Roster ideas and rumors for Suns

Covert Rain

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You could argue that he played pretty much every position except point guard. How much of that 19 minutes do you think he spent at power forward? I didn't think it was very much but I'm not sure how to find positional information. But yes, "if he can contribute" they'll find minutes for a power forward.
It’s the accumulative effect of playing small ball when behind your starters you fall off a cliff. When the teams has their SF out there together with no PF they are trading off covering that position. So when we play sam. Ball? Often enough to hurt us.
 

Covert Rain

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Maybe we'd win game 4 but probably not the series unless by "solid" you mean all star or close to it. And we'd have won game 4 anyway if Paul's injuries hadn't left him in such bad shape (horrible shooting, 7 to 5 turnovers/assists). Also Devin's hamstring and Payton's ankle made Milwaukee's defenders look like superstars.

But a "solid" power forward would help us a lot this season assuming we can keep our guards reasonably healthy. I'd be all for moving Crowder to backup and using Cameron to backup the SF spot and fill in at the 4 when we go smaller. I just don't know how we get that player without giving up a lot. All I see are guys that could maybe fight Cam for minutes and that's not changing our fortune IMO. Unless it's an older power forward that's willing to play sporadic minutes.
100% disagree we needed a star player backing up Crowder/Ayton. We just needed someone competent to hold court.
 

AzStevenCal

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100% disagree we needed a star player backing up Crowder/Ayton. We just needed someone competent to hold court.

I didn't mean backing him up, I meant starting in place of Crowder. And I'm just talking about what I think it would have taken for us to win that game 4 given that Booker, CP3 and Payne were all limited by injuries. Had they not been injured, I think we would have easily survived the loss of Saric and the dominance of their front court over ours.

We went into that series with a huge advantage in the backcourt and an almost as huge disadvantage in the front court. Once we lost our advantage in the backcourt, IMO no way would a typical backup big man have been enough to negate the Bucks superior power forward/center rotation.

It could happen but I'm not expecting our 3 penetrators to all be so (injury) limited in the playoffs again this season. So while I don't think a non-star power forward would have made the difference in the finals last season, I'd be thrilled with this offseason/season if we could add even a run of the mill backup PF to the rotation this year.
 

Covert Rain

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I didn't mean backing him up, I meant starting in place of Crowder. And I'm just talking about what I think it would have taken for us to win that game 4 given that Booker, CP3 and Payne were all limited by injuries. Had they not been injured, I think we would have easily survived the loss of Saric and the dominance of their front court over ours.

We went into that series with a huge advantage in the backcourt and an almost as huge disadvantage in the front court. Once we lost our advantage in the backcourt, IMO no way would a typical backup big man have been enough to negate the Bucks superior power forward/center rotation.

It could happen but I'm not expecting our 3 penetrators to all be so (injury) limited in the playoffs again this season. So while I don't think a non-star power forward would have made the difference in the finals last season, I'd be thrilled with this offseason/season if we could add even a run of the mill backup PF to the rotation this year.
OH OK that makes more sense but we are not going to get a star at that position. I really think we could have gotten it done with another legit big body. Once Crowder left the floor we lacked toughness. When Ayton left the floor it was a turn style in the paint.
 

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Then why aren't the Suns doing anything to address it?
Anytime I have asked who is the player we should addressed it with, you give me a list of laughable scrubs, players we couldn’t afford, or players that were never going to come here… so in sense, anytime you answer my question you also answer your own.
 

Hoop Head

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Anytime I have asked who is the player we should addressed it with, you give me a list of laughable scrubs, players we couldn’t afford, or players that were never going to come here… so in sense, anytime you answer my question you also answer your own.

BuT tHEy StiLL HaVenT aDdReSSeD iT !!
 

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For those who think we're not near the bottom of the league at power forward, I'll just leave this here:



Neither Jae nor Cam is ranked in the top 22 in either forward category. The Suns are the only contender in the Western Conference with that distinction in terms of who they play at the 4.
 
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Mainstreet

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So HoopsHype has the Suns with the 3rd ranked shooting guard in Devin Booker, the 5th ranked point guard in Chris Paul, the 14th ranked small forward in Mikal Bridges and Deandre Ayton has to be ranked in the top 22 as well.

Suns are looking pretty good with Jae Crowder and Cam Johnson by committee at power forward.
 
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Mainstreet

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Also it sounds like some of those power forwards could be considered centers.


