Top 7 Players in the NBA Draft

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

How about if the Suns get #1 and the Pels get #2. #1 and Johnson and the Suns next year's #1 for #2 and the Brow.

Lol in an instant . . . if the brow would sign an extension.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Lol in an instant . . . if the brow would sign an extension.

Of course, only under that condition.

 

[Hoop Head]

I asked Gina Mizell, who is the Suns beat writer for the Athletic, about that report of Ja over Zion and she confirmed it. She did add that draft boards are ever changing but as of right now it appears the Suns do have Ja ahead of Zion on their boards.

The only way I can find some comfort in that report is if the Suns don't want to become enamored with Zion, which is easy to do. I was fine with getting the #2 or #3 pick to take Ja for some time and then I watched Zion more and now even if we get Ja, I'll be a little disappointed we missed on Zion. I know odds of getting Zion are slim so it might be better to focus on someone else. Ja also fits this team a little better in terms of filling a need and maybe the Suns think trading up to land Ja is more important than trying to trade into the 1st pick for Zion. That would make sense but I fear that's not the case. I guess we'll have to wait and see. I'd hate to see Ja go #1 overall to Phoenix if they land that pick. If anything could get me to stop watching that's as good of a reason as I can think of.


Here's a link to her tweet.

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[1Sun]

I asked Gina Mizell, who is the Suns beat writer for the Athletic, about that report of Ja over Zion and she confirmed it. She did add that draft boards are ever changing but as of right now it appears the Suns do have Ja ahead of Zion on their boards.

The only way I can find some comfort in that report is if the Suns don't want to become enamored with Zion, which is easy to do. I was fine with getting the #2 or #3 pick to take Ja for some time and then I watched Zion more and now even if we get Ja, I'll be a little disappointed we missed on Zion. I know odds of getting are slim so it might be better to focus on someone else. Ja also fits this team a little better in terms of filling a need and maybe the Suns think trading up to land Ja is more important than trying to trade into the 1st pick for Zion. That would make sense but I fear that's not the case. I guess we'll have to wait and see. I'd hate to see Ja go #1 overall to Phoenix if they land that pick. If anything could get me to stop watching that's as good of a reason as I can think of.


Here's a link to her tweet.

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Then James Jones needs to be demoted (or fired) and Bower needs to be put in control immediately. Nobody in their right mind would have Ja (or anyone else, for that matter) ahead of Zion on their draft board.

Zion might very well be the best prospect since Lebron, even over the Brow (though that at least is a close call, unlike Ja and Zion).

 

[JCSunsfan]

I asked Gina Mizell, who is the Suns beat writer for the Athletic, about that report of Ja over Zion and she confirmed it. She did add that draft boards are ever changing but as of right now it appears the Suns do have Ja ahead of Zion on their boards.

The only way I can find some comfort in that report is if the Suns don't want to become enamored with Zion, which is easy to do. I was fine with getting the #2 or #3 pick to take Ja for some time and then I watched Zion more and now even if we get Ja, I'll be a little disappointed we missed on Zion. I know odds of getting are slim so it might be better to focus on someone else. Ja also fits this team a little better in terms of filling a need and maybe the Suns think trading up to land Ja is more important than trying to trade into the 1st pick for Zion. That would make sense but I fear that's not the case. I guess we'll have to wait and see. I'd hate to see Ja go #1 overall to Phoenix if they land that pick. If anything could get me to stop watching that's as good of a reason as I can think of.


Here's a link to her tweet.

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Well. I am glad they like Ja. That's about the only positive thing I can say about this.

 

[1Sun]

It's sad that we are now likely left to root for the Suns NOT to get the #1 pick, in order to save James Jones from himself.

Meanwhile, forget about any chance at all of Zion in a Suns uniform.

 

[JerkFace]

If the Suns get the #1 pick I will bet anyone on here $100 that they pick Zion over Ja. Criticizing Jones on something that will never happen is a waste of time and ridiculous.

 

[1Sun]

If the Suns get the #1 pick I will bet anyone on here $100 that they pick Zion over Ja. Criticizing Jones on something that will never happen is a waste of time and ridiculous.

And yet two independent sources have confirmed that Jones at least at present has Ja higher on his draft board than Zion.

That by itself is cause for ridicule.

 

[JerkFace]

And yet two independent sources have confirmed that Jones at least at present has Ja higher on his draft board than Zion.

