Should Ayton be Traded?

[Yuma]

I think the Suns must have wanted him to play under the basket, because he did it ALL year! Monty or anyone on the bench, didn't appear to have a problem with it. Me, if I was the coach, I would be chewing his ass out for doing that. That's why I assume they wanted him to do it.

 

[Mainstreet]

I think the Suns must have wanted him to play under the basket, because he did it ALL year! Monty or anyone on the bench, didn't appear to have a problem with it. Me, if I was the coach, I would be chewing his ass out for doing that. That's why I assume they wanted him to do it.

Maybe you can apply to be a big man coach for Ayton. Whatever the Suns are doing, it's not working.

 

[Yuma]

Maybe you can apply to be a big man coach for Ayton. Whatever the Suns are doing, it's not working.

If they bring back Mark Bryant, I swear I will lose a gasket! That means Ayton will be playing the same as before. I keep waiting to hear we got a new big man coach....

 

[Sparky16]

Grass isn't always greener on the other side.

should be cheaper than 32M a year... what has DA shown in 5 years - he has zero desire to get better, will only get worse. 100% FACT he is soft

 

[95pro]

I read he was coming back, but of course there is a lot of happy talk after winning a championship. The Nuggets had a stacked roster this past season. Finding and keeping talent is not problem for them.

They can only offer him something like 7-7M if I heard correctly earlier this week. Not much to keep him on the team. He’ll be a hot commodity.

 

[Mainstreet]

They can only offer him something like 7-7M if I heard correctly earlier this week. Not much to keep him on the team. He’ll be a hot commodity.

Even if the Nuggets can't keep Bruce Brown, there will be a long line of talented players wanting to play for them.

They are so good at recognizing talent.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

I don't think this is necessarily true. Nearly everyone on the Suns roster was terrible against the Nuggets. Durant was a shell of himself. We still won more games against the Nuggets vs. every other team in the playoffs.

Don't get me wrong - there is work to be done, but I don't think a significant improvement is either possible or necessary to beat Denver.

Agreed. The nuggets are certainly well constructed and balanced, but the talk of not being able to get past them or dynasty is, imo, absurd.

They played an 8th, 4th, 7th, and 8th seed to win it all. We took two games with book and Durant only getting a single game of production from shamet (of all people) to assist them. And Durant hadn’t been healthy long, hadn’t had much time to gel with the team, and played for a coach that design anything with him in mind.

But most fans are slaves to the moment. So Denver is unbeatable right now.

 

[elindholm]

I wouldn't say the trade market is lean for Ayton

I'd say everybody watched the Suns in the playoffs the last couple years

I know yall don't like me saying this but we seriously might need to waive Ayton in the hopes someone else will pay him the money we owe him

The Suns won't know in advance whether any team would pick him up. The good outcome is that they give Ayton away for nothing. The bad outcome is that they give him away for nothing, still have to pay him a zillion dollars, and still lose all of his cap space. You're giving every impression that you don't understand this.

 

[BirdGangThing]

The Suns won't know in advance whether any team would pick him up. The good outcome is that they give Ayton away for nothing. The bad outcome is that they give him away for nothing, still have to pay him a zillion dollars, and still lose all of his cap space. You're giving every impression that you don't understand this.

Understand just fine

 

[95pro]

Understand just fine

Hittint us with your fire Monty jokes (joke was on you) and your waive-Ayton takes, and if you understand…just seems like trolling

 

[BirdGangThing]

Hittint us with your fire Monty jokes (joke was on you) and your waive-Ayton takes, and if you understand…just seems like trolling

 

[nashman]

Agreed. The nuggets are certainly well constructed and balanced, but the talk of not being able to get past them or dynasty is, imo, absurd.

They played an 8th, 4th, 7th, and 8th seed to win it all. We took two games with book and Durant only getting a single game of production from shamet (of all people) to assist them. And Durant hadn’t been healthy long, hadn’t had much time to gel with the team, and played for a coach that design anything with him in mind.

