Ryan McDonough New GM

[elindholm]

I think the only credible offer the Suns could make for Love would be Okafor, Mk. Morris, and multiple picks. The Suns' only other players with positive trade value are Dragic and Bledsoe, neither of whom would make sense.

 

[Mainstreet]

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.

You can keep the bridge.

I also don't like the idea of giving up the farm for Kevin Love. Actually beyond players like Durant and Lebron, I don't get excited that much. I'm sure there must be a player out there worth it, but I do not want to give up one of our potential stars (Dragic or Bledsoe) for a player in some respects reminds me of Tom Gugliotta.

 

[BC867]

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?

No, but the Chuckster's lack of, or selective, defense does.

 

[JCSunsfan]

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.

There is nothing else of value in that deal.

 

[Phrazbit]

I think a reasonable trade would be:

Both of the Morri, Okafor, Goodwin, 2014 Minny pick, 2014 Suns pick, for Love and Shved. If Minny is more into future picks than current players then swap out some of our guys for the Laker 2015 pick and a few seconds.

And I do think if Minnesota is looking at yet another playoff whiff then they'd probably be open to trading Love by late Jan. Better to move him early before he starts demanding to be moved and kills the trade value.

Oh, and if they'd rather have Len than the Morri/Goodwin then I'd be all over that.

 

[JCSunsfan]

I think a reasonable trade would be:

Both of the Morri, Okafor, Goodwin, 2014 Minny pick, 2014 Suns pick, for Love and Shved. If Minny is more into future picks than current players then swap out some of our guys for the Laker 2015 pick and a few seconds.

And I do think if Minnesota is looking at yet another playoff whiff then they'd probably be open to trading Love by late Jan. Better to move him early before he starts demanding to be moved and kills the trade value.

Oh, and if they'd rather have Len than the Morri/Goodwin then I'd be all over that.

Is Minny even considering trading Love?

 

[Errntknght]

Until Love becomes thoroughly disenchanted I don't think we have a prayer of getting him at a price we'd be willing to pay.

The guy I'd love to grab from Minny is Gorgui Dieng. I wanted us to buy, beg or steal a pick in the teens to get him in the draft so this isn't a brand new infatuation. He's playing behind Pekovic, who's playing great, so he's barely getting on the floor - 77 minutes in 13 games but they are playing him ahead of Turiaf. He was regarded as a solid defender and rebounder in college and a shot blocking machine. He's certainly keeping up the last part in the NBA - 12 blocks in 77 minutes! Opponents are only scoring on him 36% of the time at the rim and he's rebounding very well, too (14.5/40 min vs. Love at 15.4/40). Small sample size, of course, but it does confirm his college reputation.

Minny drafted him 22nd IIRC and I can't imagine they are looking to move him but could they resist a comparable draft pick in the fabulous 2014 draft? I'm thinking of their own draft pick and sweetened with Marcus or Markieff. (They're not in the playoffs now but they've played a tough schedule and are maintaining a +3.6 point differential, so I think their chances are good to make it. Their recent losses are SA, Mia, OKC, Den, Ind, Hou, and LAC, plus they've had 6 back-to-backs already.)

They might prefer Marcus to Markieff at present as their 3pt % is a woeful .342 and Marcus is hitting at .429 this year.

Correction: Minny is shooting .404 on threes... don't know where I got that .342 from. Sorry about that.

 

[Phrazbit]

Is Minny even considering trading Love?

No, but Love has made it sound as though this is a bit of a make or break year for him and wanting to stay in Minnesota.

"It's tough seeing all these guys that are young and older who have all played in the playoffs. When they start talking about that, I have nothing to talk about. If I don't make the playoffs next year I don't know what will happen."
...
"If we don't make the playoffs, I don't know it's going to be me or something, but our management needs to step up and make some moves," Love said.
...
"I don't know if we will blow up the team again, if I'll be moved," Love said. "I don't know.
"But something has to happen in Minnesota."

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/eye-on...ng-trade-if-wolves-dont-make-playoffs-in-2013

Thats why I said if they were looking at missing the playoffs again then you might see them start to explore options by January. It would be in their best interest to move Love before he forces the issue.

