Trevor Ariza

[Raze]

Look, First off let me start by saying I really like Trevor Ariza. Our Perimeter D will take a massive leap forward next season. I'm fine with him at PF. I could even take a liking to JJ/Book/Bridges/Ariza/Ayton; the first two splitting ball handling duties. We'd be an eventual force on D with great potency from range.

But, I'm thoroughly confused by the "Master Plan". I'd like to give McD the benefit of the doubt and say that he has a plan for his entire team of forwards, but then we all went through Dragic/Thomas/Bledsoe thing before. McD has earned our skepticism. After this we will ABSOLUTELY lose trade value for Warren and Chriss. They may not have garnered a lot, but you should NEVER undermine yourself. If Ariza was the target all along, then Chriss and Warren should have been gone draft night. Even if we didn't land Ariza, they weren't really part of the future once we drafted Bridges. McD has NO FORESIGHT.

I would absolutely have gone after Van Fleet. I can't believe he's fine with being a back up in Toronto with the mess they just went through, rather than being a starter in Phoenix with a LOAD of young talent. Just perplexing.

 

[BC867]

Of course. Don’t be obtuse. You know how PJ Tucker plays.

Huh? I responded to a post comparing their 2" height difference in calling Ariza and Tucker interchangeable Forwards. It is about their huge bulk difference, not height.

 

[BC867]

You cant have enough wings. Been saying it over and over.

I don't see a smiley, so I guess you mean that.

My response would be . . . you can have too many Wings if it is at the expense of no Point Guards.

The Suns go from one extreme to the other. Too many Guards. Too many Wings. The problem is extremes.

On a balanced roster, there should not be too many (or not enough) of anything.

 

[Chaplin]

Huh? I responded to a post comparing their 2" height difference in calling Ariza and Tucker interchangeable Forwards. It is about their huge bulk difference, not height.

What difference does that make, really? Which Power Forwards in the NBA besides Giannis will be able to exploit Ariza at that spot?

 

[BC867]

What difference does that make, really? Which Power Forwards in the NBA besides Giannis will be able to exploit Ariza at that spot?

I guess we'll see.

 

[Chaplin]

I guess we'll see.

Is that because you can’t answer the question?

 

[Cheesebeef]

it's one year so i'm fine with it because it doesn't screw up the cap long term for whatever GM eventually comes in to replace McD in the next couple years.

 

[devilalum]

What difference does that make, really? Which Power Forwards in the NBA besides Giannis will be able to exploit Ariza at that spot?

People always focus on the defensive mismatches created by playing a certain player at a certain position.

Is the mismatch a net positive or a net negative. Shawn Marion was one of the 5 best PFs the Suns ever had. He held his own on defense and drove bigs crazy running around on offense.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Mr. Boldin]

I don't see a smiley, so I guess you mean that.

My response would be . . . you can have too many Wings if it is at the expense of no Point Guards.

The Suns go from one extreme to the other. Too many Guards. Too many Wings. The problem is extremes.

On a balanced roster, there should not be too many (or not enough) of anything.

We all know the Suns need a point guard. Ariza is not preventing them from having a decent PG. The Suns were one of the few teams in NBA history to finish dead last in offensive and defensive efficiency. Ariza helps that.

Time for the Suns to trim some of the fat off their roster so they can find some better guards. That said, the more competent wings you have, the more versatile the roster and lineups you can put on the floor. Obviously, you also need solid guard play in addition to those wings.

Ariza
Jackson
Bridges
Warren

Those are guys who help move the franchise in the correct direction on the wing.

 

[BC867]

Is that because you can’t answer the question?

Ah, making it personal! That archaic debate tactic. Because I posted that, with their weight differences, he and Tucker are not interchangeable.

I have no control over when he plays, where he plays, whom he defends, how he's trained or the combinations on the floor. So I'll wait and see.

Anything else is conjecture.

 

[Chaplin]

Ah, making it personal! That archaic debate tactic. Because I posted that, with their weight differences, he and Tucker are not interchangeable.

I have no control over when he plays, where he plays, whom he defends, how he's trained or the combinations on the floor. So I'll wait and see.

Anything else is conjecture.

Got it. You can’t answer the question.

