This just in, Suns still one of the favorites to win the championship....

[SactownSunsFan]

Just reading some of the posts over the last week or so, and my goodness, some of you are really getting gloom-and-doom on us. Do you forget that we still have Amare Stoudemire, Steve Nash, Shawn Marion, Boris Diaw, Raja Bell, Leandro Barbosa, Kurt Thomas and James Jones on this team? You could fill in the rest of the roster with local scrubs at the YMCA and we'd still be favored to win the championship next year.

Our offseason priorities-

1. Get Amare healthy
2. Sign Diaw to extension
3. Sign Barbosa to extension
4. Resign Tim Thomas
5. Get Nash a back-up point guard

You're all acting as if letting Tim Thomas go to the Clippers for a 4 year 24 million contract is going to cause our team to miss the playoffs. Let me spell it out for you- if we match the Clippers offer, either Boris has to go or Shawn Marion has to go, because there is no way we can afford to have all three of those guys on this team, and Boris and Marion are a hell of a lot more valuable to us than Tim Thomas.

We missed out on Bobby Jackson. So What? B Jax is an older, more injury prone version of Barbosa, and Barbs is still progressing as a player. He has much more upside than B Jax.

Why are you complaining about trading the # 21 pick for ridding ourselves of a past mistake in signing Brian Grant, and then to boot picking up a first in next years draft. We didn't give away the draft pick that we got from Atlanta, we traded it for a draft pick in a much deeper draft. We'll have 3 picks in 2008, and we'll be in a great position to add some increbile talent to eventually replace the older players we have on our team now.

We've missed out on only 1 of the 5 things so far this offseason, if we get the rest of the 4 done I'd consider this offseason a success. Wouldn't you?

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Our offseason priorities-

1. Get Amare healthy
2. Sign Diaw to extension
3. Sign Barbosa to extension
4. Resign Tim Thomas
5. Get Nash a back-up point guard

You're all acting as if letting Tim Thomas go to the Clippers for a 4 year 24 million contract is going to cause our team to miss the playoffs. Let me spell it out for you- if we match the Clippers offer, either Boris has to go or Shawn Marion has to go, because there is no way we can afford to have all three of those guys on this team, and Boris and Marion are a hell of a lot more valuable to us than Tim Thomas.

We missed out on Bobby Jackson. So What? B Jax is an older, more injury prone version of Barbosa, and Barbs is still progressing as a player. He has much more upside than B Jax.

Why are you complaining about trading the # 21 pick for ridding ourselves of a past mistake in signing Brian Grant, and then to boot picking up a first in next years draft. We didn't give away the draft pick that we got from Atlanta, we traded it for a draft pick in a much deeper draft. We'll have 3 picks in 2008, and we'll be in a great position to add some increbile talent to eventually replace the older players we have on our team now.

We've missed out on only 1 of the 5 things so far this offseason, if we get the rest of the 4 done I'd consider this offseason a success. Wouldn't you?

you want to know why you're hearing complaining? try this:

1. Get Amare healthy - no one but amare's knee can do anything about this
2. Sign Diaw to extension - nothing's happened yet
3. Sign Barbosa to extension - nothing's happened yet
4. Resign Tim Thomas - we lose this one
5. Get Nash a back-up point guard - vet backup pgs are being signed elsewhere - who else is left that is worth anything?

so, in summation, we can't do anything about 20% of your list, nothing is happening in terms of 40% of your list, we've already lost out on another 20% and we're seeing another 20% slip away signing-by-signing. so by my count that's 40% bad, 40% no-action, and 20% wait and see. there is no positive in any of that, only negative or neutral. that's why you're getting complaining. simple mathmatics.

 

[SactownSunsFan]

you want to know why you're hearing complaining? try this:

1. Get Amare healthy - no one but amare's knee can do anything about this
2. Sign Diaw to extension - nothing's happened yet
3. Sign Barbosa to extension - nothing's happened yet
4. Resign Tim Thomas - we lose this one
5. Get Nash a back-up point guard - vet backup pgs are being signed elsewhere - who else is left that is worth anything?

so, in summation, we can't do anything about 20% of your list, nothing is happening in terms of 40% of your list, we've already lost out on another 20% and we're seeing another 20% slip away signing-by-signing. so by my count that's 40% bad, 40% no-action, and 20% wait and see. there is no positive in any of that, only negative or neutral. that's why you're getting complaining. simple mathmatics.

