Suns get Aaron Brooks

[Covert Rain]

This is interesting because the Suns were obviously shopping Lopez. Maybe he will help the Suns land a quality PF. IMO, someone out there will be interested in a young center that potentially has upside. Too bad the Suns could not have gotten Millsap. Maybe trade talks will resume during the draft.

Yep, many reports had the Suns shopping Lopez. No takers on that but that doesn't surprise me one bit.

 

[desertdawg]

I think LOLopez is an class A back up at center, those are hard to find. I am glad the fro didn't go, our 2 bigs allow us to do a lot more on the court. Him and Gortat splitting time is bringing us many victories, and Robin is starting to up his game. Fropez can turn in them big games come playoff time.

Gortat/Frye/Lopez, 3 seven footers on the Suns and all of them contributing, and I am alive to see it.

 

[Evil Ash]

Yep, many reports had the Suns shopping Lopez. No takers on that but that doesn't surprise me one bit.

There were takers but not for what we wanted. Like Dragic his stock has dropped. Hopefully he finishes strong like last year and we could get something better for him if we decided to trade him. I'd personally rather keep him as even halfway decent backup centers are hard to find anymore.

As for those still lamenting this trade because of a first rounder that we likely wouldn't get much of value as the fact the likelihood of a season-long lockout is very real. The owners want a drastic change to the current system (ie change to hard cap, adding a franchise tag, etc) and they'll lockout the entire season to make it happen. Some of the current NBA owners had already gone through a situation like that with the NHL and since they were willing to holdout all year, they broke down the players association and get EVERYTHING they wanted.

Due to that very real threat most prospects will stay in school as they'll make more from boosters than a locked out NBA season.

 

[jagu]

I mention +/- because for some people it's the only thing they pay attention to or understand.

I think I have a man crush on you..

 

[Errntknght]

I'm surprised that anyone is shocked at this trade. Its certainly true that the FO and Gentry screwed up big time by not keeping our second unit as intact as possible from last year (not counting Barbosa who was a negative factor) but Dragic fell so totally apart that its hard to believe he'll ever recover. It had to be demoralizing for the whole team to consistently lose leads at a rapid pace every time Nash left the floor. Statistically, Dowdell did no better than Dragic but at least he didn't look so flummoxed out on the floor.

Aaron Brooks is the right kind of guy to take a flyer on with only 27 games to go and much ground to make up - he's a ball hog and a gunner so its not too important that he doesn't know the system. Heck, if he knows the P&R, he's got most of the system. You expect some pretty wild swings but I'll take that over consistently bad at this juncture.

I like Goran so I wish him the best. It will be interesting to see if he thrives in the Princeton offense. There's considerably less pressure on the point guard so it might suit him quite well.

 

[elindholm]

I'm surprised that anyone is shocked at this trade.

I'll do you one better: I'm baffled that anyone could be surprised at some people on this board being shocked about anything.

 

[ASUCHRIS]

I'll do you one better: I'm baffled that anyone could be surprised at some people on this board being shocked about anything.

Touche.

 

[Errntknght]

Touche.

Don't I get some points for baffling Eric?

 

[BC867]

Statistically, Dowdell did no better than Dragic but at least he didn't look so flummoxed out on the floor.

In tonight's blowout victory over the Raptors, our Point Guards combined for 15 points and 16 assists.

Nash had 7 and 11. Dowdell had 8 and 5. Not bad on a night when Steve shot only 2-for-12 and ZD (who will be our 3rd string Point Guard) went 3-for-3.

Gortat led the Suns with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Carter, who was brought to life by the boos, had 17 and 7, plus 6 steals. And Frye had 16 points and 4 boards. And don't forget Lopez's 1 rebound (which was 6 less than Nash's 7).

If there were a position of Designated Hitter in the NBA (which I hate in MLB, by the way), it would be Lopez. Send him up to take his cuts, but don't put him in the field.

 

[Proteus]

Isn't Duncan and his game slowing down? Isn't your starting 3 getting old and crusty? Enjoy it while you can, Spurs aint winning it this year and will only get older. Has beens.

The has beens have the best record in the league.

 

[sunsfan88]

Kobe WAS drafted by the Lakers esentially
Rondo WAS drafted by the Celtics.

Shaq is an exception.

Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett were acquired through draft picks and drafted players and Perkins was also their pick(Al Jefferson, Jeff Green, Delonte West..)

the Spurs have Duncan, Ginobili, Parker, Blair..
the Thunder have Durant, Westbrook, Harden, Ibaka..
the Blazer have Roy, Aldridge, Oden, Fernandez, Batum..
the Bulls have Rose, Noah..
the Magic have Howard..
the Heat have Wade..

All these teams were built around their draft picks. The only exception is Detroit and they were not one of the most dominant teams this decade.

San Antonio is the only recent team to build strictly through the draft and win championships. Kuods for them.

Thunder know they will not get over the hump with that group of players. So they "traded" for Perkins.

Blazers....lol...I think PHX will win a championship before they do.

Bulls, like the Thunder, knew that group of players arent gonna get the job done so they signed Boozer via "free agency"

Orlando also know they cant get it done with just Howard so they "traded" for J-Rich, Hedo etc.

Miami has Wade but they signed Lebron & Bosh via "free agency" to play at such a high level. And when they won the championship they "traded" for Shaq.

Building only through the draft has not worked for anyone recently except for the Spurs.

Free agency, trading>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> draft

 

[Manu4five]

The has beens have the best record in the league.

Learn from this guy. I also noticed Proteus actually watches basketball games and understands the game. It's refreshing.

 

[PhxGametime]

IMO, NBA Draft is cheapest way to build a Team but I will say Trading for a young player on a rookie contract is another way to build on the cheap...


