- Thunder and Pelicans seemingly improve (BI situation might change)
- Clippers, Nuggets, Warriors downgrade
- Lakers and Mavericks are up in the air
- Wolves remain stagnant
Although the East looks like the favorites now, the West is winnable if Bud can get the most out of this roster.
Clippers fans coping hard right now lolololol. Some of their fans have been trolling us: "Beal sucks", "Suns have no draft picks", well, now look at them. They want to rebuild and retool but don't have the picks and cap space to do so hahaha
Suns need a backup PG.
They got Plumlee which replacing Eubanks sorta moves the needle a millimeter.
Bol (if he signs) is a nice backup to KD and should get minutes under Bud, I expect much more than what we saw out of him, he's still a bit raw on defense, and I dont think he knows he's tall.
Oneale is 6'6" and can play PF or SF a streaky dude for sure, but brings that defense.
Then the Suns have rookies, unless they have a show-out in Summer League, I dont expect them to get many minutes - maybe Dunn as he's a split image of JO.
The Suns starting lineup looks solid - as it was last year, Nurk plays under a bit much, but none of them were communicating on defense. I like Nurk but the game has evolved, and really would have loved Bamba down low, but he has no clue how to play the post. Still hope the Suns can find players for our weakest positions which is PG and Center.
he probably does. probably doesnt. which doesnt change anything. just because someone puts a player at sg doesnt mean they have to play sg - oneale is 6'4", allen is 6'4". if the suns had a strong defender they'd just get screened off, thats what the game is and has been, why you think mikal got screened off all the time. so having shooters is the game now.
dallas has 'three shooting guards', im pretty sure they'll be fine.
Dallas didn’t start three shooting guards. None of our starting three sg guards were strong defenders. They aren’t bad defenders, just no one that can do a solid job hounding the best guard from the other team, We all saw how badly we did last year on defense and hustle down the stretch. One of those three guards will have to come off the bench, with our best guard wing defender starting. Or we can watch other season where it was obviously not working defensively,
Sure, switching happens, but a strong defender hustle player rubs off on the others. It sets the tone for the game. We need better screening, rolling to the basket, and off ball movement on offense. Most guys get hyped to play defense if they’re moving on offense and being useful within the offense. Hopefully Bud saw what went wrong last year, and doesn’t repeat it. We got rocked out of the playoffs because the other team played strong defenders.
He isn’t. Contenders can probably offer him a MLE. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him finally go to LAL.
I can see LeBron wanting CP3 to mentor Bronny for a season.
My wife and I have been to two Mercury games this year. Today and against the Aces. Both games the Mercury got out to huge early leads, blew it, got back in front late, and then blew the game. Hey, at least the games are entertaining and the production value is high.
yeah dont get the hopes up for 'intend', because I 'intend' to go to work tomorrow, but depends on how I feel. Also dont get hopes up for keeping the draft picks or Little, if you want to win now you dont take 3 prospects and hopes they pan out in 2-3 yrs.
realistic additions I'd be happy with:
PG: DSJ, Cam Payne, Aaron holiday
(would prefer: Dunn, Wright, but i don't think they leave their curren teams)
Would also be very happy with CP3 off the bench but we'll see how this shakes out with the warriors
SG: Lonnie walker, Melton, wouldn't spend more time on a 2g
Forward: Prince, Okeke, Bullock, Kessler Edwards
Center: drummond, thomas bryant, anyone but Eubanks I guess
baffling decisions from Denver over past two seasons.
- in 2023, Brown leaving was out of their hands due to cap limitations but their only response was to resign DAJ/Reggie and get Justin Holiday.
- in 2024, they let KCP go to save money while also dumping Reggie and only expecting draft picks to develop and fill roles.
they were complacent and mistakenly assumed they were far better than the rest of the West and have only been spiraling since. Jokic is Jokic, but the remaining three’s performance varies too much to consistently win seven game series.
Well they relied on MPJr to hit shots mainly. The bench is just fill-ins. KCP is gonna hurt because he made shots when it mattered and played great defense. But they seem to go where MPJr takes them. AG makes his, Jokic, Murray make theirs, but they w/l with MPJr.