100% of this list can't even officially be done yet, only time and verbal agreements can dictate, which I why I think it's a bit too soon to be doom and gloom.

 

[Chaplin]

July 3rd

Yeah, you heard right. It's JULY 3RD.

 

[playstation]

i can't really fault them for what's happened in free agency.

the only thing that really gets me is out and out selling a draft pick. at least get a future 2nd rounder or something.

i would also guess that marcus williams could get you more than a future cavs 1st rounder, so might have just taken him and waited for the best offer AFTER, especially considering worst-case you can at least use him a little and he costs less than eric freaking piatkowski

given precedent on how we've handled resigning our own players, you can see how many fans would be apprehensive about resigning boris and leandro.

 

[nowagimp]

Yeah, kind of like the spurs were favored last year, huh?

 

[Gaddabout]

I like to play GM like everyone else on this board, but the time for fans to criticize is when hindsight proves a point of view. We are allowed hindsight. GMs are not. Which is why I generally don't call for the death of a GM until his decisions have truly hung him.

I don't like any of the moves the Suns have made so far. I don't like that we have an agenda of "next year or nothing," yet we've really done nothing so far to even advance that agenda. As a front office, it looks really, really sloppy and amateur to the naked eye. In my 30 some years of observing NBA basketball, the teams that compete are constantly upgrading their roster, not standing pat. If there's no sense of urgency there, things tend to slack off on the court. I don't know why that is, it's just what it seems to appear to me.

All that said, I'm not paid to run the Suns. I'm certainly not going to hold a grudge against D'Antoni if his patience proves me wrong.

 

[George O'Brien]

I like to play GM like everyone else on this board, but the time for fans to criticize is when hindsight proves a point of view. We are allowed hindsight. GMs are not. Which is why I generally don't call for the death of a GM until his decisions have truly hung him.

I don't like any of the moves the Suns have made so far. I don't like that we have an agenda of "next year or nothing," yet we've really done nothing so far to even advance that agenda. As a front office, it looks really, really sloppy and amateur to the naked eye. In my 30 some years of observing NBA basketball, the teams that compete are constantly upgrading their roster, not standing pat. If there's no sense of urgency there, things tend to slack off on the court. I don't know why that is, it's just what it seems to appear to me.

All that said, I'm not paid to run the Suns. I'm certainly not going to hold a grudge against D'Antoni if his patience proves me wrong.

Which moves don't you like?

1. Failing to move up in the draft when no one would trade with them?

2. Trading out of a draft where the coaching staff doesn't like the players available?

3. Failing to overpay a guy who had two great months in the past six years.

4. Failing to get into a bidding war on a PG who averaged less than 3 assists per game in Bobby Jackson?

I'm waiting to hear about a recent decision that warrents all this hysteria.

 

[Chaplin]

I don't like any of the moves the Suns have made so far. I don't like that we have an agenda of "next year or nothing," yet we've really done nothing so far to even advance that agenda. As a front office, it looks really, really sloppy and amateur to the naked eye. In my 30 some years of observing NBA basketball, the teams that compete are constantly upgrading their roster, not standing pat. If there's no sense of urgency there, things tend to slack off on the court. I don't know why that is, it's just what it seems to appear to me.

How does this make sense? We are one of those "competing" teams that constantly upgrades their roster, and how many championships has it gotten us? With the exception of Tim Thomas, we are actually standing pat, a philosophy MANY on this board like and have called for for years! But now that they are standing pat, they won't compete because competing teams always upgrade their roster? Which is it?

 

[F-Dog]

Last I checked, the Suns were 5-1 to win the chip next year. The Spurs and one of the eastern teams were both 4-1, so no, the Suns aren't favored to win the championship.

I haven't checked since the start of free agency, though. Maybe the Suns have taken over the favorite's mantle since then.

 

[tobiazz]

Last I checked, the Suns were 5-1 to win the chip next year. The Spurs and one of the eastern teams were both 4-1, so no, the Suns aren't favored to win the championship.

