Timberwolves @ Suns 1-24-17

[sunsfan88]

I saw that as well but the lane seemed to open and Bledsoe thought he could take it to the basket. Still a bad idea.

He did it again on Towns. Not sure why he thinks he can take Towns to the rim when Towns is probably the 2nd most athletic big man in the game after Davis.

 

[Mainstreet]

Miracle shot by Bledsoe. Once that lane opens he is going for it.

 

[AfroSuns]

Also Chandler has been huge all game long.

Yup, dude has been huge

 

[sunsfan88]

Ah Tyson come on, make Wiggins take the difficult shot...

 

[Mainstreet]

I'm not seeing any way the Suns trade Chandler or Tucker the way they are playing.

 

[Mainstreet]

Tough loss for the Suns. Great defense by Tucker on Wiggins who made the game winning shot at the buzzer. There was nothing he could do about it.

Final: Timberwolves 112- Suns 111

 

[AfroSuns]

Ouch! That was painful

 

[StreetTruckinTitan]

Nice game but good loss.

 

[hsandhu]

Can I say it? I was rooting for Wiggins to make that one, Minnesota is the perfect team to lose to so they draft higher than us.

 

[sunsfan88]

That's a great shot by Wiggins.

Wiggins quite an outstanding midrange game. He's athletic enough to drive and finish at the rim if someone guards him too close.

Overall, great night. Multiple Suns play well and we get the L helping with the ping pong balls.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Perfect loss. Play em close and lose to someone competing for ping pong balls.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Well, unlike a few here I'm not all that happy with this loss and not just because there is a part of me that always wants to win. I would be happy with the close loss if I was convinced that management was planning midseason moves geared towards the future but I don't think that's the case. IMO, this last second loss will just bolster their belief that we've turned a corner and are capable making a run at the playoffs.

I'd have rather we won tonight to increase our chances of making the playoffs or got our butts kicked to get them back into trade mode. I still believe we're much better off in the long run by trading Chandler, Tucker and Bledsoe. Making the playoffs might be great for us too but trying and failing is the worst of both worlds and is a far more likely outcome than actually finishing 8th.

Hopefully we can lose the next 10 or so and re-establish our tanking position and put an end to front office delusions.

 

[Shaggy]

Well, unlike a few here I'm not all that happy with this loss and not just because there is a part of me that always wants to win. I would be happy with the close loss if I was convinced that management was planning midseason moves geared towards the future but I don't think that's the case. IMO, this last second loss will just bolster their belief that we've turned a corner and are capable making a run at the playoffs.

I'd have rather we won tonight to increase our chances of making the playoffs or got our butts kicked to get them back into trade mode. I still believe we're much better off in the long run by trading Chandler, Tucker and Bledsoe. Making the playoffs might be great for us too but trying and failing is the worst of both worlds and is a far more likely outcome than actually finishing 8th.

Hopefully we can lose the next 10 or so and re-establish our tanking position and put an end to front office delusions.

Why would you want them to trade all 3 of them? PJ is mister hussle. He was once again balling out there and kept this team in the game. Bledsoe and Chandler are also key players. Trading all three would set this team back years!

I am also tired of hearing of teams that need to tank to better themselves for next year. I hated reading about it when the Cards were losing, and I don't like hearing about it now with the Suns. I want them to try and make the playoffs. Yeah, I know if they tank, they can get a decent draft pick, but I hate thinking like this. I don't care if they make it into the playoffs limping. I want to watch a team that is willing to win and exciting. Screw next year. Try to make it this year!

Tonight was a exciting game. Damn Wiggins had to pull that shot out of his ace!

 

[AzStevenCal]

Why would you want them to trade all 3 of them? PJ is mister hussle. He was once again balling out there and kept this team in the game. Bledsoe and Chandler are also key players. Trading all three would set this team back years!

