The Durant Sweepstakes

[boisesuns]

#flexfromboise

Better show some respect!!

 

[Covert Rain]

Better show some respect!!

Trust me the comment was equal to the "compliment".

 

[SunsFanFirst]

He’s not close to the offensive player Sean Ellliot was.

Sure but we are talking potential here. I would say the expectation for Bridges is he will continue to develop into an Elliot. People in here comparing his potential to Pippen.. if he isnt in the ballpark of Elliot then while Bridges is a good player we Suns fan continue to be victims of overrating our players.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Sure but we are talking potential here. I would say the expectation for Bridges is he will continue to develop into an Elliot. People in here comparing his potential to Pippen.. if he isnt in the ballpark of Elliot then while Bridges is a good player we Suns fan continue to be victims of overrating our players.

This.

 

[Covert Rain]

xc_hide_links_from_guests_guests_error_hide_media

 

[Muggz]

He’s not close to the offensive player Sean Ellliot was.

Sean Elliot NEVER had to worry about someone guarding him. He looked good because the other players on that team took ALL the pressure off him.

When we DO get Durant and keep Mikal. Mikal will pass Elliot standing still. Wont even be close.

 

[sdscard4]

Mikal needs to be unleashed
I'd love to see what he does as a number 2 option...unfortunately that would mean he isn't a Sun

 

[Finito]

Mikal needs to be unleashed
I'd love to see what he does as a number 2 option...unfortunately that would mean he isn't a Sun

He doesn’t have the personality to be a 1 or a 2. He’s a good role player and I think that’s pretty much his ceiling

 

[Covert Rain]

He doesn’t have the personality to be a 1 or a 2. He’s a good role player and I think that’s pretty much his ceiling

Meh. You never know unless you actually run plays for the guy. He is a product of how many weapons this team has. We have seen him go off on nights so it's not like the skill isn't there. I don't think he can be a #1 or #2 either but he could be a 3rd option IMO. It's just not going to happen when you have CP3, Book and Ayton plus spot up shooters who all need the ball.

 

[AzStevenCal]

He doesn’t have the personality to be a 1 or a 2. He’s a good role player and I think that’s pretty much his ceiling

I disagree. IMO he's the consummate pro and will do what he's asked to do. I don't think he'll ever be the scorer Booker is but I expect him to average around 20 per game from now on.

He had some good offensive performances last season even after his injury but you could tell every time he made contact with his little finger against the ball or another player that it still bothered him. On bad nights, he'd reach to defend only with his left arm in order to avoid any contact and went through stretches where he didn't even want to risk shooting because the follow-through would aggravate the pain.

I know Monty was thrilled that Bridges could play through the pain once they popped the finger back in but I wonder if we wouldn't have been better off making him get it fixed even if he missed a few months. As I recall the injury happened early in the game in that blowout loss to the Warriors in early December so he could easily have had it repaired and returned to form before the postseason began.

 

[Finito]

I disagree. IMO he's the consummate pro and will do what he's asked to do. I don't think he'll ever be the scorer Booker is but I expect him to average around 20 per game from now on.

He had some good offensive performances last season even after his injury but you could tell every time he made contact with his little finger against the ball or another player that it still bothered him. On bad nights, he'd reach to defend only with his left arm in order to avoid any contact and went through stretches where he didn't even want to risk shooting because the follow-through would aggravate the pain.

I know Monty was thrilled that Bridges could play through the pain once they popped the finger back in but I wonder if we wouldn't have been better off making him get it fixed even if he missed a few months. As I recall the injury happened early in the game in that blowout loss to the Warriors in early December so he could easily have had it repaired and returned to form before the postseason began.

Making a 6 point a game jump would put him in all star territory

Yes he’s a professional but that’s not what I’m talking about. He’s very passive on offense. He’s not aggressive enough to go get it. He can and does every once in awhile but a lot of nights he’s content to stand around.

He’s already 26 and he’s never really come close to averaging 20 in college or the pros.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Sean Elliot NEVER had to worry about someone guarding him. He looked good because the other players on that team took ALL the pressure off him.

Lol… no. David Robinson’s bag of bones took the pressure off Elliot? Avery Johnson and Malik Rose really drove that offense? Or how about Elliott as a key cog on the Spurs pre-Duncan. This post is silly.

Also, Bridges has to worry about others guarding him… as a 4th or 5th option, which is what people all say as his excuse for not putting up better numbers and where defenses are all keyed on All-NBA CP3/Book and a good big man down low? Come on.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Meh. You never know unless you actually run plays for the guy. He is a product of how many weapons this team has. We have seen him go off on nights so it's not like the skill isn't there. I don't think he can be a #1 or #2 either but he could be a 3rd option IMO. It's just not going to happen when you have CP3, Book and Ayton plus spot up shooters who all need the ball.

If he’s a team’s 3rd option, that team isn’t very good.

