The worst part about the JJ trade . . .

[Dan H]

. . . is, in my opinion, the fact that one of our young building blocks for the future is gone.

We've gone from a young team with some promise to a veteran club with a couple of young players. That doesn't bode well for the future - and when you think that we could have had guys like Nate Robinson and Andre Igoudala playing alongside Barbosa, Stoudemire, and JJ a few years down the road, it hurts. I look at our roster now and find it hard to fnd anybody who's still likely to be here two or three years down the road. Heck, I even wonder if we didn't give up on Zarko too early, especially with the advent of the NBDL.

Trading draft picks is never a great idea unless you're getting good young talent in return. They may have to change the name of the Stepien rule to the Sarver rule if things get much worse.

 

[Dustbuster]

. . . is, in my opinion, the fact that one of our young building blocks for the future is gone.

We've gone from a young team with some promise to a veteran club with a couple of young players. That doesn't bode well for the future - and when you think that we could have had guys like Nate Robinson and Andre Igoudala playing alongside Barbosa, Stoudemire, and JJ a few years down the road, it hurts. I look at our roster now and find it hard to fnd anybody who's still likely to be here two or three years down the road. Heck, I even wonder if we didn't give up on Zarko too early, especially with the advent of the NBDL.

Trading draft picks is never a great idea unless you're getting good young talent in return. They may have to change the name of the Stepien rule to the Sarver rule if things get much worse.

I agree completely, Dan. For me personally, it is easy to like young players and root for them because of their potential to improve. There are very few players on the Suns now that fit that category. We have mortgaged our future to win now, but now we have thrown away our present as well. The master plan is looking very muddled at the moment.

 

[Mad Psyentist]

This has been really devastating news to me. Even more than McDyess ever was because we were competing for a championship with this team and not another first round knockout. We were gonna be right up there with the Spurs...

Before, I could spin off all the blown drafts, not signing other free agents, minimum wage bench players, trading away core members...but not this. I justified everything so far that it was to keep this team together, but not this.

All i can think about now is how much all this really pisses me. To think that regardless of what JJ or his agent said in the media, regardless of what overblown conflict there was with Amare, whatever talent we had to pass on or give up to get to this point....all of it wouldve been forgotten if JJ had come back to the team and played for us. Winning wouldve cured all that...but now thats not the case.

Now, we have to deal with the afteramth of all the crap we have had to go thru because of Sarver and im not just talking about JJ.

Now, im always going to feel like no player is safe because whether or not they have a good year or bad year, they might be traded or not resigned just to save a buck. That we will trade away draft picks to cut costs. That we arent about winning anymore...at least not at the commitment level that JC had for winning.

I still love the suns...but i cant help but feel cheated as a fan.