Suns @ Pacers Saturday game thread 1-4-2025

[Mainstreet]

I missed this. Mat Ishbia attended the game.

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[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

I missed this. Mat Ishbia attended the game.

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He must be proud.

 

[Yuma]

You thought wrong. The offense is always going to go through KD and Book. The days of PG’s penetrating and dishing are long gone.

Then all the hand wringing about PGs last year was for nothing. We could have used more bigs.

 

[Chris_Sanders]

There is nothing to be gained by cutting Beal and Nurkic. They will still get paid so it doesn't give the Suns any cap space.

If you get your picks back, it's the best outcome. They have negative trade value and after you trade Booker you need to crater for like 2 years.

 

[Chris_Sanders]

Could Booker even get your picks back? That's a real question

 

[Mainstreet]

Then all the hand wringing about PGs last year was for nothing. We could have used more bigs.

Monte Morris and Tyus Jones were more or less gifts for their salaries.

What James Jones failed to do is upgrade the 4/5 position, which was just as important.

 

[Mainstreet]

If you get your picks back, it's the best outcome. They have negative trade value and after you trade Booker you need to crater for like 2 years.

The Suns will never get the assets they gave up in trading Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson and Jae Crowder.

All the Suns would be doing is cashing in other assets so they could tank.

If tanking is the plan, it's probably not the worst idea, but other teams like the Nets and Jazz are years ahead of them.

 

[Yuma]

The Suns will never get the assets they gave up in trading Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson and Jae Crowder.

All the Suns would be doing is cashing in other assets so they could tank.

If tanking is the plan, it's probably not the worst idea, but other teams like the Nets and Jazz are years ahead of them.

Tanking this year is worthless at this point. The tank has to start at the beginning of a fresh new season.

 

[Mainstreet]

Tanking this year is worthless at this point. The tank has to start at the beginning of a fresh new season.

Unless the Suns get their unprotected first draft picks back they traded or swapped, tanking is almost worthless.

 

[boisesuns]

It’s been all down hill since we were up 2-0 in the finals

 

[Yuma]

It’s been all down hill since we were up 2-0 in the finals

Probably the closest I got to seeing a title was attending the game that day. I was pretty happy as a Suns fan that day.

 

[Mainstreet]

It’s been all down hill since we were up 2-0 in the finals

I understand what you are saying, but the Suns won 64 games the following season before they collapsed in a seven game series with the Mavericks in the Western Conference semifinals.

 

[Cheesebeef]

It’s been all down hill since we were up 2-0 in the finals

Nah… the next season was a blast also… until we went up 2-0 against the Mavs.

The second CP3 turned 37, this team nose-dived and became pretty hopeless as a legit title contender. We just made a terrible trade to make sure the next five years would be totally hopeless.

 

[Yuma]

Maybe it goes back to the mystery of Crowder?

 

[Mainstreet]

Maybe it goes back to the mystery of Crowder?

I'd like to know what happened for sure. It might give a hint.

 

[FB94]

This team is broken in so many ways. Time to dismantle it as much as possible and start over. Suns basketball is so far down the list right now.

 

[Hoop Head]

Could Booker even get your picks back? That's a real question

Yes, absolutely. The idea we couldn't is only held by us miserably overally analytical Suns fans. Booker has a lot of value. I talk to fans of other teams regularly who are just as dedicated and educated as Suns fans are here and every single one has pined over Booker joining their team, even at a high cost.

Now I will say that this does deserve a little more nuance because in reality we can only 2 of our picks in a deal as that's all 1 team holds. The assortment of assets we traded for KD and Beal is spread across the league now with Houston, Brooklyn, Memphis, Orlando, and Washington all having a stake in our failures. So ultimately we could definitely get back the largest collection of our picks back from Houston for Booker but that's only scratching the surface as we'll still be buried 4 feet instead of 6.

 

[Hoop Head]

Then all the hand wringing about PGs last year was for nothing. We could have used more bigs.

Yes and no. We need a second unit PG to help stabilize the offense when our main guys were out. The ball should be taken from KD and Book's hands as well but it takes a strong coach to do that and that coach needs backed by the front office so if KD or Book won't concede to the coach then they are moved out.

We've also needed size for years, before KD's arrival.

 

[Hoop Head]

Maybe it goes back to the mystery of Crowder?

I don't blame Crowder but if you were looking for a specific time to say when the team reached the point of no return, it would be vs New Orleans in round 1 in 2022. The first domino fell here, IMO.

Think of how super conservative Monty viewed this incident. He was never one for spectacle and was on the hunt for a son in law. This sort of good fun teasing amongst teammates was something he didn't appreciate or support. Think back to how quick the wheels fell off though from here. We had some injuries, potential covid outbreak, and his team leaders weren't acting in a manner he supported. He couldn't tell management to get rid of Booker.

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[Phrazbit]

Could Booker even get your picks back? That's a real question

The picks we owe are solid gold. Outside of young stars and a few MVP caliber players, those are probably the most valuable assets in the league right now. The only reason the Nets traded them to Houston is because Houston owned the Nets picks and the Nets want to tank. The reason Houston agreed is because we are so obviously going to be a dumpster fire going forward.

Even a trade with Houston would return only ONE of our picks back directly, every other pick is either with another team or pick swapped in several different ways with us getting the worst option available. The Nets, Wizards, Grizzlies and Rockets all have a stake in our future misery.

 

[hcsilla]

Even a trade with Houston would return only ONE of our picks back directly, every other pick is either with another team or pick swapped in several different ways with us getting the worst option available. The Nets, Wizards, Grizzlies and Rockets all have a stake in our future misery.

No, Houston has control over 3 of our picks: 2025, 27 and 29.

 

[Hoop Head]

No, Houston has control over 3 of our picks: 2025, 27 and 29.

The 29 pick isn't decided. Houston may get it but Brooklyn may have it. It's a mess with all the swaps involved.

Brooklyn Nets Complete Trade With Houston Rockets

The Brooklyn Nets have acquired their 2025 first round draft pick, negating a previously agreed to swap, and their first round pick in 2026, from the Houston Rockets in exchange for a 2025 first round pick swap (Houston/Oklahoma City for Phoenix), the Phoenix Suns’ 2027 first round pick and a...

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[Carolinacacti]

Seems to me you just play the buy a star game. These three don’t work go get a couple more. Just have to unload these three

 

[hcsilla]

The 29 pick isn't decided. Houston may get it but Brooklyn may have it. It's a mess with all the swaps involved.

Brooklyn Nets Complete Trade With Houston Rockets

The Brooklyn Nets have acquired their 2025 first round draft pick, negating a previously agreed to swap, and their first round pick in 2026, from the Houston Rockets in exchange for a 2025 first round pick swap (Houston/Oklahoma City for Phoenix), the Phoenix Suns’ 2027 first round pick and a...

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Yes, it is not decided yet, but it seems more than likely now (of course that still can change till 2029) that the least favorable of DAL, HOU and PHO 1st rounders will not be the Suns' one therefore HOU controls the Suns' 2029 one. All in all the Rockets can trade their swap rights in 2029 which probably will convert into to Suns' 2029 1st rounder.

 

[Phrazbit]

No, Houston has control over 3 of our picks: 2025, 27 and 29.

As I understand it, they only own one outright, 2 of those 3 picks have swap options. We'd get the lesser of 2 picks, so our record would be meaningless.