But most fans are slaves to the moment. So Denver is unbeatable right now.

THANK YOU geesh peopel acting like Denver is some juggernaut! They had a ridiculously easy path to a championship, the injured Suns were the toughest team they had to play! Aside from opening and closing game (Book injured) the games were competitive. Plus after you get one you don’t have the same fire anymore repeating is very difficult even for teams that were much better than Denver! People really caught up in some nonsense Denver is good not some super team that can’t be beat!

 

[Hoop Head]

Denver steamrolled through the season and while they didn't face any high seeded teams, the high seeded teams couldn't get it done to even face them so discrediting who they played doesn't make sense, especially when people want to boast about the Suns beating Denver twice. Denver did what top seeded teams are supposed to do, win. It didn't matter who was in front of them. Give them their flowers, they earned them. Until someone knocks them off, they're the team to beat.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Denver steamrolled through the season and while they didn't face any high seeded teams, the high seeded teams couldn't get it done to even face them so discrediting who they played doesn't make sense, especially when people want to boast about the Suns beating Denver twice. Denver did what top seeded teams are supposed to do, win. It didn't matter who was in front of them. Give them their flowers, they earned them. Until someone knocks them off, they're the team to beat.

“Steamrolled through the season?” They won 53 games. The suns have won 53 or more games 18 times and other than last season, and maybe the 93 suns I don’t think anyone would characterize the rest as “steamrolling.”

The fact that they attained the #1 seed in the west with 53 wins just evidences the fact that the west wasn’t very good. Lots of better teams in flux or with bad luck.

And literally no one is questioning their championship. Just questioning the narrative that they’re a juggernaut or a dynasty. That’s a well built 53 win team that took advantage of a down season and an easy path to a championship. Good for them. They got their championship. I would be on cloud 9 if it were the suns with the very same fact pattern. But that doesn’t mean I’d think the suns were a dynasty or a miles away from everyone else. Just a bit of context helps.

 

[Hoop Head]

“Steamrolled through the season?” They won 53 games. The suns have won 53 or more games 18 times and other than last season, and maybe the 93 suns I don’t think anyone would characterize the rest as “steamrolling.”

The fact that they attained the #1 seed in the west with 53 wins just evidences the fact that the west wasn’t very good. Lots of better teams in flux or with bad luck.

And literally no one is questioning their championship. Just questioning the narrative that they’re a juggernaut or a dynasty. That’s a well built 53 win team that took advantage of a down season and an easy path to a championship. Good for them. They got their championship. I would be on cloud 9 if it were the suns with the very same fact pattern. But that doesn’t mean I’d think the suns were a dynasty or a miles away from everyone else. Just a bit of context helps.

I've been saying all year that there is more parity and less dominate teams in the West. Call it weak if you want but I don't see that. Teams 2-10 were all within a handful of games of each other and the "underdog" upset the higher seeded team in a number of series, except when facing Denver. I'll take a stronger field compared to 3-4 teams with 62+ wins in the regular season, which ultimately doesn't matter much considering what we saw transpire all throughout the playoffs.

You have your way of viewing things, I have mine. You see weak teams, I see more strong teams. Not asking you to agree with me. Bottom line is Denver won the championship after continually being a top seeded team and not being at full strength since the bubble. We finally saw a healthy Denver squad could do. They ran through the competition and lost 4 games all postseason, just 1 time at home. That's a hell of a run for a team that was #1 in the West almost all year, which is why I say they steamrolled through the season. They held down the top spot and load managed to maintain their health for when it mattered. As the Suns showed, winning 60+ games means all of nothing come the playoffs. What good does having an 8-10 win advantage over the 2 seed accomplish? Nothing.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

I've been saying all year that there is more parity and less dominate teams in the West. Call it weak if you want but I don't see that. Teams 2-10 were all within a handful of games of each other and the "underdog" upset the higher seeded team in a number of series, except when facing Denver. I'll take a stronger field compared to 3-4 teams with 62+ wins in the regular season, which ultimately doesn't matter much considering what we saw transpire all throughout the playoffs.

