Suns updates and discussion for the 2021-22 season

[Covert Rain]

Devin Booker comes in 15 and Chis Paul 13 in ESPN's top 100. The Suns have other players in the top 100 like Deandre Ayton, IIRC, at 37.

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NBArank 2021: Ranking the best players for 2021-22, from 25 to 6

The Point God, a Brooklyn duo and the reigning MVP mark the highlights as our annual NBA player rankings continue.

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If Devin had been a tad more consistent taking over games I could have easily seen in him the top 10. However, I think 15 is fair.

 

[AzStevenCal]

If Devin had been a tad more consistent taking over games I could have easily seen in him the top 10. However, I think 15 is fair.

Yeah, I think he should be better but he hasn't been.

 

[1Sun]

If Devin had been a tad more consistent taking over games I could have easily seen in him the top 10. However, I think 15 is fair.

I think if we had another inside scoring option alongside Ayton, we wouldn't need to rely so much on Devin taking over games.

 

[Mainstreet]

If Devin had been a tad more consistent taking over games I could have easily seen in him the top 10. However, I think 15 is fair.

Some of these players are so close I don't worry about a few spots in the rankings. I'm good with it.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Some of these players are so close I don't worry about a few spots in the rankings. I'm good with it.

Agreed. At a certain point it’s a little bit of personal preference. When you look at a beak, a Mitchell, a butler, a Booker, you’re likely talking degrees.

 

[Mainstreet]

Suns add Michael Ruffin as an assistant coach.

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[Hoop Head]

Suns add Michael Ruffin as an assistant coach.

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Does anyone remember Trevor Ruffin from the 90's Suns? He was one of my favorite deep bench players. I thought he'd be a stud if given the chance.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Does anyone remember Trevor Ruffin from the 90's Suns? He was one of my favorite deep bench players. I thought he'd be a stud if given the chance.

I do remember the name but just barely. It's probably blocked out because when I hear the name Ruffin I can only think of David and Jimmy, two great singers (and brothers) whose careers peaked in the 60's.

I looked him up and it says he backed up KJ and Elliot Perry in the 94 season which explains why I can't really picture him. NBA League Pass didn't start until the next year so I only got to see the Suns play a few times that season.

 

[Hoop Head]

I do remember the name but just barely. It's probably blocked out because when I hear the name Ruffin I can only think of David and Jimmy, two great singers (and brothers) whose careers peaked in the 60's.

I looked him up and it says he backed up KJ and Elliot Perry in the 94 season which explains why I can't really picture him. NBA League Pass didn't start until the next year so I only got to see the Suns play a few times that season.

He reminded me of an ASU player at that time, Steve Smith. Might have been Steven Smith. He had a good 3pt shot but don't recall him being much of a playmaker. Both were undersized SG's in PG bodies. That was before teams really gave guys like that much of shot. They'd try to turn them into PG's or cut their losses.

 

[AzStevenCal]

He reminded me of an ASU player at that time, Steve Smith. Might have been Steven Smith. He had a good 3pt shot but don't recall him being much of a playmaker. Both were undersized SG's in PG bodies. That was before teams really gave guys like that much of shot. They'd try to turn them into PG's or cut their losses.

Are we talking about Stevin Hedake Smith, the guy who set the ASU basketball program back several years? He could score but unfortunately point shaving is frowned on unless you're playing in the SEC (j/k).

 

[Muggz]

Does anyone remember Trevor Ruffin from the 90's Suns? He was one of my favorite deep bench players. I thought he'd be a stud if given the chance.

Of course I remember, lil fella scrappy. Named a dog after him.

 

[Hoop Head]

Are we talking about Stevin Hedake Smith, the guy who set the ASU basketball program back several years? He could score but unfortunately point shaving is frowned on unless you're playing in the SEC (j/k).

Yeah, I remember thinking their games were similar. Of course I was young back then, about 10, so I didn't have a clue about any of the point sharing stuff that went down. I just remember Smith, and Ruffin, being 3pt bombers.

 

[Mainstreet]

Does anyone remember Trevor Ruffin from the 90's Suns? He was one of my favorite deep bench players. I thought he'd be a stud if given the chance.

Mostly I remember the name. As I recall he didn't get much playing time. His stats would indicate he should have had more than a two year NBA career.

 

[Hoop Head]

Mostly I remember the name. As I recall he didn't get much playing time. His stats would indicate he should have had more than a two year NBA career.

I just looked up some more info on him, he was selected off the Suns by the Grizzlies back during the expansion draft. So that's part of why he didn't last here. He was waived by Vancouver and had a solid year in Philly before vanishing.

Like I said it was his me first offense that kept him from doing more. He was like 5 years too early. It wasn't until Iverson came into the league and was successful that teams started letting small SG's be themselves instead of forcing them to play PG.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Does anyone know or remember if you can buy games ala carte with NBA.com or League Pass? We’re on national TV 30 something times already this year so not sure I want to buy the whole Suns package again if you can pick and choose which games to buy on a given night.

 

[Mainstreet]

I'm still waiting to see if the locally televised games will still be on Bally Sports and carried on DirecTV.

If not, I'm going to look at steaming options.

 

[Mainstreet]

Suns do not need to extend Deandre Ayton or Mikal Bridges until October 18th which is the deadline.

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[Cheesebeef]

Suns do not need to extend Deandre Ayton or Mikal Bridges until October 18th which is the deadline.

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Thanks for the non info Flex!

 

[Brian in Mesa]

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[Hoop Head]

Flex can now claim the NBA is considering pushing back the start of training camp to allow Booker time to return.

 

[Phrazbit]

Does anyone remember Trevor Ruffin from the 90's Suns? He was one of my favorite deep bench players. I thought he'd be a stud if given the chance.

lol, first thing I thought of when I saw the name.

If 'young me' remembers correctly, Ruffin was a 3pt deadeye in NBA Live 95.

 

[Phrazbit]

A total tangent from the thread, but I just looked up Ruffin's stats... and poor guy was born about 20 years too soon. He MIGHT have made a half mil over his career in the 90s, a player of his mold today would pull about 5 to 10 times that a year.

 

[1Sun]

A total tangent from the thread, but I just looked up Ruffin's stats... and poor guy was born about 20 years too soon. He MIGHT have made a half mil over his career in the 90s, a player of his mold today would pull about 5 to 10 times that a year.

The game really hasn't changed as much as you think it has. Look at the champions over the last decade. The only outlier is the Warriors team that had the best shooting backcourt in NBA history.

 

[Phrazbit]

The game really hasn't changed as much as you think it has. Look at the champions over the last decade. The only outlier is the Warriors team that had the best shooting backcourt in NBA history.

Yeah, forwards that play like point guards, virtually zero teams using 2 post players at once, the amount of 3 pointers attempted per game are only triple what they were, centers shoot threes.

It's basically the same.

 

[1Sun]

Yeah, forwards that play like point guards, virtually zero teams using 2 post players at once, the amount of 3 pointers attempted per game are only triple what they were, centers shoot threes.

It's basically the same.

The Bucks used 2 post players at once when they won it all. So did the Lakers, the Raptors, the Cavs, the LeBron Heat, the Spurs. Need I go on?...