Signings, Trades, Rumors including Suns and NBA

[GatorAZ]

I don't know what to think of him. He's great and then he's far from it. He's younger than Sabonis and at his best, he's probably already a better all around player than Domantas, but there are far too many nights and far too many stretches within a game where he is one of the least impactful players on the Suns team.

I knew that was his MO when he was at Arizona. My final call before the draft was to take him but I had a lot of concerns. That inconsistent output is magnified when you’re making $35m a year.

 

[Finito]

You don’t make 100’s of millions a dollars by being stupid.

Oh sure you do especially when your dad was filthy rich. Let’s not act like he was self made cause he wasn’t at all.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Every rookie in his class has had to deal with Covid or an injury or two. Almost none of them got the extra playoff games he did also which makes up for missing 25 games.

This is his FOURTH season in the league. Excuses need to stop.

I'm not making excuses for his play, I'm making excuses for the decision to not extend him the max. Usually, you have fewer questions about a player as his 4th season starts.

 

[Cheesebeef]

I'm not making excuses for his play, I'm making excuses for the decision to not extend him the max. Usually, you have fewer questions about a player as his 4th season starts.

Ah. My bad on the read there.

He’s just the most frustrating player thus team has ever has.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Ah. My bad on the read there.

He’s just the most frustrating player thus team has ever has.

He is, and so much of our future depends on him. And it's made worse because Devin has never quite become that consistent star that many of us expected of him.

 

[Cheesebeef]

He is, and so much of our future depends on him. And it's made worse because Devin has never quite become that consistent star that many of us expected of him.

Yup. Neither of them are legit SUPER-stars. That’s a dangerous combo to build around. But I don’t know what else they can do.

Man... that draft where we had the second worst record and ended up 6th is such a killer. I love CP3 and all, but if I had a choice between getting CP3 and the 2nd pick in that draft and taking Ja, I’d take Ja.

He’s the alpha, super mega superstar #1 to build around that would make Book and Ayton perfect 2 and 3 stars.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

I'm not making excuses for his play, I'm making excuses for the decision to not extend him the max. Usually, you have fewer questions about a player as his 4th season starts.

I’ll ask this: do you really think your opinion of him would be different if you’d have watched him play all those missed games? I have little doubt his performances would have been just as maddeningly inconsistent. I mean, look at him the past two games. Dreadful. Awful effort. Both ends of the court, except for a one minute spurt at the end of the game.

 

[capologist]

Ah. My bad on the read there.

He’s just the most frustrating player thus team has ever has.

More frustrating than Richard Dumas? He had HOF talent and just threw it away.

 

[Hoop Head]

More frustrating than Richard Dumas? He had HOF talent and just threw it away.

We weren't teased by Dumas' potential for 4 years like Ayton. Also there weren't the same expectations initially. Watching Dumas flame out sucked but it was quick, like a bandaid being ripped off.

 

[AzStevenCal]

I’ll ask this: do you really think your opinion of him would be different if you’d have watched him play all those missed games? I have little doubt his performances would have been just as maddeningly inconsistent. I mean, look at him the past two games. Dreadful. Awful effort. Both ends of the court, except for a one minute spurt at the end of the game.

I'm not really sure what you're looking for here? My point was that the organization had good reason to not offer him a max at the 3 year point.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

I'm not really sure what you're looking for here? My point was that the organization had good reason to not offer him a max at the 3 year point.

Got it. And agreed.

 

[Covert Rain]

I'm not really sure what you're looking for here? My point was that the organization had good reason to not offer him a max at the 3 year point.

What was the good reason? IMO it was all about saving luxury tax dollars. It's that simple. You are either going to pay him now or later and the Suns know it no matter what they say. Ayton's market will be max. Either the Suns are willing to do it or someone else will be. As inconsistent as he has been he is still putting up good numbers compared to his peers at his position. I think we are all frustrated by the lack of consistency and his passiveness at times but he is a max player in this market for his position. It's up to the Suns to decide if it will be them or someone else.

