Suns 2024-2025 Season Discussions

[Hoop Head]

My only guess as to why Dunn isn't playing is it's clear he's not a PF. He was used there a lot to get him minutes but he's not the answer there. I know Royce isn't a real PF either but Royce is trusted by the other starters more than Dunn so there's more ball movement with Royce compared to Dunn on the floor. Now that Bol² is in the rotation as well there's less minutes for Dunn as well.

It'll take something happening, like dropping from the playoff race or locking in a spot in the play-in, for Dunn to fit back into the rotation if everyone stays healthy.

 

[95pro]

Tyus signed because he was promised a starting job. Ishbia, JJ, and Bud know if they walk back that agreement then odds are the Suns won't sign anyone else at a discount next off-season. Of course odds of signing anyone at a discount are low anyways since no one will be convinced we're a winner so damned if you do, damned if you don't.

This doesn’t make sense since we benched Beal and keep Tyus in, and have started Bol and TyTy too. And we haven’t even looked to start Beal even when KD or Book were out.

At this point we don’t owe a min contract guy anything if he’s not producing or holding his own. I’m sure future prospective free agents realize this.

 

[Hoop Head]

This doesn’t make sense since we benched Beal and keep Tyus in, and have started Bol and TyTy too. And we haven’t even looked to start Beal even when KD or Book were out.

I get it. I just read a few talking heads discussing that around when Beal was benched. I can't recall who exactly but they were local media, like Gerald Borquet types. I wish I would have shared some of the takes here but it was pretty contentious at the time regarding Beal and Nurkic so I felt it best not to bring another Suns player into the foray.

I will add that it wouldn't surprise me because the Suns are so terribly managed. Nothing would be that surprising at this point.

 

[GatorAZ]

Sam Vecenie on his pod he’d have Camara on his all-defense team if the season ended today. He prefaced it by saying Wemby and AD missing time factored into it but still. Woof.

 

[95pro]

I get it. I just read a few talking heads discussing that around when Beal was benched. I can't recall who exactly but they were local media, like Gerald Borquet types. I wish I would have shared some of the takes here but it was pretty contentious at the time regarding Beal and Nurkic so I felt it best not to bring another Suns player into the foray.

I will add that it wouldn't surprise me because the Suns are so terribly managed. Nothing would be that surprising at this point.

And guess who was benched today lol

Sam Vecenie on his pod he’d have Camara on his all-defense team if the season ended today. He prefaced it by saying Wemby and AD missing time factored into it but still. Woof.

That’s amazing since Camara has many accolades NOT for defense. His game was predicated on his offense.

His pick reminds me of the TJ Warren selection. Both under the radar, smaller schools, but plenty of offensive accolades.

 

[Germz249]

Sigh..

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[Hoop Head]

Sigh..

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After seeing CP3 and KD jaw at each other the other day, I'm curious if KD made a push for Paul to go. We know KD was part of recruiting Beal, that's been revealed. There's the Phoenix side though that didn't really get any coverage since Monty was fired and we were all celebrating Shamet being gone.

We really didn't give up much for KD in terms of tradeable value. A handful of second round picks and second dibs on swap rights aren't much. Paul being dealt was a key part.though.

 

[clyde2tw]

This team's only chance to win anything is to have at least 2 of RO, Allen, Tyus shooting 3s well enough, and Book in normal shooting form. Against good teams, we also need to play better defense.
After the AS break, none of them shot well, we won vs Bulls because Tyus is replaced by Beal in starting lineup to limit the former's damage of missing shots, and Book getting his touch back a bit.
Benching Tyus may help him loosen it up. His starter performance is actually hurting his value in the summer, he better prove to be the best sub PG out there to pull in a decent contract then.
Dunn is just not good enough on both sides of court. I hope Martin can play soon so that Dunn can be sent to G-league to refine his game alongside Ighodaro

 

[Mainstreet]

If the Durant trade wasn't bad enough, the return on the Ayton trade was the dagger in the heart.

 

[Hoop Head]

If the Durant trade wasn't bad enough, the return on the Ayton trade was the dagger in the heart.

The Beal trade ranks #3 behind those 2 deals, IMO. The Ayton trade was bad and dumb but I think it could have avoided the dumb label if we kept Camara out of it.

What's forgotten is we also ended up with Little and Keon Johnson were also sent to Phoenix. Both ended up waived. Neon almost immediately and Little after a year. Little had a lot of guaranteed money left on his deal and we stretched him but are still on the hook for $3.1 million annually through the 28-29 season. Keon Johnson however was waived quickly and he's started 33 games in San Antonio this year averaging 10 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 2 asts, and 1 stl in 23 minutes a game through 53 games. He was on his rookie deal, which ends after this season. We didn't even try.

Keon Johnson Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft Status and more | Basketball-Reference.com

Checkout the latest stats of Keon Johnson. Get info about his position, age, height, weight, draft status, shoots, school and more on Basketball-Reference.com

www.basketball-reference.com

 

[Mainstreet]

The Beal trade ranks #3 behind those 2 deals, IMO. The Ayton trade was bad and dumb but I think it could have avoided the dumb label if we kept Camara out of it.