You have your way of viewing things, I have mine. You see weak teams, I see more strong teams. Not asking you to agree with me. Bottom line is Denver won the championship after continually being a top seeded team and not being at full strength since the bubble. We finally saw a healthy Denver squad could do. They ran through the competition and lost 4 games all postseason, just 1 time at home. That's a hell of a run for a team that was #1 in the West almost all year, which is why I say they steamrolled through the season. They held down the top spot and load managed to maintain their health for when it mattered. As the Suns showed, winning 60+ games means all of nothing come the playoffs. What good does having an 8-10 win advantage over the 2 seed accomplish? Nothing.

Welp we will just disagree.

Do you agree with the central premise of the discussion that they’re a likely dynasty and no one is close to their caliber?

 

[Hoop Head]

Welp we will just disagree.

Do you agree with the central premise of the discussion that they’re a likely dynasty and no one is close to their caliber?

They're a potential dynasty, health permitting. They have everyone locked in for the next few years so if they can stay healthy they have the chance to be a dynasty. There are teams close, if they can stay healthy, but that's not guaranteed. They could end up the Rams of the early 2000's, great regular season team that rolls over who is in front of them but don't end up with the hardware to be a true dynasty.

 

[Phrazbit]

“Steamrolled through the season?” They won 53 games. The suns have won 53 or more games 18 times and other than last season, and maybe the 93 suns I don’t think anyone would characterize the rest as “steamrolling.”

The fact that they attained the #1 seed in the west with 53 wins just evidences the fact that the west wasn’t very good. Lots of better teams in flux or with bad luck.

And literally no one is questioning their championship. Just questioning the narrative that they’re a juggernaut or a dynasty. That’s a well built 53 win team that took advantage of a down season and an easy path to a championship. Good for them. They got their championship. I would be on cloud 9 if it were the suns with the very same fact pattern. But that doesn’t mean I’d think the suns were a dynasty or a miles away from everyone else. Just a bit of context helps.

Agreed. Denver had the easiest path to a title in modern history.

Also, you can't beat who you don't play, maybe Denver would have beaten a great team... if they'd ran into one, but they didn't. Their path to the #1 seed in the west was one of the easier ever, only needing 53 wins, their path to the finals had then face an 8 seed, an injury riddled 4 seed, and a 7 seed... and then they faced an 8th seed from the East who's players couldn't miss contested 3s in the previous few rounds... and then against Denver went ice cold.

Credit to them, they were the best team of these playoffs, without question. If I were one of their fans I would laugh in the face of those who discount the run, I similarly think the questioning of the Suns run to the finals in 21 was inane.

This isn't a juggernaut, this isn't a potential dynasty. They were the team that stayed healthy and didn't beat themselves. The Suns could have been that team the last 2 years, but they failed at one part or another, so good for Denver. The breaks went their way and they capitalized. If this season were played 10 more times, as is, I think they might win once.

Denver is like the 2004 Pistons or the 2011 Mavericks. They had a moment, they didn't mess it up and they won. I don't see them having that moment again.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Agreed. Denver had the easiest path to a title in modern history.

Also, you can't beat who you don't play, maybe Denver would have beaten a great team... if they'd ran into one, but they didn't. Their path to the #1 seed in the west was one of the easier ever, only needing 53 wins, their path to the finals had then face an 8 seed, an injury riddled 4 seed, and a 7 seed... and then they faced an 8th seed from the East who's players couldn't miss contested 3s in the previous few rounds... and then against Denver went ice cold.

Credit to them, they were the best team of these playoffs, without question. If I were one of their fans I would laugh in the face of those who discount the run, I similarly think the questioning of the Suns run to the finals in 21 was inane.

This isn't a juggernaut, this isn't a potential dynasty. They were the team that stayed healthy and didn't beat themselves. The Suns could have been that team the last 2 years, but they failed at one part or another, so good for Denver. The breaks went their way and they capitalized. If this season were played 10 more times, as is, I think they might win once.

