Updated Depth Chart

[Mainstreet]

I would love to add Lou Williams to this roster. Having a prolific scorer off the bench for when things go stagnant would be nice.

If only there was some way. He is one of those small shooting point guards I too often like.

 

[Mainstreet]

Actually the Suns have a roster spot open as Alexander is on a two-way contract.

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[1Sun]

I would love to add Lou Williams to this roster. Having a prolific scorer off the bench for when things go stagnant would be nice.

That would be phenomenal, but surely he is staying with the Clippers...

 

[1Sun]

Actually the Suns have a roster spot open as Alexander is on a two-way contract.

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I still consider Cam a back-up 4, rather than a 3.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Isaiah Thomas is available.

 

[WhyAlwaysMe]

I think adding Robert Covington and Enes Kanter solidified Portland's off season. Power forward was a real weakness for them and Kanter is a dependable backup center. Injuries to Nurkic has slowed them down.

Yeah, I forgot about Kanter. He’s a good bucket getter, and should be able to have a good o-reb rate with Lillard and McCollum (and Trent to a degree) attracting perimeter attention

 

[JCSunsfan]

Demarcus Cousins is only 30 years old. He is a player that could come back from injury. He should have another 5 good years. I wonder if he could rehab his attitude while he rehabs his leg.

Monty?

 

[Mainstreet]

I still consider Cam a back-up 4, rather than a 3.

Yeah. Some of these players can play multiple positions. When the Suns drafted Cam Johnson I considered him a small forward. Now mostly I consider him a power forward.

 

[CardsSunsDbacks]

Demarcus Cousins is only 30 years old. He is a player that could come back from injury. He should have another 5 good years. I wonder if he could rehab his attitude while he rehabs his leg.

Monty?

I think it’s very clear at this point that Jones has a very clear vision of the type of guys he wants in this locker room. There is likely no chance he would bring in a guy like Cousins.

 

[95pro]

Demarcus Cousins is only 30 years old. He is a player that could come back from injury. He should have another 5 good years. I wonder if he could rehab his attitude while he rehabs his leg.

Monty?

Even if he had a great attitude why would you bring him here? He doesn't fit with anything we have going on. Not to mention multiple injuries.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Demarcus Cousins is only 30 years old. He is a player that could come back from injury. He should have another 5 good years. I wonder if he could rehab his attitude while he rehabs his leg.

Monty?

he’s one sneeze away from his leg falling right off his body.

 

[Yuma]

Paul-Payne-Okobo
Booker-Carter-Moore-Alexander
Bridges-Johnson-Nader
Crowder-Saric
Ayton-Smith-Jones

Better than last year? I am thinking so.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Isaiah Thomas is available.

Demarcus Cousins is only 30 years old. He is a player that could come back from injury. He should have another 5 good years. I wonder if he could rehab his attitude while he rehabs his leg.

If they both passed physicals I'd say maybe to the first one and probably not to the second.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Paul-Payne-Okobo
Booker-Carter-Moore-Alexander
Bridges-Johnson-Nader
Crowder-Saric
Ayton-Smith-Jones

Better than last year? I am thinking so.

I'm not convinced that Crowder is our starter but yeah, healthy, this roster is better than last year's roster (also healthy). Whether it's a better team or not won't be known for awhile but I like our chances.

 

[WhyAlwaysMe]

Paul-Payne-Okobo
Booker-Carter-Moore-Alexander
Bridges-Johnson-Nader
Crowder-Saric
Ayton-Smith-Jones

Better than last year? I am thinking so.

A lot better. 40-32 is the floor.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Yeah. Some of these players can play multiple positions. When the Suns drafted Cam Johnson I considered him a small forward. Now mostly I consider him a power forward.

Yeah I don't think too much about positions but I'd label him more a power forward than a small forward.

 

[1Sun]

Paul-Payne-Okobo
Booker-Carter-Moore-Alexander
Bridges-Johnson-Nader
Crowder-Saric
Ayton-Smith-Jones

Better than last year? I am thinking so.

Better at point guard and shooting guard. Worse at small forward and center. About the same at power forward.

 

[WhyAlwaysMe]

The Suns were 26-39 pre-bubble and 13-18 with Ayton (so slightly better). They were -1.3 in RTG splits pre-bubble. They weren’t good last year; they were okay. I do think the bubble did reveal at least one interesting possibility that remains to be seen.