I am also tired of hearing of teams that need to tank to better themselves for next year. I hated reading about it when the Cards were losing, and I don't like hearing about it now with the Suns. I want them to try and make the playoffs. Yeah, I know if they tank, they can get a decent draft pick, but I hate thinking like this. I don't care if they make it into the playoffs limping. I want to watch a team that is willing to win and exciting. Screw next year. Try to make it this year!

Tonight was a exciting game. Damn Wiggins had to pull that shot out of his ace!

I'm not usually a proponent of tanking in any sport but in basketball, where your fortunes can turn on the acquisition of one player, it can make sense. Given that the absolute best we could hope for this season is to get blown out in the first round of the playoffs by the Warriors and given that there are a couple of potentially great players in this draft in addition to a handful of all star level prospects, this is the time to do it IMO.

There is no way Chandler will still be viable when we reach the point where we can actually contend for more than a first round exit. Tucker is almost 32 and should lose a little quickness in the next year or two and his trade value is likely higher right now than it ever will be. And remember, he's a free agent after this season and we could well lose him anyway.

Bledsoe is the big question mark especially since he is playing so well most nights but I don't like the idea of giving him his next big payday. Teams in our market size need to avoid those risks much more than the New Yorks of the league. Granted, we still have a couple of years before we are forced to make this decision. But every day brings us one day closer to his 4th Meniscus Surgery, a surgery that is almost guaranteed.

And, on top of all of this is that we have a bunch of kids that need a lot of help. Focusing on their development should take a much higher priority than it has to date. Trying to win games to satisfy the older players is the wrong way to go IMO. Booker, Ulis, Bender, Warren, Chriss, Len and even Jones need a lot of minutes and a lot of attention. I want the coaching staff focused on that rather than everything that goes into trying to squeak out a win each night.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Well, unlike a few here I'm not all that happy with this loss and not just because there is a part of me that always wants to win. I would be happy with the close loss if I was convinced that management was planning midseason moves geared towards the future but I don't think that's the case. IMO, this last second loss will just bolster their belief that we've turned a corner and are capable making a run at the playoffs.

I'd have rather we won tonight to increase our chances of making the playoffs or got our butts kicked to get them back into trade mode. I still believe we're much better off in the long run by trading Chandler, Tucker and Bledsoe. Making the playoffs might be great for us too but trying and failing is the worst of both worlds and is a far more likely outcome than actually finishing 8th.

Hopefully we can lose the next 10 or so and re-establish our tanking position and put an end to front office delusions.

While I agree that trading those guys might be in our best interest, particularly because we are NOT good, they are NOT really youngsters (even Bledsoe), and they all DO have real value to bring back REAL assets, I disagree with your assessment. A loss is a loss in the standings. It gets us no closer to the playoffs but shows we are competitive, which is a good experience for the young guys.

But if you're right, then this is a disaster of a win.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Why would you want them to trade all 3 of them? PJ is mister hussle. He was once again balling out there and kept this team in the game. Bledsoe and Chandler are also key players. Trading all three would set this team back years!

I am also tired of hearing of teams that need to tank to better themselves for next year. I hated reading about it when the Cards were losing, and I don't like hearing about it now with the Suns. I want them to try and make the playoffs. Yeah, I know if they tank, they can get a decent draft pick, but I hate thinking like this. I don't care if they make it into the playoffs limping. I want to watch a team that is willing to win and exciting. Screw next year. Try to make it this year!

Tonight was a exciting game. Damn Wiggins had to pull that shot out of his ace!

Decent draft pick is an egregious understatement. The difference between fultz or ball verses whomever they would get at 12 or 13 (if they just missed playoffs) could be a generational difference. This draft is the draft to lose to win. Your thinking is short-sighted and reflective of the suns thinking that gave us the past few years of dreck.

 

[JCSunsfan]

My first impression after looking at the field is that I don't think this is a two player draft. The best player in this draft could easily be picked at #10.

 

[Chris_Sanders]

Decent draft pick is an egregious understatement. The difference between fultz or ball verses whomever they would get at 12 or 13 (if they just missed playoffs) could be a generational difference. This draft is the draft to lose to win. Your thinking is short-sighted and reflective of the suns thinking that gave us the past few years of dreck.

