Should the Suns go after Howard this summer?

[JCSunsfan]

I think they should although I highly doubt they could get him. They should throw everything they can at him. I just don't think you can get any more in free agency anyway. The other reason is that the Lakers have pinned their future to him. If there is any way they can draw him away while there is still any tension between him and Kobe, they should do it.

It opens up alot of other roster possibilities. Its a long shot, but they should try.

 

[SirStefan32]

I think they should although I highly doubt they could get him. They should throw everything they can at him. I just don't think you can get any more in free agency anyway. The other reason is that the Lakers have pinned their future to him. If there is any way they can draw him away while there is still any tension between him and Kobe, they should do it.

It opens up alot of other roster possibilities. Its a long shot, but they should try.

No thanks. Howard is the biggest crybaby in the NBA. No overrated whiny little *******, please.

 

[ASUCHRIS]

No thanks. Howard is the biggest crybaby in the NBA. No overrated whiny little *******, please.

Wow. You'd avoid one of the top 10 players in the NBA because of his attitude. Glad you're not GM.

It would be a miracle for a player of Howard's caliber to even give the Suns a sniff. I'd love to know who you think we should look at in lieu of Howard, or what comparable talent you think will be available.

 

[SirStefan32]

Wow. You'd avoid one of the top 10 players in the NBA because of his attitude. Glad you're not GM.

It would be a miracle for a player of Howard's caliber to even give the Suns a sniff. I'd love to know who you think we should look at in lieu of Howard, or what comparable talent you think will be available.

Next summer? Nobody. There is not a single game-changing free agent in 2013 free agency, including Howard.

 

[ASUCHRIS]

Next summer? Nobody. There is not a single game-changing free agent in 2013 free agency, including Howard.

You honestly believe that Howard isn't a game changing player? Despite the fact that he gets double doubles easily, and is the best center in basketball?

It's ok if you think he's a douchebag, I think that's pretty much universal, but to say you wouldn't want him on the Suns is ridiculous. He's one of the few players that would immediately make us relevant.

 

[Phrazbit]

IMO, Dwight is a loser who is content to slack in the wrong environment. He'd make us better but if he is your team's "leader" then he will be more remembered for all the coaches he runs out of town than any success past April.

It wont matter anyway, Houston will make a push for him and if he hates Kobe enough he will sign there, and if he loves money enough he will stay in LA.

 

[SirStefan32]

You honestly believe that Howard isn't a game changing player? Despite the fact that he gets double doubles easily, and is the best center in basketball?

It's ok if you think he's a douchebag, I think that's pretty much universal, but to say you wouldn't want him on the Suns is ridiculous. He's one of the few players that would immediately make us relevant.

Yes, I honestly think Dwight is NOT a game-changer. He is one of the most overrated players in the league, he is a selfish prick and his health has been questionable. If he wanted to play for $10M per year- sure, I'd take him, but in my opinion, he is not worth a max contract. At best, we would be Orlando, so no thanks.

I guess I am not obsessed with being immediately relevant. I'd rather wait a few years, do things the right way, and be a real contender.
Frankly, I'd rather have the Suns medical staff examine Bynum and see what they say.

EDIT:
As Phrazbit pointed out, the whole Howard discussion is a waste of time. If he doesn't stay in LA, he will go to Houston or maybe Dallas before he'd even look at Phoenix (which is just fine by me.)

 

[JCSunsfan]

I would still throw a max offer at him.

 

[elindholm]

He's one of the few players that would immediately make us relevant.

They'd be relevant as a draw for fans and the obligatory 30 seconds on SportsCenter, but in no way would they be relevant in terms of building a contender. Howard's a great player, but Howard plus a terrible supporting cast is no better than .500 in the West. In the meantime you have to worry about his injuries and his attitude torpedoing your franchise before you have the chance to add supplementary pieces. Howard can definitely be a cornerstone for the right team, but the Suns are in the wrong place at the wrong time to take advantage of his services.

 

[ASUCHRIS]

They'd be relevant as a draw for fans and the obligatory 30 seconds on SportsCenter, but in no way would they be relevant in terms of building a contender. Howard's a great player, but Howard plus a terrible supporting cast is no better than .500 in the West. In the meantime you have to worry about his injuries and his attitude torpedoing your franchise before you have the chance to add supplementary pieces. Howard can definitely be a cornerstone for the right team, but the Suns are in the wrong place at the wrong time to take advantage of his services.

The Suns would have one of the essential elements of building a contender, a top 10 NBA player, who happens to be the the best at his position. Is there an injury concern? Of course, but there are very few big men than don't run into injury issues. When healthy, and even less than 100% he's a force both offensively and defensively.

Further, Howard was pretty successful in Orlando surrounded by questionable talent. We have a king's ransom of questionable talent! With a decent first rounder and a couple additions, I think we'd be at least a playoff team.

