2012/2013 Phoenix Suns - The Official Thread

[Kamnik]

From What I am seeing there are no decent Phoenix Suns forums out there... Therefore I would like to have at least a thread dedicated to them here.

What are your opinions on their currents roster, draft picks and direction in which they are heading?

From what I was reading it is a blessing in disguise that the Hornets matched Eric Gordon. He seems like a diva and I don't think he would contribute too much longterm even if he would fill up the stat sheet nicely.




p.s.
I expect all Slovenians to hammer this thread for obvious reasons! :)


Go Suns! :toast

[8FOR!3]

The Suns fuckin suck

[DMC]

"decent" and "Phoenix Suns" are oxymorons

[Jodelo]

I pick them to come out of the west...

[Clipper Nation]

Dragic and Cornerst... uh... Beasley will be the goods, fortifying each other from the opening tip...

[InRareForm]

I miss when the Suns were good. It was always good entertainment to hear suns fans bitching to spurs fans.

[Pelicans78]

Hasn't been a great offseason so far. Dragic was a good signing, but they overvalued Beasley and reached really bad on Marshall. They're gonna get Mayo, but then what? Is that their future?

[-21-]

I agree about Eric Gordon, don't like him. Also didn't like the Marshall pick but he may turn out to be pretty good, who knows. They got solid signings in Beasley, Dragic, and potentially OJ Mayo (he'd be great but don't overpay him). Decent frontcourt with Morris and Gortat. They aren't terrible but they aren't a playoff team either. Add more pieces through the draft.

[Xylus]

I think the Suns will go out and get Mayo. So far this offseason, they've gotten commitments from every free agent they've really pursued. If that becomes the case, and the Suns end up resigning Michael Redd or Shannon Brown (I prefer Redd), this would be our lineup:


Dragic / Marshall / Telfair
Mayo / Redd (and/or Brown)
Dudley / Childress
Beasley / Morris / Warrick
Gortat / Frye / Lopez

This isn't a team that will compete in the playoffs, but it's a nice young core to build around. Redd would be the oldest player on the team, no one else is older than 29 (Frye).

The team's success largely depends on whether Beasley and Mayo can turn their careers around. We know what Dragic, Dudley, and Gortat will bring to the table, but the other two are giant question marks. I think Gentry is the perfect coach to turn things around.

[Xylus]

By the way, love Dragic, missed Dragic, really glad he's back.

[Xylus]

Son of a bitch, we just picked up Scola.

[Jodelo]

And Childress is gone.

[Samuel Eto'o]

Agreed etc.

[LakerHater]

Brian Windhorst ‏@WindhorstESPN

The Suns have waived Josh Childress using amnesty provision, sources say. Possibly making room for OJ Mayo.

[CGD]

I think the Suns will be a respectable team this year especially now that they got Scola. Probably fighting or between 7-10th in the West.

[TE]

The Suns may very well be the Rockets of the last couple of years: contending for late lottery picks or a possible 7-8th seed birth.

[Xylus]

So now it's...

Dragic / Marshall / Telfair
(Mayo) / (Redd) / (Brown)
Beasley / Dudley
Scola / Morris / Warrick
Gortat / Frye / Lopez

I hope to god we don't keep Lopez and Warrick. And I love how we have 0 shooting guards on our roster. That should entice Mayo to come, he can have all the minutes he wants.

[ChrisRichards]

DoK has reasons not to bandwagon on another team this year :lol

[Xylus]

Marshall-Redd-Dudley-Morris-Frye is a pretty sick bench...

[TE]

Or on second thought, if the pieces fit the ceiling might be a berth or two higher...

[-21-]

The Suns may very well be the Rockets of the last couple of years: contending for late lottery picks or a possible 7-8th seed birth.

Looks about right.

[lefty]

This thread has so much potential

[Spurs9]

So now it's...

Dragic / Marshall / Telfair
(Mayo) / (Redd) / (Brown)
Beasley / Dudley
Scola / Morris / Warrick
Gortat / Frye / Lopez

I hope to god we don't keep Lopez and Warrick. And I love how we have 0 shooting guards on our roster. That should entice Mayo to come, he can have all the minutes he wants.
Not bad if they get Mayo.

[DUNCANownsKOBE]

It's a nice group to build with but I see them returning to mediocrity too quickly and never becoming a contender unless Beasley suddenly gets Kobe's work ethic. I'm guessing 7 seed.

