Suns trade for PF Darius Bazley

AzStevenCal

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I really have high hopes for Bazley. That's the nice thing about adding a new guy you know very little about. Sure, maybe he won't be on the roster next year but until he fails he's an unchecked lottery ticket for most of us.
 

JCSunsfan

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I am reading that this guy has amazing handles for a 6-9 player. Great close out d, hops, ball handling, long, improving outside shot. Yikes. Trying to not get too excited about this player.
 

Mainstreet

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I really have high hopes for Bazley. That's the nice thing about adding a new guy you know very little about. Sure, maybe he won't be on the roster next year but until he fails he's an unchecked lottery ticket for most of us.

Another good thing is Bazley will be a RFA next season, so if the Suns like him, they have the opportunity to match any offer to keep him.
 

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Guys, does someone need to pull up the DJ Strawberry threads to show… Nevermind.

Some of you seem like you have legit higher hopes for the impact an 11th man is going to have than Kevin Durant. what is it? Permanent underdog syndrome because we’ve been bad for so long? Saw the same thing when we took a risk and traded for CP3 and almost to a man, it was the same posters absolutely trashing the trade and decrying losing… Oubre… and a late first round pick.
 

AzStevenCal

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Guys, does someone need to pull up the DJ Strawberry threads to show… Nevermind.

Some of you seem like you have legit higher hopes for the impact an 11th man is going to have than Kevin Durant. what is it? Permanent underdog syndrome because we’ve been bad for so long? Saw the same thing when we took a risk and traded for CP3 and almost to a man, it was the same posters absolutely trashing the trade and decrying losing… Oubre… and a late first round pick.
Yes, I wanted to keep Rubio, Oubre and our pick. Not because I thought they were so valuable but because I didn't want to invest so much of our cap in a player with a history of playoff injuries. I said I was wrong but I have to tell you, I feel a lot less wrong today than I did 2 years ago. For two years now we've seen the same thing from CP3 that Houston and LAC saw before us - a great player that always comes up short (usually due to injury or illness) in the postseason.
 

Proximo

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Guys, does someone need to pull up the DJ Strawberry threads to show… Nevermind.

Some of you seem like you have legit higher hopes for the impact an 11th man is going to have than Kevin Durant. what is it? Permanent underdog syndrome because we’ve been bad for so long? Saw the same thing when we took a risk and traded for CP3 and almost to a man, it was the same posters absolutely trashing the trade and decrying losing… Oubre… and a late first round pick.
What it is for me is I am desperate for a young player who has a chance to develop.
 

Ouchie-Z-Clown

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Yes, I wanted to keep Rubio, Oubre and our pick. Not because I thought they were so valuable but because I didn't want to invest so much of our cap in a player with a history of playoff injuries. I said I was wrong but I have to tell you, I feel a lot less wrong today than I did 2 years ago. For two years now we've seen the same thing from CP3 that Houston and LAC saw before us - a great player that always comes up short (usually due to injury or illness) in the postseason.
We would not have made the finals without that trade. We would not have won a team record 64 games without that trade. I am starting to get the impression that you’d prefer 50 wins per year as long as it’s for a long time with little volatility.
 

Cheesebeef

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Yes, I wanted to keep Rubio, Oubre and our pick. Not because I thought they were so valuable but because I didn't want to invest so much of our cap in a player with a history of playoff injuries. I said I was wrong but I have to tell you, I feel a lot less wrong today than I did 2 years ago. For two years now we've seen the same thing from CP3 that Houston and LAC saw before us - a great player that always comes up short (usually due to injury or illness) in the postseason.
Jesus. We went to the Finals and won 64 games last year. AND beyond that, that trade MADE us into a legit franchise that has put us in a continued position of now ALSO is attracting one of the best players of all time.

NONE OF THAT HAPPENS without that trade. Not only were you wrong in the short term, long term you are as well, continuing to believe the sky has fallen… when everyone else who watches basketball and reports on it now think the sky’s the limit for the Suns.
 

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We would not have made the finals without that trade. We would not have won a team record 64 games without that trade. I am starting to get the impression that you’d prefer 50 wins per year as long as it’s for a long time with little volatility.
We would not be a destination for someone like KD without that trade. We would not be a player in the buyout market and get a Terrence Ross without the KD. Or do the naysayers want to point out how many players we all wanted on the buyout market the last two years that never even gave us the time of day… when we were the best or second best team in basketball.
 

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What it is for me is I am desperate for a young player who has a chance to develop.
Fair enough. I think you’re barking up the wrong tree there. OKC is all about developing youngsters and doing a pretty good job of doing so. So if a guy ain’t progressing there, makes me dubious he can anywhere else.
 

Ouchie-Z-Clown

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Fair enough. I think you’re barking up the wrong tree there. OKC is all about developing youngsters and doing a pretty good job of doing so. So if a guy ain’t progressing there, makes me dubious he can anywhere else.
Where I think you may be wrong is OKC needs players. Suns just need him to be a role player. He can just concentrate on doing the things he can do well. OKC has so many young players they can’t sit on a guy to develop beyond his strengths. They need to give those minutes to a guy who is developing more quickly. If bazley just has to knock down open 3s and be a long defender for brief stints he may be a good role player.
 

