Suns Sign Tyson Chandler

[johnson]

I disagree that Bledsoe and company wouldn't be attractive to a top guy. Don't you think the Suns have a better supporting cast for Lebron than Cleveland does? I think it's definitely debatable.

I just can't see the Suns leapfrogging any of the teams that were ahead of them last year. Spurs, Rockets, Mavs, Warriors, Clippers, Grizzlies will clearly be superior. Maybe New Orleans and Portland see a slight drop-off, but not enough for the Suns to see the playoffs. It's going to take more than Tyson Chandler for that. And then there's OKC, Utah, and Sacramento, who will all possibly be better.

 

[The Derski]

The Suns should always be a top FA target. We just have been mediocre for the past 5-6 years but that's not us. The suns are used to winning. We have the 4th best record all time. I don't get it. We never tank. .. It's just a rough time to be a Suns fan

 

[GMATCa]

I disagree that Bledsoe and company wouldn't be attractive to a top guy. Don't you think the Suns have a better supporting cast for Lebron than Cleveland does? I think it's definitely debatable.

I just can't see the Suns leapfrogging any of the teams that were ahead of them last year. Spurs, Rockets, Mavs, Warriors, Clippers, Grizzlies will clearly be superior. Maybe New Orleans and Portland see a slight drop-off, but not enough for the Suns to see the playoffs. It's going to take more than Tyson Chandler for that. And then there's OKC, Utah, and Sacramento, who will all possibly be better.

No. Bledsoe is a good player, but he cannot shoot or handle like Kyrie Irving, nor is he any better as a playmaker. Knight is talented, too, but he needs to learn to become more efficient—or else he will not be that valuable. Markieff Morris is, perhaps, a poor man's version of Kevin Love.

When the Cavaliers began the playoffs—before the injuries—I felt that they constituted the most talented team in the NBA.

As you suggest, the Suns' roster fails to distinguish itself from the pack. Therefore, there is no great attraction for an elite free agent looking to win, not when more talented teams such as the Spurs and Rockets are pursuing you. The Suns' roster may have been highly attractive to a young second-tier free agent such as Greg Monroe, but Phoenix gambled on Aldridge and—predictably—lost.

The rosters that tend to be highly attractive are those where a contender already exists, and then the addition of one big star can potentially be the difference-maker in terms of winning it all. Hence Aldridge signed with San Antonio; hence, back in 1992 when he was attempting to force a trade out of Philadelphia, Charles Barkley placed Phoenix on his short-list of desired landing spots. The Suns at that time represented the only NBA team to have won at least 53 regular season games in each of the previous four years, they had been to two Western Conference Finals during that span, they featured arguably the best point guard in the game in Kevin Johnson, they possessed two other perimeter All-Stars in Dan Majerle and Jeff Hornacek, and they featured a forward in Tom Chambers who had made three straight All-Star teams from 1989-1991. They were very good both offensively and defensively, and they played a dynamic, exciting brand of ball. Phoenix ended up surrendering three starters from their '91-'92 team in exchange for Barkley, including their leading scorer, Hornacek, but they still possessed K.J., Majerle, and Chambers, plus a future All-Star in Cedric Ceballos who had displaced Chambers in the Suns' starting lineup late in the season.

That type of situation is roughly analogous to what San Antonio or Houston offers now. The current Suns, conversely, possess enough talent where a top-tier free agent could arrive and reach the playoffs, but not necessarily contend for a championship—at least not right away.

 

[johnson]

I agree with most of what you said and you say it well.

I still think the Cavs supporting case, if superior, is not that much more than the Suns for someone like LBJ. Irving I would only give a slight edge to right now over Bledsoe, but when you add the injury factor, perhaps Bledsoe evens it out by being slightly more durable. Same point with Love v. Markieff. I agree Kieff is like a poor man's version of Love, but I wouldn't bet $ Love would be healthy when you need him...Kieff I would (granted, you can be in jail healthy).

At the end of the day, it's just interesting to discuss re: LBJ...his Cleveland roots make the Suns roster pretty irrelevant.

You nailed it on Aldridge. Suns need to make a playoff run to really put themselves in the running for these guys. They were banking on Aldridge's ego (hoping he cared more about being the man somewhere than winning), but lost out on that.

 

[GMATCa]

I agree with most of what you said and you say it well.

I still think the Cavs supporting case, if superior, is not that much more than the Suns for someone like LBJ. Irving I would only give a slight edge to right now over Bledsoe, but when you add the injury factor, perhaps Bledsoe evens it out by being slightly more durable. Same point with Love v. Markieff. I agree Kieff is like a poor man's version of Love, but I wouldn't bet $ Love would be healthy when you need him...Kieff I would (granted, you can be in jail healthy).

At the end of the day, it's just interesting to discuss re: LBJ...his Cleveland roots make the Suns roster pretty irrelevant.

You nailed it on Aldridge. Suns need to make a playoff run to really put themselves in the running for these guys. They were banking on Aldridge's ego (hoping he cared more about being the man somewhere than winning), but lost out on that.

... right. Ironically, the same type of dynamic ended up playing out with DeAndre Jordan.

The Suns are in something of a Catch-22 right now. As you indicated, they need to make the playoffs to better position themselves for high-caliber free agents, but they also might not be able to make the playoffs without a major free agent addition. The bottom-line last year is that the Suns only constituted a good team when they played strong defense—which was not often enough—and then ran off their defense. I do not foresee matters being any different this upcoming season because any lineup with both Chandler and Warren will be short a shooter and will thus likely prove erratic in half-court settings. But in an open-court game, Warren knows how to score. Overall, Phoenix needs another power forward and, with Marcus Morris and Gerald Green gone, two more shooters.

It's funny, but I think that in terms of the national conversation, Kevin Love went from being overrated to underrated almost overnight. I do not think that he can necessarily be the best player on a team that enjoys significant success, but because his numbers fell in Cleveland—of course they would—and the Cavaliers reached the NBA Finals without him (in a mediocre conference), some seemed to think that he was expendable or even a detriment to Cleveland. The reality, though, is that he provides plenty of versatility and he could have made the difference in the Finals.

Kyrie Irving may be the most talented scoring guard in the game today. Bledsoe is probably better defensively, but Irving can hold his own on that end, as seen in that game-saving block of Stephen Curry at the end of regulation in Game One of the Finals. I don't know if Irving possesses the mentality to carry a club to great success as its best player (meaning a mentality that regularly involves others and maximizes efficiency), but playing alongside James alleviates that responsibility.

Bledsoe is a tremendous athlete, but his offensive skill level and point guard aptitude—while gradually improving—remain mediocre. His explosiveness and athleticism, when combined with his defensive appetite, give him an edge, but I don't know if you can really center an efficient offense around him. That is where Brandon Knight, whose skill level is somewhat higher, comes into play in terms of needing to maximize efficiency through greater discernment. But at some point, Phoenix is going to need an upgrade at one of the forward spots.