That by itself is cause for ridicule.

Ok... so does that mean you are taking the bet?

 

[1Sun]

Ok... so does that mean you are taking the bet?

No, because I have faith that if/when it comes to that, Sarver and Bowen are smart enough (not to mention aware enough of how livid the fan base would be if the Suns passed on Zion for Ja) that they would remove Jones from authority to make that call first.

What should concern us is what this ridiculous perspective Jones has says for other moves he might make, any of which could set this franchise back years. (For example, I could see him trading Jackson or Bridges, next year's first round pick unprotected and this year's pick at 4, 5 or 6 to move up to 2 to take Morant.)

It's now clearer than ever that James Jones is nowhere near ready to be an NBA GM.

 

[JerkFace]

It's now clearer than ever that James Jones is nowhere near ready to be an NBA GM.

Out of curiosity, what has Jones done that shows he isn’t ready to be a GM. Actual stuff, not just random rumors.

 

[1Sun]

Out of curiosity, what has Jones done that shows he isn’t ready to be a GM. Actual stuff, not just random rumors.

The blunder with Dillon Brooks/Marshown Brooks was a pretty darn good indication, as was waiving rather than trading Chandler and Rivers, not to mention he had zero experience before joining our front office and only one year under a bad GM in McDonough before being elevated to the GM position. Heck, he was still a player three years ago.

 

[JerkFace]

The blunder with Dillon Brooks/Marshown Brooks was a pretty darn good indication, as was waiving rather than trading Chandler and Rivers, not to mention he had zero experience before joining our front office and only one year under a bad GM in McDonough before being elevated to the GM position. Heck, he was still a player three years ago.

That’s what you’ve got? Brooks/Brooks looked bad but was far from fully Jones fault. As far as value for expiring contract, that concept went away a few years ago. Name an expiring contract that was traded this past season that brought value?

 

[1Sun]

That’s what you’ve got? Brooks/Brooks looked bad but was far from fully Jones fault. As far as value for expiring contract, that concept went away a few years ago. Name an expiring contract that was traded this past season that brought value?

The three-team trade with Mirotic, Maker and Stanley Johnson.

Porter for Parker and Portis.

The Tobias Harris trade by the Clippers.

The Rodney Hood trade from the Cavs to the Blazers.

Just to name a few.

Plus you did respond to my point about complete lack of experience.

 

[JerkFace]

Are you really comparing those players to Chandler/Rivers? Ha...All those examples had either talented or young players. Chandler and Rivers were neither. A better comparison in talent: Enes Kanter, Jeremy Lin, Wesley Matthews, Greg Monroe... these players were just cut or bought out because they didn’t have any trade value... ie Chandler and Rivers.

 

[Hoop Head]

That’s what you’ve got? Brooks/Brooks looked bad but was far from fully Jones fault. As far as value for expiring contract, that concept went away a few years ago. Name an expiring contract that was traded this past season that brought value?

All reports stated we tried trading Chandler in the offseason but couldn't find a taker. Gambo has verified that, for what it's worth. In addition to that, no one liked the idea of adding Austin Rivers too much either. That deal wasn't about Rivers, we didn't need a disgruntled vet on the bench to replace the disgruntled vet on our team in Ariza. That deal was all about adding young talent to replace Ariza and Oubre provided all that Ariza was supposed to and more. Even though he is so young he was a veteran amongst our other players and stepped up as a leader. Oubre was a great addition.

Since we have no clue how far the trade with Marshon/Dillon Brooks had gone it's unfair to blame Jones for it. He called it off when Memphis tried pulling a fast one and I don't see how he can be faulted for another team's shady behavior. I don't understand why a GM gets so much hate for something they didn't do. What could Jones have done to avoid that? It could have happened to another GM easily. If Daryl Morey had been involved in that no one would blame him for saying "No, that's not the player we want so I'm not making that deal. We discussed Dillon, you know the one Brooks that you sent medical reports on, why would we ask for those for him and then try to acquire Marshon?" Again, it was reported by a few sources that the Suns had requested those medical files a few days before the deal. That also backs up the idea that the Memphis GM tried pulling some shady business. An inexperienced goof would have been taken advantage of, Jones wasn't, he made it all work. Who ended up getting excluded from that deal? Memphis. We got the player from Washington that they asked more for just a day earlier. They wanted a pair of 2nd's from Memphis for him to be sent out in the deal that involved Ariza going to Washington. Because of the mistake the Suns paid less than the Wizards initially requested. Again, I don't see how Jones can be faulted for getting a player for less than his team was asking a day prior.