I guess I really don't understand what people expect at this point. Even if we wanted to bring Howard here, there is almost no chance he'd even want to play for the Suns. I understand why you dislike Howard, and I would hate rooting for him. Unfortunately, I don't think we have the luxury to be choosy with top talent.

As you know, we'll have to draft well to become relevant again, but it will also likely take at least one large FA acquisition to help. Howard is definitely a risk, but I'll take a risk on potential MVP talent.

 

[Phrazbit]

He had more talent around him in Orlando, that alone will prevent him from even answering a phone call from us. And his Orlando teams, which were not that great, played in the East, where for the better part of the last 6 years Boston has been the only legit contender, and the only time Orlando got past Boston was when Garnett was injured.

I mean, its a moot point because he would never consider signing here with our awful roster, but I really dont think he would make us anything special. Dwight needs to be surrounded by great shooters (we're the 2nd worst 3pt shooting team in the league) and there has to be someone around to keep his head on straight... and he needs to stay healthy...

All in all, too much risk, too much money, for too big of a content to be mediocre *******.

 

[Ronin]

ha no...he'd get hunter fired in the first mont...hmm...nvm get Howard for the max please!

 

[ASUCHRIS]

He had more talent around him in Orlando, that alone will prevent him from even answering a phone call from us.

Right, could you imagine trying to improve on that talent gold mine that he had in Orlando? Quick...name his best teammate in Orlando...oh yeah, pretty much nobody of note. We clearly don't have much now, but we should have some money to play with and the potential of a top 5 pick. It aint much, but he's done a lot with a little before.

And his Orlando teams, which were not that great, played in the East, where for the better part of the last 6 years Boston has been the only legit contender, and the only time Orlando got past Boston was when Garnett was injured.

Circumstances notwithstanding, it's not like there are a ton of powerhouses in the West/NBA period at this point. The cream of the crop is OKC, but other than that, there are no dominant teams in the West. It certainly wouldn't happen right away, but at least we'd have SOMETHING to build around. Right now we have NOTHING to build around.

All in all, too much risk, too much money, for too big of a content to be mediocre *******.

And again many on this board continue to be the delusional ugly person expecting to get a 10 and poo pooing 8's. We have no leverage and can't be that picky at this point.

 

[elindholm]

And again many on this board continue to be the delusional ugly person expecting to get a 10 and poo pooing 8's. We have no leverage and can't be that picky at this point.

I think the idea is to wait and see whether the Suns' roster fundamentals improve. Maybe the guy their top-five pick this summer will turn out to be a real talent. Maybe they'll be able to get something with long-term value for Gortat. Maybe Sarver will sell. Since the Suns aren't in a strong position now, there's something to be said for holding off on big FA moves for another year. Nothing they can do this summer is going to put them back on a contending path, and that would include getting Howard, even if he did pay the Suns any attention for some unfathomable reason.

 

[Phrazbit]

I think the idea is to wait and see whether the Suns' roster fundamentals improve. Maybe the guy their top-five pick this summer will turn out to be a real talent. Maybe they'll be able to get something with long-term value for Gortat. Maybe Sarver will sell. Since the Suns aren't in a strong position now, there's something to be said for holding off on big FA moves for another year. Nothing they can do this summer is going to put them back on a contending path, and that would include getting Howard, even if he did pay the Suns any attention for some unfathomable reason.

Exactly. He would make us better but what are the goals here? To be a fringe team with an unlikable star?

Chris, after seeing how badly Dwight torpedoed the Orlando Magic do you really think he would be happy here? Even if we signed him, (which we will not and cannot because he would not even meet with our team) he would be in such an adverse situation, surrounded by lousy teammates that it would not take long for him to start making waves, shifting blame... IMO, it would be an ugly situation, similar to his final 2 years in Orlando.

And by the way, we wouldnt have some money to play with if we signed Dwight, we dont project to have enough right now to sign anyone to a max deal, so they'd have to clear out something like 7 million off next year's contracts just to make room for him.

 

[ASUCHRIS]

Exactly. He would make us better but what are the goals here? To be a fringe team with an unlikable star?

Chris, after seeing how badly Dwight torpedoed the Orlando Magic do you really think he would be happy here? Even if we signed him, (which we will not and cannot because he would not even meet with our team) he would be in such an adverse situation, surrounded by lousy teammates that it would not take long for him to start making waves, shifting blame... IMO, it would be an ugly situation, similar to his final 2 years in Orlando.

And by the way, we wouldnt have some money to play with if we signed Dwight, we dont project to have enough right now to sign anyone to a max deal, so they'd have to clear out something like 7 million off next year's contracts just to make room for him.

Oh trust me, I think Howard is the biggest douchebag in the league, and I realize that it's a huge risk, but I think he's one of the few players worth the risk. Frankly, we're in a position where we're going to have to take some risks to get a potential star.

