Suns To Audition Big Men on Wednesday
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I'm completely underwhelmed. If the Suns do not eventually sign PJ Brown it looks like they will be in trouble regarding big man depth. It appears like they are just going for roster filler and that the Suns do not have a backup plan. IMO, the Suns should be much further along than holding big man auditions if they are seriously concerned about winning a Championship.
What's wrong with Brian Skinner... too expensive? Sad.
What's wrong with Brian Skinner... too expensive? Sad.
arwillan
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brown isnt the biggest guy out there, but he is athletic and he is young so you never know. id like to give him a shot
PhxGametime
Formerly Bball_31
In this article it says Skinner and Sweetney are both dropped from the radar... they both happen to be the two best listed there. Not sure this is such a positive article?
Sunsman44
The Sunsman Defense Team
Well, this article clearly points out that Elton Brown, Potopenko, and Ruffin are the three only choices.
It said Skinner and Sweetney, the two best prospects, are out of the radar. I wonder if anybody knows why? It's not like they have other options better than Phoenix.
If I were to take Vitaly, Elton, or Ruffin - I'd take the most athletic and best rebounder of the three = Ruffin.
And BTW - anybody know why Melvin Ely was never considered by Phoenix? Seems like anybody who is a decent big (Ely, Skinner, Sweetney) is not in Phoenix's plans. So weird.
It said Skinner and Sweetney, the two best prospects, are out of the radar. I wonder if anybody knows why? It's not like they have other options better than Phoenix.
If I were to take Vitaly, Elton, or Ruffin - I'd take the most athletic and best rebounder of the three = Ruffin.
And BTW - anybody know why Melvin Ely was never considered by Phoenix? Seems like anybody who is a decent big (Ely, Skinner, Sweetney) is not in Phoenix's plans. So weird.
Chaplin
Better off silent
Ely and Sweetney have major attitude problems. I don't see how a proclaimed Suns fan can ignore that.
Chaplin
Better off silent
What makes you think it was the Suns that dropped them? Perhaps they got wind of a potentially better offer from someone else...
PhxGametime
Formerly Bball_31
Well Chaplin I just stated both were dropped from radar... regardless who dropped who, IMO this is bad news. I just tried to get the quote as close as I could remember... anywho I'm watching the Mercury hahhahaha
KloD
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Eh.. my guess is they are holding out for a guaranteed contract from someone, which the Suns aren't offering.
Sunsman44
The Sunsman Defense Team
Oh cut the cute hogwash remarks. There is no place for that.
Is it engraved in stone that every single fan of the Phoenix Suns must carry a resume that says they know Ely and Sweetney have attitude problems? If so, I am guilty of not having this knowledge.
Dude, I was simply asking a question if anybody knew what is up with Ely and Sweetney.
Why do you incessantly come back with stupid, childish remarks?
You could have just as easily said Ely and Sweetney have attitude problems - without the cute little personal attacks.
Perhpas there are fans out there who don't know this and could be enlightened by your upbeat chatter. You my friend are a fool in my book. Ignore list indeed.
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elindholm
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Because he SUCKS!
Everyone who follows the NBA knows that Ely sucks, except for about five people on this fan board who are completely enamored of him for some bizarre, incomprehensible reason.
Every time Ely's name comes up, I feel like my head is going to explode. He has nothing to offer the Suns, period.
He sucks. That is your answer.
Sunsman44
The Sunsman Defense Team
A poor response to my question.
A) Please steer away from these incessant hasty generalizations. What do you mean everyone who follows the NBA knows Ely sucks? How does everyone know this?
B) What is your definition of "sucks" ? Does "sucks" mean he isn't an all-star? a good role? a good 12th man? Please do explain.
C) He has nothing to offer, you say? Hmmm, I am sure he has less to offer than the three choices Steve Kerr announced today: Ruffin, Potapenko, Elton Brown. Nice going there, bud.
I'm done trying to reason with you people.
arwillan
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A) Most people know that he sucks because he has bounced around so many teams lately and hasnt been getting any serious minutes. When you cant beat oberto or elson for some playing time, it's never a good sign
B) he sucks as in he has no offensive skills to speak of, and his defense and rebounding are simply mediocre. He's amare with no offensive skill and 1000x less athletic ability
C) At least with Elton Brown you get a young, athletic prospect who can certainly become a good player for the suns. He isnt all that tall, but then again neither was KT. He also hasnt had any injury problems. From what ive read, he needs to work on D (though he has improved that and rebounding significantly) as well as free throw shooting.
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Chaplin
Better off silent
You're asking us to stay away from hasty generalizations? You, who posted about Damir Markota minutes after being waived by a far more mediocre team than the Suns?
"Sucks" means a) he won't get any minutes, and b) he can't play the game, and c) well, he WON'T GET ANY MINUTES. Pike won't get any minutes, but if he does, we know he does what he does fairly well, which is shoot. What does Ely do well? And don't give your standard canned answer you get from looking at box scores.
