Should the Suns Tank the Season?

[Mainstreet]

It's the lockout that is likely to make this a weak draft. A lot of early entry candidates will stay in school.

I agree with your thinking however it is still hard for me to believe there will be a lockout for a full season with the average player leaving money on the table that he will likely never reclaim.

 

[mojorizen7]

IMO, the Suns best bet is for a player like a Stoudemire to slip in the draft... or a Steve Nash.

Please no. A big like Stoudemire would be ok i guess,as long as we dont pair him with an equally defensively inept PG and decide to build around that (again).

Bottom line for me is that I really dont think its a good idea to build around multiple players that can't guard people and make that your core group.
There's definately a place for guys like that on good teams(players that are defensive liabilities),but i'd prefer to draft players that are well-rounded.

IMO your starting 5 should all be guys that wont kill you dfensively(of course you're going to need a couple of pure scorer's too...but they cant be awful defensively). Then you can bring your role players off the bench,guys that maybe are one-dimensional liabilities either offensively or dfensively etc...

 

[slinslin]

Yeah there was. If it hadn't been for idiots like Vitale trying to pimp the college game at the expense of high school and Euro players there wouldn't have been anything close to a debate. There is often no consensus number one even though there usually is a clear cut best player and that year was no different, IMO.

Too many people with too many agendas obscure the draft but most of the scouts were firmly in the Howard camp or so it seemed to me. Even ESPN gets into the agenda act when it comes to the draft, they'll do anything they can to make UConn look good. If Okafor had come out of Utah State, someone would have "reached" for him around the 10th spot.

But, I agree about this season. It's pretty common for the talent to start showing itself come tourney time. As a general rule, I never believe the "this is a weak draft" stuff. Some drafts are stronger than others but there is plenty of talent to be had and some real game changers also. Like you, I think Kemba Walker is a special talent but he really needs to work on his height.

Steve

As far as I remember people didn't even know about Howard until 1 month before the draft when there was a "SLAM" magazine article about Howard following the footsteps of Amare and breaking the glass on a dunk during the photo shoot.

Until then Okafor was considered the clear #1 pick.

 

[Mainstreet]

Please no. A big like Stoudemire would be ok i guess,as long as we dont pair him with an equally defensively inept PG and decide to build around that (again).

Bottom line for me is that I really dont think its a good idea to build around multiple players that can't guard people and make that your core group.
There's definately a place for guys like that on good teams(players that are defensive liabilities),but i'd prefer to draft players that are well-rounded.

IMO your starting 5 should all be guys that wont kill you dfensively(of course you're going to need a couple of pure scorer's too...but they cant be awful defensively). Then you can bring your role players off the bench,guys that maybe are one-dimensional liabilities either offensively or dfensively etc...

I was just pointing out that good players can slip in the draft. Your dislike for Nash is beyond reason.

 

[slinslin]

It's the lockout that is likely to make this a weak draft. A lot of early entry candidates will stay in school.

I was under the impression that in case of a lockout the players would get drafted and the teams would hold their rights and not sign them to contracts but the players could still continue in college until the NBA resolves everything.

So I don't see any reason to not declare if your draft stock is high regardless of a lockout.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Every year it is the same and people say the upcomming draft will be weak. This draft is deep with talent and there is no clear #1 pick right now but that is only because Kemba Walker is a Junior or people still can't believe that his play right now is not just a fluke.

Lets wait until the tournament to say there is no clear #1 pick in this draft.

There was no clear #1 pick when Dwight Howard was drafted and how did that turn out?

From everything I heard so far the draft should be deep this year with many top 10 worthy players. The freshman class is pretty strong this year except there isn't one uber freshman like Wall, Durant or Beasley statistically but many are having good seasons.

For every Dwight Howard, there is a Kwame Brown.

 

[slinslin]

For every Dwight Howard, there is a Kwame Brown.

And?

If you go by that thinking then Tim Duncan could have been a Kwame Brown.

The fact is still that all contenders 99% of the times are built around their own draft picks with their franchise players usually being high lottery picks.

 

[Folster]

I was under the impression that in case of a lockout the players would get drafted and the teams would hold their rights and not sign them to contracts but the players could still continue in college until the NBA resolves everything.

I believe that latter part of your statement is incorrect. Once a player signs with an agent, he loses his collegiate eligibility. I suppose a player could not sign with an agent, but that would be a huge risk as the player would need to help of an agent for all of the pre-draft, scheduling, workouts, and negotiations. Usually players that don't sign with agents do so because they want to test the waters with the option to return to school before the declaration deadline. It may be that if you declare for the draft and pass the deadline you lose your elgibility, but I'm not sure.

 

[Chaplin]

I agree with your thinking however it is still hard for me to believe there will be a lockout for a full season with the average player leaving money on the table that he will likely never reclaim.

There's no way to tell if it will be half a season or a whole season. You can't plan on anything--these kids can't leave school early on the HOPE that the league will start back up sometime in the coming year.

 

[JCSunsfan]

There's no way to tell if it will be half a season or a whole season. You can't plan on anything--these kids can't leave school early on the HOPE that the league will start back up sometime in the coming year.

Tough year to be rebuilding throught the draft. Everything brings its liabilities and opportunities. What kind of opportunities does a lockout afford for rebuilding?

