Who should Suns target at power forward?

[AzStevenCal]

It doesn't sound half bad. I may have to try it.

Really? That's gross. Yelling with your mouth full???

 

[Mainstreet]

Really? That's gross. Yelling with your mouth full???

I'd need some larger pancakes to do it proper but I could never top Charles at yelling.

 

[Finito]

My favorite Chuck story...



https://www.google.com/amp/s/homeof...ate-mcdonalds-while-yelling-at-teammates/amp/

Like it says in the story it’s not really unusual. Stars don’t practice like role players especially in the NBA. Hell now they don’t even play in the games cause of “load management”

 

[Sun Devil Mania]

This thread got derailed. I would love to see the Suns move into a position to draft Toppin. What free agent power forward could be a good fit for the Suns?

 

[Mainstreet]

This thread got derailed. I would love to see the Suns move into a position to draft Toppin. What free agent power forward could be a good fit for the Suns?

Everyone according to their taste but I like Jerami Grant in free agency.

 

[Hoop Head]

This thread got derailed. I would love to see the Suns move into a position to draft Toppin. What free agent power forward could be a good fit for the Suns?

Christian Wood is high on my wish list, provided the price is right. I'd like to see the Suns add both Wood and Jordan Clarkson, which is possible depending on where the salary cap falls. It looked more like something they could do prior to this pandemic causing financial issues but we'll see if a smaller salary cap causes GM's and owners to be a little smarter in the deals they offer going forward or if they'll spend recklessly, as usual.

Wood had a breakout season in Detroit and played even better once they got Drummond out of there. I think he'll get the mid-level exception from somewhere and if the Suns are serious about bringing him in then they might be able to offer a little extra cash to that, beating out the competition. He can play PF or C, can guard the paint and rebound, and has a decent offensive game. He shot 38.6% from 3 last season while averaging 1 make and 2.7 attempts a game so he can space the floor. I think with he an Ayton you'll be able to rotate one of them inside and keep the other outside so the paint doesn't get clogged on offense. Defensively it would give us a lot of size also, with Wood being 6'10" and quite long. I don't have wingspan in front of me but watching him, you can tell he's got length.

 

[1Sun]

Christian Wood is high on my wish list, provided the price is right. I'd like to see the Suns add both Wood and Jordan Clarkson, which is possible depending on where the salary cap falls. It looked more like something they could do prior to this pandemic causing financial issues but we'll see if a smaller salary cap causes GM's and owners to be a little smarter in the deals they offer going forward or if they'll spend recklessly, as usual.

Wood had a breakout season in Detroit and played even better once they got Drummond out of there. I think he'll get the mid-level exception from somewhere and if the Suns are serious about bringing him in then they might be able to offer a little extra cash to that, beating out the competition. He can play PF or C, can guard the paint and rebound, and has a decent offensive game. He shot 38.6% from 3 last season while averaging 1 make and 2.7 attempts a game so he can space the floor. I think with he an Ayton you'll be able to rotate one of them inside and keep the other outside so the paint doesn't get clogged on offense. Defensively it would give us a lot of size also, with Wood being 6'10" and quite long. I don't have wingspan in front of me but watching him, you can tell he's got length.

And yet he wasn't even good enough to get a training camp invite when he was on the Suns' Summer League roster. Buyer beware.

 

[Mainstreet]

Christian Wood is high on my wish list, provided the price is right. I'd like to see the Suns add both Wood and Jordan Clarkson, which is possible depending on where the salary cap falls. It looked more like something they could do prior to this pandemic causing financial issues but we'll see if a smaller salary cap causes GM's and owners to be a little smarter in the deals they offer going forward or if they'll spend recklessly, as usual.

Wood had a breakout season in Detroit and played even better once they got Drummond out of there. I think he'll get the mid-level exception from somewhere and if the Suns are serious about bringing him in then they might be able to offer a little extra cash to that, beating out the competition. He can play PF or C, can guard the paint and rebound, and has a decent offensive game. He shot 38.6% from 3 last season while averaging 1 make and 2.7 attempts a game so he can space the floor. I think with he an Ayton you'll be able to rotate one of them inside and keep the other outside so the paint doesn't get clogged on offense. Defensively it would give us a lot of size also, with Wood being 6'10" and quite long. I don't have wingspan in front of me but watching him, you can tell he's got length.

