Will Suns make a move before the trade deadline?

[AzStevenCal]

When thinking "bold move" or "shake up". think KJ, Barkley, Nash... A move that has a high reward and may come with high risk. Of course sometimes it doesn't work out, Mc Dyess and Hardaway.

You've got to be aggressive. In the NBA if you are not winning you are screwed. Look at what's happening with the Pelicans, its a real problem and a real possibility that needs to be factored into the decision process.

I don't follow college ball at all so I have no idea but what is the thinking on how long it will take for Morant to be a 21 8 and 5 PG that can lead a team....two seasons, three, maybe never? this team will completely implode if it wins 20 games again next season.

You absolutely cannot have the thought process that you don't want to bring in top talent because it will hurt your draft position.

I do agree on not trading the #1 pick should we get lucky. The Zion highlights are insane.

You should look at the recent history of the Pelicans and all they've done to try and surround their star with good players. It should be a cautionary tale, not an example to follow. The simple truth is there are no sure paths to success in the NBA. Each situation is unique.

We have a lot of young talent, some of which we have no idea how close to their ceiling they will get. Moving any of them now in an effort to make this team competitive quickly could easily turn out to be the biggest blunder this franchise has ever made. Sure, we could get lucky but I think our odds are much better keeping this team mostly intact until the off season.

 

[slinslin]

The major difference with the Suns and Pelicans is that Booker unlike Davis already might not even be the biggest talent on the Suns anymore.

The Pelicans spent years doing nothing, who was the last rookie the Pelicans drafted that did anything since Davis they drafted basically nobody. Well ok they drafted Buddy Hield and quickly traded him for a Cousins rental who they let go for a Randle rental etc..

I don't really care about any panic regarding Booker.

1. He has 6 years left on his deal.

2. Even if he demanded out we would get a boatload and still have Ayton, Bridges and our pick this year etc.

 

[SirStefan32]

You should look at the recent history of the Pelicans and all they've done to try and surround their star with good players. It should be a cautionary tale, not an example to follow. The simple truth is there are no sure paths to success in the NBA. Each situation is unique.

We have a lot of young talent, some of which we have no idea how close to their ceiling they will get. Moving any of them now in an effort to make this team competitive quickly could easily turn out to be the biggest blunder this franchise has ever made. Sure, we could get lucky but I think our odds are much better keeping this team mostly intact until the off season.

It's tricky, for sure. What really complicates things is that the roster is not balanced. They have a solid Center rotation, and a solid wing rotation. Not a single PF on the team, and only two rookies at PG. I think they almost HAVE to make some personnel decisions in order to balance out the roster. That can be done in the off season, though.

I maintain that they should overpay a competent, veteran, role-playing PG instead of going for another star. One exception would be Holiday if he can be had for a reasonable price. Outside of that, Collison and Rubio are my top choices.

 

[Mainstreet]

I agree about keeping the Suns roster intact going forward but I don't think the Suns can close their eyes if a quality player becomes available at the trade deadline. Even then I want the Suns to keep their core group of players Ayton, Booker and Bridges.

The Suns need to keep their 2019 pick unless it is protected. Free agency should fill some holes.

I guess the only thing I want to see is a trade for an Elfrid Payton type point guard to see if all the bells and whistles work.

 

[AzStevenCal]

It's tricky, for sure. What really complicates things is that the roster is not balanced. They have a solid Center rotation, and a solid wing rotation. Not a single PF on the team, and only two rookies at PG. I think they almost HAVE to make some personnel decisions in order to balance out the roster. That can be done in the off season, though.

I maintain that they should overpay a competent, veteran, role-playing PG instead of going for another star. One exception would be Holiday if he can be had for a reasonable price. Outside of that, Collison and Rubio are my top choices.

I'd feel much better about overpaying contract wise than giving away a lot of assets to fill our positional shortcomings.

 

[GatorAZ]

I’m still nervous about them paying Oubre more than TJ. That two week stretch of Oubre’s hot shooting is over and back to the norm.

 

[AzStevenCal]

I’m still nervous about them paying Oubre more than TJ. That two week stretch of Oubre’s hot shooting is over and back to the norm.