I've watched two Suns/rockets games from last year and Brooks def. has talent. He should be a better back-up PG than Dragic because he can run the Team better and he also lead the Rockets to a top-10 scoring Team last year... but I'd like to see him againgst D Williams, Rose, Paul, Rondo, Westbrook, Curry, Parker, etc. (yikes) - before I consider him PGOF. Whereas i wasn't as worried with Dragic guarding these players.

 

[Mainstreet]

It is interesting to note that Paul Coro at azcentral confirms Grant Hill and Steve Nash were consulted prior to the trade for Brooks. It is under the "Post Comments" section in the article written 2-25-11. So I guess they were on board with the trade if it went through, as it did.

Thanks for asking for the clarification. Houston's call came Wednesday. Nash and Hill were consulted when they were considering it for their input. They left about noon Thursday not knowing the deal would be done an hour later and found out when they turned on their phones after landing in Toronto. Nash just happened to see it and be able to catch Dragic before he found out from his phone. Nash wasn't surprised. Dragic was shocked because he didn't know anything of it. Babby was surprised because he had not expected to make a deal. Hope that helps.

Also in the actual article Paul Coro writes:

Coach Alvin Gentry said Brooks will give him an opportunity to rest Nash more and added that he could pair the two in the backcourt.

I guess the Suns really want Brooks for his scoring mentality as well as his PG skills.

http://www.azcentral.com/sports/sun.../20110225phoenix-suns-notes-aaron-brooks.html

 

[AfroSuns]

^^ Pair the two? the two worst defender on the team, against what kind of line-up?
Going to be interesting.

 

[Mainstreet]

^^ Pair the two? the two worst defender on the team, against what kind of line-up?
Going to be interesting.

I'm thinking if the opposing team wants to continually pressure Nash, pairing the two (having two ball handlers) could make the other team pay. Also if the Suns are having trouble scoring this might be useful as well. I don't see the Suns using this pairing except in special situations. Also it helps the Suns now have two big centers to help guard the basket on defense.

 

[Chaplin]

I would like someone to prove that Nash has been our worst defender this season. Nobody will, because nobody can. He's actually played decent defense this year.

 

[AzStevenCal]

I would like someone to prove that Nash has been our worst defender this season. Nobody will, because nobody can. He's actually played decent defense this year.

Well, he has the team worst blocked shot average for players that log minutes. Will that do?

Steve

 

[Chaplin]

Well, he has the team worst blocked shot average for players that log minutes. Will that do?

Steve

LOL And hasn't Amare had one of the best over his time with the Suns? Blocked shots are a misleading stat. Sure, it's nice to be able to do it, but it doesn't make you a good defender.

 

[Covert Rain]

I would like someone to prove that Nash has been our worst defender this season. Nobody will, because nobody can. He's actually played decent defense this year.

I am not sure what this proves but if I have time I will look it up. Last time I checked his numbers he was still one of the worst PG's in the league at yielding points to opposing PG's. It was better then previous years where he was litterly #1 or #2 all season long. However, better doesn't mean good.

Not to mention that I think what is hiding Nash's terrble defense is we are not playing much small ball since the Gortat trade. If Lopez isn't out there, Gortat is. The Suns paint play has dramatically gotten better since the Gortat trade.

 

[sunsfan88]

^^ Pair the two? the two worst defender on the team, against what kind of line-up?
Going to be interesting.

Well if you have watched Denve games since the Melo trade, they have also gone with two PGs to close games (Lawson & Felton) Neither are great defenders but so far it seems to work for them.

It offers more playmaking. Especially for the Suns cause there have been many games this season when our offense is completely dead for like the last 5-6 minutes of games.

 

[Griffin]

Not to mention that I think what is hiding Nash's terrble defense is we are not playing much small ball since the Gortat trade. If Lopez isn't out there, Gortat is. The Suns paint play has dramatically gotten better since the Gortat trade.

But conversely, not having a good paint defender makes perimeter defenders look much worse than they actually are. Defense, after all, is a team concept.

The fact is, the Suns have improved quite a bit defensively while Nash is still playing heavy minutes, something that many people here claimed is impossible while Nash is still on the team regardless of who the big men are.

 

[Chaplin]

I am not sure what this proves but if I have time I will look it up. Last time I checked his numbers he was still one of the worst PG's in the league at yielding points to opposing PG's. It was better then previous years where he was litterly #1 or #2 all season long. However, better doesn't mean good.

I would be interested in seeing just how hard you pursue trying to prove that Nash sucks. Point guards haven't been having great games against us--our problem this year has been obscure bench players have career games.

Not to mention that I think what is hiding Nash's terrble defense is we are not playing much small ball since the Gortat trade. If Lopez isn't out there, Gortat is. The Suns paint play has dramatically gotten better since the Gortat trade.

This is a lame excuse--if Nash's deficiencies are "hidden", then why complain about his defense in the first place? Nash has never been a 1st team defender, but if our paint protectors are "hiding" his problems, then why is that an issue? Seems like that's what we SHOULD be doing.

 

[AzStevenCal]

But conversely, not having a good paint defender makes perimeter defenders look much worse than they actually are. Defense, after all, is a team concept.

The fact is, the Suns have improved quite a bit defensively while Nash is still playing heavy minutes, something that many people here claimed is impossible while Nash is still on the team regardless of who the big men are.

This.

Steve

 

[Mainstreet]

Well if you have watched Denve games since the Melo trade, they have also gone with two PGs to close games (Lawson & Felton) Neither are great defenders but so far it seems to work for them.

It offers more playmaking. Especially for the Suns cause there have been many games this season when our offense is completely dead for like the last 5-6 minutes of games.

Those small PGs have driven the Suns crazy. Let the Suns give them a dose.