You aren't sure of anything. You see a guy that is taller than 6'9" and want to sign him. And I mean ANY guy taller than 6'9". If Ely had more to offer than Ruffin, Potapenko and Brown, they would have brought him in too. Hell, if I was taller than 6'9" you'd want the Suns to sign him.
Nobody is saying that we don't want the Suns to sign a big man, but we sure don't want to waste money on a guy with no talent just to say we have another big man.
Sunsman44
The Sunsman Defense Team
Umm. Ok.
You are basically arguing that you'd rather have zero crappy big men and use the current roster instead of signing a crappy big man, right?
Okay, assuming that is your argument, let me pose this question:
4th quarter. No Amare due to injury. No Diaw due to ejection. No Marks due to foul out.
Are you saying you'd rather have the small guys such as Tucker, DJ, Hill, and Pike get off the bench and man the frontline since all those guys are out - or - would you not think it would be more appropriate to throw in those "crappy bigs" like Ely in case of an emergency.
I think your answer would be the latter.
Every NBA team has at least 6 bigs lined up on their roster. Do they all play? Heck no. Only half of them play. But it is always good to have insurance just as u have car insurance.
I see what u are saying, but it doesn't justify that Suns can roll with Amare and Marks.
Period.
PetryJr
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First of all, there are teams other than Phoenix that don't have 6 big men.
- San Antonio, for instance, has 5 right now (Duncan, Elson, Oberto, Horry and Bonner). They might sign Mahinmi (last year's draft pick), but that's not a given, considering they already have 14 players and are reportedly interested in Troy Hudson.
- The Cavaliers have Ilgauskas, Gooden and Marshall signed. If Varejão re-signs, they'll have 4 big men. They'll probably add another big man, but I don't see them adding two.
- Utah has Okur, Boozer, Collins, Fezenko and Millsap so far. Kirilenko can play some PF, but so can Marion.
So, before you tell people to steer away from hasty generalizations, it would be nice if you stopped with your exaggerations.
Plus, whether we like it or not, Diaw is a big as long as he's playing for Phoenix. He'll play almost exclusively as a PF and as a C for the Suns. Can he be a liability on defense? Sure, but so can Amaré at times. Also, whether we like it or not, Marion WILL play a lot of minutes at PF.
The Suns are different from most teams in the NBA. Due to their style, they don't need 6 bigs on their roster. Right now, they have 3 guys who can play at the two power positions in their system (Amaré, Diaw, Marion) and a 12th man who might be used in an emergency (Marks). So they aren't just "rolling with Amaré and Marks".
They need to add another player to reach 13, and I think it's pretty clear this player is going to be a big, so that brings their number of bigs to 4 (or 5, if you count Marion), which is a reasonable number if you consider their system. If they add PJ Brown later, that number will be pushed to 5, which would be acceptable even for a team playing a more traditional style.
Bad players are bad. Big stiffs just cause problems. They can't score, they make stupid fouls, turnovers, and just get in the way.
A really good mid sized guy can at least use speed, take charges, and create problems for the opposition on the offense end by having skills.
The problem is not unique for the Suns. Lots of teams load up on one dimensional bigs, mostly on the hope that somehow they will somehow play a little bit better than the stiffs they already have.
The problem is that really good bigs are better than really good mid sized guys. You have to keep looking for big guys with talent, but settling for stiffs doesn't solve the problem.
A really good mid sized guy can at least use speed, take charges, and create problems for the opposition on the offense end by having skills.
The problem is not unique for the Suns. Lots of teams load up on one dimensional bigs, mostly on the hope that somehow they will somehow play a little bit better than the stiffs they already have.
The problem is that really good bigs are better than really good mid sized guys. You have to keep looking for big guys with talent, but settling for stiffs doesn't solve the problem.
fordronken
Registered User
How often do teams hold auditions for free agents? Especially 30 year old ones? It seems like players are pretty desperate for jobs right now.
myrondizzo
Hall of Famer
wouldn't diaw have to be aggressive to get ejected.
fordronken
Registered User
If it's a playoff game against the Spurs, we'll lose anyway. If it's a regular season game, then who gives a crap?
Also, if Marks fouls out this season, I'll eat a chicken head.
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Your safe.
I just never could figure out how the Suns FO could try to spin the idea that Marks will be a significant contributor. Also, if the Suns bring back Pat Burke I most certainly will puke. I'm thinking Burke got a lot more playing time than Marks last season so that says a lot about these two players.
Yes.
Lots of guys entered free agency with "visions of sugar plums" (nice, long, guaranteed contracts) only to discover that a lot of teams are not willing to pay LT on them or even have roster slots. DX mentioned this issue last month, http://www.draftexpress.com/viewarticle.php?a=2212.
What has changed that wasn't true a month a go? Players coming off moderately big contracts like Skinner are now facing either no camp invite or taking a vet minimum deal for just one year.
