2018-19 Season | Point Guard Discussion

[Mainstreet]

The Grizzles have waived PG Kobi Simmons. I doubt if the Suns are interested in another backup PG but he is out there.

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https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/s/simmoko01.html

 

[Big Deal]

Sorry to cause such a stir. I was trying to bring some insight on a question about the personality. Sarver is the CEO and he reports to the owners, most of whom are silent partners. If you follow the money you will see the main owners and how they invest in each other’s companies.

I know you want them to win, trust me, so do I. I will say the Booker contract is more proof than anything, they believe this team will contend.

I’m more upset that Coach D and Kerr are doing amazing in this league. I really hope they got a great coach because it’s really hard to watch poor coaching with a young team.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

The Grizzles have waived PG Kobi Simmons. I doubt if the Suns are interested in another backup PG but he is out there.

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https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/s/simmoko01.html

He stinks

 

[Mainstreet]

He stinks

I think the Suns are fine at backup PG as well. It's hard finding NBA news this time of year.

 

[Superbone]

I totally agree.

Some of the best decisions in life are the ones we don't make. The Suns were wise not to pay him what he wanted. It was the right decision not to keep him. Paying him what he wanted would have hurt the Suns for a long time.

Their mistake was giving Bledsoe what he wanted the previous contract after the hold out.

 

[Mainstreet]

Their mistake was giving Bledsoe what he wanted the previous contract after the hold out.

Yes. The Suns wanted Bledsoe to be a building block. It never worked out.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Their mistake was giving Bledsoe what he wanted the previous contract after the hold out.

They didn't. They raised their offer but it was still below Rich Paul's asking price IIRC. Also, they got him to accept an extra year on the contract which would have worked to our benefit if he'd stayed healthy (I believe). Also, the main reason we raised the offer was the awareness that the salary cap was going to take a huge spike. As it was, his salary was very reasonable for what we thought we'd get from him. We didn't know he was going to get injured again and give up playing defense entirely.

 

[Mainstreet]

They didn't. They raised their offer but it was still below Rich Paul's asking price IIRC. Also, they got him to accept an extra year on the contract which would have worked to our benefit if he'd stayed healthy (I believe). Also, the main reason we raised the offer was the awareness that the salary cap was going to take a huge spike. As it was, his salary was very reasonable for what we thought we'd get from him. We didn't know he was going to get injured again and give up playing defense entirely.

It will be interesting to see how much money Bledsoe gets when he hits free agency next summer.

 

[AzStevenCal]

It will be interesting to see how much money Bledsoe gets when he hits free agency next summer.

Not much, I wouldn't think. His deteriorating knees, his agent, his unwillingness to defend and the fact he hasn't improved as hoped should make for a lean market. He might be able to almost approach his current salary on a 2 or 3 year deal but I wouldn't be surprised if he can't get more than 10M per.

 

[Phrazbit]

Not much, I wouldn't think. His deteriorating knees, his agent, his unwillingness to defend and the fact he hasn't improved as hoped should make for a lean market. He might be able to almost approach his current salary on a 2 or 3 year deal but I wouldn't be surprised if he can't get more than 10M per.

Unless he gets hurt again, which is a distinct possibility, I disagree. Milwaukee will be desperate to stay in contention, they really struggled without him on the court, he was their second best player last year and he's still a plus defender. I also think he will likely have a "contract year" type of season.

He's making 15 million this year, there is no way he's getting the new max, but if he avoids serious injury I think he'll likely get something like 4 years 90 million.

 

[Mainstreet]

Not much, I wouldn't think. His deteriorating knees, his agent, his unwillingness to defend and the fact he hasn't improved as hoped should make for a lean market. He might be able to almost approach his current salary on a 2 or 3 year deal but I wouldn't be surprised if he can't get more than 10M per.

If correct, I wonder how his agent explains this... getting less money.

As I recall, we were afraid the Suns would extend Bledsoe for near the max. However, if Bledsoe and his agent had settled for less, I suspect the Suns might have been tempted to extend him. It's hard to know.