The Pistons reportedly have $30 million in cap space. A lot will depend on how much they want to spend to keep Wood.

Clarkson would be interesting. I don't think the Jazz will be able to keep him.

 

[Hoop Head]

The Pistons reportedly have $30 million in cap space. A lot will depend on how much they want to spend to keep Wood.

Clarkson would be interesting. I don't think the Jazz will be able to keep him.

Who knows what the Pistons are doing. I was a little surprised they dumped Drummond for nothing, essentially, and they were also shopping guys like Kennard, who have showed some promise but are still on their rookie contracts. Those moves seem to be pointing in different directions. They could be tanking, which wouldn't surprise me, but that still seems a little odd that they wouldn't try to get more draft picks from the Drummond deal and they didn't aim to dump some other guys like Rose, who could have brought back a 1st from someone.

They have a lot of money tied up in Blake Griffin going forward and I can't see them getting out from that unless they take back a bad contract in return. Will they want to pay Woods big money while paying Blake for 2/3 of a season also? I don't know. Woods is best at PF but can play C. He got better when Drummond was dealt but that's mainly because Drummond was planted in the paint and killed their spacing.

Money is key when it comes to Woods. You don't want to overpay but you also can't afford to lowball him and get him to sign elsewhere either.

With Clarkson, I think he'd be a solid backup combo guard for Rubio and Booker and could play with them when the Suns go small also. He's not particularly small himself, listed at 6'4" now that the league has called for more accurate measurements but was listed as 6'5" & 6'6" previously. He has played both guard spots for the Lakers, Cavs, and now the Jazz. He's not someone you want as your starting PG but as your backup, you're good.

 

[Mainstreet]

Who knows what the Pistons are doing. I was a little surprised they dumped Drummond for nothing, essentially, and they were also shopping guys like Kennard, who have showed some promise but are still on their rookie contracts. Those moves seem to be pointing in different directions. They could be tanking, which wouldn't surprise me, but that still seems a little odd that they wouldn't try to get more draft picks from the Drummond deal and they didn't aim to dump some other guys like Rose, who could have brought back a 1st from someone.

They have a lot of money tied up in Blake Griffin going forward and I can't see them getting out from that unless they take back a bad contract in return. Will they want to pay Woods big money while paying Blake for 2/3 of a season also? I don't know. Woods is best at PF but can play C. He got better when Drummond was dealt but that's mainly because Drummond was planted in the paint and killed their spacing.

Money is key when it comes to Woods. You don't want to overpay but you also can't afford to lowball him and get him to sign elsewhere either.

With Clarkson, I think he'd be a solid backup combo guard for Rubio and Booker and could play with them when the Suns go small also. He's not particularly small himself, listed at 6'4" now that the league has called for more accurate measurements but was listed as 6'5" & 6'6" previously. He has played both guard spots for the Lakers, Cavs, and now the Jazz. He's not someone you want as your starting PG but as your backup, you're good.

I'm guessing the Pistons didn't want to pay Drummond what he wanted when he hit free agency. I understand he was going to decline his player option for $28,751,774 this summer. This likely lowered his trade value.

We agree, Clarkson would be a nice rotation guard with Booker and Rubio.

 

[Mainstreet]

The Pistons may be forced to pay Wood more than they want to keep him. They may have to decide between Wood or a max contract type free agent. My guess is they keep him for something like the Suns paid Oubre.

 

[1Sun]

The more I see, the more I believe that the Suns' best and only realistic hope for a serviceable starting power forward is to trade Kelly Oubre for Aaron Gordon.

 

[Matt L]

The more I see, the more I believe that the Suns' best and only realistic hope for a serviceable starting power forward is to trade Kelly Oubre for Aaron Gordon.

Why would Orlando make that trade?

 

[1Sun]

Why would Orlando make that trade?

They need more scoring, and they see Isaac as their future at power forward.

We need defense, rim protection and rebounding.

Win-win. The only hiccup is that Oubre is an expiring deal, which means we likely need to throw in draft capital.

 

[Proximo]

The more I see, the more I believe that the Suns' best and only realistic hope for a serviceable starting power forward is to trade Kelly Oubre for Aaron Gordon.

I am thinking you are right. Actually I think the suns almost pulled the trigger on it last season.