Most people say the reason they weren’t better came down to depth: when the starters played they were great and the team collapsed when the bench took the floor. That’s not wrong per se, but it’s also true that an even better starting line-up acts as ballast to a unstable bench.

The Suns pre-bubble starters were Rubio, Booker, Oubre, Ayton/Baynes, Bridges, and Kaminsky (13).

This season figures to have Paul, Booker, Bridges, Crowder, and Ayton (Saric if there are issues with Ayton) as the predominant starters. Kelly Oubre’s best trait was ability to get buckets, but he did so at a pedestrian 56% TS clip and he created no offense for others 1.6 ast/36. Kelly was the #2 scoring option. This year it will be Paul. He’s a career 58% (59% since his 4th year) TS and was 61% last year. He’s also achieved that number was a far bigger load and responsibility as a #1 option many years. He also involves his teammates at an elite level (10 ast/36 career, a shade under 8 last year). I think of Paul as more of Oubre’s replacement than Rubio’s.

Oubre’s other primary replacement as far as MPG and role will be Crowder. Kelly was 94th out of 99 qualifying small forwards in DRPM. Crowder is regarded as a top defender and the tape backs this up, as does the fact that he routinely is tasked with guarding a team’s top big wing. Defense is very much about plugging leaks and effort: Crowder should fill a lot of leaks that Kelly (who tried hard at least) frequently sprung. Paul is even better than Rubio (a top10 PG defender) at defense. Even though he’s short, post him up at your peril. Ayton is very good at defense, and Bridges is great. Booker is improving every year and much less of a liability than before.

I have concerns about bench creation, and I also worry that Monty may not be a good enough coach to rectify line-up issues given some of the crap he threw out last year. That being said, much like the year before, the Suns have trimmed a lot of fat. No more Frank minutes is huge. Even Baynes was a pretty big liability after his hot start. 1,500 minutes from Okobo/Tyler Johnson/Jerome going to Jevon/Cam Payne/Moore is an improvement as well. It’s on the margins, but every little bit matters.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

A lot better. 40-32 is the floor.

I’ll be disappointed if 44-28 isn’t the floor.

 

[WhyAlwaysMe]

I’ll be disappointed if 44-28 isn’t the floor.

This is kind of why I’m curious to what degree, if at all, Oubre held back last year’s team. Cam Johnson’s insertion into the starting line-up had a pronounced effect on ORTG (nearly 10pts/100, or the difference between the Bulls and the Mavs) and a big effect on DRTG (nearly 5pts/100). I think some of the DRTG can be attributed to improved offensive efficiency yielding fewer opponent transitions opportunities, and of course a lot of the improvements on both ends should be treated with skepticism because of how teams played and who they played.

 

[WhyAlwaysMe]

If Oubre was really a net negative overall (like he appears to possibly be), then 44-28 seems like a fairly safe number. It will also be interesting to see how teams deal with the new season schedule arrangement. We could see more or less or the same rest patterns, which is a big variable in record performance.

 

[1Sun]

and of course a lot of the improvements on both ends should be treated with skepticism because of how teams played and who they played.

This can't be emphasized enough, in my opinion, including with respect to Oubre's impact. The bubble was a nice story, nothing more, nothing less. It would be best if we disregarded it entirely in terms of assessing this roster and how it projects to perform.

 

[Mainstreet]

Kevin Zimmerman of Arizona Sports writes a nice article about the current state of the Suns, touching on player roles and roster decisions to be made regarding Elie Okobo and Abdel Nader.

https://arizonasports.com/story/2458357/bulk-of-the-phoenix-suns-roster-rebuild-is-complete/

 

[JCSunsfan]

This can't be emphasized enough, in my opinion, including with respect to Oubre's impact. The bubble was a nice story, nothing more, nothing less. It would be best if we disregarded it entirely in terms of assessing this roster and how it projects to perform.

It is not wise to disregard pertinent information. I do not know why you would do that. Certainly you would take it in context and hope for confirmation.

 

[1Sun]

It is not wise to disregard pertinent information. I do not know why you would do that. Certainly you would take it in context and hope for confirmation.

But the information is not pertinent. It involves circumstances that won't come close to being replicated.