AzStevenCal

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We would not have made the finals without that trade. We would not have won a team record 64 games without that trade. I am starting to get the impression that you’d prefer 50 wins per year as long as it’s for a long time with little volatility.
You're last sentence is way off but I agree with the rest of your post.

I want to win it all, I just didn't want us to take our swing too early. For awhile it looked like I was wrong about needing to build our foundation before star hunting what with CP balling out for us. But in the end, we didn't win it all and that's all I really care about. IMO CamJ was still a few years from his peak, Ayton was still a few years from his peak, Bridges wasn't quite ready and CP's sunset was coming all too soon.

Even saying that though, I still loved the trade up until it eventually led to this Durant decision. I've never disliked a Suns decision as much as this one. Not even close. I think it's incredibly foolhardy. That isn't me saying we can't possibly win it all now, it's me saying the risks greatly outweigh our chances of winning it all. And that won't change if we win it all. I'll be happy but I'll still believe we were foolish to not protect one or more of those picks.
 

JCSunsfan

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What it is for me is I am desperate for a young player who has a chance to develop.
Me too. The diamond in the rough story is pretty appealing. It's like a late first round s draft pick.
 

Chaplin

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You're last sentence is way off but I agree with the rest of your post.

I want to win it all, I just didn't want us to take our swing too early. For awhile it looked like I was wrong about needing to build our foundation before star hunting what with CP balling out for us. But in the end, we didn't win it all and that's all I really care about. IMO CamJ was still a few years from his peak, Ayton was still a few years from his peak, Bridges wasn't quite ready and CP's sunset was coming all too soon.

Even saying that though, I still loved the trade up until it eventually led to this Durant decision. I've never disliked a Suns decision as much as this one. Not even close. I think it's incredibly foolhardy. That isn't me saying we can't possibly win it all now, it's me saying the risks greatly outweigh our chances of winning it all. And that won't change if we win it all. I'll be happy but I'll still believe we were foolish to not protect one or more of those picks.
OMG this last paragraph. Do you want a championship or not? Doesn't sound like you care one way or another.

Give me a title, we can become a G-League for all I care after that. Sure, it will suck then but we'll have a ring. And that's all that matters. ALL THAT MATTERS. I think Suns fans are so ingrained with the "best team without a ring" that they've become complacent and are ok with living with that mantra in perpetuity.
 

AzStevenCal

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OMG this last paragraph. Do you want a championship or not? Doesn't sound like you care one way or another.

Give me a title, we can become a G-League for all I care after that. Sure, it will suck then but we'll have a ring. And that's all that matters. ALL THAT MATTERS. I think Suns fans are so ingrained with the "best team without a ring" that they've become complacent and are ok with living with that mantra in perpetuity.
OMG this last paragraph. Do you want a championship or not? Doesn't sound like you care one way or another.

Give me a title, we can become a G-League for all I care after that. Sure, it will suck then but we'll have a ring. And that's all that matters. ALL THAT MATTERS. I think Suns fans are so ingrained with the "best team without a ring" that they've become complacent and are ok with living with that mantra in perpetuity.
I want a championship but no, I don't fall in the nothing else matters group. I'll be thrilled if we win but my life doesn't change just because we win a championship. There's no one on this board that's been a Suns fan longer than I have. Winning it all is very important to me but I don't stop being a Suns fan once that happens.

I watch, enjoy and look forward to every single game we play. I think we marginally increased our chances to win it this year and maybe next while greatly decreasing our chances of winning it anytime in the next decade or so afterward. If I thought that marginally increased chance meant taking us from 2% to 50% maybe I'd feel like the rest of you. But I don't. I think it took us from 2% to 10% because I simply don't believe that CP and Durant can stay healthy.

To sum my feelings up - this trade greatly increased our chances to win it all if we can stay healthy but it greatly reduced our chances of staying healthy enough to win it all.
 

Covert Rain

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I want a championship but no, I don't fall in the nothing else matters group. I'll be thrilled if we win but my life doesn't change just because we win a championship. There's no one on this board that's been a Suns fan longer than I have. Winning it all is very important to me but I don't stop being a Suns fan once that happens.

I watch, enjoy and look forward to every single game we play. I think we marginally increased our chances to win it this year and maybe next while greatly decreasing our chances of winning it anytime in the next decade or so afterward. If I thought that marginally increased chance meant taking us from 2% to 50% maybe I'd feel like the rest of you. But I don't. I think it took us from 2% to 10% because I simply don't believe that CP and Durant can stay healthy.