 

[Hoop Head]

Hadn't seen this posted, will add it here, it's an article from the Rockets perspective regarding losing Ariza. Bordow retweeted the Rockets writer who wrote it. It is interesting. I didn't realize he was that highly regarded in Houston. It answers some questions about the signing but probably won't sell anyone either way. It's worth reading though.



https://www.houstonchronicle.com/sp...sked-with-filling-Trevor-Ariza-s-13041708.php

 

[Ronin]

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[Chaplin]

Press conference happening now.

 

[ColdPickleNachos]

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[ColdPickleNachos]

He said his major message is selflessness; giving everything to the team. I love it, and I hope it resonates.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Actually starts about the 11 minute mark.

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[JCSunsfan]

Most important comment by McD, saying that Trevor is the first move this FA season, not the last, they will continue to be aggressive building the team this off-season.

"We have a lot of new faces on the roster, starting with Trevor, but not ending with Trevor. We will continue to be aggressive" (19:20 mark)

 

[Mainstreet]

In the interview, it's good to know Ariza was Igor's top choice to improve the Suns in free agency. McDonough says the Suns goal is to be the most improved team in the league. Trevor was the Suns first significant veteran free agent signing but hopefully not the last one per McDonough. My take he was talking about next season with the team building upon the improvements made this season.

However, who is to say the Suns would not sign another significant veteran free agent if the opportunity presented itself.

 

[sunsfan88]

He's 6'8", will play around the perimeter anyway, is on a one-year, and is a lockdown defender--it's not like he's defending guys that are much bigger than him. Which PF in the league will cause him major problems?

Anthony Davis, Julius Randle, LaMarcus Alridge, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Derrick Favors, Kristaps Porzinis etc.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Anthony Davis, Julius Randle, LaMarcus Alridge, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Derrick Favors, Kristaps Porzinis etc.

Center, No, maybe, yes, no, injured for the one year Ariza contract.

 

[Chaplin]

Center, No, maybe, yes, no, injured for the one year Ariza contract.

Thank you.

Think about this, even at his size, would Ariza fare better against a guy like Aldridge than, say, our current pure PF Marquese Chriss? I would say yes.

 

[sunsfan88]

Thank you.

Think about this, even at his size, would Ariza fare better against a guy like Aldridge than, say, our current pure PF Marquese Chriss? I would say yes.

You had a point in original post because you’re right that there are not many.

 

[Hoop Head]

This signing reminds me a lot of the Dudley signing. We're asking Ariza to play a role he hasn't played much of before and hoping it works out. I don't want to see a similar situation where Ariza can't be our starting PF and Igor ends up stuck with Bender and Chriss as our only 2 real PF's. Looking at the roster it's easy to see how lopsided the team is. We're loaded on the wings but lack true bigs behind Ayton. We're also missing talent at PG where we only have Okobo and Knight, which isn't saying much since one is entering the league as a 2nd round pick and the other is coming off of a serious injury. There's a lot more that could be picked apart about Knight's game but that's been said a million times already. I'd like to focus on what Ariza signing does for us this season. If he's not capable of holding down the starting 4 spot then this season could get really ugly and really quick.

 

[Chaplin]

This signing reminds me a lot of the Dudley signing. We're asking Ariza to play a role he hasn't played much of before and hoping it works out. I don't want to see a similar situation where Ariza can't be our starting PF and Igor ends up stuck with Bender and Chriss as our only 2 real PF's. Looking at the roster it's easy to see how lopsided the team is. We're loaded on the wings but lack true bigs behind Ayton. We're also missing talent at PG where we only have Okobo and Knight, which isn't saying much since one is entering the league as a 2nd round pick and the other is coming off of a serious injury. There's a lot more that could be picked apart about Knight's game but that's been said a million times already. I'd like to focus on what Ariza signing does for us this season. If he's not capable of holding down the starting 4 spot then this season could get really ugly and really quick.

What exactly is the role of a PF in today's NBA? How much different will it be for him on this particular team? This is why discussions about positional basketball go nowhere quick.

You either have the people that are married to positions being traditional, and those that tend to think of the game as evolving. The game IS evolving, and there is no set "role" for a PF. I would think someone who experienced Channing Frye would know that.