 

[Dr. Jones]

Mikal's replies continue to crush my soul.

xc_hide_links_from_guests_guests_error_hide_media

 

[Proximo]

Mikal's replies continue to crush my soul.

xc_hide_links_from_guests_guests_error_hide_media

Are you interpreting that as he thinks he's leaving?

 

[AzStevenCal]

Are you interpreting that as he thinks he's leaving?

Yeah, I have the same question. I'd also throw in a question about his use of the word "continue", what else has Mikal said that's "crushing his soul"?

 

[Dr. Jones]

Are you interpreting that as he thinks he's leaving?

Yeah.

He has always talked about how much he loves it in PHX. I think that he thinks he's a goner.

 

[Dr. Jones]

xc_hide_links_from_guests_guests_error_hide_media

xc_hide_links_from_guests_guests_error_hide_media

xc_hide_links_from_guests_guests_error_hide_media

 

[AzStevenCal]

Yeah.

He has always talked about how much he loves it in PHX. I think that he thinks he's a goner.

I don't want him gone. Someone needs to do something about this!!!

 

[Cheesebeef]

You guys are nuts if you wouldn’t trade Mikal and picks and filler for KD if that was all it took.

We would be a freaking BEAST.

 

[AzStevenCal]

You guys are nuts if you wouldn’t trade Mikal and picks and filler for KD if that was all it took.

We would be a freaking BEAST.

My response? 27, 72, 62, 68, 78, 00, 35, 55. That's the super secret combination to KD's attendance record over the last 8 seasons. Why anyone thinks that won't get worse for a 34 year old following achilles repair is absolutely beyond me.

 

[Dr. Jones]

You guys are nuts if you wouldn’t trade Mikal and picks and filler for KD if that was all it took.

We would be a freaking BEAST.

I would.

But like when I saw the picture of Hornacek and family crying as the plane took off...... I would be really really sad about it.

As Mikal would tweet:

 

[Cheesebeef]

My response? 27, 72, 62, 68, 78, 00, 35, 55. That's the super secret combination to KD's attendance record over the last 8 seasons. Why anyone thinks that won't get worse for a 34 year old following achilles repair is absolutely beyond me.

You said the same thing when you thought the CP3 trade was bad and decried the loss of… Oubre.

KD played at an MVP level last year. Not taking a chance on that with a window that’s only open for another year or two max with an even older CP3 is just dumbfounding. Especially since this team is DESPERATE for another great playmaker. Or did the last two exits, where defenses figured out how to neutralize our offense because only two players could actually generate any make you believe that for some unknown reason, the third time’s the charm?

Especially when we’ve seen Bridges not only completely curl up in a ball and die on offense in the two biggest series losses the last two years, but also get ABUSED on D as well against the Mavs and Bucks, rendering him totally useless in our last two series losses?

 

[Chaplin]

You said the same thing when you thought the CP3 trade was bad and decried the loss of… Oubre.

KD played at an MVP level last year. Not taking a chance on that with a window that’s only open for another year or two max with an even older CP3 is just dumbfounding. Especially since this team is DESPERATE for another great playmaker. Or did the last two exits, where defenses figured out how to neutralize our offense because only two players could actually generate any make you believe that for some unknown reason, the third time’s the charm?

Especially when we’ve seen Bridges not only completely curl up in a ball and die on offense in the two biggest series losses the last two years, but also get ABUSED on D as well against the Mavs and Bucks, rendering him totally useless in our last two series losses?

This is a message board and most message boards suffer greatly from recency bias.

 

[AzStevenCal]

You said the same thing when you thought the CP3 trade was bad and decried the loss of… Oubre.

KD played at an MVP level last year. Not taking a chance on that with a window that’s only open for another year or two max with an even older CP3 is just dumbfounding. Especially since this team is DESPERATE for another great playmaker. Or did the last two exits, where defenses figured out how to neutralize our offense because only two players could actually generate any make you believe that for some unknown reason, the third time’s the charm?

Especially when we’ve seen Bridges not only completely curl up in a ball and die on offense in the two biggest series losses the last two years, but also get ABUSED on D as well against the Mavs and Bucks, rendering him totally useless in our last two series losses?

That's not accurate. I didn't love the idea of losing Oubre but it was no big deal to me. The Paul thing comes closer but that was just money; now we're talking about money, Bridges, role players and a lot of draft picks for a player that misses a lot of games and is unlikely to live up to his contract. Oh, and his contract makes CP's contract look like a discount sale.

And as disappointing as Mikal was against Dalls, I'll take Bridges this last postseason over Durant this last postseason. And Mikal was playing with a hand that never recovered that hindered both his offense and his defense. So many of you are making all kinds of excuses for Durant's horrible performance while not extending the same benefit of the doubt for a player we already have the rights to. I know the potential reward with Durant well exceeds Mikal's current value but the price is too high when you consider both the costs and the risks IMO.