I think Kelly is a little more valuable IMO and I would not throw in any draft capital. His only downside is his contract is not as friendly as Gordon's.

 

[SunnyBaller]

Id love to trade oubre for a higher pick to get obi and then draft a point guard with their own pick

 

[Hoop Head]

I'm surprised Oubre is being discounted so much here. Last offseason there was a good portion of people wanting the front office to pay him max money, or close to it, and now we want to trade him for Aaron Gordon? Gordon isn't a bust but he's underachieved and disappointed some. I know he's still putting up 16-17 ppg with 7 boards but I'd hope for more from our starting PF. Oubre provides similar numbers while playing SF and his energy shouldn't be discounted. He's someone who fits well with Booker and Ayton and has actually exhibited some pride and fight on the court.

Trading Oubre to move up in this draft though would be worse. I don't care how good Obi Toppin's highlights look. There's no guarantee he's half the player Oubre is and odds are he won't provide the spark that Oubre does.

I wouldn't trade Oubre for any of the PF's mentioned and looking around the league I'm hard pressed to find a PF who might be dealt by his team that I'd trade Oubre for. I'd rather see the Suns continue to play small with Oubre and Bridges at forward than gambling on someone like Gordon taking the next step here in Phoenix.

 

[Mainstreet]

I'm surprised Oubre is being discounted so much here. Last offseason there was a good portion of people wanting the front office to pay him max money, or close to it, and now we want to trade him for Aaron Gordon? Gordon isn't a bust but he's underachieved and disappointed some. I know he's still putting up 16-17 ppg with 7 boards but I'd hope for more from our starting PF. Oubre provides similar numbers while playing SF and his energy shouldn't be discounted. He's someone who fits well with Booker and Ayton and has actually exhibited some pride and fight on the court.

Trading Oubre to move up in this draft though would be worse. I don't care how good Obi Toppin's highlights look. There's no guarantee he's half the player Oubre is and odds are he won't provide the spark that Oubre does.

I wouldn't trade Oubre for any of the PF's mentioned and looking around the league I'm hard pressed to find a PF who might be dealt by his team that I'd trade Oubre for. I'd rather see the Suns continue to play small with Oubre and Bridges at forward than gambling on someone like Gordon taking the next step here in Phoenix.

Some of that trade Oubre stuff is media driven.

I'd like for the Suns to keep Oubre and add a few pieces through free agency and the draft. As I have said a couple of times before, the Suns need to add talent, not lose it. Another thing about Oubre, if he returns to form, the Suns can try to keep him for the 2021-22 season. If not he would provide the Suns $14,375,000 in salary space to use.

I've been thinking about something you said awhile back. If the Suns can maintain salary space (they have at least $19 million) some luxury tax payers might even give the Suns a first round pick to take on a contract. I haven't figured out which players might be available this way but it's worth a look.

 

[1Sun]

I'm surprised Oubre is being discounted so much here. Last offseason there was a good portion of people wanting the front office to pay him max money, or close to it, and now we want to trade him for Aaron Gordon? Gordon isn't a bust but he's underachieved and disappointed some. I know he's still putting up 16-17 ppg with 7 boards but I'd hope for more from our starting PF. Oubre provides similar numbers while playing SF and his energy shouldn't be discounted. He's someone who fits well with Booker and Ayton and has actually exhibited some pride and fight on the court.

Trading Oubre to move up in this draft though would be worse. I don't care how good Obi Toppin's highlights look. There's no guarantee he's half the player Oubre is and odds are he won't provide the spark that Oubre does.

I wouldn't trade Oubre for any of the PF's mentioned and looking around the league I'm hard pressed to find a PF who might be dealt by his team that I'd trade Oubre for. I'd rather see the Suns continue to play small with Oubre and Bridges at forward than gambling on someone like Gordon taking the next step here in Phoenix.

But we already know what happens when the Suns play small with that line up. They end up 13th in the West and 21st overall, with an increasingly frustrated Booker and an increasingly disengaged Ayton in the process, and oh, by the way, Oubre then bolts at the end of the year, anyway. I don't want to lose Oubre, either, but this team desperately needs an NBA-caliber starting power forward if it wants to have any hope of being competitive, and with their cap space wiped out and no significant contracts on the roster other than Booker (it seems that only with the Suns is that pair of circumstances possible), trading Oubre appears to be their only option.