 

[JCSunsfan]

No, but Love has made it sound as though this is a bit of a make or break year for him and wanting to stay in Minnesota.

​

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/eye-on...ng-trade-if-wolves-dont-make-playoffs-in-2013

Thats why I said if they were looking at missing the playoffs again then you might see them start to explore options by January. It would be in their best interest to move Love before he forces the issue.

Well. Love is everything this team needs. He is an extraordinary rebounder and has range in his shooting. A Plumlee/Len, Love, Tucker front line is interesting. He could fit the bill of the disgruntled star soon. And he is only 26. A starting line up of:

Plumlee
Love
Tucker
Bledsoe
Dragic

Has an interesting mix of shooting, slashing, rebounding, and defense.

 

[elindholm]

The Suns aren't getting the likes of James or Durant, and they're playing themselves out of a top pick in next summer's draft. So if a player of Love's caliber becomes available, you have to go after him. Otherwise you're treading water in medicority with no aspiration to rise even to the level of 50-and-fade.

 

[Mainstreet]

The Suns aren't getting the likes of James or Durant, and they're playing themselves out of a top pick in next summer's draft. So if a player of Love's caliber becomes available, you have to go after him. Otherwise you're treading water in medicority with no aspiration to rise even to the level of 50-and-fade.

I understand the Suns are not likely to get a Durant or James, but I don't think Love is the answer if the price is too high. Love hasn't done much other than produce stats in Minnesota. I think sinking a ton of assets to obtain Love might lead to mediocrity as well. I'd rather take a chance on a more modest trade for a player with star potential. I believe Dragic, Bledsoe and Goodwin have legitimate star potential already. It is conceivable the Suns might strike gold in one or two players in their next two drafts if they don't fritter all their picks away.

Leading my concern about Love is his inability to play full seasons. In 2011-12 and 2012-13 he only played a combined total of 73 games.

 

[95pro]

im a big believer and supporter of Goodwin. i think he has unlimited potential to be a star, would hate to see him traded.

also i too think love is a stat stuffer, but has yet to make his teams win or produce better. he's almost on the same overrated scale as deron williams, joe johnson, and 'melo'.

 

[elindholm]

I believe Dragic, Bledsoe and Goodwin have legitimate star potential already.

Given that "star potential" is pretty vague, I'll just say that if you think it's reasonably likely that any of those players will approach Love's caliber, I have to disagree.

It is conceivable the Suns might strike gold in one or two players in their next two drafts if they don't fritter all their picks away.

Also possible, but again, not all that likely. While getting "good" players late in the draft is feasible if you are lucky and/or good, getting a top-ten player outside of the lottery is almost unheard of.

Leading my concern about Love is his inability to play full seasons. In 2011-12 and 2012-13 he only played a combined total of 73 games.

True, that is a concern. On the other hand, it is the rare big man who can stay healthy in this league. (Len has had durability issues to start his career, so banking on him doesn't look any more appealing.)

One could argue that having a dominant big man now is less important than it has ever been. The Heat, Thunder, and Pacers are all wing-driven teams. The Spurs still have Duncan, but that franchise is starting to look anachronistic. The Blazers have Aldridge, but we'll see as the months unfold whether they are really an elite team -- I suspect that they are not. Is Howard the difference-maker in Houston? The answer to that question could be a referendum on the general necessity of star big men.

But, if you believe that you're still better off having one, options more appealing than Love are pretty limited.

 

[JustWinBaby]

I understand the Suns are not likely to get a Durant or James, but I don't think Love is the answer if the price is too high. Love hasn't done much other than produce stats in Minnesota. I think sinking a ton of assets to obtain Love might lead to mediocrity as well. I'd rather take a chance on a more modest trade for a player with star potential. I believe Dragic, Bledsoe and Goodwin have legitimate star potential already. It is conceivable the Suns might strike gold in one or two players in their next two drafts if they don't fritter all their picks away.

Leading my concern about Love is his inability to play full seasons. In 2011-12 and 2012-13 he only played a combined total of 73 games.

I agree with your concern on Love. I do not share the same love affair for him that many do on this board.