When it comes down to it, I think we can both agree that a player like Howard is far more valuable than a Rudy Gay/Josh Smith who are looking to make comparable money. I can understand your and Eric's position, you see it as too big a risk, I see it as worth it.

Also, how the hell is it possible we don't have money for a max player? It's almost impossible to envision our collection of crap costing that much. Most teams are able to easily carry 2 max players, and some 3 (stretching it). We're saddled with a roster full of guys who will never sniff an all star game, and can't even afford 1 max player?

 

[elindholm]

Also, how the hell is it possible we don't have money for a max player? It's almost impossible to envision our collection of crap costing that much.

I think it depends on the status of Frye's contract. If healthy, he's probably the third best player on the team (no worse than fourth), and at $6.4 million for next season, he's paid like it.

 

[Phrazbit]

Also, how the hell is it possible we don't have money for a max player? It's almost impossible to envision our collection of crap costing that much. Most teams are able to easily carry 2 max players, and some 3 (stretching it). We're saddled with a roster full of guys who will never sniff an all star game, and can't even afford 1 max player?

All those 4, 5, 6, 7 million dollar contracts on 2, 3, 4 year deals add up. This is an "I told you (not you specifically) so" moment about the supposedly no-risk, high reward, Beasley contract. Signing multiple average or lousy players to multi-year contracts is a really bad idea.

Given the cap holds for our picks I believe we're looking at about 7 or 8 million in cap space next summer.

 

[SirStefan32]

If they buy out Brown, keep Haddadi, and Tucker, they'll be at 45M next year without rookies. Assuming we get 4th pick, that will be additional 3.5M, and the Heat pick will cost them just under 1M. That's 49.5M, and assuming Salary Cap stays the same, that gives them 8.5M to work with.

Not sure what will happen with Frye and his 6.5M contract.
Gortat will be an expiring contract with SOME value, and I think they have that "stretch provision" available if they REALLY need to create some space.

In my opinion, they should just leave things alone this summer. Shop Gortat and Dudley for picks, and do nothing else.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Rafer Alston
Tony Battie
Adonal Foyle
Marcin Gortat
Anthony Johnson
Courtney Lee
Rashard Lewis
Tyron Lue
JJ Redick
Jameer Nelson
Jeremy Richardson
Hedo Turkoglu


That's the roster that Dwight Howard put on his back and carried to the NBA finals. Sure he is a prima donna. But if the Suns wait around for a superstar choir boy to be a free agent, they are going to wait for ever. Sure, they have little to no chance, but they better be going with everything they have after every superstar type player that becomes available. It is not a buyers market.

 

[desertdawg]

ha no...he'd get hunter fired in the first mont...hmm...nvm get Howard for the max please!

I think Hunter will be long gone before we throw around max contracts. But Howard would never come here, I'm kinda glad that's the way it is.

 

[ASUCHRIS]

Rafer Alston
Tony Battie
Adonal Foyle
Marcin Gortat
Anthony Johnson
Courtney Lee
Rashard Lewis
Tyron Lue
JJ Redick
Jameer Nelson
Jeremy Richardson
Hedo Turkoglu


That's the roster that Dwight Howard put on his back and carried to the NBA finals. Sure he is a prima donna. But if the Suns wait around for a superstar choir boy to be a free agent, they are going to wait for ever. Sure, they have little to no chance, but they better be going with everything they have after every superstar type player that becomes available. It is not a buyers market.

Well said.

 

[ASUCHRIS]

All those 4, 5, 6, 7 million dollar contracts on 2, 3, 4 year deals add up. This is an "I told you (not you specifically) so" moment about the supposedly no-risk, high reward, Beasley contract. Signing multiple average or lousy players to multi-year contracts is a really bad idea.

Given the cap holds for our picks I believe we're looking at about 7 or 8 million in cap space next summer.

Jesus, that's just disgusting.

 

[Phrazbit]

Dwight didnt put that Orlando team on his back to carry them to the finals. They faced a battered Celtic team with no Garnett and eeked past them, then they went crazy from 3 to get by the Cavs. Their unsustainable three point clip predictably ended and the Lakers crushed them.

Dwight is no Shaq, he might be the best center in the league right now but its by default. He cannot carry teams on his back and power them through playoff series, despite spending his career in the lousy Eastern Conference the Magic got bounced in the 1st round 3 times.

And I dont even know why I am bothering to point this stuff out, other than my dislike of Dwight, because we do not have LITTLE chance of getting him, we have absolutely ZERO shot at signing Dwight, it will not happen. He forced his way Orlando in search of a big market and some coat-tails to ride, he will not land in a small market with even worse teammates.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Oh, I'm sorry. I should have said that Howard road lady luck into the finals, through no particular effort of his own. After all, his 20, 15, 2.6 blocks, 2 assists and a steal per game had nothing to do with it. That 40 pt 14 rb performance against LeBron and the Cavs in the deciding game six was pedestrian, since it really was his three point shooters that made the difference.