 

[Mainstreet]

What was the good reason? IMO it was all about saving luxury tax dollars. It's that simple. You are either going to pay him now or later. Ayton's market will be max period. Either the Suns are willing to do it or someone else will be. As inconsistent as he has been he is still putting up good numbers compared to his peers at his position. I think we are all frustrated by the lack of consistency and his passiveness at times. Ayton will get his max. It's up to the Suns to decide if it will be them or someone else.

There is a difference in max dollars this summer than if the Suns had given him the Super Max this past summer.

Other teams cannot offer Ayton the Super Max in free agency which would have amounted to around $207 million with bonuses if the Suns had done it.

The Suns only have to match what other teams can offer which will be considerably less.

 

[Chaplin]

What was the good reason? IMO it was all about saving luxury tax dollars. It's that simple. You are either going to pay him now or later and the Suns know it no matter what they say. Ayton's market will be max. Either the Suns are willing to do it or someone else will be. As inconsistent as he has been he is still putting up good numbers compared to his peers at his position. I think we are all frustrated by the lack of consistency and his passiveness at times but he is a max player in this market for his position. It's up to the Suns to decide if it will be them or someone else.

The Suns have been very open about wanting to offer a 3 or 4 year max. The 4-year is likely the least that is going to happen and James Jones on record has said he was willing to pay it. Ayton's group didn't even engage with the Suns because they wanted more than what we were offering.

 

[AzStevenCal]

What was the good reason? IMO it was all about saving luxury tax dollars. It's that simple. You are either going to pay him now or later and the Suns know it no matter what they say. Ayton's market will be max. Either the Suns are willing to do it or someone else will be. As inconsistent as he has been he is still putting up good numbers compared to his peers at his position. I think we are all frustrated by the lack of consistency and his passiveness at times but he is a max player in this market for his position. It's up to the Suns to decide if it will be them or someone else.

Yes, someone will almost definitely pay him the max and it will probably be us. but there was plenty of reasons for us to not hand it out with two years left on his contract given how much time he'd missed and his inconsistent play. His age and his strong playoff performances make him a near lock for the max but anything you can do to reduce the likelikhood you're stuck with a super max for this guy is worth the effort IMO.

 

[Bobster]

More frustrating than Richard Dumas? He had HOF talent and just threw it away.

Richard Dumas. Oliver Miller. Stretch Howard. William Bedford. Tim Perry. Earl Clark. Dragan Bender. Marquese Chriss. Josh Jackson.

Hard to say Ayton is as frustrating as watching those guys.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Richard Dumas. Oliver Miller. Stretch Howard. William Bedford. Tim Perry. Earl Clark. Dragan Bender. Marquese Chriss. Josh Jackson.

Hard to say Ayton is as frustrating as watching those guys.

Dumas was a huge disappointment because of what he did to his career, on the court he brought nothing but hope for the future for me. Oliver Miller, I guess he belongs in the frustrating category although he's closer to Dumas than Ayton, most of the time on the court he was a huge positive for us, it was what he did to his body in the offseason that killed us.

Bedford, Clark, Bender and Chriss should have never been drafted - I never really found them frustrating, just disappointing. I had no idea who Greg Howard was when we drafted him but I never saw anything from him on the court to raise expectations to the point where I'd call him frustrating. Jackson was frustrating, he'd show glimpses of greatness but they were never more than glimpses.

Ayton clearly has the physical gifts to become an all time great. So the fact he can so completely disappear for stretches is hugely frustrating. And his hands? If those don't frustrate you at times, consider applying for sainthood. If he was a lesser force when he was at his best, his frequent disappearances wouldn't be so frustrating.

To be clear, all of these players were frustrating in their own way but we're just talking about being frustrated by a player frequently playing below their level. And in this category, DA dominates. And we pretty much have to give him a max contract and place our hopes for the future in his hands. That's frustrating.