 

[Mainstreet]

Tough year to be rebuilding throught the draft. Everything brings its liabilities and opportunities. What kind of opportunities does a lockout afford for rebuilding?

Free agency, if the players union is dissolved, but that's not going to happen.

 

[Yuma]

Should the Suns tank this season? From what I am seeing of their play lately, it seems more like: "Can the Suns NOT tank this season?"

 

[Tyler]

Should the Suns tank this season? From what I am seeing of their play lately, it seems more like: "Can the Suns NOT tank this season?"

Charmin said they cant quit, it isnt in them. Yea right.....

 

[Bert]

Based on what I saw tonight in the NYK game, the Suns are already tanking the season. I've attended a lot of Suns game and I cant remember many times when I saw such little effort from the team.

It was depressing.

 

[SpokaneCardfan]

Based on what I saw tonight in the NYK game, the Suns are already tanking the season. I've attended a lot of Suns game and I cant remember many times when I saw such little effort from the team.

It was depressing.

they looked lost tonight. The new team mates had no idea how to play with this team. I want them to succeed as much as anyone else but I just don't see it happening.

 

[jibikao]

Now is not the time to tank (yet). Suns just signed whole bunch of people and if they tank, they will have a hard time moving those people.

 

[elindholm]

they looked lost tonight. The new team mates had no idea how to play with this team.

For Gortat to call out his new teammates about their poor defense, a week after joining the squad, was a terrible decision. The chemistry, already fragile, has been a disaster ever since. Now everyone is looking over his shoulder, wondering where the next public insult is going to come from. Then Nash tries to forge a relationship by setting Gortat up for point-blank layups and he can't convert them.

 

[BC867]

For Gortat to call out his new teammates about their poor defense, a week after joining the squad, was a terrible decision. The chemistry, already fragile, has been a disaster ever since. Now everyone is looking over his shoulder, wondering where the next public insult is going to come from. Then Nash tries to forge a relationship by setting Gortat up for point-blank layups and he can't convert them.

You're right. Gortat talked the talk, but didn't walk the walk.

It's possible that he was read the riot act behind the scenes, making him tentative on the court. But it was his own fault.

What a dysfunctional bunch we're left with.

 

[JCSunsfan]

For Gortat to call out his new teammates about their poor defense, a week after joining the squad, was a terrible decision. The chemistry, already fragile, has been a disaster ever since. Now everyone is looking over his shoulder, wondering where the next public insult is going to come from. Then Nash tries to forge a relationship by setting Gortat up for point-blank layups and he can't convert them.

I agree with this totally. He had no business doing this even if he was "walking the walk." Just lead by example--oh, wait a minute--guess leading by his mouth is the only thing he is doing right now.

 

[Suns_fan69]

To be fair if we're judging purely on the defensive end I think Gortat is doing a pretty bang up job, and is probably our best post defender since KT. I thought he played well against both Gasol and Stoudemire. Offensively I agree he's an absolute mess and is negatively contributing on that end.

 

[Chaplin]

WARNING: Tanking NEVER, EVER turns out the way you want it to. We're talking about the Suns here, the team with the worst karma in the NBA.

 

[carey]

To be fair if we're judging purely on the defensive end I think Gortat is doing a pretty bang up job, and is probably our best post defender since KT. I thought he played well against both Gasol and Stoudemire. Offensively I agree he's an absolute mess and is negatively contributing on that end.

He played extremely well. Anyone that doesn't think Gortat is a starting caliber center is just silly. He's not Dwight Howard or even Marcus Camby, but he's still pretty good. I am really depressed about the state of the Suns. I always go and see them when they come to New Orleans and usually hang out by the tunnel for autographs after, but I just don't think I want to make the trip this year. It would mean supporting Sarver and not just Steve, Grant, and the boys.

What bothers me most is, like the rest of you, I see no starting talent on this team outside of Gortat when Nash & Hill retire. Obviously it's hard to predict what the roster is going to look like, but if you tell me right now we are going to run out a line-up of Dragic-MP-Dudley-Frye-Gortat in 2012... jeez you think we're bad right now?

Steve is my favorite player, but it's time to rebuild. And I mean really rebuild. Not that on the fly **** we did before the start of '04-'05. Cash out our good players for expirings and picks and start from scratch.

That Houston trade where we send Nash, Hill, Warrick & Lopez for Yao, Hill, Brooks and a first is fine with me. That's 30M or so in expiring and leaves us with 3 first rounders, a young PF that could eventually be solid. Then make smart decisions with your money. If there's no star available... SAVE your money. You don't need to spend it just to spend. Wait till someone is available. Trust me that teams are always looking for someone with cap room. It would be nice to be on the other side of one of those KT, cash, and future first deals wouldn't it?

In other words... know when to fold em. Tank? No. Rebuild? Yes.

 

[Bufalay]

WARNING: Tanking NEVER, EVER turns out the way you want it to. We're talking about the Suns here, the team with the worst karma in the NBA.

I agree. Remember when Boston tanked in '07 because they wanted a chance to draft Durant or Oden?

 

[AzStevenCal]

I agree. Remember when Boston tanked in '07 because they wanted a chance to draft Durant or Oden?

Perfect example. Boston may never recover from that decision.

Steve

 

[slinslin]

I agree. Remember when Boston tanked in '07 because they wanted a chance to draft Durant or Oden?

Or when San Antonio tanked for Duncan, or Cleveland for Lebron.