100% agree.

 

[Chris_Sanders]

My first impression after looking at the field is that I don't think this is a two player draft. The best player in this draft could easily be picked at #10.

Chad Ford has a great article on this for ESPN Insider. After polling GMs, there are 2 five rated players (Superstars, of which only 9 have been graded before) and 5 4 star players (all stars).

 

[Ronin]

Phoenix Suns‏ @Suns
Devin Booker joins Amar’e Stoudemire as the only #Suns to play in the #BBVARisingStars at #NBAAllStar twice.

 

[AzStevenCal]

My first impression after looking at the field is that I don't think this is a two player draft. The best player in this draft could easily be picked at #10.

I love this class but no, I think Fultz and Ball stand alone, far more so than the 2 man class from last season. I'll be thrilled with the number 5 or 7 pick or whatever but 1 or 2 in this draft gives us a much better chance of adding a superstar.

 

[Errntknght]

Somebody in the front office needs to be thinking about the future of this team. We may only be 4.5 games out the 8th spot but we would have to outplay all seven of the other teams that are fighting for that spot, to make it. Climbing over two or three teams is a reasonable undertaking but climbing over seven is a fool's errand. Now we win games because teams take us lightly - the teams that don't take us lightly are the one's down at the bottom of the WC with us and they are beating us quite consistently. If we start climbing up fewer teams will take us lightly so we'll have raise our game more and more to keep it up.

We don't have to tank, all we have to do it play the guys that have a good chance of being contributors a few years down the road, when we have a chance of being competitive for the title. Among the young guys we need to play even the ones we have serious doubts being contributors, Len being a prime example. The sooner we establish they are not, the sooner we can move on to other options.

If we are not going to play Chandler and Tucker like we are currently doing, trading them for value is the only sensible thing to do. We are not cramped on the money end so we could work almost any deal that puts them where they'd be happy to go.

IMO, Bledsoe is on the bubble as I believe he could still be contributor from the backup PG slot for 5-6 more years. Still, as AzSteven points out, his injury history is a major concern - if we don't trade him we ought to cut down his minutes to preserve his knees as much as possible. Its not like we don't know what he's capable of. Another question arises because of this particular draft: the top guys in the draft are PG's so if we get lucky we'll be drafting one of them, thus we have to consider whether Bled or Ulis is the better choice for a backup. I really like Ulis but at this point I couldn't pick him over Bledsoe - that could change if we saw him getting a consistent 20 mpg. (Watson's offense is not a good vehicle for evaluating him, so there is that to worry about.) The reason to favor Ulis is that he might feed Booker, Warren and the post considerably better than Eric can/does. That and his age.

Of course, if someone offers a terrific deal for Bledsoe, we need to take it and thank them. He's almost certainly at his peak value now for a contending team.

 

[Mainstreet]

The Suns are not going to tank. This is not their philosophy. We have seen this before. They are currently the 2nd worst team in the NBA so hopefully they will remain somewhere in that range.

However, I think the Suns have an excellent chance of adding another top ten pick with their slew of draft picks including their own and/or possibly a young player. Also the Suns could use an asset(s) to move up in the draft.

 

[Cheesebeef]

The Suns are not going to tank. This is not their philosophy. We have seen this before. They are currently the 2nd worst team in the NBA so hopefully they will remain somewhere in that range.

However, I think the Suns have an excellent chance of adding another top ten pick with their slew of draft picks including their own and/or possibly a young player. Also the Suns could use an asset(s) to move up in the draft.

No... apparently their philosophy is to always be bad enough not to make it close to being in the playoffs and not bad enough to really give themselves the best chance to get the superstar in the draft that will get them out of purgatory.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Chad Ford has a great article on this for ESPN Insider. After polling GMs, there are 2 five rated players (Superstars, of which only 9 have been graded before) and 5 4 star players (all stars).

I would agree with that. Maybe even a couple more 4 star players.