Right now the Suns have 12 roster spots filled. Ennis is yet to sign but I don't see why not really unless there is a deal lined up that has been kept really quiet, which I doubt since I would think the team getting him would have wanted him with them for the Summer League, he would take roster spot #13. Bledsoe is still kind of a question mark but we do control where he ends up and I don't see us letting him walk for nothing so he would be #14. That's 14 of 15 spots filled. Looking up information about the salary status of the team it looks like we have Christmas on a non guaranteed deal and even though he played in the Summer League I doubt he returns since he'll be 28 when the season starts and really hasn't shown anything that warrants keeping him or giving him minutes over Green, Tucker, Marcus, Warren, or Goodwin. Having 1 open roster spot for a trade or possible pick up would be better than keeping Christmas or guaranteeing he sits at the end of the bench. That leaves us with a roster looking like this....
PG - Bledsoe, Thomas, Ennis
SG - Dragic, Green, Goodwin
SF - Tucker, Marcus Morris, Warren
PF - Kieff, Tolliver, Randolph
C - Plumlee, Len
A name I haven't heard anything about since around last years All Star break when the Suns supposedly met with him to see if he'd be making a come back last season is Emeka Okafor. He sat out all last year rehabbing a back injury but I haven't heard anything about him being done and all indications were that he'd return somewhere this season. I'm not sure how his health is at the moment but when I googled him it looks like we renounced his rights to start the offseason, which makes sense considering his cap hold would be around 20 million and no one is paying him close to that, even if he was 100% healthy. A few fan blogs have suggested their team grab him for either a minimum deal or a little bit more on a 1 year deal. Since he's a big coming off a back injury that took him out for a full season he won't command much of a salary this year so that's not entirely unreasonably to assume he could be had for 1-2 million next season while proving he's healthy in an attempt to grab one last payday next offseason, he's only 31. He is limited offensively but we wouldn't need him for much on that end of the court anyways with all the offensive weapons we have. If he is close to 100% healthy he should be able to challenge Plumlee for the starting 5 spot and possibly Kieff at the 4 also. He's an undersized center so he should already be on the Suns radar even if he wasn't getting paid by us last season to do nothing. I don't expect him to have a breakout season or anything but I think he could be effective enough to make the other bigs earn their playing time at least, which is for the best IMO. Len isn't ready yet and can't seem to stay healthy anyways so he shouldn't just be handed up the backup 5 spot and even though Kieff had sort of a breakout year last year it wasn't enough to hand him the starting PF spot because last years starter left. I think having them compete with a solid veteran for their spots would be better for their development. Okafor isn't an All Star by any means but when healthy, which he's been most of his career barring last year, he's been a good rebounder and above average defender.
A starting 5 of either Bledsoe, Dragic, Tucker, Kieff, Okafor, or Bledsoe, Dragic, Tucker, Okafor, Plumlee should be above average defensively. If Okafor played the 4 alongside Plumlee we wouldn't really be playing small ball, that looks like a lineup that could work in the playoffs against larger teams. If Plumlee could average almost a double double last year I think Okafor could also, health permitting of course. I think he may be the best big left that could be had for a reasonable deal without needing to tie up money longterm, limiting future options. I have never heard anything real negative about his character either so he could be a good veteran presence for all of our young bigs.
If Bledsoe for some reason goes the route of taking the 1 year tender offer also then we could offer him more so we hit the salary floor which I'm sure would put as front runners from a money standpoint. The minutes in the frontcourt are there for him as well to try and earn a new long term deal. Add in that our training staff may help him out if there are questions with his back still and I think we'd be the reasonable choice for him. Our training staff is one of the best regarded in the league and has a history with Nash and his back issues so it's not like it would be something entirely new or unproven to them. If the training staff thought he could play at least backup minutes then I think he'd be worth it as a proven 3rd big alongside Plumlee and Kieff. I'd feel more comfortable with those 3 sharing the bulk of the minutes at PF & C and having Len, Randolph, and Tolliver playing when he hot or spot minutes.
PG - Bledsoe, Thomas, Ennis
SG - Dragic, Green, Goodwin
SF - Tucker, Marcus Morris, Warren
PF - Kieff, Tolliver, Randolph
C - Plumlee, Len
A name I haven't heard anything about since around last years All Star break when the Suns supposedly met with him to see if he'd be making a come back last season is Emeka Okafor. He sat out all last year rehabbing a back injury but I haven't heard anything about him being done and all indications were that he'd return somewhere this season. I'm not sure how his health is at the moment but when I googled him it looks like we renounced his rights to start the offseason, which makes sense considering his cap hold would be around 20 million and no one is paying him close to that, even if he was 100% healthy. A few fan blogs have suggested their team grab him for either a minimum deal or a little bit more on a 1 year deal. Since he's a big coming off a back injury that took him out for a full season he won't command much of a salary this year so that's not entirely unreasonably to assume he could be had for 1-2 million next season while proving he's healthy in an attempt to grab one last payday next offseason, he's only 31. He is limited offensively but we wouldn't need him for much on that end of the court anyways with all the offensive weapons we have. If he is close to 100% healthy he should be able to challenge Plumlee for the starting 5 spot and possibly Kieff at the 4 also. He's an undersized center so he should already be on the Suns radar even if he wasn't getting paid by us last season to do nothing. I don't expect him to have a breakout season or anything but I think he could be effective enough to make the other bigs earn their playing time at least, which is for the best IMO. Len isn't ready yet and can't seem to stay healthy anyways so he shouldn't just be handed up the backup 5 spot and even though Kieff had sort of a breakout year last year it wasn't enough to hand him the starting PF spot because last years starter left. I think having them compete with a solid veteran for their spots would be better for their development. Okafor isn't an All Star by any means but when healthy, which he's been most of his career barring last year, he's been a good rebounder and above average defender.
A starting 5 of either Bledsoe, Dragic, Tucker, Kieff, Okafor, or Bledsoe, Dragic, Tucker, Okafor, Plumlee should be above average defensively. If Okafor played the 4 alongside Plumlee we wouldn't really be playing small ball, that looks like a lineup that could work in the playoffs against larger teams. If Plumlee could average almost a double double last year I think Okafor could also, health permitting of course. I think he may be the best big left that could be had for a reasonable deal without needing to tie up money longterm, limiting future options. I have never heard anything real negative about his character either so he could be a good veteran presence for all of our young bigs.
If Bledsoe for some reason goes the route of taking the 1 year tender offer also then we could offer him more so we hit the salary floor which I'm sure would put as front runners from a money standpoint. The minutes in the frontcourt are there for him as well to try and earn a new long term deal. Add in that our training staff may help him out if there are questions with his back still and I think we'd be the reasonable choice for him. Our training staff is one of the best regarded in the league and has a history with Nash and his back issues so it's not like it would be something entirely new or unproven to them. If the training staff thought he could play at least backup minutes then I think he'd be worth it as a proven 3rd big alongside Plumlee and Kieff. I'd feel more comfortable with those 3 sharing the bulk of the minutes at PF & C and having Len, Randolph, and Tolliver playing when he hot or spot minutes.
