What about the 13th Player?

[AceP]

Saw this from a web news:

"We are already looking at guys, contacting agents," Suns General Manager Steve Kerr said. "I think it's safe to say we're looking for a wing defender/shooter. Obviously, losing Shawn, Grant (Hill) moves into that role considerably in terms of the versatile defender. You saw (Wednesday vs. New Orleans), he slides over and guards Chris Paul in crunch time and does a great job, but we don't want to run Grant out there for 38 minutes, either.

"D.J. (Strawberry) can also fill that role. Excellent defender. I would think we will add somebody like that. Preferably a guy who's played a bit."

Pietrus fits this, he is a very good wing defender, his 3p% is over 35%, his experience in GSW made him an ideal fit here. But, the biggest problem is GSW would definitely not want to help us, a division rival.

If we use our trade exception to acquire a player, his contract doubled, Pietrus makes 3.5M now, with half a season left, it would be a 3.5M net expense for the team. Could Sarver accept that? Highly doubtful.

It is most likely we'll sign a cheap free agent.

 

[cly2tw]

Saw this from a web news:



Pietrus fits this, he is a very good wing defender, his 3p% is over 35%, his experience in GSW made him an ideal fit here. But, the biggest problem is GSW would definitely not want to help us, a division rival.

If we use our trade exception to acquire a player, his contract doubled, Pietrus makes 3.5M now, with half a season left, it would be a 3.5M net expense for the team. Could Sarver accept that? Highly doubtful.

It is most likely we'll sign a cheap free agent.

We could do a Tucker/Pike/Marks for Pietrus though.

 

[green machine]

We could do a Tucker/Pike/Marks for Pietrus though.

Yeah I'm sure that's what Golden State wants...the end of the Suns' bench.

 

[hawaiiansun]

The Suns have two weeks to add a 13th player to reach the NBA roster minimum and are in the market for a wing player who can defend and make up for some of what was lost when Shawn Marion was shipped to Miami, as well as provide insurance if Grant Hill were to go down.

Phoenix has a trade exception they acquired from Seattle in the Kurt Thomas trade, but the luxury tax would double the salary of whoever they bring aboard in a deal. That means free agents or other minimum-salary players would be likely targets.

Some of the names the team is batting around:

Mickael Gelabale, a 6-foot-7 second-year forward who is with Seattle but is currently playing in the NBA Development League.
Linton Johnson, a 6-8 forward with four years of NBA experience who last played 54 games with the Hornets last season.
Ronald Dupree, a 6-7 athletic swingman out of LSU who has spent part of four seasons in the league and played 19 games with the Detroit Pistons last season.
Bobby Jones, a 6-7 guard who began the season with Denver and had two 10-day stints with Memphis earlier this season.
One long shot is Richie Frahm, who spent training camp with the Suns and played 10 games with the Los Angeles Clippers before being released in early January.

Although the trade deadline is Feb. 21, free agents who sign by March 1 are still eligible for the playoffs.

http://www.nba.com/suns/news/tribune_notebook_080209.html


Those guys seem to fit what Kerr was describing. I'm hoping for Bobby Jones I remember him playing and he's a pretty good defender, athletic, and shoots pretty good. Dupree wouldn't be bad either, he probably would thrive in the run and gun system imo. And weren't a bunch of people pushing for Gelabale when he was drafted? We shall see

 

[jbeecham]

I remember Michael Gelebale having some good games against us.....he could be a decent pickup.

 

[TheHopToad]

We could do a Tucker/Pike/Marks for Pietrus though.

That doesn't really solve the issue of having to fill the roster to 13. We just traded 2 for 1, so we don't need to turn around and trade three more for one. Then we'd have three more spots we would have to fill...

 

[Griffin]

Mickael Gelabale, a 6-foot-7 second-year forward who is with Seattle but is currently playing in the NBA Development League.
Linton Johnson, a 6-8 forward with four years of NBA experience who last played 54 games with the Hornets last season.
Ronald Dupree, a 6-7 athletic swingman out of LSU who has spent part of four seasons in the league and played 19 games with the Detroit Pistons last season.
Bobby Jones, a 6-7 guard who began the season with Denver and had two 10-day stints with Memphis earlier this season.
One long shot is Richie Frahm, who spent training camp with the Suns and played 10 games with the Los Angeles Clippers before being released in early January.

The thing is, none of these guys are going to get playing time. If they did, then DJ would sit, and I would rather see DJ play and even Tucker. I think it is more likely that the Suns would sign one of these guys to a 10-day contract like it was mentioned in another article and just wait to see who else becomes available.

 

[mojorizen7]

In reality we'll probably end up adding a mid-tier free agent but if you visit the SPURS boards & read reactions to the rumored SUNS/Artest aquisition, their shaking in their spurs(sorry) with the thought of it.

 

[bigfoot]

xxx

 

[Mr.Dibbs]

http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/0208sunsnotes.html

"The Suns likely will fill its 13th roster spot initially with a 10-day contract in case there are any contract buyouts with other teams in the next two weeks.

They would use their trade exception only for a low-salary player because of the luxury tax that doubles any added salary's impact.

Seattle's Mickael Gelabale, who is in the Development League, would fit that criterion. There are free agents such as Linton Johnson and Bobby Jones to consider or a buyout candidate such as the 76ers' Gordan Giricek.

Once Phoenix signs another player, the payroll savings for this season and next season will be well below $1 million from before the trade."

 

[AceP]

Giricek? he doesn't play much defence, his shots r not consistent either. I don't think he fit our need.

We should be patient searching for a real good one.

 

[devilalum]

Just keep signing marginal guys to 10 day contracts until the guy you want pops up.