[scanry]

DoK has reasons not to bandwagon on another team this year :lol

Dok doesn't need a reason to bitch about his own gdamn team. :lol He'll not like any move that they make. It's probably got to do with Sarvar being the cheap owner that he is. Dude sold 1st rounders like a dope dealer. Imagine them Suns with a PG like Rondo from 2006 - 2010.

The only good the Suns did this off season was by screwing the Hornets/Spirits. Reacquiring Dragic was dumb because they should'nt have traded him in the first place. They probably ended up paying more to Dragic through all this.

[Latarian Milton]

their corner stone was stolen back to NO and its hard to imagine phoenix making the playoffs next season with the squad they have. if they played in the east then probably they'd have a shot but the west is pretty tough where they're only arguably better than the likes of wolves and queens

[Kai]

Zoran Dragic is available :lol

[Kamnik]

With addition of Scola this roster becomes much more potent all the sudden.

Anyone knows if Scola and Dragič became good friends or something while in Houston? Or is this all about the money.

[DUNCANownsKOBE]

Reacquiring Dragic was dumb because they should'nt have traded him in the first place. They probably ended up paying more to Dragic through all this.
The fact that they traded him doesn't make reacquiring him dumb. What woulda been dumb is Babby/Blanks resigning Brooks because they were too stubborn to admit an obvious mistake. The good GMs are the ones who can admit they're mistakes and not do more dumb stuff to try and vindicate their mistakes.

Regarding what they're paying, Dragic signed a 4 year/30,000,000 deal with the Suns when Houston was offering 4 years/36,000,000. Yeah, that was more than what they would have had to pay him if last year was another year of him sitting on the bench behind Nash, but that's a double edged sword because they might not have seen enough to commit the next 4 years to him in that scenario.

[jag]

At first I thought the Marshall pick wasnt so bad, and I thought DoK was overreacting. Then the Suns go out and get Dragic. While that was IMO a good move, it also shows that they don't think Marshall can come in and contribute right away. Why the F do you pick a guy a PG at 13 and then go sign another young player at the same position? What a wasted pick

[DUNCANownsKOBE]

Normally I wouldn't have cared as the 13th pick rarely turns into an all star, but John Henson is a lot more talented and NBA ready than what's normally left at pick 13, and even though they have 3 of them, power forward is still their weakest position and I have no doubt Henson would have been an immediate upgrade Frye, Warrick and Morris.

As I also said, the pick goes beyond just Kendall Marshall. The pick seemed like a sign that Sarver & Co. still think fun and gun, PG-oriented basketball is a recipe for winning.

[jag]

Mid-first round picks should always fill a need. Why fill a need and then go out and sign a better player to fill the same need? They could have found a backup PG somewhere else and used the pick (like you said) to take Henson. It just seems stupid.

[DUNCANownsKOBE]

I think in the Suns' situation, they shouldn't use draft picks to fill needs, they should use them to draft the most talented player available. In this case, Hension filled a need and was IMO the best player available. You certainly don't use the pick on someone who's ceiling is Brevin Knight when you're a rebuilding team that should be stockpiling as much talent as possible.

[mavs>spurs]

greetings, O & forevers.

[JMarkJohns]

I think in the Suns' situation, they shouldn't use draft picks to fill needs, they should use them to draft the most talented player available. In this case, Hension filled a need and was IMO the best player available. You certainly don't use the pick on someone who's ceiling is Brevin Knight when you're a rebuilding team that should be stockpiling as much talent as possible.

Perry Jones III was the best talent, but I was on board with Henson as well.

Still don't understand using a lottery pick for a backup backup plan at a position you intend to throw money at in free agency.

[venitian navigator]

Dragic and Marshall have the same style of play...only that Dragic is already proven at nba level.
Suns have now the luxury to play all the game at the pace they want and, hypothetically, at a very high level not decreasing it with the sub (considering Marshall value as a play maker)...personally, I think that these two are the two more similar young player to Nash style that were available in market and draft.
So, one clear point the kind of style they want to play.
Now they just have to fill the roster with the right pieces. The Scola claim was a very good move.
But they have to fill the guard space...with starting pieces (but I see no one of really good value available now that Mayo is gone - and it's better gone, 'cause he didn't fit the up tempo style) plus reserve guards (like Redd, S. Brown...)

[Jeremy]

Looks like Dudley will have to stay at SG instead of his natural SF position, with Beasley at SF.

So the starting lineup will be:

Dragic
Dudley
Beasley
Scola
Gortat

Biggest Suns lineup ever? 6-3, 6-7, 6-10, 6-9, 6-11, respectively.