 

[Mainstreet]

Unless he gets hurt again, which is a distinct possibility, I disagree. Milwaukee will be desperate to stay in contention, they really struggled without him on the court, he was their second best player last year and he's still a plus defender. I also think he will likely have a "contract year" type of season.

He's making 15 million this year, there is no way he's getting the new max, but if he avoids serious injury I think he'll likely get something like 4 years 90 million.

More reason to be glad Bledsoe is gone. I wouldn't have wanted the Suns to pay him this much.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Unless he gets hurt again, which is a distinct possibility, I disagree. Milwaukee will be desperate to stay in contention, they really struggled without him on the court, he was their second best player last year and he's still a plus defender. I also think he will likely have a "contract year" type of season.

He's making 15 million this year, there is no way he's getting the new max, but if he avoids serious injury I think he'll likely get something like 4 years 90 million.

You could be right but oh man would I hate to be a Bucks fan with him tied up for another 4 years. Even if he never suffers another injury, the arthritis alone that frequently accompanies his knee problems should really be slowing him down by them.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Lets do a little conjecture here. Igor is a smart coach and understands the point guard position. He is a pg whisperer of sorts. He is also a film freak and I am sure has watch about every minute there is to watch of BK.

So, what did he tell BK when he met with him and talked to him about his role this season?

 

[Hoop Head]

Lets do a little conjecture here. Igor is a smart coach and understands the point guard position. He is a pg whisperer of sorts. He is also a film freak and I am sure has watch about every minute there is to watch of BK.

So, what did he tell BK when he met with him and talked to him about his role this season?

I think he told him to work on his driving ability and ball handling, which will play a role in driving to the basket. There's not a lot he could have him do on his own that will help Knight become the PG that he wants but he did use him as his practice PG with the summer league team. I think that hurt Okobo and Harrison some because they should have seen more reps offensively but that could also explain why their defense looked that good in SL. They were accustomed to playing against a real NBA PG so the SL players they were asked to guard were much easier matchups.

Ideally he told Knight to stop with the midrange shots altogether. He needs to pass out if he loses his dribble, drive to the basket, or take a step or two back for a 3. I imagine he told Knight to watch film on the Jazz last year also to see how Rubio played. Rubio had his worst season in terms of assists per game but he had one of the best years overall since he's been in the league. I think Knight can duplicate that. He's quicker than Rubio and has a much better outside shot. Rubio averaged 13.1 ppg with 5.3 apg, Knight can do that, easily, if he tries and buys in.

 

[Superbone]

They didn't. They raised their offer but it was still below Rich Paul's asking price IIRC. Also, they got him to accept an extra year on the contract which would have worked to our benefit if he'd stayed healthy (I believe). Also, the main reason we raised the offer was the awareness that the salary cap was going to take a huge spike. As it was, his salary was very reasonable for what we thought we'd get from him. We didn't know he was going to get injured again and give up playing defense entirely.

That's not how I remember it but I was never a fan anyway. I was ready to move on at that point. We already had IT in the fold and we would have been fine with just IT and Dragic and it would have alleviated the log jam at PG.

 

[AzStevenCal]

That's not how I remember it but I was never a fan anyway. I was ready to move on at that point. We already had IT in the fold and we would have been fine with just IT and Dragic and it would have alleviated the log jam at PG.

I liked Eric but I was expecting more growth and a lot more defense. I wasn't ready to move on until the trade deadline season before last.

 

[Phrazbit]

You could be right but oh man would I hate to be a Bucks fan with him tied up for another 4 years. Even if he never suffers another injury, the arthritis alone that frequently accompanies his knee problems should really be slowing him down by them.

Totally fair, the best injury history comp for Bledsoe is Wade and Bledsoe had his knee problems pop up earlier in his career and Wade also had a higher foundation to fall from and even with all that Wade has been getting by largely on shot volume and reputation for 3 or 4 years. I would not want to owe a 30 year old Bledsoe 60-80 million bucks, but if you're the Milwaukee Bucks... what do you do? That's gotta be one of the bottom 5 markets in the league, they have a true superstar they need to appease... I don't see how they get a better player than Bledsoe to fill the position, and really, if Bledsoe is healthy and engaged, that's probably one of the better fits with Giannis in the league. When engaged he's an elite defender and a transition beast. I just don't see them finding a better use for their money or a better player at the position. Bledsoe isn't great but he's probably a right around a top 10 pg, even better when he is paired with a guy like Giannis who can take a lot of the play making duty.