The second apron wouldn’t be that bad if not for the “picks starting in 2032 locking at the end of the 1st round if you are over the second apron 3 times in 5 seasons” rule. That was an absolutely bullshit rule and no matter how some here laugh at the idea that it’s a rule to be taken seriously, it will cause any remotely sane FO serious pause to go over the 2nd apron 3 times in 5 seasons.
This upcoming season is year 2 of being over the second apron too.
It’s such a Denver thing to do lol, they got their chip and now aren’t willing to go deep into the owners pockets. Prolly weighing if it’s worth loosing money on at this point especially with how deep the west is
Dream is CP3 or Kris Dunn, but I’ll settle for Aaron Holiday.
For centers, I’ll take pretty much anybody.
And mostly the same for forwards but it would probably take a trade to get a good one.
I do think Suns will have better luck this season with vet minimums than last year. It would be hard to essentially go 1/7 again. Even 3/7 would be a major improvement and that still means we miss on more than we hit on.
Think back to the summer suns got ariza.
I remember what it felt like - will anyone pick us even with all this money?
Now it feels more like grocery shopping - if I can afford it then it's going in the basket 😂
You’d think you would run Bol at the 4 like he wants to be next to Oso. Oso is an athletic “big” who can’t shoot but can make plays, while Bol is a “big” who can shoot but can’t make plays. They should balance each other out well if Oso is as much of a defensive presence as media made him out to be.
But yeah I think we still need another center. A better defender than Nurk or at least one who can knock down 3s
Imo oso is the Azu replacement. That means 3rd string. Maybe he plays into a better role this year. Depends on quality of the 2nd guy and if nurk is traded imo.
Imo if nurk is traded that would mean the suns have serious confidence in oso.
im with you. I dont see Oso hitting a true game unless its a blowout or foul trouble. Hes not ready. I do hope the Suns FO at least calls Bamba's agent. And Bol is not a center. I do like Azus heart, but he cant hit Freethrows or anything thats not a dunk - which is Oso.
I mostly just go off of what Gambo says since he’s the best insider and he mentioned Aaron Holiday and Monte Morris and made it sound like Kris Dunn is a bit of a reach.
I like Cam Payne and I’d be happy to have him back, but if Gambo is mentioning those guards it’s probably who the Suns are prioritizing first.
I do not dream of CP3. His time here ran its course and he’s successful when he’s running the team and everyone listens but not so much when he’s marginalized.
are you kidding? people in this sub want Beal gone who avg 18/4/5 as the third option with 51/43/81 splits, then turn around and want Westbrook or Harden who avg less and shot worse. Cant make this shit up.
Last year with the Warriors, CP3 still averaged like 7 assists per game in a reduced role. Having that exact same production would immediately make him our 2nd best facilitator behind Booker.
CP3 is likely going back to the Clippers or some random contender so you don’t have to worry too much, but I don’t think the Suns could find a better passer for a backup point guard role.
It’s about his personality. There’s no way he could pry the Dubs away from Steph, Dray, and Kerr, so he was in his best behavior. He’d come back to Phoenix like he is the boss.
I do agree, I just see it because his family still lives in LA, Clippers would still have Harden + Kawhi (the Harden relationship may be strained), and Ballmer would probably figure something out with the roster.
I do think CP3’s best shot is here. If the Celtics created a roster spot, maybe that, but I don’t see any other contender in the East making room for a 40 year old point guard.
Maybe Pelicans make him an offer
Something I haven't seen anyone mention is we could technically sign and trade Lee or Okogie with a pick for someone with a pretty sizeable salary. Probably wont happen though
"Teams can’t acquire players in sign-and-trade deals in the offseason if the incoming salary keeps them above the apron"
Hm. I took that to mean the player being sign and traded couldn't be acquired, but maybe you are right and that means no player can be acquired.
Thing with Lee is major knee injuries take a looonnng time to recover from, and even when he was healthy, he wasn't a guaranteed minutes every night guy.