I haven't checked since the start of free agency, though. Maybe the Suns have taken over the favorite's mantle since then.

Yeah, the east team must have been the Bulls and we just stole Piatkowski from them so that makes us the clear favorite.

 

[carey]

Great posts by George and Chaplin here. They haven't made any moves because there's no good moves to make. I'm really not worried at this point, and you all are just stressing yourselves out this early in the summer.

 

[sly fly]

How does this make sense? We are one of those "competing" teams that constantly upgrades their roster, and how many championships has it gotten us? With the exception of Tim Thomas, we are actually standing pat, a philosophy MANY on this board like and have called for for years! But now that they are standing pat, they won't compete because competing teams always upgrade their roster? Which is it?

It's called "The Internet Age".

Fans think they know more than management, and if they don't see "news"... then management is either "too cheap" or "idiots".

This message board absolutely ROASTED Robert Sarver when they went out and gave gobs of money to that Suns re-tread Steve Nash. How could PHX spend that kind of coin on a player of his ability? We have better options!

I'm sure the "darksiders" will retort that Sarver need to be pursuaded in to signing Nash. Double-standards, so don't give me that crap.

You've got guys on here who wanted PHX to spend their entire MLE on TT. And, their feeling got hurt when PHX offered less. Damn them! How could you!

(Forget that signing TT before he had a chance to land in NJ was a BRILLIANT move by management.)

It's July 3rd. Phoenix has obviously let it be know that they're NOT going to go out and throw JON KONCAK $$ around.

With 2 core-players needing to be re-signed, it would be absolutely foolish to tie up the $$ with a Stromile Swift-type laggard.

I'm going to love seeing the crow served.

 

[Joe Mama]

I think it's very possible that the Phoenix Suns get involved in a trade that lands them a backup point guard and/or big man. They have the trade exceptions, future draft picks, and maybe James Jones to make something happen. I'm thinking it's more likely that they are the third team in a multi-team trade rather than making a direct trade with another team.

I understand the concerns about not keeping Tim Thomas. It's not a certainty that Kurt Thomas and/or Amare Stoudemire stay healthy next year. They do need some more depth at the 4/5.

Joe Mama

 

[cly2tw]

Now the Bulls have Ben, they might want to do Chandler/Deng/Thabo for Marion deal.

 

[jandaman]

too early...

the Suns are top 5 team at this point... clippers are on the rise.. and Hornets look like they CAN win 45-50... and shock teams in the playoffs.. if they make it.

 

[Covert Rain]

too early...

the Suns are top 5 team at this point... clippers are on the rise.. and Hornets look like they CAN win 45-50... and shock teams in the playoffs.. if they make it.

The Suns were already a favorite in the West without Amare. Now with Amare, you have to say the Suns are a top 3 team. Then again that all depends on how Amare plays.

People keep your eyes glued this summer for Amare news.

 

[ShuHanGuanYu]

Just reading some of the posts over the last week or so, and my goodness, some of you are really getting gloom-and-doom on us. Do you forget that we still have Amare Stoudemire, Steve Nash, Shawn Marion, Boris Diaw, Raja Bell, Leandro Barbosa, Kurt Thomas and James Jones on this team? You could fill in the rest of the roster with local scrubs at the YMCA and we'd still be favored to win the championship next year.

Our offseason priorities-

1. Get Amare healthy
2. Sign Diaw to extension
3. Sign Barbosa to extension
4. Resign Tim Thomas
5. Get Nash a back-up point guard

You're all acting as if letting Tim Thomas go to the Clippers for a 4 year 24 million contract is going to cause our team to miss the playoffs. Let me spell it out for you- if we match the Clippers offer, either Boris has to go or Shawn Marion has to go, because there is no way we can afford to have all three of those guys on this team, and Boris and Marion are a hell of a lot more valuable to us than Tim Thomas.

We missed out on Bobby Jackson. So What? B Jax is an older, more injury prone version of Barbosa, and Barbs is still progressing as a player. He has much more upside than B Jax.

Why are you complaining about trading the # 21 pick for ridding ourselves of a past mistake in signing Brian Grant, and then to boot picking up a first in next years draft. We didn't give away the draft pick that we got from Atlanta, we traded it for a draft pick in a much deeper draft. We'll have 3 picks in 2008, and we'll be in a great position to add some increbile talent to eventually replace the older players we have on our team now.

