Suns called Lue and others on Tues.

[Folster]

I wonder who else the Suns contacted besides Lue. There is also a blurb about Dragic's contract issue.

http://www.azcentral.com/members/Blog/PaulCoro/27021

Coro's Suns dish


Point of emphasis

There is no breaking news of big-splash offers coming out of Phoenix on the opening day of free agency. Everyone is going to have to hold tight for a while to see what happens when the money starts to dry up before the pool of free agents does.

Monday night and Tuesday probably went about as expected for Phoenix. The Suns called some agents and players to express interest. There was one call that may be worth noting above others. Suns General Manager Steve Kerr talked to unrestricted free agent Tyronn Lue today.

It is believed that Lue, 31, is atop Phoenix's point guard wish list. The Suns already pursued him last season, when Sacramento waived him after he was dealt there from Atlanta in the Mike Bibby deal (he wound up with Dallas, playing only 10 minutes a game). Lue also is a good friend of Suns center Shaquille O'Neal after spending his first three NBA seasons as an O'Neal teammate on the Lakers.

Lue is considering five teams at this point -- Phoenix, Milwaukee, Boston, Dallas and Miami.

Because the Suns' payroll will exceed the luxury tax threshold, they likely will not tap into the mid-level exception and will stick to minimum-salary contracts for veterans (a one-year deal does not fully count against the cap) and maybe a rookie free agent too, if second-round pick Goran Dragic does not leave Tau Ceramica. There was some buzz today about a recent Slovenian court ruling and how it could lead to Dragic's return to his Slovenian team. However, Tau would probably appeal and make what has been a two-year court case drag out more. Tau, which signed Dragic to the disputed contract when he was with Geoplin Slovan in 2006, has him slotted as a backup point guard. This is another situation that will develop slowly this month.

Also, unrestricted free agent Eduardo Najera mentioned Phoenix as a possible landing spot to the Rocky Mountain News, along with Dallas and San Antonio. But as ideal as Najera would seem to be as a Sun (tough, team-oriented and suddenly can shoot a 3-pointer), there are major hurdles. One, Najera wants to go back to Denver. Two, Najera made $4.95 million last season and wants a raise. Three, Najera wants a three- to four-year deal and he's nearly 32. That doesn't sound like a guy who will sign a one-year, $1.14 million contract because Phoenix is a nice city.
And as for one of the Suns' top swingman targets, Jarvis Hayes, guess who else is interested in him? The Spurs.

 

[leclerc]

Damn the Spurs. Damn them to hell. LOL.

 

[Irish]

It is going to be interesting to see what Tau does. Unlike in the Big Jake situation, the national Slovenian courts are not siding with the Euopean team with the questioned contract. Why should they care what a Spanish team wants?

It is hard to imagine FIBA siding with TAU. The validity of their buyout seems pretty weak on the face of it ($31,000 for a chontract worth a half million). Without the law court backing them up, Tau has to hope that some kind of anti-NBA sentiment would help them, but that didn't work for Jake's Greek team and they had the Greek courts on their side.

BTW, I think this will have to be resolved before the Suns sign a free agent. Nobody is going to sign without knowing how many minutes are going to be available.

 

[AceP]

According to recent reports, our plan is to let Nash play 30-32 minutes a game, and rest 10 games during the regular season. So there is only 16mpg and 10 starts for the backup PG we r looking for. We don't need a high profile guy here. Tyronn Lue sounds like a nice fit. According to my memory, his on-ball defence was pretty good, his shoot is also very consistent.

He will NOT receive any offer close to MLE. Considering his age (31) and injury history, a 3 years contract starting at 2-3M a year is probably the best he can get. It will require us to use part of the MLE, but I think Kerr is prepared to spend that much.

 

[mojorizen7]

It appears that Tyrone Lue's best season statistically was 4 yrs ago in Atlanta where he played in 49 games w/46 starts:
31 minutes pg avg
-----------------
13.5 points pg
5.4 assists pg........1.65 turnovers pg
2.2 rebounds pg
0.5 steals pg
Shooting .464% from the field
.364% from the 3 pt line
87% from the FT line
-------------------

 

[Irish]

I've only seen Lue a few times, so I have to focus on what other have said. Lue is not a distributor type PG, but he's the kind of "shoot first" PG that can work.

It is tempting to say that the Suns already have one of those in Barbosa. Both guys are good shooters. Leandro is very good on the break and gets to the basket quicker than anybody and has long arms. However, Lue seems to be better suited to the "shoot first" PG role.

I may be all wet, but if I was comparing Lue to Barbosa, I'd note:

1. Lue is a better defender. He's limited by his size, but has better footwork and uses his speed more effectively than Leandro. Leandro gambles a lot, but needs to learn to be stay in front of his guy.

2. Safer Ball Handler: Lue doesn't turn the ball over very much. Lue has a career 3.3 assists to 1.25 turnover for 2.64 ratio. Leandro has a career 2.8 assists to 1.59 turnovers or 1.75 ratio. With 2 to 1 being a common baseline, Leandro is below average and Lue well above average in avoiding turnovers.

3. Lue Is Better at Making His Own Shot Leandro still lacks an established mid range game, so he is far better working off the ball. When he has the ball on the wing, he's mostly shooting the three or going to the rack. Lue seems to hav a very good mid range game and has a wider variety of shots. This means he's more dangerous with the ball in his hands than Leandro who is better off the ball.

From the videos, it looks like Lue may be better at running the break than Leandro. Leandro is very fast on the dribble, but doesn't see people. It looks like Lue can see guys and will pass them the ball for dunks.

I doubt Lue is going to satisfy people who want Chris Paul for vet minimum, but he appears to be a real upgrade at PG.

 

[High Stakes]

YESSSSS LUE!!!! all of our worries are solved.....Can you say LOTTERY!!!!