Oubre has so much raw talent but he's a real puzzler, it's no surprise Washington reluctantly made him available. I'm okay with overpaying him a little but not if it keeps us from re-signing Holmes (I know we can sign both, we might not want to spend it all on those two though). I figure Holmes will also require an overpay to keep him but I think he brings a more consistent game to the court every night.

 

[SirStefan32]

I'd feel much better about overpaying contract wise than giving away a lot of assets to fill our positional shortcomings.

Agreed.

 

[SirStefan32]

I’m still nervous about them paying Oubre more than TJ. That two week stretch of Oubre’s hot shooting is over and back to the norm.

Oh he is going to cost more than Warren, I am sure.He is a good defender, he can create his own shot, he can even dribble the ball a bit, and he is a minimally competent three-point shooter. I think he will cost $15M/ per year at least.

 

[Mainstreet]

I’m still nervous about them paying Oubre more than TJ. That two week stretch of Oubre’s hot shooting is over and back to the norm.

I don't think the Suns keep all three of Warren, Jackson and Oubre. If the rumors of Sarver wanting to move Warren are true, maybe we will not have to choose. I'm hoping Oubre's new contract is less than Warren.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Oh he is going to cost more than Warren, I am sure.He is a good defender, he can create his own shot, he can even dribble the ball a bit, and he is a minimally competent three-point shooter. I think he will cost $15M/ per year at least.

All true but he's also one of the worst tunnel-vision ballhogs I can remember at a non-center position. I really don't know what to do with him. I think I'd rather have him than Warren but he's even more inconsistent that TJ has been throughout his career if you ignore TJ's medical absences.

 

[SirStefan32]

All true but he's also one of the worst tunnel-vision ballhogs I can remember at a non-center position. I really don't know what to do with him. I think I'd rather have him than Warren but he's even more inconsistent that TJ has been throughout his career if you ignore TJ's medical absences.

Yeah, I do wish he'd pass the ball once in a while. I see him as a cross between all the other SFs. Better defender than Warren, better shooter than Jackson, better overall scorer than Bridges. I don't think he is the best one at anything, but he is the most complete player of all of them. He may be the true "jack of all trades, master of none."

As for the Warren issue... I think I'd rather have Oubre too. Warren is a better shooter, better scorer, but Oubre is a much better defender. I think I go with defense on that.

Bridges is my number one wing on the team, followed by Oubre, and then I am not sure about Warren vs. Jackson.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Yeah, I do wish he'd pass the ball once in a while. I see him as a cross between all the other SFs. Better defender than Warren, better shooter than Jackson, better overall scorer than Bridges. I don't think he is the best one at anything, but he is the most complete player of all of them. He may be the true "jack of all trades, master of none."

I would disagree on this, I think Bridges is easily the most complete of that group. And what he lacks (strength and experience) are much easier fixes than what Jackson, Oubre and Warren lack. But I'd put Oubre second right now.

 

[elindholm]

Oh he is going to cost more than Warren, I am sure.He is a good defender, he can create his own shot, he can even dribble the ball a bit, and he is a minimally competent three-point shooter. I think he will cost $15M/ per year at least.

And he competes, which is more than can be said for a lot of his teammates. A team full of Oubres would probably be less talented overall than the actual Suns roster, but they'd win more games.

 

[SirStefan32]

I would disagree on this, I think Bridges is easily the most complete of that group. And what he lacks (strength and experience) are much easier fixes than what Jackson, Oubre and Warren lack. But I'd put Oubre second right now.

Fair enough. I don't agree, but I see what you are saying. My grip with Mikal is that offensively, he stands at the three point line right now. He had two recent games where he took the ball inside and it paid off, so I think he will get there, but I still think Oubre is a more complete player right now.

 

[Suns_fan69]

And he competes, which is more than can be said for a lot of his teammates. A team full of Oubres would probably be less talented overall than the actual Suns roster, but they'd win more games.

Who'd win between a team full of Oubres vs a team full of Jacksons? Probably Oubres but there'd be arms and legs flailing everywhere.

 

[ColdPickleNachos]

Who'd win between a team full of Oubres vs a team full of Jacksons? Probably Oubres but there'd be arms and legs flailing everywhere.

A team of Jacksons would easily set the single game turnover record. I know that much.

 

[ColdPickleNachos]

Interesting stat to back up my Josh Jackson turnover claim...