To sum my feelings up - this trade greatly increased our chances to win it all if we can stay healthy but it greatly reduced our chances of staying healthy enough to win it all.
Nothing else DOES matter. The entire goal is to win a title. It's not about changing lives or anything like that. It's simply about reaching the pinnacle of your sport and striving to be the best at it. I have been a lifelong fan too and if you ask most fans, they will say the same. That's the goal. Even when you finally reach that goal, then the goal becomes to do it again. That's what is great about sports. There is always another run to cheer for with new players and a new team.
 

elindholm

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Fair enough. I think you’re barking up the wrong tree there. OKC is all about developing youngsters and doing a pretty good job of doing so. So if a guy ain’t progressing there, makes me dubious he can anywhere else.

He's due for an extension this summer. Oklahoma City has a ton of young players, some with star potential. The Thunder may have decided that Bazley isn't a priority for their long-term plans and that they weren't going to be willing to spend what it would take to keep him.

On a per-minute basis, Bazley's shots are down this year, but his rebounding is the same and his blocks are up. I don't know why his minutes have been slashed, but it's not as though the potential he showed a couple of years ago is gone.
 

Chaplin

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I want a championship but no, I don't fall in the nothing else matters group. I'll be thrilled if we win but my life doesn't change just because we win a championship. There's no one on this board that's been a Suns fan longer than I have. Winning it all is very important to me but I don't stop being a Suns fan once that happens.

I watch, enjoy and look forward to every single game we play. I think we marginally increased our chances to win it this year and maybe next while greatly decreasing our chances of winning it anytime in the next decade or so afterward. If I thought that marginally increased chance meant taking us from 2% to 50% maybe I'd feel like the rest of you. But I don't. I think it took us from 2% to 10% because I simply don't believe that CP and Durant can stay healthy.

To sum my feelings up - this trade greatly increased our chances to win it all if we can stay healthy but it greatly reduced our chances of staying healthy enough to win it all.
Fair enough.
 

JCSunsfan

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He's due for an extension this summer. Oklahoma City has a ton of young players, some with star potential. The Thunder may have decided that Bazley isn't a priority for their long-term plans and that they weren't going to be willing to spend what it would take to keep him.

On a per-minute basis, Bazley's shots are down this year, but his rebounding is the same and his blocks are up. I don't know why his minutes have been slashed, but it's not as though the potential he showed a couple of years ago is gone.
Sometimes teams make the wrong choice when they have lots of young players. We did it with Stix. OKC has more youth than they can develop.
 

elindholm

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Sometimes teams make the wrong choice when they have lots of young players.
I agree.
We did it with Stix.
I disagree. His offensive numbers have regressed to the mean, and the table someone just posted in another thread shows him to be one of the worst defenders in the league. He wouldn't be contributing for the Suns now, and they wouldn't be figuring out a way to keep him.
 

JCSunsfan

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I agree.

I disagree. His offensive numbers have regressed to the mean, and the table someone just posted in another thread shows him to be one of the worst defenders in the league. He wouldn't be contributing for the Suns now, and they wouldn't be figuring out a way to keep him.
Fair enough. It sure seemed like we made the wrong choice at the time. I wonder what happened to him.
 

JCSunsfan

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So. Doing a little research on OKC sites regarding Baze. The take is that he is very athletic, great handles, fantastic defensive player, but an absolute offensive cancer.

Puts his head down and goes to the rim and ignores his teammates. Sees himself as THE GUY offensively while putting up ill-advised shots.

There we go. A little cold water in the face to bring me back to reality.

I doubt KD, Book, or even Ayton put up with that. He either corrects that or he will ride pine. That's just a mentality thing.
 

Ouchie-Z-Clown

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I want a championship but no, I don't fall in the nothing else matters group. I'll be thrilled if we win but my life doesn't change just because we win a championship. There's no one on this board that's been a Suns fan longer than I have. Winning it all is very important to me but I don't stop being a Suns fan once that happens.

I watch, enjoy and look forward to every single game we play. I think we marginally increased our chances to win it this year and maybe next while greatly decreasing our chances of winning it anytime in the next decade or so afterward. If I thought that marginally increased chance meant taking us from 2% to 50% maybe I'd feel like the rest of you. But I don't. I think it took us from 2% to 10% because I simply don't believe that CP and Durant can stay healthy.

To sum my feelings up - this trade greatly increased our chances to win it all if we can stay healthy but it greatly reduced our chances of staying healthy enough to win it all.
Using your numbers I think it works this way:

Today without trade: 2%
Today with trade: 10% (don’t agree with this, but I said we will play with your numbers)

Future without trade: 2%
Future with trade: 1%

That’s why I do this trade 100/100 times.
 

Ouchie-Z-Clown

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Nothing else DOES matter. The entire goal is to win a title. It's not about changing lives or anything like that. It's simply about reaching the pinnacle of your sport and striving to be the best at it. I have been a lifelong fan too and if you ask most fans, they will say the same. That's the goal. Even when you finally reach that goal, then the goal becomes to do it again. That's what is great about sports. There is always another run to cheer for with new players and a new team.
While I’m agree with you, Steve’s entitled to his reasoning for watching and being a suns fan. Some just want the entertainment. Some (like me) enjoy the entertainment but are driven by the competition. I’m not embarrassed to say the suns have given me a basketball inferiority complex. I just need one to get rid of it.
 

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