 

[Mainstreet]

I've only seen Lue a few times, so I have to focus on what other have said. Lue is not a distributor type PG, but he's the kind of "shoot first" PG that can work.

It is tempting to say that the Suns already have one of those in Barbosa. Both guys are good shooters. Leandro is very good on the break and gets to the basket quicker than anybody and has long arms. However, Lue seems to be better suited to the "shoot first" PG role.

I may be all wet, but if I was comparing Lue to Barbosa, I'd note:

1. Lue is a better defender. He's limited by his size, but has better footwork and uses his speed more effectively than Leandro. Leandro gambles a lot, but needs to learn to be stay in front of his guy.

2. Safer Ball Handler: Lue doesn't turn the ball over very much. Lue has a career 3.3 assists to 1.25 turnover for 2.64 ratio. Leandro has a career 2.8 assists to 1.59 turnovers or 1.75 ratio. With 2 to 1 being a common baseline, Leandro is below average and Lue well above average in avoiding turnovers.

3. Lue Is Better at Making His Own Shot Leandro still lacks an established mid range game, so he is far better working off the ball. When he has the ball on the wing, he's mostly shooting the three or going to the rack. Lue seems to hav a very good mid range game and has a wider variety of shots. This means he's more dangerous with the ball in his hands than Leandro who is better off the ball.

From the videos, it looks like Lue may be better at running the break than Leandro. Leandro is very fast on the dribble, but doesn't see people. It looks like Lue can see guys and will pass them the ball for dunks.

I doubt Lue is going to satisfy people who want Chris Paul for vet minimum, but he appears to be a real upgrade at PG.

When I think of Lue, I always think of Jannero Pargo. If Lue could bring some of Pargo's qualities to the Suns I would like it.

 

[Folster]

YESSSSS LUE!!!! all of our worries are solved.....Can you say LOTTERY!!!!

We are looking for a back up point guard. Who are you expecting or hoping for?

 

[Irish]

YESSSSS LUE!!!! all of our worries are solved.....Can you say LOTTERY!!!!

You are absolutely right. The Suns won 55 games last season, drafted a backup center, and have some promising second year players coming on stream - but by signing Lue to ease the transition to Dragic and Strawberry the Suns will return to the lottery. Why didn't I see that?

 

[Nitemare129]

I doubt Lue is going to satisfy people who want Chris Paul for vet minimum, but he appears to be a real upgrade at PG.

YESSSSS LUE!!!! all of our worries are solved.....Can you say LOTTERY!!!!

Case in point.....

 

[hafey]

Pargo opted out. I think he's too expensive but I like him a lot as a bench player.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

and have some promising second year players coming on stream

where does this thinking come from? dj played some nice d in the miniscule minutes he played last season and showed zero offensive acumen. tucker showed zero anything at the nba level - tearing up the d league means nothing. how are they "promising?" you mean in a sean marx is going to surprise people kinda way?

 

[Mainstreet]

Pargo opted out. I think he's too expensive but I like him a lot as a bench player.

Pargo really knows how to push the ball and ignite the offense. Too bad the Suns will not go after him. Lue is a poor man's Pargo.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Pargo really knows how to push the ball and ignite the offense. Too bad the Suns will not go after him. Lue is a poor man's Pargo.

agreed. i was excited at first when i saw we were talking with lue. then i realized i had confused lue with pargo. i'm not "excited" about lue, but think he'd be a good addition (based on the something is better than nothing in the backup pg category). pargo would be a great addition.

 

[Mainstreet]

agreed. i was excited at first when i saw we were talking with lue. then i realized i had confused lue with pargo. i'm not "excited" about lue, but think he'd be a good addition (based on the something is better than nothing in the backup pg category). pargo would be a great addition.

I remember back when Pargo could have probably been had for a package of peanuts and a second round pick.

 

[Treesquid PhD]

When I think of Lue I think of Jordan if his legs were chopped off. He is a crippled man's Michael Jordan.

 

[Irish]

When I think of Lue I think of Jordan if his legs were chopped off. He is a crippled man's Michael Jordan.

Or a tall dwarf.

Anyone with inflated expectations of Lue will be disappointed. He's tiny and not a natural point guard. He CAN shoot and is fast. For the money, that's about all I can expect.

 

[Mainstreet]

Anyone with inflated expectations of Lue will be disappointed. He's tiny and not a natural point guard. He CAN shoot and is fast. For the money, that's about all I can expect.

If he does not turn the ball over, this is enough. It's more than the Suns have had over the past several seasons at PG. However, most of my memories of Lue was when he played for the Lakers. I must say, I liked how he brought a spark to their team.

 

[mojorizen7]

When I think of Lue I think of Jordan if his legs were chopped off. He is a crippled man's Michael Jordan.

You must be registered for see images

Thanks for that bro, i needed to laugh my ass off seriously. Analogy of the decade right there folks.

 

[Mainstreet]

It seems Phoenix is one of Lue's three top choices. The other two being Dallas and Boston.

http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/2008/07/03/20080703suns.html

 

[Irish]

Dallas has spent their MLE on Diop. I don't know if their LLE is available, but if not they'd only have just the vet min like the Suns. My suspicion is that they will end up staying with Barea, who is another small shoot first PG.

Boston's main priority is to re-sign Posey. I don't think they'll pay much for another backup PG (House and Cassell are likely to return if asked).

If the money is the same, I'd think the Suns will be offering more minutes on an up tempo offense. But there is no guarantee that some other team will swoop in with a bigger offer.

 

[Mainstreet]

I like what I have seen of Barea. He's not physically impressive but I like how he plays PG. Certainly he lacks some of the physical tools to be a good defender but I would think Dallas should be happy with him as a backup PG.