Thomas very willing to stick around

[Nasser22]

I don't think we would need to get rid of Jones. He won't get much money at all and I'd rather keep him for the future. He didn't do much this year to earn a lot of money so we should be okay with him. I don't think this offseason is the one for dumping salaries. The next year we can send of Marion and TT with their championship rings...two of them, haha

 

[Chaplin]

If Thomas is really willing to stick around for cheap, I could see the Suns trying to dump Jones to make room for Thomas's salary. I like Jones and would prefer that the Suns keep him, but if you had to pick one or the other right now for the next couple of years, I think it would have to be Thomas.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but does James Jones REALLY need to be discussed in any conversation about money? Isn't he making pennies right now?

 

[cly2tw]

How about this theory? Maybe D'antoni views Thomas as a cheaper version of Marion and they see what they can get for Shawn in a trade. I really believe that D'Anoni thinks he can get near Marion production from a player that makes alot less money. Plus i think he wants a better shooter at that position. Only Nash and Amare are irreplaceable in his offense .....

You don't look to replace Marion's production by one player. He is just unique. However, a team with the core of Amare/Diaw/Nash is easy to fill out that can be a title contender as long as the core is healthy. In case you want to trade Marion and sign TT plus extend Diaw and LB, you already have KT, TT, LB, JJ, Bell, that's a 8-man rotation good enough to win you a championship. If Marion gets you Dalembert, Pierce, or even just Battier or Battie kind of players, it's just more to the depth.

 

[elindholm]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but does James Jones REALLY need to be discussed in any conversation about money? Isn't he making pennies right now?

Once the Suns are over the luxury tax line, he'll be costing about $6 million per year. So yes, it's pennies, but it's roughly 600 million of them.

 

[nowagimp]

Something tells me that TT may be telling the truth about wanting to win. Look where he has been: he signed that big contract and was treated as an overvalued hot potato that the Knicks and Bulls didnt want. His biggest value was that of a big expiring contract. He now finds himself on a championship contender playing an important role. I expect that the MLE will land him, maybe less. The suns would be foolish not to sign him at the MLE, because he is worth that and more to almost anyone else. Maybe he also feels like he fits for the first time in a long time. He has certainly earned the respect of his fellow players for his contributions this postseason. And he hasnt even had time to get healthy and contribute at his full potential in the suns system.

 

[thegrahamcrackr]

If the Suns give him the MLE I will be pissed. Why in the world do we want to pay the 7th or 8th man in the rotation that much?

 

[dreamcastrocks]

Something tells me that TT may be telling the truth about wanting to win. Look where he has been: he signed that big contract and was treated as an overvalued hot potato that the Knicks and Bulls didnt want. His biggest value was that of a big expiring contract. He now finds himself on a championship contender playing an important role. I expect that the MLE will land him, maybe less. The suns would be foolish not to sign him at the MLE, because he is worth that and more to almost anyone else. Maybe he also feels like he fits for the first time in a long time. He has certainly earned the respect of his fellow players for his contributions this postseason. And he hasnt even had time to get healthy and contribute at his full potential in the suns system.

The MLE is WAY too much to spend on TT right now. The Suns will be in a financial bind for years if he gets signed for the MLE. There is a reason why we signed him to the vet's minimum. It is because we are very leery of going over the luxury tax.

He should get no more than James Jones money.

 

[nowagimp]

If the Suns give him the MLE I will be pissed. Why in the world do we want to pay the 7th or 8th man in the rotation that much?

Maybe because they want to win, and they want the better spacing created by making a center or PF play out at the 3 pt line. No other suns big man can do that. Who knows, maybe Amare develops into a 45% 3 pt shooter, but lets face it, its kind of rare that a 6'10" guy not named Nowitski can shoot the three that well. Watch the spacing during the games coming up and see if the defense extends when TT is in the game. I dont expect other suns at the SF,PF,C position will stretch the D like TT.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

Maybe because they want to win, and they want the better spacing created by making a center or PF play out at the 3 pt line. No other suns big man can do that. Who knows, maybe Amare develops into a 45% 3 pt shooter, but lets face it, its kind of rare that a 6'10" guy not named Nowitski can shoot the three that well. Watch the spacing during the games coming up and see if the defense extends when TT is in the game. I dont expect other suns at the SF,PF,C position will stretch the D like TT.

Maybe they want to win? You mean not resigning TT to the MLE means that the Suns do not want to win?

The Suns want to win, but being financially responsible is just as important as winning..... we aren't the Knicks!

 

[Bada0Bing]

The talent that the Suns are accumulating is getting ridiculous. Diaw and Barbosa were once just complements, however now they are becoming core players. TT was just a midseason pickup to help fill in for KT, but now he is fulfilling a valuable role. Sarver needs to find a way to keep these guys. Having this much young talent on the same team doesn’t happen very often.

 

[Chaplin]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but does James Jones REALLY need to be discussed in any conversation about money? Isn't he making pennies right now?

Once the Suns are over the luxury tax line, he'll be costing about $6 million per year. So yes, it's pennies, but it's roughly 600 million of them.

Wow, I didn't realize he was making 3mil a year. I thought it was a lot less.