In regards to Rivers, players cannot be traded for 60 days after they've already been dealt unless they are traded all by themselves. They cannot be put in a package deal with other players so if we wanted to trade Rivers we couldn't really sweeten the pot for him by including another player because that's against league rules. Sixty days after he was dealt to Phoenix fell after the trade deadline also so keeping him would have done nothing except adding a player who didn't want to be here to our bench. Waiving him when we did helped build some good will around the league with other players and sent the message that we don't want players that don't want to be here, that's why we dealt Ariza in the first place. it's not like we needed another wing like Oubre since we had another win in Ariza.

 

[JerkFace]

Even the writer of the article is saying that it is being misinterpreted:

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[1Sun]

All reports stated we tried trading Chandler in the offseason but couldn't find a taker. Gambo has verified that, for what it's worth. In addition to that, no one liked the idea of adding Austin Rivers too much either. That deal wasn't about Rivers, we didn't need a disgruntled vet on the bench to replace the disgruntled vet on our team in Ariza. That deal was all about adding young talent to replace Ariza and Oubre provided all that Ariza was supposed to and more. Even though he is so young he was a veteran amongst our other players and stepped up as a leader. Oubre was a great addition.

Since we have no clue how far the trade with Marshon/Dillon Brooks had gone it's unfair to blame Jones for it. He called it off when Memphis tried pulling a fast one and I don't see how he can be faulted for another team's shady behavior. I don't understand why a GM gets so much hate for something they didn't do. What could Jones have done to avoid that? It could have happened to another GM easily. If Daryl Morey had been involved in that no one would blame him for saying "No, that's not the player we want so I'm not making that deal. We discussed Dillon, you know the one Brooks that you sent medical reports on, why would we ask for those for him and then try to acquire Marshon?" Again, it was reported by a few sources that the Suns had requested those medical files a few days before the deal. That also backs up the idea that the Memphis GM tried pulling some shady business. An inexperienced goof would have been taken advantage of, Jones wasn't, he made it all work. Who ended up getting excluded from that deal? Memphis. We got the player from Washington that they asked more for just a day earlier. They wanted a pair of 2nd's from Memphis for him to be sent out in the deal that involved Ariza going to Washington. Because of the mistake the Suns paid less than the Wizards initially requested. Again, I don't see how Jones can be faulted for getting a player for less than his team was asking a day prior.

In regards to Rivers, players cannot be traded for 60 days after they've already been dealt unless they are traded all by themselves. They cannot be put in a package deal with other players so if we wanted to trade Rivers we couldn't really sweeten the pot for him by including another player because that's against league rules. Sixty days after he was dealt to Phoenix fell after the trade deadline also so keeping him would have done nothing except adding a player who didn't want to be here to our bench. Waiving him when we did helped build some good will around the league with other players and sent the message that we don't want players that don't want to be here, that's why we dealt Ariza in the first place. it's not like we needed another wing like Oubre since we had another win in Ariza.

The problem I had with the Ariza trade was that Jones was targeting someone like Dillon Brooks over someone like Oubre in the first place.

 

[JerkFace]

The problem I had with the Ariza trade was that Jones was targeting someone like Dillon Brooks over someone like Oubre in the first place.

Originally Washington wanted Ariza and 2 second rounders for Oubre. Since the Suns only had their own very high second rounders I can see their reluctance to deal them for a restricted free agent. In hindsight I would of given up a 2nd, but I can see why they didn’t want to include the 2nds.

 

[BC867]

How Jones could have gotten the permanent job of General Manager based on his extremely limited resume is incomprehensible.
Also considering his disdain for the details that make up half of the job.

And that they bring in Bower who should be in charge, but announce that Jones will oversee them all AND REPORT TO SARVER,
who puts incompetent people in charge without the credentials to stand up to him.

How could Bower have walked into that? Only if he was assured that Jones isn't long for the job and he'll walk into it.
Meanwhile Jones can do a lot of damage before the start of next season.

The answer is that the Suns are Sarver's (and his sheep co-investors') play toy, ego trip and automatic money maker.

The feelings of the fans be damned! That's the way it is. Anything might happen in the draft that we will all regret.

