really want. The gamble would have been to wait and see. By trading that pick right away, they took the safe way out in order to avoid paying $3M+/year to a player who wouldn't contribute for a few years anyway. I think that move was as much about money as anything else, imo.

IMO, it was all about the money at the urging of Sarver. BC tried to stash the pick in Chicago but it didn't work out.

 

[Phrazbit]

There are deals like that made in every draft, often many, and I've never heard of a team reneging on one. Perhaps it is possible but for some reason no one ever does it.

Golden State renegged on us in a far more blatnant way.

I dont even think it would have been reneging, I bet there are countless discussions every draft based on hypotheticals "if this guy is there we will trade, if someone else we like is on the board we wont". It the Suns pick, if a player they liked was on the board for them they should have taken them, nothing was official and its not like we would have been stealing the player Chicago wanted (like Golden State did).

 

[PhxGametime]

I could be wrong but being that would've my favorite NBA Draft (if by adding Iguodala - fav U of A Prospect) but remember something about all deals had to be made ahead of time, to speed up process of Draft, that year??

I had nearly every Draft since '94 stored somewhere soooo I could look for it, but along with Suns games back to '96 - lots of boxes have been thrown out!

 

[Joe Mama]

Okay, let's see here. First, this had nothing to do with Sarver trying to save money. I'm sorry, but that is just dumb. The Phoenix Suns had two players they were targeting with the #7. 1 was Iguodala. They loved him, but they convinced themselves he was not going to be there. 2 was Deng, but they thought there was a very good chance he would not be there at #7.

The reason they made the trade was that they wanted to get 2 free agents that summer and money was going to be very, very tight. The two guys they were targeting were Nash and Okur. I think they also may have thrown some feelers out for Kobe Bryant and Ginobilli, but I'm pretty sure their primary targets were Nash and Okur.

By the time the #7 pick came around it was already widely known that the deal was in place. I think it was done the night before if I remember correctly. The Phoenix Suns may or may not have been able to renege on the deal, but that is just something that is not done. We all know now that Golden State screwed us in the curry/holiday draft. I don't think the Colangelos were as perfect as some people here do, but I don't believe that would have happened to them. I certainly know they would not have done what Golden State did.

Who knows what would have happened if they had drafted Iguodala. Would they have had enough money to sign Richardson? With Iguodala instead of Richardson (a lot less money) does Sarver pay Joe Johnson the extra $5 million he wants. Does Joe Johnson even insist on $50 million instead of $45 million if we don't sign Richardson for $45 million? What happens the following year without Amare Stoudemire? Now we don't have Kurt Thomas from trading Richardson. We don't have Boris Diaw from trading Joe Johnson. Who knows?

Joe

 

[slinslin]

It's likely things with Iguodala would have turned out much better considering that Quentin Richardson triggered a chain of terrible cost cutting moves from ditching him for KT and then ditching KT.

 

[Superbone]

We didn't win a championship. I'd prefer to go back and run the Igoudala timeline. Get the DeLorean ready...

 

[sunsfan88]

Suns Looking To Trade Picks In 2014 Draft


The Suns, obviously encouraged by a promising start and with several attractive assets at their disposal, are making it known around the league they are open to trading one or more picks in the loaded 2014 draft if they can get an established star capable of making an impact now, NBA.com has learned. The move to capitalize on the enviable flexibility of probably having two choices in June and as many as four, along with the potential of about $20 million in cap space in the summer, comes with Phoenix at 12-9 and far exceeding most preseason projections. Adding a proven player in exchange for the uncertainty of the draft, even one as stacked as 2014, could greatly accelerate the rebuilding and firmly establish the Suns as a playoff regular again.

The aggressive front office of owner Robert Sarver, president of basketball operations Lon Babby and general manager Ryan McDonough, has not even put the Suns’ own pick, the only one with a chance to deliver a selection at the top of the lottery, off limits. They will obviously ask for protections in negotiations if that choice is in play and may even insist on it, but whether Phoenix can get them in the end will undoubtedly depend on the names involved from the other side.

“I think one of the things that’s important for people to realize is that we may not draft four players even if we have four picks,” McDonough told NBA.com. “Our preference would probably be to maybe package a few of them. We’re obviously all looking for stars and we feel like we can put together a package as good, if not better, than any other team in the league if and when a star becomes available. That’s kind of generally what we’ve wanted to do, not only with our draft-pick situation but also with the cap space that we’ve acquired.”