There are a lot of variables... if Bledsoe gets hurt again then obviously his market is ruined, he'd become a year to year player. Maaaaaybe Rich Paul gets really really crazy and demands a full max, but I don't see him doing that either because no one else is going to offer Bledsoe the max and he's unrestricted so that fact would become apparent quickly.

So, I'm willing to stake a strong vote of confidence, unless Bledsoe gets injured again, he's getting a raise, probably around near 20 mil a year, maybe more if me makes the all-star team in the garbage East.

 

[95pro]

I liked Eric but I was expecting more growth and a lot more defense. I wasn't ready to move on until the trade deadline season before last.

I remember him being a tenacious defender early on in his stint with the Suns. But I recall him toning it down after his knee surgery, then even more after his second. After that we saw him finishing softer. He also seemed to learn to "fall" differently, a lot of times sliding or rolling onto his back to maybe preserve his knees.

 

[AzStevenCal]

I remember him being a tenacious defender early on in his stint with the Suns. But I recall him toning it down after his knee surgery, then even more after his second. After that we saw him finishing softer. He also seemed to learn to "fall" differently, a lot of times sliding or rolling onto his back to maybe preserve his knees.

Yeah, he went from being a good on ball defender to being a poor on ball defender almost overnight (post surgery). I think his increased minutes had something to do with it too. And you're right, he didn't take it to the hoop as hard as he had. That was probably a good thing though, he hit the floor hard almost every time he drove for awhile there.

 

[Mainstreet]

Lets do a little conjecture here. Igor is a smart coach and understands the point guard position. He is a pg whisperer of sorts. He is also a film freak and I am sure has watch about every minute there is to watch of BK.

So, what did he tell BK when he met with him and talked to him about his role this season?

Perhaps Igor suggested that Brandon has a chance to revive his career and be that point guard many thought he would be when the Suns traded for him. He is still only 26. Also Igor may have told him he is starting with a clean slate and he is the starting point guard unless he proves otherwise.

Although Igor likely wouldn't do it, it wouldn't hurt to hint that Knight is playing for his next contract.

 

[Hoop Head]

So, I'm willing to stake a strong vote of confidence, unless Bledsoe gets injured again, he's getting a raise, probably around near 20 mil a year, maybe more if me makes the all-star team in the garbage East.

Have you seen the PG class for next year? I'd be surprised if Bledsoe gets $20 million or more from anyone outside of the Bucks. I can see $20 million be the max Milwaukee considers also. That's mainly because they're close to the cap and can't replace him for the same price on the open market.

Rubio, Teague, Kemba, George Hill, Collison, D'Angelo Russell, Rozier, IT, Cory Joseph, Dinwiddie, Brogdon, Jeremy Lin, and Patrick Beverly. With Kyrie and Dragic also being able to join the free agent class if they decide to opt out. There are almost too many PG's available and I could see Kyrie being the only one to break $20 million annually, if Bledsoe gets $20 mil it might just be an Ariza type deal for 1 year, a number of players have opted for that route over the last 2 offseason, in 2017 and 2018.

Here's a link, it doesn't show players with options, you need to view their solo salaries and see when they can opt out.
https://www.spotrac.com/nba/free-agents/2019/point-guard/

 

[SirStefan32]

A lot depends on how much money teams have to spend. This was a rather poor off-season from that perspective. Next year should be better. When teams have money, many tend to overpay. I don't think Bledsoe is worth $10M per year, but some team may overpay him. Lakers might be a good example, should they fail to convince a star to join LeBron.

 

[Suns_fan69]

Let the speculation begin.

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[elindholm]

Let the speculation begin.

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Like he was ever not available.