The Suns won't win 20 games this year

[bksballer89]

They just traded Gortat, Marshall, Shannon Brown,and some other dude for Emeka Okafor

 

[lakersrule]

And another first rounder in the 2014 draft. They are clearly in tank mode for that #1 pick.

 

[bksballer89]

In cases like this I actually don't mind the lottery because we should not reward a team for clearly tanking for the #1 pick.

 

[lakersrule]

In cases like this I actually don't mind the lottery because we should not reward a team for clearly tanking for the #1 pick.

They could take that a step further and eliminate the current draft lottery. Rather than getting more balls the worse your standing, give all the non-playoff teams the same amount. Purposely tanking would then give you no advantage.

 

[DaBoltsNIsles]

The pick is protected if in the top 12.

There are a bunch of teams by looking at their rosters who are going for the top pick this year. It's sad to see so many teams not trying to win. This is yet another reason I don't watch much NBA basketball.

 

[Orange602]

The Suns are rebuilding, this was a necessary move. They now have 4 potential picks in a loaded draft next year.

 

[wildturkey]

Good trade all around. The Wiz get Gortat, who is more serviceable than Okafor considering he's hurt all the time. DC is hellbent on making the playoffs to save the job of the GM so this move improves their chances. Suns get a draft pick to help them rebuild or package in another trade down the line. If Okafor doesn't play, so what, they were gonna suck anyway and were in full tank mode. If he does play (and plays well), they can trade him again later in the season.

 

[Black Adam]

They just traded Gortat, Marshall, Shannon Brown,and some other dude for Emeka Okafor

What? Seriously? Sounds like a tank for Wiggins job...

 

[tlance]

Good trade all around. The Wiz get Gortat, who is more serviceable than Okafor considering he's hurt all the time. DC is hellbent on making the playoffs to save the job of the GM so this move improves their chances. Suns get a draft pick to help them rebuild or package in another trade down the line. If Okafor doesn't play, so what, they were gonna suck anyway and were in full tank mode. If he does play (and plays well), they can trade him again later in the season.

Not a good trade for the Wizards at all.

They give up a pick and an expiring contract that could turn into a good (not great) FA signing for what? So they can get out of the lottery? This nucleus is not good enough to contend, but they were 1 year and 1 more pick away from possibly getting somewhere. They need a young big to put with Wall, Beal and Porter. Gortat is NOT the answer unless you want to max out as a 4 or 5 seed in a couple years.

Whether or not the Suns are successful in their rebuild depends on a lot of factors, but they at least have a chance to build something real now. I hate franchises who think making the playoffs is the ultimate goal for a season.

Sure, the GM saves his own ass, but in the process sets the franchise back at least 2 years and possibly a whole decade. Unless Beal and Wall both develop into superstars (unlikely) this team is a low end playoff team until they blow it up again.

It sucks to be a Wizards fan.

 

[Arizona_Sting]

ESPN grades-

Phoenix: A

All hail the kings of the 2014 draft. Already, when I projected how much value teams would get from future picks over the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons, the Suns were far ahead of the rest of the league. GM Ryan McDonough has only enhanced that position by adding what could potentially be their fourth first-round pick next June (including a lottery-protected pick from Indiana and a top-13 protected pick from Minnesota) to go along with two more in 2015.

A Gortat trade was not just a likelihood but an inevitability; last month I called him the most likely player in the league to be traded. Entering the final season of his contract, the 29-year-old center did not fit Phoenix's future plans, meaning the Suns had to cash in on his value to a team looking to win now. I figured that might happen closer to the deadline, but Washington's desperation to replace the injured Okafor meant they wanted him right now.

Fine by the Suns. While they give up the outside chance a bidding war among contenders might have pushed up Gortat's value by the deadline, there are many plusses to making this trade now. It gives them a far more valuable pick than they would have gotten from a certain playoff team, with the upside of potentially being in the late lottery (it's top-12 protected this year, then top-10 thereafter, according to Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic). Simulation shows Washington's pick most likely to be 15th or 16th, just outside the lottery.

The deal also conveniently makes Phoenix a weaker team. Okafor's return from a herniated disc in his neck is uncertain, and the Suns certainly won't be in any hurry to put him back on the floor. Until, that is, they have the chance to showcase him before the trade deadline. Since a healthy Okafor is still capable of starting, there's an outside chance Phoenix could flip him again for other expiring contracts and lesser picks.

SCHOENE now projects the Suns winning just 17.2 games, the league's lowest mark. In practice, the Philadelphia 76ers still lead the race to the bottom of the standings, but Phoenix isn't far behind. If the No. 1 overall pick is one of the four they will make next June, the Suns' rebuilding process may not be far from starting to turn around.

 

[Arizona_Sting]

The Suns will land a top 5 pick (their own) and have the Wolves, Wizards and Pacers first rounders next year. 4 1st round picks in a LOADED draft?!? I'll take that anyway. Gortat is decent but not anything special, Brown and Marshall are both scrubs.

@ the OP--- Do you think it's smart to keep Gortat at this point? Really dude... he's a FA next year and this team is rebuilding. It would be foolish to hang onto him.

 

[Hambombs]

The Suns will land a top 5 pick (their own) and have the Wolves, Wizards and Pacers first rounders next year. 4 1st round picks in a LOADED draft?!? I'll take that anyway. Gortat is decent but not anything special, Brown and Marshall are both scrubs.