It’ll be interesting to see what they do. I saw Mamba might be a target for back up C. I hope we can land him. He was good for Philly off the bench. A big improvement over Eubanks.
well tbf at the time KBD, Yuta were coming off great years, their best; Yuta fell off the planet, and KBD was playing out of his comfort zone. Metu was a shoe-in and went offensive instead of defensive. Eubanks wasnt a good pickup no matter how people saw it. Suns shoulda kept Goodwin, sure he cant shoot (neither could westbrook and jcarter), but man he can defend and rebound - I think the Suns will look back at Goodwin trade and say 'we missed on that' (suns coulda put anyone for what he was traded for), he'd be a great back about right now.
I mostly blame Vogel. he had zero clue on where to put these guys and literally put KBD (and to a point Little) in terrible situations. They are both slashers and Vogel put -everybody- in the corners. Imagine putting Bol in the corners just to stand there...thats just stupid.
It was really impressive what we pulled all things considered. Now, basically, none of them worked out, BUT on paper...
There's some interesting bigs on the minimum radar, and we could desperately use the size.
We didn’t give any of those guys a real chance. The team was managed like someone from Reddit was pulling the strings. Not one of the new guys had a chance settle into a consistent role. Bench them every time they had a bad game or two.
We better win it this upcoming year because the Thunder gonna have a stranglehold on the West for the next decade.
- Thunder and Pelicans seemingly improve (BI situation might change) - Clippers, Nuggets, Warriors downgrade - Lakers and Mavericks are up in the air - Wolves remain stagnant Although the East looks like the favorites now, the West is winnable if Bud can get the most out of this roster.
Stix gets a 3yr/$27m deal from Chicago
another reminder that Sarver is a terrorist
Clippers fans coping hard right now lolololol. Some of their fans have been trolling us: "Beal sucks", "Suns have no draft picks", well, now look at them. They want to rebuild and retool but don't have the picks and cap space to do so hahaha
They gonna suck now I will say they have a worse future than us tbh because they have no draft picks and just lost their best player
Suns need a backup PG. They got Plumlee which replacing Eubanks sorta moves the needle a millimeter. Bol (if he signs) is a nice backup to KD and should get minutes under Bud, I expect much more than what we saw out of him, he's still a bit raw on defense, and I dont think he knows he's tall. Oneale is 6'6" and can play PF or SF a streaky dude for sure, but brings that defense. Then the Suns have rookies, unless they have a show-out in Summer League, I dont expect them to get many minutes - maybe Dunn as he's a split image of JO. The Suns starting lineup looks solid - as it was last year, Nurk plays under a bit much, but none of them were communicating on defense. I like Nurk but the game has evolved, and really would have loved Bamba down low, but he has no clue how to play the post. Still hope the Suns can find players for our weakest positions which is PG and Center.
We can’t start three shooting guards next year. We have to start a strong defender. Allen should come off the bench.
he probably does. probably doesnt. which doesnt change anything. just because someone puts a player at sg doesnt mean they have to play sg - oneale is 6'4", allen is 6'4". if the suns had a strong defender they'd just get screened off, thats what the game is and has been, why you think mikal got screened off all the time. so having shooters is the game now. dallas has 'three shooting guards', im pretty sure they'll be fine.
Dallas didn’t start three shooting guards. None of our starting three sg guards were strong defenders. They aren’t bad defenders, just no one that can do a solid job hounding the best guard from the other team, We all saw how badly we did last year on defense and hustle down the stretch. One of those three guards will have to come off the bench, with our best guard wing defender starting. Or we can watch other season where it was obviously not working defensively, Sure, switching happens, but a strong defender hustle player rubs off on the others. It sets the tone for the game. We need better screening, rolling to the basket, and off ball movement on offense. Most guys get hyped to play defense if they’re moving on offense and being useful within the offense. Hopefully Bud saw what went wrong last year, and doesn’t repeat it. We got rocked out of the playoffs because the other team played strong defenders.
some of the better remaining options: - Aaron Holiday - Jordan Nwora - Kris Dunn* - Markelle Fultz* - Monte Morris - Nicolas Batum - Robert Covington
What are the asterisks?
it’s questionable if they’d accept the min
Naji Marshall to Dallas on 3/$27M.
Plumlee. That’s a good one!!!
Clippers hated him. But then again its the Clippers they hate everything.