 

[Bobster]

I don't see Ayton as being any less consistent than Bridges, Crowder or even Booker. He's pretty much good for 9-12 rebounds and 15-22 points a night. Probably 2/3rds of his games fall in (or close to) that range. He's shot 50% or better in 23 of his 26 games this year, and over 60% in 17 of them. All this while anchoring the defense.

Booker is all over the map when it comes to shooting this year - in 10 of his 33 games she's shot under 40%, 4 times under 30%. He's had 9 30-point games, but also 7 where he scored under 20 while shooting under 40%. Which isn't to say Booker isn't worth what he's paid, the point is that most players vary from game to game. Sometimes a great deal.

 

[Mainstreet]

There are some reports the Celtics have interest in Jalen Smith.

Dennis Schroder anyone?

Celtics eyeing Suns' Jalen Smith heading into Feb. 10 trade deadline?

Michael Scotto of HoopsHype reported the Celtics have reached out to the Suns about Jalen Smith, the 10th overall pick in 2020 draft.

www.azcentral.com

 

[Chaplin]

There are some reports the Celtics have interest in Jalen Smith.

Dennis Schroder anyone?

Celtics eyeing Suns' Jalen Smith heading into Feb. 10 trade deadline?

Michael Scotto of HoopsHype reported the Celtics have reached out to the Suns about Jalen Smith, the 10th overall pick in 2020 draft.

www.azcentral.com

Dennis Schroder? What makes you even mention that name? There is no way that James Jones and Monty are giving up on Cam Payne. None.

 

[Finito]

There are some reports the Celtics have interest in Jalen Smith.

Dennis Schroder anyone?

Celtics eyeing Suns' Jalen Smith heading into Feb. 10 trade deadline?

Michael Scotto of HoopsHype reported the Celtics have reached out to the Suns about Jalen Smith, the 10th overall pick in 2020 draft.

www.azcentral.com

YES!!!

Chris Paul loves him and the feeling is mutual between those two.

Schroeder isn’t a bad player and if used right can be damn good. He got a raw deal in LA.

 

[Muggz]

We are not trading Ayton.
I'd rather have Stix than Schroder can we trade Nader Hutch and Payton for him lol.
No matter what FLEX says Thad Young is no longer on our radar. Why would we trade Stix for a worse player?
Get bent Pop you took too long and wanted too much enjoy the rest of your season. Cam J? LMAO!

 

[Covert Rain]

Yes, someone will almost definitely pay him the max and it will probably be us. but there was plenty of reasons for us to not hand it out with two years left on his contract given how much time he'd missed and his inconsistent play. His age and his strong playoff performances make him a near lock for the max but anything you can do to reduce the likelikhood you're stuck with a super max for this guy is worth the effort IMO.

I actually don't disagree with this in principle. I just know Sarver. He isn't going to pay some guy if he can avoid the luxury tax and can kick the can down the road. So, even though Ayton's inconsistency is a reality, I am just saying IMO that had little to do with it because the market is the market for Ayton.

 

[Finito]

I don't see Ayton as being any less consistent than Bridges, Crowder or even Booker. He's pretty much good for 9-12 rebounds and 15-22 points a night. Probably 2/3rds of his games fall in (or close to) that range. He's shot 50% or better in 23 of his 26 games this year, and over 60% in 17 of them. All this while anchoring the defense.

Booker is all over the map when it comes to shooting this year - in 10 of his 33 games she's shot under 40%, 4 times under 30%. He's had 9 30-point games, but also 7 where he scored under 20 while shooting under 40%. Which isn't to say Booker isn't worth what he's paid, the point is that most players vary from game to game. Sometimes a great deal.

It’s draft position. The expectations for Ayton are all time great or bust here no in between. Doesn’t matter that in reality him and Paul are the two most consistent guys on the team.

Your 100% right Booker is all over the place this year.

 

[ASUCHRIS]

Dennis Schroder? What makes you even mention that name? There is no way that James Jones and Monty are giving up on Cam Payne. None.

Because he's been better than Cam Payne this year?