By Frank Urbina | September 10, 2021:


Power forward is a somewhat difficult position to break down in the modern NBA due to the versatility the players possess to play either one spot up or one spot down on the positional scale.

So many of the players in the ranking below could easily be considered centers and do spend a lot of their time on the floor as floor-spacing, quick-footed 5s.



 

JerkFace

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For those who think we're not near the bottom of the league at power forward, I'll just leave this here:



Neither Jae nor Cam is ranked in the top 22 in either forward category. The Suns are the only contender in the Western Conference with that distinction in terms of who they play at the 4.

The fact that the writer had Jae Crowder in the “receiving votes” category under the SMALL FORWARDS tells me everything I need to know about the random article and the knowledge of the east coast writer.
 

1Sun

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Also it sounds like some of those power forwards could be considered centers.


By Frank Urbina | September 10, 2021:


Power forward is a somewhat difficult position to break down in the modern NBA due to the versatility the players possess to play either one spot up or one spot down on the positional scale.

So many of the players in the ranking below could easily be considered centers and do spend a lot of their time on the floor as floor-spacing, quick-footed 5s.




That's why I also included the small forward rankings. The Suns are literally the only team among the top NINE in the Western Conference from last season (Jazz have Bojanovic, Clippers have Marcus Morris, Nuggets have Gordon and Porter, Blazers have Covington, Mavericks have Porzingis, Lakers have AD, Grizzlies have JJJ, Warriors have Green) not to have one of the players they play at the 4 ranked in the Top 22 at EITHER forward position. And your reference to Suns players ranked at the other positions only reinforces my point. The one fundamental weakness of this team is glaringly obvious, and yet ownership and management continue to ignore and disregard it.
 

1Sun

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The fact that the writer had Jae Crowder in the “receiving votes” category under the SMALL FORWARDS tells me everything I need to know about the random article and the knowledge of the east coast writer.

What makes you say that? Crowder IS a small forward. The Suns are playing him out of position.
 

JerkFace

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What makes you say that? Crowder IS a small forward. The Suns are playing him out of position.

Seriously? You literally posted an article from some random east coast guy as some sort of proof that the Suns suck because they don’t have a power forward on his top 22 of this list, yet the writer didn’t even have Jae Crowder eligible for the PF list so in theory it could of been a list of the top 100 power forwards and Jae wouldn’t of been on it.
 
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Mainstreet

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Even using the rankings, the Suns come out looking good at all five positions.

It's amazing how the guard rankings (Booker 3rd and Paul 5th) were left out of the equation.

Certainly Ayton will be included in their center rankings.

Again, Bridges (14th small forward) Crowder (mentioned) and Cam Johnson leave the forward position as an area of strength.

Every team has one position they can be stronger. In the NBA, versatility is a plus.
 

Covert Rain

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Even using the rankings, the Suns come out looking good at all five positions.

It's amazing how the guard rankings (Booker 3rd and Paul 5th) were left out of the equation.

Certainly Ayton will be included in their center rankings.

Again, Bridges (14th small forward) Crowder (mentioned) and Cam Johnson leave the forward position as an area of strength.

Every team has one position they can be stronger. In the NBA, versatility is a plus.
You had me until calling the PF a position of strength. It's not. If you have to play by committee it can't be considered a strength. I am not saying we can't get by in the regular season being versatile. The Suns must agree because they have been on the phone trying to shore up that position all offseason.
 

JerkFace

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You had me until calling the PF a position of strength. It's not. If you have to play by committee it can't be considered a strength. I am not saying we can't get by in the regular season being versatile. The Suns must agree because they have been on the phone trying to shore up that position all offseason.
I agree that PF is definitely our weakest position… but I think, comparatively speaking, that our weakest position (PF) is probably still stronger than most teams weakest position.
 

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Crowder has done very well holding down that spot. I think he's passable but he's not a true PF.
If we get a serviceable or better PF sooner rather than later it will make this season a lot easier and may keep our other bigs away from the injury bugs from overuse.
We're gonna miss Dario big time and should address the situation. Imagine Crowder/Cam a real PF and Ayton, that paint is on lock. FU Giannis. FU LessBron. FU Boy George.
Not gonna harp on this anymore we all know what we need. If we go into this season with Stix as the only PF on the roster "everything we want WILL be on the other side of hard"
 
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Mainstreet

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You had me until calling the PF a position of strength. It's not. If you have to play by committee it can't be considered a strength. I am not saying we can't get by in the regular season being versatile. The Suns must agree because they have been on the phone trying to shore up that position all offseason.