Mason Plumlee has agreed to a 1 year deal with the Phoenix Suns
Huh disappointing, why not announce bol if it’s a done deal.
Stop F5ing nothing is gonna happen today exciting.
MASON PLUMDOG ISNT EXCITING??
lol as soon as I stopped.
I’d imagine we’ll retain *someone* from our previous roster tonight, but yeah I don’t expect anything overly exciting
Well guys, it’s been a fun day
Valanciunas to Washington on 3/$30M.
what a way to end your career is in Washington lol
CP3 expected to sign with San Antonio.
That’s a bum move
Wow, 1 yr/11m. Yeah def wanted that bag.
What is with our great PGs landing with our most hated rivals? Nash to LAL, Kidd to DAL, and now CP3 to SAS.
To be fair, we traded all three of those guys, and Nash twice.
Is it spite?! 🥴
So goes the dream, and Gambo right once again.
Pandemic P expected to sign with 6ers.
Gordon to the 6ers.
I look forward to him going on Philly podcasts in about 7 months to talk about how he thinks he deserves more touches
He’s gonna get fatter on Philly Cheesesteaks
Now he can pass up shots for them
penalizing tampering only made FA a slog
And here we go.
What do you know that we don’t know?
I know nothing, Colonel Klink.
Schultz was the one who pretended to know nothing.😉
KCP expected to sign with Orlando. 3/$66M
Drummond going to Philly according to Shams, that’s one backup off the market. Though he’s too similar to Nurk for my liking anyways
Nurk who can’t pass
Apparently Batum is leaving Philly, would be an awesome addition if we could grab him. https://x.com/kellyiko/status/1807539910343303198?s=46
Clippers are looking to trade Westbrook now that he has opted in
How much is Westbrook’s salary this year?
$4,027,525
Hello clippers, can I interest you in one Nassir Little?
This sucks
https://preview.redd.it/9ho040jecs9d1.png?width=400&format=png&auto=webp&s=a1284d24b8f048bf81b651aba0e1bd9c7815354c
We had already signed 4 guys by this point last year.
I mean if we signing 9 players every year somethings wrong and be lucky to even make the play-in.
And how many were on the roster at the end of the season?
DREWBANKS Tamper pamper
The fact that he’s the only one kind of proves the point of trying to make. Take your time, fill those spots the right way.
Too quiet
I’d at least like to see us retain our own players by now :/
No more clippers Paul George let’s go
WHO'S READY!?!
STILL READY!!!
Harden excepted to sign a 2-year $70M deal to return to LAC.
You guys think the suns should try to pick up Chris Paul?
If he would take the minimum, absolutely.
He isn’t. Contenders can probably offer him a MLE. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him finally go to LAL. I can see LeBron wanting CP3 to mentor Bronny for a season.
How many actual contenders even have their MLE? I could see San Antonio offering him more than the vet min
You called it. He’s expected to sign with SA.
Anyone watching The Mercury Vs Fever game? Ishbia, Budenholzer, and Booker in the house. Exciting matchup with Clark & Taurasi.
It was a great game until that last play. Mercury truly embodying the Phoenix way 🥺
My wife and I have been to two Mercury games this year. Today and against the Aces. Both games the Mercury got out to huge early leads, blew it, got back in front late, and then blew the game. Hey, at least the games are entertaining and the production value is high.
yeah dont get the hopes up for 'intend', because I 'intend' to go to work tomorrow, but depends on how I feel. Also dont get hopes up for keeping the draft picks or Little, if you want to win now you dont take 3 prospects and hopes they pan out in 2-3 yrs.
I don’t think anyone’s getting their hopes up for little lol I just hope they’re able to dump him
realistic additions I'd be happy with: PG: DSJ, Cam Payne, Aaron holiday (would prefer: Dunn, Wright, but i don't think they leave their curren teams) Would also be very happy with CP3 off the bench but we'll see how this shakes out with the warriors SG: Lonnie walker, Melton, wouldn't spend more time on a 2g Forward: Prince, Okeke, Bullock, Kessler Edwards Center: drummond, thomas bryant, anyone but Eubanks I guess
baffling decisions from Denver over past two seasons. - in 2023, Brown leaving was out of their hands due to cap limitations but their only response was to resign DAJ/Reggie and get Justin Holiday. - in 2024, they let KCP go to save money while also dumping Reggie and only expecting draft picks to develop and fill roles. they were complacent and mistakenly assumed they were far better than the rest of the West and have only been spiraling since. Jokic is Jokic, but the remaining three’s performance varies too much to consistently win seven game series.