 

[1Sun]

How Jones could have gotten the permanent job of General Manager based on his extremely limited resume is incomprehensible.
Also considering his disdain for the details that make up half of the job.

And that they bring in Bower who should be in charge, but announce that Jones will oversee them all AND REPORT TO SARVER,
who puts incompetent people in charge without the credentials to stand up to him.

How could Bower have walked into that? Only if he was assured that Jones isn't long for the job and he'll walk into it.
Meanwhile Jones can do a lot of damage before the start of next season.

The answer is that the Suns are Sarver's (and his sheep co-investors') play toy, ego trip and automatic money maker.

The feelings of the fans be damned! That's the way it is. Anything might happen in the draft that we will all regret.

At this point, I fully expect the Suns not to get a top 3 pick, and then to sell the farm (including Jackson or Bridges and next year's unprotected first round pick) for Morant, who then busts here because he is handed the starting job prematurely and not developed properly (i.e., slowly and steadily, rather than just being thrown into the fire).

 

[1Sun]

Originally Washington wanted Ariza and 2 second rounders for Oubre. Since the Suns only had their own very high second rounders I can see their reluctance to deal them for a restricted free agent. In hindsight I would of given up a 2nd, but I can see why they didn’t want to include the 2nds.

The difference between Dillon Brooks and Oubre is a LOT more than two second round picks (particularly where the Suns could have acquired a second round pick in exchange for Rivers, and another one in exchange for Chandler).

 

[JerkFace]

The difference between Dillon Brooks and Oubre is a LOT more than two second round picks (particularly where the Suns could have acquired a second round pick in exchange for Rivers, and another one in exchange for Chandler).

The Oubre that played for the Suns... definitely. The Oubre that played for Wizards... not so definitely. The fact that you think the Suns could of gotten 2nd round picks for Chandler/Rivers speaks volumes.

 

[Hoop Head]

How Jones could have gotten the permanent job of General Manager based on his extremely limited resume is incomprehensible.

Elton Brand got the GM job in Philly with the same amount of experience as Jones and he's viewed quite well around the league. The Cavs were reported to be interested in Chauncey Billups after they let Griffin go but Billups turned the job down, he had no experience and the media backed Billups in that instance. Jones was seen as a quality hire since he was a smart player who had a great reputation around the league who held high positions in the player association so he could gain office experience to transition into a front office job when his career was over.

His resume has 1 year as the interim GM, 1 as the VP of basketball operations, and he was a players union rep dating back to his days with the Pacers in 04-05 and eventually made it to Secretary Treasurer, which had him 3rd in command behind Chris Paul and Lebron as the President and Vice President respectively.

His resume isn't huge but it's good and he knows the organizations, it's players, and wants to be here. That should account for something since everyone likes talking about all of the players who want to run away from the Suns.

Also considering his disdain for the details that make up half of the job.

What half does he have a disdain for? That's quite a lot, why interview and accept the position if he hates it? That doesn't make sense but I'm open to you elaborating on the half he disdains.

And that they bring in Bower who should be in charge, but announce that Jones will oversee them all AND REPORT TO SARVER,

Like it or not but Sarver is the owner and as the owner he has people working below him. There isn't a GM in the league who doesn't answer to their teams owner so why contend it's a negative that Jones does also?

As far as Bower, he interviewed for the VP of Basketball Ops position to come in and advise Sarver and Jones, he wasn't after the job above Jones so why should he be higher than James?

How could Bower have walked into that? Only if he was assured that Jones isn't long for the job and he'll walk into it.

That's conjecture. You've already written off Bower simply because he didn't fight for Jones job and also wants to be here. What makes you believe he was hired to replace Jones? All reports indicate that Jones participated in the hiring, did he actually help hire his replacement?

Meanwhile Jones can do a lot of damage before the start of next season.

Sure he can but why would he? If he deliberately damaged this team then he'd never work in the NBA again. Perhaps you don't mean deliberately though, based on what he did this season what makes you think he'll damage this team next year? What moves this year did you take issue with, specifically?

Is there anyone who could have been hired that you would have supported? I'm not sure there is because ultimately it would have been Sarver hiring that person and that alone gives anyone a black mark in your eyes, right? I don't want to answer for you, I want to know how you feel on this because I honestly don't believe anything other than Sarver selling the team would have pleased you but I could be wrong, that's why I'm asking you what could have been done.

 

[Superbone]

Former player Sean Marks is doing a bang up job in Brooklyn. Just sayin'.