A descriptive word such as "competent" or "capable" would have been a better choice on my part.

I do think Jae Crowder and Cam Johnson are satisfactory options at power forward.

One of the reasons I want to add another 4/5 type player is to enable the Suns to play Johnson at small forward when the situation is favorable. I think this may be his best position.

Also the Suns need to add more size and depth at the 4/5. I hope someone that fits the role becomes available.
 

Covert Rain

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A descriptive word such as "competent" or "capable" would have been a better choice on my part.

I do think Jae Crowder and Cam Johnson are satisfactory options at power forward.

One of the reasons I want to add another 4/5 type player is to enable the Suns to play Johnson at small forward when the situation is favorable. I think this may be his best position.

Also the Suns need to add more size and depth at the 4/5. I hope someone that fits the role becomes available.
Again, disagree wholeheartedly Cam Johnson is satisfactory at PF. The Suns don't think so either. I think in small stints when the other team is small? OK. However, we were exposed in the playoffs when we went small. Crowder is satisfactory. That I agree with as long as we have depth behind him. The less we see Cam at PF the better IMO during the playoffs when things slow down.
 
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Mainstreet

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Again, disagree wholeheartedly Cam Johnson is satisfactory at PF. The Suns don't think so either. I think in small stints when the other team is small? OK. However, we were exposed in the playoffs when we went small. Crowder is satisfactory. That I agree with as long as we have depth behind him. The less we see Cam at PF the better IMO during the playoffs when things slow down.

Cam Johnson is satisfactory as a backup power forward unless the Suns can acquire someone better at the 4. We have to deal with reality. At the moment the Suns do not have someone better.

I've been leading the choir since last season for the Suns to acquire more depth at power forward. Maybe you should read some of my posts from last season prior to the trade deadline and during buyouts. I saw the need all last season not to mention this season. There is only so much money to go around.

Hopefully the Suns can find the right player via buyout or trade.
 

Hoop Head

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Again, disagree wholeheartedly Cam Johnson is satisfactory at PF. The Suns don't think so either. I think in small stints when the other team is small? OK. However, we were exposed in the playoffs when we went small. Crowder is satisfactory. That I agree with as long as we have depth behind him. The less we see Cam at PF the better IMO during the playoffs when things slow down.

How do you think the Suns don't believe Cam is a satisfactory PF? He started at PF in the bubble, started at PF during the season, and was the primary sub for Jae the rest of the year. They also haven't rushed out to add someone to take his role, which points towards them viewing Cam as satisfactory, at the least.
 
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Mainstreet

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Crowder has done very well holding down that spot. I think he's passable but he's not a true PF.
If we get a serviceable or better PF sooner rather than later it will make this season a lot easier and may keep our other bigs away from the injury bugs from overuse.
We're gonna miss Dario big time and should address the situation. Imagine Crowder/Cam a real PF and Ayton, that paint is on lock. FU Giannis. FU LessBron. FU Boy George.
Not gonna harp on this anymore we all know what we need. If we go into this season with Stix as the only PF on the roster "everything we want WILL be on the other side of hard"

I think Crowder is fine as the starting power forward as long as the Suns can get the job done by committee off the bench. I'd really like to see Cam Johnson play backup small forward but it is what it is for now.


I've been scouting this guy.
 
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Mainstreet

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Crowder has done very well holding down that spot. I think he's passable but he's not a true PF.
If we get a serviceable or better PF sooner rather than later it will make this season a lot easier and may keep our other bigs away from the injury bugs from overuse.
We're gonna miss Dario big time and should address the situation. Imagine Crowder/Cam a real PF and Ayton, that paint is on lock. FU Giannis. FU LessBron. FU Boy George.
Not gonna harp on this anymore we all know what we need. If we go into this season with Stix as the only PF on the roster "everything we want WILL be on the other side of hard"

I think Crowder is fine as the starting power forward as long as the Suns can get the job done by committee off the bench. I'd really like to see Cam Johnson play backup small forward but it is what it is for now.

I've been scouting this guy. He says he can play power forward. ;)

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95pro

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Grizz plan to waive Gasol, i'm not sure if we'd be interested in his corpse. I'm like 25 for it and 75 against it.
 
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Mainstreet

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Grizz plan to waive Gasol, i'm not sure if we'd be interested in his corpse. I'm like 25 for it and 75 against it.

It's been reported Marc Gasol likely returns to Spain.

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