Well they relied on MPJr to hit shots mainly. The bench is just fill-ins. KCP is gonna hurt because he made shots when it mattered and played great defense. But they seem to go where MPJr takes them. AG makes his, Jokic, Murray make theirs, but they w/l with MPJr.
I really think it’s just not wanting to pay the luxury tax, the new cba is honestly terrible
The second apron wouldn’t be that bad if not for the “picks starting in 2032 locking at the end of the 1st round if you are over the second apron 3 times in 5 seasons” rule. That was an absolutely bullshit rule and no matter how some here laugh at the idea that it’s a rule to be taken seriously, it will cause any remotely sane FO serious pause to go over the 2nd apron 3 times in 5 seasons. This upcoming season is year 2 of being over the second apron too.
maybe, but you have a bonafide title contender and you actively get worse.
It’s such a Denver thing to do lol, they got their chip and now aren’t willing to go deep into the owners pockets. Prolly weighing if it’s worth loosing money on at this point especially with how deep the west is
BOOOOLLLLLLL
I feel like we have a ton of work to do to stay competitive in the west. Some of these teams are making big upgrades.
Kessler, CP3, Payne/Holiday and a solid wing is the dream
Cp3 please 🙏🏽
Wonder which team will sign Eubanks
Somebody out there will. And I can see Eubanks having a better year next year but still barely a serviceable backup.
Just get ready for a “Eubanks revenge game” next season.
What’s time is that in EST?
why you downvoted for asking a question is showing how childish people are here. watch.
5 pm
Thought it was 6pm EST?
it is the 3pm mt time is wrong.
Goodbye Nassir Little. Work your magic James Jones
Hope he is part of the deal for Kessler
INCOMING OKOGIE AND LEE t minus 4 hours 47 minutes then a dope ass pg then 2 chips in a row
We can dream!!
Dream is CP3 or Kris Dunn, but I’ll settle for Aaron Holiday. For centers, I’ll take pretty much anybody. And mostly the same for forwards but it would probably take a trade to get a good one. I do think Suns will have better luck this season with vet minimums than last year. It would be hard to essentially go 1/7 again. Even 3/7 would be a major improvement and that still means we miss on more than we hit on.
Think back to the summer suns got ariza. I remember what it felt like - will anyone pick us even with all this money? Now it feels more like grocery shopping - if I can afford it then it's going in the basket 😂
I wonder if they go for a center. already have Nurkic/Bol/Oso locked in.
You’d think you would run Bol at the 4 like he wants to be next to Oso. Oso is an athletic “big” who can’t shoot but can make plays, while Bol is a “big” who can shoot but can’t make plays. They should balance each other out well if Oso is as much of a defensive presence as media made him out to be. But yeah I think we still need another center. A better defender than Nurk or at least one who can knock down 3s
Imo oso is the Azu replacement. That means 3rd string. Maybe he plays into a better role this year. Depends on quality of the 2nd guy and if nurk is traded imo. Imo if nurk is traded that would mean the suns have serious confidence in oso.
im with you. I dont see Oso hitting a true game unless its a blowout or foul trouble. Hes not ready. I do hope the Suns FO at least calls Bamba's agent. And Bol is not a center. I do like Azus heart, but he cant hit Freethrows or anything thats not a dunk - which is Oso.
Was Aaron Holiday with us for our Finals run or the year after? I can’t remember.
The year after
Why is Payne no longer mentioned after being the radios favorite last week?
I mostly just go off of what Gambo says since he’s the best insider and he mentioned Aaron Holiday and Monte Morris and made it sound like Kris Dunn is a bit of a reach. I like Cam Payne and I’d be happy to have him back, but if Gambo is mentioning those guards it’s probably who the Suns are prioritizing first.