I also would not be so interested in moving the Morris brothers as well as Frye from this team. Certainly Dragic and Bledsoe have been fantastic but without the production from the Morris brothers our record would not be nearly as good and they are only 24 and don't turn 25 till next September. They also are rarely if ever injured. Frye is a rare commodity and I think we should keep him. He is a good guy and a solid performer. If we trade Goodwin to anyone we are nuts.

I can see us going after someone like Turner or Young in Philadelphia or Amir Johnson in Toronto with a combination of picks and Okafor's expiring contract.

I just do not see us going after anyone like Kevin Love or Carmelo.

Could Danny Granger be on our radar?

He is 30 but win in this league you cannot have too many quality wings. If our doctors deem him healthy enough I can us possibly going after him. He plays both ends of the court.

The thing is I would be Ok with just doing nothing and just using our draft picks. I like our team the way it is.

 

[Chaplin]

I also would not be so interested in moving the Morris brothers as well as Frye from this team. Certainly Dragic and Bledsoe have been fantastic but without the production from the Morris brothers our record would not be nearly as good and they are only 24 and don't turn 25 till next September. They also are rarely if ever injured. Frye is a rare commodity and I think we should keep him. He is a good guy and a solid performer. If we trade Goodwin to anyone we are nuts.

Love is worth more than both brothers and Frye by himself.

If Minny came to us and asked us for those 3 for Love, McDonough would say "deal" before they finished their sentence.

 

[ProdigalSun]

Love is worth more than both brothers and Frye by himself.

If Minny came to us and asked us for those 3 for Love, McDonough would say "deal" before they finished their sentence.

Yeah that would be a no-brainer deal. I appreciate how the Morrii have improved this year as well as other guys like Frye and Tucker etc. The team has definitely play well so far and its been a pleasant surprise, but at the end of the day you have to ask yourself "Are these guys going to take us to the next level and compete for a championship?". I think that answer is pretty obvious

 

[Phrazbit]

I'm not that worried about Love's durability. Yes, he only played 73 games during the previous two years but it is worth noting that one of those years was lockout shortened. And the injury was not something I'd worry about in the long term, its not like he has bad knees or a bad back. He broke his wrist, out of his personal want to make the playoffs he came back too soon and broke it again. Other than that he has been pretty healthy.

Love is a phenomenal player, with him our rebounding and outside shooting issues vanish. And the guy is really smart, he might not be a good defensive player individually but I dont doubt he could function perfectly well in a great defensive system... and you need to remember that a large portion of defense is rebounding the ball once you force the miss, and he is the best in the league in that department.

If he actually became available I'd have no problem with the Suns being willing to give up some serious value to land him. We just need to hope Minnesota cant keep up with the rest of the playoff teams in the west.

 

[Errntknght]

I'm concerned that Love is not a good defender. In the NBA this year there are 213 players with 5 or more blocks - Kevin Love has 6 and players challenging him at the rim have scored on 60.5% of their attempts. That is 20th from the worst! Its not a freak stat either as he is challenged 8.6 times per game. If you recall Plumlee is challenged 10.1 times/game, only scored upon 47.1% of the time and has 42 blocks. Just to give you another reference point, Luis Scola is the next guy down the list from Love with 60.6% and also 6 blocks - and you know what we thought of him as a defender.

I can't say I wouldn't like to have Love on the team but I would give up little for that kind of defense. I'd rather have Dieng! He's 12th best on the same list (36.0% scored against) and has 12 blocks in 77 minutes - not that he'll continue at that insane rate because people won't challenge him once they find out how good he is.

 

[CardsSunsDbacks]

I would like to see us target John Henson. Milwaukee might have him off limits for all I know, but I would at least look into what it might take to get him. Makes me sick that we passed on him for Kendall Marshall...

Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Phrazbit]

I know you're really falling in love with your stat site, but you'd rather have Dieng than Love? Give me a break. He has zero offensive game, with the sample size its hard to tell anything about his defense, and if you do want to assume his production would not drop off with more minutes (unlikely) then you also need to factor in that at the rate he fouls he would be out of the game by half time.