 

[elindholm]

Wow, I didn't realize he was making 3mil a year. I thought it was a lot less.

Actually I exaggerated, although not on purpose. $2.4 million this year, then 2.65, then 2.9. A little less than I thought I remembered.

 

[nowagimp]

Maybe they want to win? You mean not resigning TT to the MLE means that the Suns do not want to win?

The Suns want to win, but being financially responsible is just as important as winning..... we aren't the Knicks!

We arent the suns, we are suns fans. KT will probably only play 25 mins next year and the suns would be smart to open up the lane for Amare, nash Diaw and Barbosa. Think about it, if KT, Marion and Diaw are in the game at the same time, the spacing suffers as all those guys are, at best, mediocre 3pt shooters. Amare has not yet shown he can shoot the 3, not yet. Besides he is the guy that you want to open up the lane for. The key would be to use a substitution pattern with TT for one of them so there would be three 3 point shooters to open up the defense for the dribble penetrators and pick and roll plays.

Sam Cassel said as much about TT creating spacing for the suns. Maybe we could sign him for only 2 years, so that Barbosa and Diaws new contracts dont kick in at the same time.

 

[thegrahamcrackr]

You are still ignoring the fact that paying your 7th or 8th man the MLE is ridiculous.

Especially when you have 2 players making the max, 1 player making the near max, another making around 8million.

I would love TT to stay on this team, he definitely has a role. Of course, the money has to be right.

 

[Gaddabout]

We arent the suns, we are suns fans. KT will probably only play 25 mins next year and the suns would be smart to open up the lane for Amare, nash Diaw and Barbosa. Think about it, if KT, Marion and Diaw are in the game at the same time, the spacing suffers as all those guys are, at best, mediocre 3pt shooters. Amare has not yet shown he can shoot the 3, not yet. Besides he is the guy that you want to open up the lane for. The key would be to use a substitution pattern with TT for one of them so there would be three 3 point shooters to open up the defense for the dribble penetrators and pick and roll plays.

Sam Cassel said as much about TT creating spacing for the suns. Maybe we could sign him for only 2 years, so that Barbosa and Diaws new contracts dont kick in at the same time.

I would suspect we would never see KT, Marion, and Diaw on the floor for very long if Amare's healthy. I think KT would come off the bench, although it'd be nice if he came off the bench with TT. Decent defense/offense substitution.

 

[Nasser22]

If we keep this team together and everyone is healthy, the line-ups that D'Antoni comes up with should be pretty interesting to watch... All those talented players together would be great, though I think it would be smart to get rid of one of those bench players, NOT KURT, for a better back-up point guard. Nash will need all the rest he can get.

And Amare will never be a good 3-point shooter, but I expect him to do very well from mid-range next year. Like Kurt...

 

[Gaddabout]

And Amare will never be a good 3-point shooter, but I expect him to do very well from mid-range next year. Like Kurt...

This is the second time I've seen this mentioned and it defies everything we've heard about Amare's improvement since last summer. According to Suns camp, Amare's dang near automatic from behind the line these days. Maybe that changes with a hand in his face ...

 

[Nasser22]

Well, we'll see. If he can do that and still dunk like he did last year....WOW. lol, it'll be just....WOW.

 

[nowagimp]

I would suspect we would never see KT, Marion, and Diaw on the floor for very long if Amare's healthy. I think KT would come off the bench, although it'd be nice if he came off the bench with TT. Decent defense/offense substitution.

OK so Amare is in instead of one of the three, you still only have 2 3pt shooters out there to force defensive spacing.

 

[Nasser22]

I think Kurt will still play a big role on the team even if he isn't going to start. Amare wanted him on the team because he doesen't like to play center and Thomas is our best inside defender. I think D'Antoni will put a lot of different line-ups out there with KT and Amare in there for a good chunk of the game.

 

[George O'Brien]

I can see TT at $2 million a year. The question is how much winning and being happy is to a guy who has already made well over $70 million in his career?

My guess is that after a certain amount of money, the money is less important than what it stands for. "I get paid a lot, so I must be great". But after a player retires, that goes away. However, winning a ring is something that can never be taken away.

 

[thegrahamcrackr]

Players that get big contracts often take far less than they are worth to go to a contender at the twilight of their career. The only thing is, Thomas isn't even 30 yet....

He would probably be the youngest player to ever take that stance

 

[cly2tw]

I think we'll sign TT for the MLE and worry about unloading a contract later when we see how the team plays with Amare healthy and meshing with Diaw. And the farther we go this year in the playoffs, the more likely it happens.

 

[moviebuff316]

I think we do need to Keep Thomas. Injuries occur and when u have 3 or 4 players deep on your bench, it will allow Suns to be more cautious on allowing a player to come back from injury. I think someone will have to be expendable and I think that player is James Jones. I like him but he is right now too inconsistent. He definately will improve but if you are wanting to win now I'd rather have Tim Thomas than James Jones. Plus we will have Brian Grant and Eddie House still.

 

[thegrahamcrackr]

People need to keep in mind that Thomas has been consistant for the playoffs. He was on and off when we had him in the regular season - as he has been for his entire career.

Like I have said, I would like to keep him - but Im not even sure I would take him over Jr if we had to make a decision.