In fact, the bench could be very tall as well:

Marshall (6-4)
Redd (6-6)/Brown (6-4)
Morris (6-10)
Frye (6-11)
Lopez (7-0)

[DUNCANownsKOBE]

Eh, without a real shooting guard on the roster and with Scola as the only competent power forward, this team will be lucky to make the playoffs or even play .500 ball like they did last year.

It was dumb to sign Scola and at this point Gortat and Dudley should be on the trading block. Dragic and Beasley are good building pieces, but neither one is close to the franchise player they need. They should be hoarding picks for next year and trying to clear cap space, which they obviously aren't doing.

[Latarian Milton]

their salary structure remains horrible even with nash gone. you don't want a payroll like 60m when your team plays sub .500 and you're facing a dilemma here on whether to re-sign them talents with the $ they demand come the expiring dates of their contracts or simply let them get the fuck away. you ain't building for shit with all role players but a "cornerstone" imho :lol

[DPG21920]

The good news is that PHX did a lot more good than bad this year. Their mistakes (which still make you scratch your head) weren't costly ones (Scola is cheap, draft pick has potential and can develop and is on a cheap contract...). They have tradeable assets (Dudley, Gortat, Frye...) and are in a decent spot overall.

[Kamnik]

Hm... Courtney Lee gone, any decent SG left out there?

[Kai]

Shannon Brown re-signed I believe.

[racm]

Yep.

Dragic/Dudley/Beasley/Scola/Gortat with a bench of Marshall/Brown/Morris/Redd?/Frye/Lopez. Not good, but not bad either.

Won't be surprised to see them finish 4th in the Pacific - the Kings will never be good enough yet.

[Pelicans78]

Marshall is a marginal talent. They should have drafted Henson even though he's only 216 right now and at times will get pushed around early in his career. He's 10 pounds less than Anthony Davis and obviously skinnier, but at the least, he will be a good rebounder and defender.

They wasted money on Beasley IMO. The dude has talent, but overall is just a below average player. Doesn't play well without the ball and won't defend. 6 million is not much, but even for him its too much and he's gonna start. He was part of the problem at Minny last season.

Dragic and Gortat are very good starters and Dudley is solid, but their bench is just ok.

It will be a struggle for them to get an 8th seed and even be a .500 team.

[Kamnik]

Shannon Brown resigned.

Dragič/Brown/Beasly/Scola/Gortat

Nice, at least there is a real 2 guard on the roster now; allthough a bit undersized. But he has the bulk to defend.

[mavs>spurs]

never realized gortat is already 28 and a half. i thought dude was like 24 or 25 tbh.

[Kai]

Kamnik, are you a Zogi fan?

[racm]

Marshall is a marginal talent. They should have drafted Henson even though he's only 216 right now and at times will get pushed around early in his career. He's 10 pounds less than Anthony Davis and obviously skinnier, but at the least, he will be a good rebounder and defender.

They wasted money on Beasley IMO. The dude has talent, but overall is just a below average player. Doesn't play well without the ball and won't defend. 6 million is not much, but even for him its too much and he's gonna start. He was part of the problem at Minny last season.

Dragic and Gortat are very good starters and Dudley is solid, but their bench is just ok.

It will be a struggle for them to get an 8th seed and even be a .500 team.

Must be why Kevin Love's happy.

[Kamnik]

Kamnik, are you a Zogi fan?

Um... yeah. Not obvious?

[Kai]

Um... yeah. Not obvious?

Do you think he'll be able to stick on an NBA team? A lot of his moves remind me so much of Goran.

[Kamnik]

Zoran is good defensive player and plays with heart, but I doubt he has the talent to stick in the NBA. Hopefully im horribly wrong...

[Kamnik]

I predict they make the playoffs but loose in the first round to Oklahoma!

http://hoopshype.com/previews/phoenix.htm

Go Suns!

[Pelicans78]

To be honest, this was a brutal offseason for the Suns. They screwed up in the draft by not taking Henson. Marshall was a terrible pick. Very average at best. Then they acquire two of the worst wing players in the league and Beasley and Johnson. Not only did they acquire Beasley, they gave him 3 years 18 million. What were they thinking. Dragic and Gortat are very good, but they don't have much else.

[pauls931]

The Suns fuckin suck

I agree, this is going to be painful.

[Kamnik]

Did anyone watch their full game vs blazers? What are the impressions?

How is Morris defensively?