What's forgotten is we also ended up with Little and Keon Johnson were also sent to Phoenix. Both ended up waived. Neon almost immediately and Little after a year. Little had a lot of guaranteed money left on his deal and we stretched him but are still on the hook for $3.1 million annually through the 28-29 season. Keon Johnson however was waived quickly and he's started 33 games in San Antonio this year averaging 10 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 2 asts, and 1 stl in 23 minutes a game through 53 games. He was on his rookie deal, which ends after this season. We didn't even try.

Keon Johnson Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft Status and more | Basketball-Reference.com

Checkout the latest stats of Keon Johnson. Get info about his position, age, height, weight, draft status, shoots, school and more on Basketball-Reference.com

www.basketball-reference.com

There was a whole string of blunders in 2023 when one sorts them out.

I can't give James Jones a bye on all those trades, much less the 2020 draft.

 

[Hoop Head]

There was a whole string of blunders in 2023 when one sorts them out.

I can't give James Jones a bye on all those trades, much less the 2020 draft.

I'm at the point where I think McD would be an upgrade over JJ, honestly. JJ has fumbled so many times. He's given some good sound bytes regarding building a team like his 5 x 3 model but there has been no point under JJ's time as GM has the team actually been 3 deep at more than 3 positions. Plus that idea of team building disregards chemistry and continuity. He preaches those 2 things when he fails to make a move but never when we're actually winning also. The guy is a salesman, that's it. He's convinced Ishbia he's the right man for the job, the same way he convinced Sarver. I'm glad most fans see through it now because he needs to be the first person fired when the season ends.

 

[AzStevenCal]

There was a whole string of blunders in 2023 when one sorts them out.

I can't give James Jones a bye on all those trades, much less the 2020 draft.

I wouldn't give him a bye on any of the decisions they've made, I'm just not convinced firing him fixes the problems. I'd get rid of everyone involved in these decisions, minus the owner of course.

 

[Suns_fan69]

The Beal trade ranks #3 behind those 2 deals, IMO. The Ayton trade was bad and dumb but I think it could have avoided the dumb label if we kept Camara out of it.

What's forgotten is we also ended up with Little and Keon Johnson were also sent to Phoenix. Both ended up waived. Neon almost immediately and Little after a year. Little had a lot of guaranteed money left on his deal and we stretched him but are still on the hook for $3.1 million annually through the 28-29 season. Keon Johnson however was waived quickly and he's started 33 games in San Antonio this year averaging 10 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 2 asts, and 1 stl in 23 minutes a game through 53 games. He was on his rookie deal, which ends after this season. We didn't even try.

Keon Johnson Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft Status and more | Basketball-Reference.com

Checkout the latest stats of Keon Johnson. Get info about his position, age, height, weight, draft status, shoots, school and more on Basketball-Reference.com

www.basketball-reference.com

Wait, San Antonio has Keldon Johnson, not Keon. You linked Keon, who's on Brooklyn

 

[clyde2tw]

The Beal trade ranks #3 behind those 2 deals, IMO. The Ayton trade was bad and dumb but I think it could have avoided the dumb label if we kept Camara out of it.

What's forgotten is we also ended up with Little and Keon Johnson were also sent to Phoenix. Both ended up waived. Neon almost immediately and Little after a year. Little had a lot of guaranteed money left on his deal and we stretched him but are still on the hook for $3.1 million annually through the 28-29 season. Keon Johnson however was waived quickly and he's started 33 games in San Antonio this year averaging 10 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 2 asts, and 1 stl in 23 minutes a game through 53 games. He was on his rookie deal, which ends after this season. We didn't even try.

Keon Johnson Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft Status and more | Basketball-Reference.com

Checkout the latest stats of Keon Johnson. Get info about his position, age, height, weight, draft status, shoots, school and more on Basketball-Reference.com

www.basketball-reference.com

#1 blunder was the Beal trade. #2 the Ayton one. KD trade could be done better with minor twists, like using Saric instead of Crowder and getting Yuta instead of Warren.
We lost to Nugs 2:4 with CP3 sidelined and Booker viciously injured by Green in game 4. If we had Hachimura from a hypothetic trade for Crowder and Yuta who was hot alongside KD that season, we might have had a chance to beat the Nugs. So, the main blunder was the deals in the ensuing offseason, where it was rumored that Mavs was interested in Ayton (+Shamet and 2nds for Irvin s&t). Imagine we had done that and opted out of CP3 contract, we'd then have had the KD/Book/KI big 3, with still the exceptions to sign a C and other pieces, most crucially Camara stil here.

 

[Hoop Head]

Wait, San Antonio has Keldon Johnson, not Keon. You linked Keon, who's on Brooklyn

My mistake. I did link the right player and mentioned the correct stats but my mind was on Keldon for some reason. Thanks for the correction, I appreciate it. That does make the sting a little less since Brooklyn sucks and starting 60% of their games whole averaging 10 ppg isn't the same as it would be in San Antonio, who is deeper and better.

Main point is he isn't/wasn't useless. He's received more playing time then Little, who we kept for a season so before waiving him.