George O'Brien
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In the summer of 2001, the Colangelos mand the decision to tear apart a solid playoff team in the hopes of putting together a team that could contend for the title in 2005/06 or 2006/07.
With the team currently 8 games below 500, contending seems pretty remote. But compared to the team they broke up, the Suns are much, much younger, more athletic, and more physical. In a couple of years they will older, more experienced and hopefully more skillful -- yet still fairly young.
At this point Mike D'Antoni seems to be making progress in getting the players to start playing as a team. They are showing more energy and moving around more. It is not yet clear D'Antoni is good enough to take the team all the way, but he is developing a young core. The question is whether they have the talent to get to the next couple of levels.
CENTER
Williams is quite unlikely to be around in couple of years. Voskuhl is under contract through 2005/06, but it seems unlikely he will ever be good enough to start for a championship team.
White's contract is up after the end of next season. Unless he improves a great deal, White is just not quick enough to be a top center. He is likely to remain a backup/role player, but he is likely to be re-signed if they can get him for less money.
Trybanski's contract is up after next season. He is unlikely to re-signed.
There does not seem to be an easy answer for the Suns at center. Even if the Suns get a really high draft pick, there aren't many centers coming out this summer that are likely to be factor in two years. Most of them are are either too short, light, or really, really young. They may end up taking someone who is really a power forward who can help at center.
Solid centers are at a ;premium, so it may be difficult to get one through free agency or trade. The Suns may be forced to gamble on an unproven center through free agency or the draft.
SHOOTING GUARD
In two years Penny Hardaway will be on the last year of his contract. This means that he will be attractive to a team with a major salary problem (if the luxury tax is still in place). At that point, he might be attractive to a team that wants to dump some salary. One possibility would be Brian Grant of the Heat whose contract runs trough 2006/07. At that point, if they aren't a contender, saving $15 million would be a big deal.
The jury is still out on the other shotting guards on the Suns. Joe Johnson remains inconsistent. There are many fans who want to give up on him, though he shows flashs of being a real player. JJ has to make some serious strides if he is going to be a starter on a championship team. Casey Jacobsen was drafted as backup player and is not likely to an alternative if JJ fails to reach his potential.
Trading for an SG (or signing a free agent) only makes sense if the Suns are close to being a contender for the top spot. They may draft a shooting guard at some point in the next two drafts if either JJ or Casey fail to improve.
POINT GUARD
Marbury is on the best point guards in the NBA and should be at his peak in two years. Barbosa should be a much better than adquate point guard by then and a first rate defensive stopper.
This definitely looks like a championship level position.
SMALL FORWARD
Shawn Marion is an all-star who is still young enough to be improving. Zarko Caparkapa is a polished all round player who is likely to get minutes at all three interior positions as a sixth man.
T
his poisition looks like it will be at championship caliber in a couple of years.
POWER FORWARD
Amare Stoudemire would only be a sophomore if he had gone to college. He is already a force at power forward, but most people predict he will be super star in a couple of years.
Donnell Harvey will be a free agent this summer, but he has been showing real potential as quality backup PF. Cabarkapa may get most of the minutes, but Harvey's value as a defender could prove valuable in the playoffs.
The Suns may draft a center/power forward type player to replace Williams, but the PF postion alone should be strong enough for a contender.
NET CONCLUSIONS
The Suns may have the pieces necessary to be a contender IF Amare becomes a superstar, Johson becomes more consistent, and the Suns solve their problems at center. Otherwise, they may get out of the first round but that will be about all.
With the team currently 8 games below 500, contending seems pretty remote. But compared to the team they broke up, the Suns are much, much younger, more athletic, and more physical. In a couple of years they will older, more experienced and hopefully more skillful -- yet still fairly young.
At this point Mike D'Antoni seems to be making progress in getting the players to start playing as a team. They are showing more energy and moving around more. It is not yet clear D'Antoni is good enough to take the team all the way, but he is developing a young core. The question is whether they have the talent to get to the next couple of levels.
CENTER
Williams is quite unlikely to be around in couple of years. Voskuhl is under contract through 2005/06, but it seems unlikely he will ever be good enough to start for a championship team.
White's contract is up after the end of next season. Unless he improves a great deal, White is just not quick enough to be a top center. He is likely to remain a backup/role player, but he is likely to be re-signed if they can get him for less money.
Trybanski's contract is up after next season. He is unlikely to re-signed.
There does not seem to be an easy answer for the Suns at center. Even if the Suns get a really high draft pick, there aren't many centers coming out this summer that are likely to be factor in two years. Most of them are are either too short, light, or really, really young. They may end up taking someone who is really a power forward who can help at center.
Solid centers are at a ;premium, so it may be difficult to get one through free agency or trade. The Suns may be forced to gamble on an unproven center through free agency or the draft.
SHOOTING GUARD
In two years Penny Hardaway will be on the last year of his contract. This means that he will be attractive to a team with a major salary problem (if the luxury tax is still in place). At that point, he might be attractive to a team that wants to dump some salary. One possibility would be Brian Grant of the Heat whose contract runs trough 2006/07. At that point, if they aren't a contender, saving $15 million would be a big deal.
The jury is still out on the other shotting guards on the Suns. Joe Johnson remains inconsistent. There are many fans who want to give up on him, though he shows flashs of being a real player. JJ has to make some serious strides if he is going to be a starter on a championship team. Casey Jacobsen was drafted as backup player and is not likely to an alternative if JJ fails to reach his potential.
Trading for an SG (or signing a free agent) only makes sense if the Suns are close to being a contender for the top spot. They may draft a shooting guard at some point in the next two drafts if either JJ or Casey fail to improve.
POINT GUARD
Marbury is on the best point guards in the NBA and should be at his peak in two years. Barbosa should be a much better than adquate point guard by then and a first rate defensive stopper.
This definitely looks like a championship level position.
SMALL FORWARD
Shawn Marion is an all-star who is still young enough to be improving. Zarko Caparkapa is a polished all round player who is likely to get minutes at all three interior positions as a sixth man.
T
his poisition looks like it will be at championship caliber in a couple of years.
POWER FORWARD
Amare Stoudemire would only be a sophomore if he had gone to college. He is already a force at power forward, but most people predict he will be super star in a couple of years.
Donnell Harvey will be a free agent this summer, but he has been showing real potential as quality backup PF. Cabarkapa may get most of the minutes, but Harvey's value as a defender could prove valuable in the playoffs.
The Suns may draft a center/power forward type player to replace Williams, but the PF postion alone should be strong enough for a contender.
NET CONCLUSIONS
The Suns may have the pieces necessary to be a contender IF Amare becomes a superstar, Johson becomes more consistent, and the Suns solve their problems at center. Otherwise, they may get out of the first round but that will be about all.
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