The reality is that they should have traded Baynes, Saric and Tyler Johnson when they had the chance.

 

[Proximo]

I'm surprised Oubre is being discounted so much here. Last offseason there was a good portion of people wanting the front office to pay him max money, or close to it, and now we want to trade him for Aaron Gordon? Gordon isn't a bust but he's underachieved and disappointed some. I know he's still putting up 16-17 ppg with 7 boards but I'd hope for more from our starting PF. Oubre provides similar numbers while playing SF and his energy shouldn't be discounted. He's someone who fits well with Booker and Ayton and has actually exhibited some pride and fight on the court.

Trading Oubre to move up in this draft though would be worse. I don't care how good Obi Toppin's highlights look. There's no guarantee he's half the player Oubre is and odds are he won't provide the spark that Oubre does.

I wouldn't trade Oubre for any of the PF's mentioned and looking around the league I'm hard pressed to find a PF who might be dealt by his team that I'd trade Oubre for. I'd rather see the Suns continue to play small with Oubre and Bridges at forward than gambling on someone like Gordon taking the next step here in Phoenix.

I'm not discounting him - but I am being realistic.

He is going to need a big new contract after the season, and I don't think the suns will or maybe even should pay it when they already have Mikal and Cam who need minutes and still have a whole at PF.

I mean, I think there is a good chance he will leave for nothing, and since there seems to be no pf of sufficent quality that is obtainable via Free Agency or trade of our first rounder, he is basically the only means to acquire an adequate PF.

Do I think Gordon is fair value, no I don't. But is he good value as opposed to just letting Kelly go, and will he do a decent job filling our hole at PF, I think he will.

If there was another good option I would prefer it, but I don't see one.

 

[Proximo]

But we already know what happens when the Suns play small with that line up. They end up 13th in the West and 21st overall, with an increasingly frustrated Booker and an increasingly disengaged Ayton in the process, and oh, by the way, Oubre then bolts at the end of the year, anyway. I don't want to lose Oubre, either, but this team desperately needs an NBA-caliber starting power forward if it wants to have any hope of being competitive, and with their cap space wiped out and no significant contracts on the roster other than Booker (it seems that only with the Suns is that pair of circumstances possible), trading Oubre appears to be their only option.

The reality is that they should have traded Baynes, Saric and Tyler Johnson when they had the chance.

Baynes yes - Saric was I think untradeable. Tyler Johnson was definitely untradeable by himself, no one even wanted him as a free agent after we cut him.

 

[Hoop Head]

I'm not discounting him - but I am being realistic.

He is going to need a big new contract after the season, and I don't think the suns will or maybe even should pay it when they already have Mikal and Cam who need minutes and still have a whole at PF.

I mean, I think there is a good chance he will leave for nothing, and since there seems to be no pf of sufficent quality that is obtainable via Free Agency or trade of our first rounder, he is basically the only means to acquire an adequate PF.

Do I think Gordon is fair value, no I don't. But is he good value as opposed to just letting Kelly go, and will he do a decent job filling our hole at PF, I think he will.

If there was another good option I would prefer it, but I don't see one.

Your posts seem to be a bit more realistic, IMO. I don't think we should move him until we know he won't resign though and as fans, we don't have a clue if he will or not. What we do know is he'll be a free agent next offseason but that still gives the Suns time to see more of their best lineup (Ayton, Bridges, Oubre, Booker, and Rubio) next season and hopefully make enough noise that Kelly will be open to signing an extension or resigning here for a fair price.

He'll be a free agent in a class that is supposed to be quite good but there's also a chance the cap takes a hit moving forward because of the pandemic. There will be less money to go around than there was thought to be 6 months ago and Oubre isn't a top tier free agent who will be prioritized by teams with cap space. That gives the Suns a good shot at winning him over during the season, with a playoff run and a fair offer. If neither seem to be happening closer to the trade deadline then shop him, there will be suitors who will be after acquiring him to get his bird rights.

 

[Yuma]

You think we pay Oubre anywhere near $20 million a year?

Aaron Gordon Contract, Salary Cap Details & Breakdowns ...
www.spotrac.com › nba › orlando-magic › aaron-gord...
Aaron Gordon signed a 4 year / $80,000,000 contract with the Orlando Magic, including $76,000,000 guaranteed, and an annual average salary of $20,000,000.