Also worth noting, in terms of how his team performs with him in the game only Shabazz has a lower rating this year than Dieng.

http://www.82games.com/1314/1314MIN.HTM

Granted that also is a really really tiny sample size, but thats the point. Its way too soon to proclaim Dieng is worth anything. He is an exceptionally "raw" rookie that is also about to turn 24. Not saying 24 is old, but for a rookie... its old (he is only 16 months younger than Love!). Stephen Hunter and Lauren Woods could also block shots, but they still stunk. I think Dieng is more likely to go down their path than one to glory.

 

[Catlover]

I'm concerned that Love is not a good defender. In the NBA this year there are 213 players with 5 or more blocks - Kevin Love has 6 and players challenging him at the rim have scored on 60.5% of their attempts. That is 20th from the worst! Its not a freak stat either as he is challenged 8.6 times per game. If you recall Plumlee is challenged 10.1 times/game, only scored upon 47.1% of the time and has 42 blocks. Just to give you another reference point, Luis Scola is the next guy down the list from Love with 60.6% and also 6 blocks - and you know what we thought of him as a defender.

I can't say I wouldn't like to have Love on the team but I would give up little for that kind of defense. I'd rather have Dieng! He's 12th best on the same list (36.0% scored against) and has 12 blocks in 77 minutes - not that he'll continue at that insane rate because people won't challenge him once they find out how good he is.

I'd rather pursue Dieng as he would likely cost far less. I'd much rather have Love if it were simply a choice of which player would suit up for us.

 

[SirStefan32]

I'm concerned that Love is not a good defender. In the NBA this year there are 213 players with 5 or more blocks - Kevin Love has 6 and players challenging him at the rim have scored on 60.5% of their attempts. That is 20th from the worst! Its not a freak stat either as he is challenged 8.6 times per game. If you recall Plumlee is challenged 10.1 times/game, only scored upon 47.1% of the time and has 42 blocks. Just to give you another reference point, Luis Scola is the next guy down the list from Love with 60.6% and also 6 blocks - and you know what we thought of him as a defender.

I can't say I wouldn't like to have Love on the team but I would give up little for that kind of defense. I'd rather have Dieng! He's 12th best on the same list (36.0% scored against) and has 12 blocks in 77 minutes - not that he'll continue at that insane rate because people won't challenge him once they find out how good he is.

I think you can hide one bad defender in your lineup, especially if he is a big man who rebounds and can score in a variety of ways. Dieng would be a fine player, but wanting him over K-Love is just silly.

 

[SirStefan32]

Love is worth more than both brothers and Frye by himself.

If Minny came to us and asked us for those 3 for Love, McDonough would say "deal" before they finished their sentence.

Yeah, no kidding. I am not even a huge fan of Love, and if I were a GM, I would do that trade (even add two first rounders) in a heartbeat.

 

[sunsfan88]

I'm not a fan of having big men who are terrible on defense(especially after the Amare days and watching players take turns scoring on him) but Love is such a good rebounder and can score efficiently from anywhere on the outside, I think he may just be worth it.

 

[sunsfan88]

I'm concerned that Love is not a good defender. In the NBA this year there are 213 players with 5 or more blocks - Kevin Love has 6 and players challenging him at the rim have scored on 60.5% of their attempts. That is 20th from the worst! Its not a freak stat either as he is challenged 8.6 times per game. If you recall Plumlee is challenged 10.1 times/game, only scored upon 47.1% of the time and has 42 blocks. Just to give you another reference point, Luis Scola is the next guy down the list from Love with 60.6% and also 6 blocks - and you know what we thought of him as a defender.

I can't say I wouldn't like to have Love on the team but I would give up little for that kind of defense. I'd rather have Dieng! He's 12th best on the same list (36.0% scored against) and has 12 blocks in 77 minutes - not that he'll continue at that insane rate because people won't challenge him once they find out how good he is.

What's LaMarcus Alridge, Blake Griffin, Dirk, Bosh, Greg Monroe, and David Lee's defensive numbers?

And Al Horford too. If we're gonna trade for anyone in the NBA, I would prefer it to be Horford even though he is a bit older for a rebuilding team's taste.