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Suns Offseason - Depth
By Scott Church
for HOOPSWORLD.com
Aug 29, 2005, 11:08
The 2005/2006 Suns will not be hurt by a lack of depth. The Suns overhauled their roster, adding eight new players. Adding these players had made the Suns a very deep team, something they didn’t have the luxury of last season. Of course not all the guys currently signed have to make the roster and the Suns could cut some of the lesser known players on the team (Burke or Tischer). The roster currently looks like this:
PG: Steve Nash, Leandro Barbosa
SG: Raja Bell, Boris Diaw
SF: Shawn Marion, Jimmy Jackson (JJ2 or Jimmy), James Jones (JJ3), Dijon Thompson
PF: Amare Stoudemire, Pat Burke, Lucas Tischer
C: Kurt Thomas, Brian Grant
Looking at the roster, the biggest needs are another backup PG and more depth at the center position.
Bell and Diaw both have the ability to handle the ball. Jimmy also has the ability to handle the ball. This gives the Suns some options but it would still be a better if the team adds a backup, true PG to the roster. There isn’t much left on the free agent market as far as PGs go though. Gary Payton could be signed to the minimum contract, a sign and trade of Earl Watson could happen for the trade exception the Suns still have, Eddie House is still available but is more of a SG. Obviously, there isn’t much left that could really help the team.
The center position has been revamped this off-season but could use another member. Kurt Thomas is older and Brian Grant had his worst season last year. Thomas should see around 24-28 minutes a night while Grant sees 10-16. Grant is the player that could have the most impact if he is able to stay healthy and return to how he formally used to play. Grant was injured all of last season but continued to play, something that most players in the NBA shy away from. Grant’s biggest influence could be with Amare, showing him moves and tricks that have helped Grant be such a good rebounder.
The Suns should be looking to add at least one more player to the center position. Pat Burke is a decent backup and could be a real surprise, but I mainly see him taking over as the new blogger on the team.
The Suns should find out if Michael Finley is going to join the team this week. It appears that Miami has the edge on the Suns. If Fin does decide to sign with the Suns, it will greatly change this team, adding even more depth and scoring. It was reported that Scott Padgett was going to sign with the team but that appears dead since the Suns traded a second round pick for James Jones from the Pacers. Padgett said he was given a bigger offer from the Clippers and it wouldn’t be surprising if he now signed with them. Besides the PGs listed earlier in the post, the Suns could also be looking at center Calvin Booth who played for both Milwaukee and Dallas last season. Booth is one of the only legit seven footers left on the free agent market and should start to see some attention from teams in the league.
Thompson and Tischer should find themselves in the NBDL if the Suns sign two more players that make the roster. The Suns would be left with one reserve on the IR while Thompson and Tischer both improve there game in the NBDL. It would be smart for the Suns to leave them in the lower league as long as they can. This will let their games grow while not having a lot of pressure on them. The Suns could then bring them up to the team near the end of the season after they have improved their games. This would let them come up to the team when there are injuries and help the team when needed. I do not expect either one to see much time this season but I do expect them to improve in the NBDL and look for them to contribute some next season.
The Suns roster has become much more versatile than last years roster. If the team wants to go small, Amare can move to C, Marion to PF and then put JJ2 or JJ3 at the 3 spot. The roster is so versatile; a defensive unit can even be on the floor, something the Suns haven’t been able to do for a long time.
Next Monday look for a post looking at the team with Michael Finley if he signs with the team. Otherwise, look for a report looking at teams in the Pacific division and what they have been doing in the off-season. Reports coming soon will look at the Suns off-season compared to the rest of the Western Conference; also posts will take an in-depth look at each player by position.
Email me with any questions or thoughts on what is happening with the Suns.
Suns Offseason - Depth
By Scott Church
for HOOPSWORLD.com
Aug 29, 2005, 11:08
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Depth is something that not all teams are blessed with. If you look at how the Utah Jazz fell apart last year, it was because of injuries to positions on the team that did not have depth. A lot of time the lack of depth is the destruction of a team. Players are played too many minutes and sufferer injuries. This only hurts the lack of depth even more on a team.The 2005/2006 Suns will not be hurt by a lack of depth. The Suns overhauled their roster, adding eight new players. Adding these players had made the Suns a very deep team, something they didn’t have the luxury of last season. Of course not all the guys currently signed have to make the roster and the Suns could cut some of the lesser known players on the team (Burke or Tischer). The roster currently looks like this:
PG: Steve Nash, Leandro Barbosa
SG: Raja Bell, Boris Diaw
SF: Shawn Marion, Jimmy Jackson (JJ2 or Jimmy), James Jones (JJ3), Dijon Thompson
PF: Amare Stoudemire, Pat Burke, Lucas Tischer
C: Kurt Thomas, Brian Grant
Looking at the roster, the biggest needs are another backup PG and more depth at the center position.
Bell and Diaw both have the ability to handle the ball. Jimmy also has the ability to handle the ball. This gives the Suns some options but it would still be a better if the team adds a backup, true PG to the roster. There isn’t much left on the free agent market as far as PGs go though. Gary Payton could be signed to the minimum contract, a sign and trade of Earl Watson could happen for the trade exception the Suns still have, Eddie House is still available but is more of a SG. Obviously, there isn’t much left that could really help the team.
The center position has been revamped this off-season but could use another member. Kurt Thomas is older and Brian Grant had his worst season last year. Thomas should see around 24-28 minutes a night while Grant sees 10-16. Grant is the player that could have the most impact if he is able to stay healthy and return to how he formally used to play. Grant was injured all of last season but continued to play, something that most players in the NBA shy away from. Grant’s biggest influence could be with Amare, showing him moves and tricks that have helped Grant be such a good rebounder.
The Suns should be looking to add at least one more player to the center position. Pat Burke is a decent backup and could be a real surprise, but I mainly see him taking over as the new blogger on the team.
The Suns should find out if Michael Finley is going to join the team this week. It appears that Miami has the edge on the Suns. If Fin does decide to sign with the Suns, it will greatly change this team, adding even more depth and scoring. It was reported that Scott Padgett was going to sign with the team but that appears dead since the Suns traded a second round pick for James Jones from the Pacers. Padgett said he was given a bigger offer from the Clippers and it wouldn’t be surprising if he now signed with them. Besides the PGs listed earlier in the post, the Suns could also be looking at center Calvin Booth who played for both Milwaukee and Dallas last season. Booth is one of the only legit seven footers left on the free agent market and should start to see some attention from teams in the league.
Thompson and Tischer should find themselves in the NBDL if the Suns sign two more players that make the roster. The Suns would be left with one reserve on the IR while Thompson and Tischer both improve there game in the NBDL. It would be smart for the Suns to leave them in the lower league as long as they can. This will let their games grow while not having a lot of pressure on them. The Suns could then bring them up to the team near the end of the season after they have improved their games. This would let them come up to the team when there are injuries and help the team when needed. I do not expect either one to see much time this season but I do expect them to improve in the NBDL and look for them to contribute some next season.
The Suns roster has become much more versatile than last years roster. If the team wants to go small, Amare can move to C, Marion to PF and then put JJ2 or JJ3 at the 3 spot. The roster is so versatile; a defensive unit can even be on the floor, something the Suns haven’t been able to do for a long time.
Next Monday look for a post looking at the team with Michael Finley if he signs with the team. Otherwise, look for a report looking at teams in the Pacific division and what they have been doing in the off-season. Reports coming soon will look at the Suns off-season compared to the rest of the Western Conference; also posts will take an in-depth look at each player by position.
Email me with any questions or thoughts on what is happening with the Suns.