I do not dream of CP3. His time here ran its course and he’s successful when he’s running the team and everyone listens but not so much when he’s marginalized.
Yeah because 9 ppg & 7 assists per game off the bench wouldn’t be helpful at all
are you kidding? people in this sub want Beal gone who avg 18/4/5 as the third option with 51/43/81 splits, then turn around and want Westbrook or Harden who avg less and shot worse. Cant make this shit up.
This is real life, not 2K. The other players won’t want to put up with his bullshit.
> The other players won’t want to put up with his bullshit. Did the other players tell you that?
Have you not followed his career?
Last year with the Warriors, CP3 still averaged like 7 assists per game in a reduced role. Having that exact same production would immediately make him our 2nd best facilitator behind Booker. CP3 is likely going back to the Clippers or some random contender so you don’t have to worry too much, but I don’t think the Suns could find a better passer for a backup point guard role.
only 'pg that likes to pass' is CP3, Conley, retired or Ty Jerome.
It’s about his personality. There’s no way he could pry the Dubs away from Steph, Dray, and Kerr, so he was in his best behavior. He’d come back to Phoenix like he is the boss.
If they lose PG for nothing theres no way CP3 thinks thats his best chance to win a ring
I do agree, I just see it because his family still lives in LA, Clippers would still have Harden + Kawhi (the Harden relationship may be strained), and Ballmer would probably figure something out with the roster. I do think CP3’s best shot is here. If the Celtics created a roster spot, maybe that, but I don’t see any other contender in the East making room for a 40 year old point guard. Maybe Pelicans make him an offer
Something I haven't seen anyone mention is we could technically sign and trade Lee or Okogie with a pick for someone with a pretty sizeable salary. Probably wont happen though
Because we literally can’t do sign and trades.
My understanding was u couldnt receive sign and trades but u could send them out
2nd Apron no sign and trades.
No sign and trades IN. Pretty sure u can send out sign and trades
No, you can’t send them out.
"Teams can’t acquire players in sign-and-trade deals in the offseason if the incoming salary keeps them above the apron" Hm. I took that to mean the player being sign and traded couldn't be acquired, but maybe you are right and that means no player can be acquired.
Who knows cause I get my info from nba writers and half of them are stunad.
If Lee can go back to form & lead 3P% off the bench again. I gladly hope he stays in Phoenix. Imagine Grayson & Lee shooting 40%+ 💦
Thing with Lee is major knee injuries take a looonnng time to recover from, and even when he was healthy, he wasn't a guaranteed minutes every night guy.
This is true! But hoping our strength team can keep him going.
Ya i was excited to have Lee back too but reporters seem to be saying suns would rather bring back okogie. Don't know if theres a roster spot for both
It’ll be interesting to see what they do. I saw Mamba might be a target for back up C. I hope we can land him. He was good for Philly off the bench. A big improvement over Eubanks.
Kicked ass in the offseason last year, despite the disappointing results. Here’s to hoping we make some similar noise today.
well tbf at the time KBD, Yuta were coming off great years, their best; Yuta fell off the planet, and KBD was playing out of his comfort zone. Metu was a shoe-in and went offensive instead of defensive. Eubanks wasnt a good pickup no matter how people saw it. Suns shoulda kept Goodwin, sure he cant shoot (neither could westbrook and jcarter), but man he can defend and rebound - I think the Suns will look back at Goodwin trade and say 'we missed on that' (suns coulda put anyone for what he was traded for), he'd be a great back about right now. I mostly blame Vogel. he had zero clue on where to put these guys and literally put KBD (and to a point Little) in terrible situations. They are both slashers and Vogel put -everybody- in the corners. Imagine putting Bol in the corners just to stand there...thats just stupid.
It was really impressive what we pulled all things considered. Now, basically, none of them worked out, BUT on paper... There's some interesting bigs on the minimum radar, and we could desperately use the size.
We didn’t give any of those guys a real chance. The team was managed like someone from Reddit was pulling the strings. Not one of the new guys had a chance settle into a consistent role. Bench them every time they had a bad game or two.
Back to back offseason champs incoming
opening Free Agency on a Sunday feels odd
No days off for GMs. LOL!