Exactly 50 players average 2.3 or more turnovers per game this season. (Jackson's average)

Only 1 of those 50 players has a worse assist-to-turnover ratio.

That player is Andre Drummond.

http://www.espn.com/nba/statistics/player/_/stat/assists/sort/avgTurnovers/order/false

 

[Krangodnzr]

Oh he is going to cost more than Warren, I am sure.He is a good defender, he can create his own shot, he can even dribble the ball a bit, and he is a minimally competent three-point shooter. I think he will cost $15M/ per year at least.

Keep him and trade Warren. He has a better overall game.

The forward rotation is really cluttered right now, and I think one less SF might be a good thing as long as a good player is added elsewhere (PG??)

 

[Krangodnzr]

I would disagree on this, I think Bridges is easily the most complete of that group. And what he lacks (strength and experience) are much easier fixes than what Jackson, Oubre and Warren lack. But I'd put Oubre second right now.

Most complete? He's really only a good defender right now. He's awful on the offensive end for the most part.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Most complete? He's really only a good defender right now. He's awful on the offensive end for the most part.

agreed. The worrisome thing to me about him is that he was supposed to be one of the "most finished products" in the draft, enough to give up 2 first round picks for. I'm really hoping over the summer he develops some handles to be able to attack the basket. He'd be fine as just a 3 and D guy, but this team still desperately needs at least one if not two more players that can create for themselves and others.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Most complete? He's really only a good defender right now. He's awful on the offensive end for the most part.

He makes far fewer errors on either side of the ball than any of our other wings. He and Jackson both do a lot of the little things that Oubre and Warren do little of (such as screens, moving without the ball, putting a body on someone when the shot goes up, rotating and communicating). He's a far better defender than any of them and he shows a better understanding of spacing then the other guys too.

Bridges has been the least aggressive offensively and only recently has shown the ability to put the ball on the floor but putting the ball on the floor has been frequently disastrous for both Oubre and Jackson. And Mikal seemingly never gives up on a play, which could probably be said about Oubre and Jackson too, which gives all of them a leg up on Warren. Warren obviously wins the scoring efficiency battle against the other forwards but does less than any of them otherwise.

IOW, none of them are the complete package but I'd put Bridges at the top for what he's done so far but especially for what it looks like he'll be able to do in the near future.

 

[SirStefan32]

He makes far fewer errors on either side of the ball than any of our other wings. He and Jackson both do a lot of the little things that Oubre and Warren do little of (such as screens, moving without the ball, putting a body on someone when the shot goes up, rotating and communicating). He's a far better defender than any of them and he shows a better understanding of spacing then the other guys too.

Bridges has been the least aggressive offensively and only recently has shown the ability to put the ball on the floor but putting the ball on the floor has been frequently disastrous for both Oubre and Jackson. And Mikal seemingly never gives up on a play, which could probably be said about Oubre and Jackson too, which gives all of them a leg up on Warren. Warren obviously wins the scoring efficiency battle against the other forwards but does less than any of them otherwise.

IOW, none of them are the complete package but I'd put Bridges at the top for what he's done so far but especially for what it looks like he'll be able to do in the near future.

I think we can all agree on those two points.

This is a really interesting discussion, by the way. Might warrant its own threat.

 

[SirStefan32]

On a side note, in the last two games, Bridges is playing 36 minutes, scoring 16.5 points on 12/18 shooting, including 6/11 from three, with six rebounds, two assists, 2.5 steals, one turnover, and 1.5 fouls per game. It's a very small sample, but I think it shows us what type of a player Mikal is going to become. He is definitely number one on my long-term list when it comes to the four wings. I put Oubre a little above him right now, but Bridges is really good at the things you can't teach. As Steve pointed out, Mikal doesn't do stupid stuff on offense or defense, he plays great D without fouling, sets screens, moves without the ball, understands the spacing, etc, so he is going to be an amazing player very soon.

 

[AzStevenCal]

I think we can all agree on those two points.

This is a really interesting discussion, by the way. Might warrant its own threat.

Yeah. The thing is, I actually like all 4 of them although I have soured a bit on Warren. But if he really has a chronic foot injury and it's been bothering him for awhile it's possible I've been too hard on him. OTOH, I wouldn't be surprised to find out it's a sore foot till the trade deadline kind of problem.