Read the rest here:
http://hangtime.blogs.nba.com/2013/12/13/suns-looking-to-trade-picks-in-2014-draft/?ls=nbahpsplit1

 

[ProdigalSun]

http://http://www.brightsideofthesun.com/2013/12/13/5208972/howard-cooper-phoenix-suns-looking-to-package-2014-picks-to-win-now

This article on BSOTS suggests Melo, Lebron, or Love as potential franchise changing stars that might be targeted. I say Melo no thanks, LeBron yeah right, and Love yes please

 

[Suns_fan69]

Love would be a god send for this team. Rebounding and great outlet passing for a team looking to run? Can't imagine a better fit at the 4. I just don't see a compelling package that Minny would jump on. Maybe something like Love + filler for both Morris twins + goodwin + okafor and Minny's pick back + one more 2014 pick + 2015 pick LAL pick?

 

[Mainstreet]

When the Suns mention picks as in the plural, it makes me think they have already targeted a top player.

 

[overseascardfan]

Read the rest here:
http://hangtime.blogs.nba.com/2013/12/13/suns-looking-to-trade-picks-in-2014-draft/?ls=nbahpsplit1

Makes sense since they are playing their way out of the Top 10.

 

[SirStefan32]

Love cannot stay healthy, and while his stats are great, I don't think he's ever lead his team to a winning record. In theory, Love sounds really good, but I am not sold that he is the Suns' savior.

 

[Superbone]

This article on BSOTS suggests Melo, Lebron, or Love as potential franchise changing stars that might be targeted. I say Melo no thanks, LeBron yeah right, and Love yes please

I'm with ya.

 

[Superbone]

Love cannot stay healthy, and while his stats are great, I don't think he's ever lead his team to a winning record. In theory, Love sounds really good, but I am not sold that he is the Suns' savior.

Love and this training/medical staff is a match made in heaven.

 

[HooverDam]

Love cannot stay healthy, and while his stats are great, I don't think he's ever lead his team to a winning record. In theory, Love sounds really good, but I am not sold that he is the Suns' savior.

Regarding Love's health, if you take out last year, he's averaged 67 games a year. Not great, but far from awful. With the Suns training staff perhaps that ticks up a bit.

I always find the arguments about not being a winner, or leading a winning team a bit hallow. Basketball is a team sport, if you've got turds around you, there's not much you can do. For instance, in the 5 seasons in Philly before Barkley came to the Suns, the Sixers averaged a mediocre 42.8 wins a year. Did that mean Barkley wasn't a winner?

Kevin Love is a nice age to fit in with what the Suns are trying to do. More established stars are either A. Not coming here or B. Probably too old to be a match with the rest of the Suns core.

Would the T-Wolves consider something like this?

Minny sends:
Kevin Love
JJ Barea
Shabazz Mohammed

Phoenix sends:
Channing Frye
Mc. Morris
Mk. Morris
E. Okafor
Minnesota's 1st rounder
one more 2014 first rounder, whichever one is highest.

I'm not sure Minny would want to give up on Shabazz already, I was just trying to get salaries to match.

I considered including Dragic, but Minny has no place for him w/ Rubio and Kevin Martin. Though I think Dragic is as good/better than Rubio, and I'd take Dragic if I was them and try to move Rubio, I'm not sure they'd do that.

Frye helps continue to spread the floor for Minny on offense like they had with Love. The Morris twins help ease the pain of losing Love in the front court. Minny could also try going into the tank with their own pick and get one of the studs coming out this year.

Suns would have:
C. Plumlee/Len
PF. Love/???
SF. PJ Tucker/S. Mohammed
SG. Dragic/A. Goodwin
PG. Bledsoe/JJ Bare

Wolves would have:
C. Pekovic/Frye
PF Morris/Morris
SF Brewer/Budinger
SG Martin/???
PG Rubio/Shved

Wolves still have big issues at the 3, but that actually works out with the talent thats in this years draft.

Still feel Minny maybe doesn't get quite enough value back in this deal considering Loves current status and ceiling. Maybe 1 more 1st would have to be included, which does seem like a lot.

 

[elindholm]

Would the T-Wolves consider something like this?

Minny sends:
Kevin Love
JJ Barea
Shabazz Mohammed

If the Wolves really decide that they have to part with Love, you can bet that they won't be including anything else of value in the deal.

 

[SirStefan32]

If you think Minni will give up Kevin Love for something that doesn't include Dragic or Bledsoe and 2-3 picks, I have a bridge to sell you.