@ the OP--- Do you think it's smart to keep Gortat at this point? Really dude... he's a FA next year and this team is rebuilding. It would be foolish to hang onto him.

To be fair shanon brown is a nice bench player

 

[Arizona_Sting]

To be fair shanon brown is a nice bench player

Is that why the Wizards already waived him then? Give me a break... the dude rode the bench last year for the Suns... he's got horrible shot selection and the only thing he can do is dunk.

 

[bksballer89]

The Suns will land a top 5 pick (their own) and have the Wolves, Wizards and Pacers first rounders next year. 4 1st round picks in a LOADED draft?!? I'll take that anyway. Gortat is decent but not anything special, Brown and Marshall are both scrubs.

@ the OP--- Do you think it's smart to keep Gortat at this point? Really dude... he's a FA next year and this team is rebuilding. It would be foolish to hang onto him.

It's way too early to call Marshall a scrub. I refuse to call any player a scrub after just 1 year in the league. I need to see someone for 2-3 years to see if they're a scrub or not.

The Wizards pick is lottery protected I believe so the Suns will have 3 picks in the top 20 and one very late in the first round.

 

[Kold]

Tanking is apart of NBA history...and when you know that once in a generation player is coming(along with other really good players), YOU TANK TO GET A GOOD SPOT. Spurs tanked to get Duncan, Cleveland tanked to get Lebron, and so on and so forth. I applaud the Suns for not trying to be a lower seed in the playoffs, all for nothing. You don't want to be the Atlanta Hawks, always stuck in purgatory, getting bounced in the playoffs. Either contend for the title, or contend for the lottery

 

[tlance]

Tanking is apart of NBA history...and when you know that once in a generation player is coming(along with other really good players), YOU TANK TO GET A GOOD SPOT. Spurs tanked to get Duncan, Cleveland tanked to get Lebron, and so on and so forth. I applaud the Suns for not trying to be a lower seed in the playoffs, all for nothing. You don't want to be the Atlanta Hawks, always stuck in purgatory, getting bounced in the playoffs. Either contend for the title, or contend for the lottery

Precisely where the Wizards are heading

 

[Arizona_Sting]

It's way too early to call Marshall a scrub. I refuse to call any player a scrub after just 1 year in the league. I need to see someone for 2-3 years to see if they're a scrub or not.

The Wizards pick is lottery protected I believe so the Suns will have 3 picks in the top 20 and one very late in the first round.

He has no upside whatsoever. If he develops into a decent PG then it'll be a MIRACLE, Marshall is WAY too slow and un-athletic to play in the NBA. When you get cut by TWO teams before entering your second year in the league you know you've done something to leave scouts extremely unimpressed. The Wizards already cut him anyways so he's basically a non-factor in the trade. PHX had 17 players on the roster before making this deal, they had to cut 2 guys eventually.

Right now based off what I've seen on numerous sites for projections and what not, this is what the Suns should end up with...

PHX 1st rounder- (Top 5 pick), MIN 1st rounder- (14-18 range) WASH 1st rounder (14-18 range), and Indiana's 1st rounder (22-27 range)

I doubt they keep all four picks, I could see them packaging them up along with other assets for a star, or to move up in the draft. Either way, they've got a bright future with TONS of cap space and a lot of picks. McDonough knows what he's doing.

 

[Arizona_Sting]

The next disgruntled super star will end up in Phoenix. Too bad we didn't have all these picks a year ago or Harden would be a member of the Suns since he wanted to come to PHX really badly (played at ASU, mother lives in PHX). We just didn't have the assets last year to make it happen.

 

[wildturkey]

Not a good trade for the Wizards at all.

They give up a pick and an expiring contract that could turn into a good (not great) FA signing for what? So they can get out of the lottery? This nucleus is not good enough to contend, but they were 1 year and 1 more pick away from possibly getting somewhere. They need a young big to put with Wall, Beal and Porter. Gortat is NOT the answer unless you want to max out as a 4 or 5 seed in a couple years.

Whether or not the Suns are successful in their rebuild depends on a lot of factors, but they at least have a chance to build something real now. I hate franchises who think making the playoffs is the ultimate goal for a season.

Sure, the GM saves his own ass, but in the process sets the franchise back at least 2 years and possibly a whole decade. Unless Beal and Wall both develop into superstars (unlikely) this team is a low end playoff team until they blow it up again.

It sucks to be a Wizards fan.

Gortat is expiring so you're not losing anything in that respect. The pick is Top 12 protected so they still have some wiggle room if things look bleak around Feb and they can start tanking to keep the pick ala the Warriors 2 years ago. They want to make the playoffs and they had no serviceable big men with Okafor being hurt. That makes it a good trade because now they got one. The Wizards have too much talent to be a top half of the lottery team so shooting for Wiggins or a top pick wasn't gonna happen unless Wall or Beal didn't play/got traded. It's not that bad of a deal and I don't really see what you think they could have done that would dramatically improve themselves

 

[tlance]

It makes them better today, but this core cannot contend. They should not be trying to get incrementally better like they have here. They should be building trade assets/potential cap space to make a deal to acquire the difference making big man they need. Gortat is not it, and giving away valuable trade assets is extremely short sighted.

Making the playoffs with no real chance to win once there is futile.