Denver is like the 2004 Pistons or the 2011 Mavericks. They had a moment, they didn't mess it up and they won. I don't see them having that moment again.

I agree but I don't think they can be counted out in the future. They aren't an old team, they have a slight homecourt advantage over other teams and they have the best player in the game. They got lucky that the East fell apart and a scrappy but far from elite Miami team ended up in the finals with them. That probably won't happen again but if they can find a motivated trade partner (AKA a sucker) for MPJ, they could easily take the next step.

 

[Mainstreet]

The Nuggets were built last season for a bigger challenge. Because they didn't have to face a stiffer challenge is not their fault.

Although they didn't play a large rotation, their deeper roster players would have made a big difference on the Suns. They were sitting players like Thomas Bryant, Ish Smith and Reggie Jackson.

Whoever is making player personnel decisions knows what they are doing and they are returning their same starting five.

I don't know why some want to discount the Nuggets with them having one of the best young players of all time in 28-year-old Nikola Jokic. However, they are far from a one-man show.

 

[Raindog]

Although I agree the Nuggets do deserve their props for winning it all, the very reason that they aren't likely to be a "dynasty" was stated by a few of you both defending and critiquing their success... namely, that the Western Conference has so much parity, any number of other teams are likely to offer strong challenges in forthcoming seasons, have more injury free years, and have just plain better luck to make it extremely difficult for Denver to even repeat, let alone have a dynasty.

Don't forget a couple of their main players (Murray, MPJ) have a history of dealing with significant injury issues. That alone makes it highly unlikely their "dynasty" will get very far.

 

[BirdGangThing]

Agreed. The nuggets are certainly well constructed and balanced, but the talk of not being able to get past them or dynasty is, imo, absurd.

They played an 8th, 4th, 7th, and 8th seed to win it all. We took two games with book and Durant only getting a single game of production from shamet (of all people) to assist them. And Durant hadn’t been healthy long, hadn’t had much time to gel with the team, and played for a coach that design anything with him in mind.

But most fans are slaves to the moment. So Denver is unbeatable right now.

Except for they beat the dog crap out of everybody - good luck with down playing Jokic and Denver's rise - pretty sure they'll be in the finals again next year and I don't see anybody beating them because they're an actual team

 

[nashman]

Except for they beat the dog crap out of everybody - good luck with down playing Jokic and Denver's rise - pretty sure they'll be in the finals again next year and I don't see anybody beating them because they're an actual team

Man I hope the Suns can play them healthy and I say that not even knowing what our team will be! They didn’t beat the dog crap out of every team get out of here with that garbage! Many many of their games were close while not playing high level competition. Geesh did you even watch the games? One Jokic injury and they won’t beat anybody!

 

[BirdGangThing]

Man I hope the Suns can play them healthy and I say that not even knowing what our team will be! They didn’t beat the dog crap out of every team get out of here with that garbage! Many many of their games were close while not playing high level competition. Geesh did you even watch the games? One Jokic injury and they won’t beat anybody!

Aside from the Suns nobody beat Denver more than once, and the Suns got annihilated. Nuggets pretty much stayed around 10pts ahead of other teams for the most part, teams made small runs - Denver fends them off. And yes, if Joker is injured Denver wouldn't beat anybody but that can be said for any team and their star player. Thing is Jokic isn't injury prone, he's the best player on the planet, and the craziest part is his basketball smarts

Good teams that play together for a long time can become great teams. If Denver can keep their core, they're going to be hard to beat. You can put a bunch of talent on a team but they'll still need time to play together, this isn't plug and play

As for the Suns, they will never beat Denver in the playoffs with Ayton as their starting Center. It's like playing 5 on 4. If the Suns want any chance at getting a ring with Ayton on the roster they'll need to go to Jared's

 

[nashman]

People overestimate the Nuggets imo they are good they are not a Dynasty this is just nonsense…