Elliot Perry was a ten day contract and he actually turned into a contributing player.

 

[AceP]

Why not try Luke Jackson? I saw him play in Miami, his 3p shooting form is excellent, he was really getting into form b4 they waived him because of the 1 for 2 trade, consecutive double digit score and 5-6 rebounds. Sign him to a 10 days contract and give him some minutes, it wouldn't hurt.

 

[Mainstreet]

The Suns cannot afford for the 13th player to be a non-contributor. This was clearly demonstrated in the Seattle game. Tucker, Pike and Marks will likely remain glued to the bench as there is no indication D'Antoni will give them any meaningful minutes. Someone needs to back up Hill. My vote is for Khryapa or someone like Giricek. Giricek may not be a strong defensive force but his shooting ability could sure come in handy. Anyway, I just want a player that brings something to the table. I'm not real familiar with the other players mentioned.

 

[ASUCHRIS]

I can't believe more people aren't talking about Ruben Patterson, who happens to be one of the better wing defenders in the NBA. He is a free agent as well.

 

[Mainstreet]

I can't believe more people aren't talking about Ruben Patterson, who happens to be one of the better wing defenders in the NBA. He is a free agent as well.

I agree he is also a beast underneath the basket as well. I guess there may more concerns than his past legal issues (fans have already discussed at length) because some team would have picked him up already. I don't think the Suns want to gamble that he might be a chemistry problem.

 

[AceP]

Good idea. But he is a poor shooter, and he could create chemistry problem if not given significant playing time ...

 

[mathbzh]

Gelabale is a good player with strong defense but is not a very consistent jumpshot. He had a couple of good games last year with Allen and Lewis injuries. I saw him play with the French team and IMO he is a better player than Pietrus he is smarter and doesn't make a lot of mistake, his very atlhetic and there is no room for him in Seattle (what would they do with a defense first wing player).

 

[JCSunsfan]

OK, I've said it before. We need to get Artest. Nothing guarantees a championship, but it gives us the best possible chance. Artest would give us any offense and defense we lose with Marion. We have a stable locker room and I do not believe his "issues" would be a problem here.

If Sacramento were to trade Artest, they would be looking for cap space, a pick, and a young player with a reasonable future.

Artest for the ATL pick and the trade exeption and future considerations which could be the rights to Tucker or Strawberry come draft day.

If you are going to gamble, don't hesitate. Go for it all.

 

[Griffin]

Artest for the ATL pick and the trade exeption and future considerations which could be the rights to Tucker or Strawberry come draft day.

If you are going to gamble, don't hesitate. Go for it all.

This is not as much of a gamble as it is just really expensive. Not as bad as Mike Miller, but if Artest does not opt out, this would cost Sarver about $33 million, half of which is LT. Even if Artest opts out (and he most likely will) this move would still cost $16 million this season alone. Sarver has yet to show willingness to spend beyond the LT threshold.

 

[hafey]

At least his salary this year would be prorated in terms of actual money.

 

[JCSunsfan]

This is not as much of a gamble as it is just really expensive. Not as bad as Mike Miller, but if Artest does not opt out, this would cost Sarver about $33 million, half of which is LT. Even if Artest opts out (and he most likely will) this move would still cost $16 million this season alone. Sarver has yet to show willingness to spend beyond the LT threshold.

I read an article just yesterday that said the Suns value as a franchise just went up $40 million by getting Shaq. He's a world-wide marketing gold mine, and he will be much more if we win a title. Sarver has to know that money spent like that nets positive. Plus, the Suns could ride the revenues of a championship for several years. If we could win it this year, we would still be in the running next year.

 

[Griffin]

At least his salary this year would be prorated in terms of actual money.

Right. So the actual figure would be around $12 million for this season (LT itself is not prorated, as far as I know). This is not bad at all (compared to the $50 million that Mike Miller would cost) but it is still more than KT and we know how that ended.

I read an article just yesterday that said the Suns value as a franchise just went up $40 million by getting Shaq. He's a world-wide marketing gold mine, and he will be much more if we win a title. Sarver has to know that money spent like that nets positive. Plus, the Suns could ride the revenues of a championship for several years. If we could win it this year, we would still be in the running next year.

I agree that it may be worth it, but does Sarver?

From Kings standpoint, this would not be a bad deal for them. They will most likely lose Artest this summer. This way they get a mid-first-round or better pick in return. But I guess they could probably get a better deal elsewhere.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Right. So the actual figure would be around $12 million for this season (LT itself is not prorated, as far as I know). This is not bad at all (compared to the $50 million that Mike Miller would cost) but it is still more than KT and we know how that ended.

I agree that it may be worth it, but does Sarver?

From Kings standpoint, this would not be a bad deal for them. They will most likely lose Artest this summer. This way they get a mid-first-round or better pick in return. But I guess they could probably get a better deal elsewhere.

Its actually better for the Kings than it first appears. The Kings don't just get $ off the cap, they get an $8 million trade exception. This is better than expirings in that it lowers the cap # and it gives them money to go shopping for free agents even if they cannot get below the salary cap threshold. In essence they get:

$8 million to spend on a free agent even though over the cap.
A mid or better 1st round pick.
A young player.

That right there is the stuff rebuilding is made of.

 

[AceP]

We all hope to get a strong rotation player who can help us fortify our championship challenge, but LT would double his salary and effectively prevent us getting any1 who makes a few million.

These financial analysis r correct, bring in Shaq does increase the value of this organization and actually revenue. But, still don't expect the management to spend a couple of million on the #13 player. I have never seen any team happily staying in LT zone beside NYK. Even Mark Cuban is trying to bring down their tax expense.