We've missed out on only 1 of the 5 things so far this offseason, if we get the rest of the 4 done I'd consider this offseason a success. Wouldn't you?

You, sir, know what the hell you are talking about. Props. Some people have nothing better to do than to bitch and whine every day about the Suns. Seriously, get a life and come back in a month. You're making yourselves look like idiots with this childish crap. A few weeks into the offseason and people want to crucify Sarver. Some Suns fans are pathetically fickle.

 

[CaptainInsano]

The thing I am wondering is now that I feel as though it is not the suns fault because currently the draft and free agent market are garbage, what can we do?

6th man and backup players are being signed for big cash, and there just doesn't seem to be much available let alone in our projected price range.

This years offseason currently is much worse then last was (during that time losing JJ) and it is just bothering me..

Is there some type of affordable freakin backup PG or shotblocker out there? A lot of the names I see I look up the stats and vomit.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

this is cheesebeef using Ouchie's computer:

Can somone enlighten me on how exactly we are THE favorites to win it next year? Considering that Vegas has set the lines and we're not even one of the top two teams, that seems like a bit of fantasy to me. Then, I think about it more and you're saying we basiclaly have the entire rotation from last year before the season started and that's proof of why we're the favorites, right? Well, I don't know about most of you, but does ANYONE remember LAST YEAR'S teasm, pre-Amare injury being listed as the FAVORITE to win anything? We were as big of a question mark going into last season as any of the contenders and we hadn't proven we could beat SA or a Detriot yet. So - with that in mind, how is THAT team, with the EXACT SAME 8 man roster now considered THE FAVORITES to win this year with Amare coming off a potential career killer knee surgery, Nash a year older and KT a year older? Granted, Barbosa and Diaw have turned into very good ball players which is a departure from last year's squad heading into the season, but a team who's key players are starting to get up there in age and who's MAIN low-post socring threat and counted on Superstar is coming back from micro-fracture AND another surgery on the other knee can not be considered to be favorites.

We're a contender, no doubt about that, but at this point, we've got a lot to prove to show we're "the favorite". But hey, what's a little exaggeration gonna hurt, right?

 

[SactownSunsFan]

this is cheesebeef using Ouchie's computer:

Can somone enlighten me on how exactly we are THE favorites to win it next year? Considering that Vegas has set the lines and we're not even one of the top two teams, that seems like a bit of fantasy to me. Then, I think about it more and you're saying we basiclaly have the entire rotation from last year before the season started and that's proof of why we're the favorites, right? Well, I don't know about most of you, but does ANYONE remember LAST YEAR'S teasm, pre-Amare injury being listed as the FAVORITE to win anything? We were as big of a question mark going into last season as any of the contenders and we hadn't proven we could beat SA or a Detriot yet. So - with that in mind, how is THAT team, with the EXACT SAME 8 man roster now considered THE FAVORITES to win this year with Amare coming off a potential career killer knee surgery, Nash a year older and KT a year older? Granted, Barbosa and Diaw have turned into very good ball players which is a departure from last year's squad heading into the season, but a team who's key players are starting to get up there in age and who's MAIN low-post socring threat and counted on Superstar is coming back from micro-fracture AND another surgery on the other knee can not be considered to be favorites.

We're a contender, no doubt about that, but at this point, we've got a lot to prove to show we're "the favorite". But hey, what's a little exaggeration gonna hurt, right?

If I changed the title of this thread from "....still the favorite" to ".....still one of the favorites", would it make you feel better? Another thing- Vegas set the current lines based on the current status of teams, and right now our status is that our biggest offensive threat is still recovering from his injury. Despite this, we're still 3rd with 5:1 odds in comparison to two healthy teams with 4:1 odds. Those lines will change in favor of Phoenix once Amare proves he's healthy and ready to play.

Honestly, I think all your post proves is how much you'll bitch about the most miniscule of things.

 

[Chaplin]

Honestly, I think all your post proves is how much you'll bitch about the most miniscule of things.

This sentence pretty much describes the general attitude of this board nowadays.