Just like the title says, do you think the the Suns will make a move before or at the deadline this year? Ever since McD has been GM he's talked about acquiring assets to make a big move, whether the big move happens now or not is another issue. Do you think they'll try and make a move this year to help secure a playoff spot this year or help things moving forward or will they stand pat. The team has a number of assets but their value is questionable. It depends on what other teams are willing to do and what players they'd be interested in. I know this is just year 2 of the rebuild but with the surprise turnaround last year expectations have been raised and missing the playoffs will be seen as a step back. The team hasn't been selling tickets and most fans don't view the team positively at the moment, a playoff appearance will help that though. It's questionable if the team can maintain their spot right now as is and McD's continued talk of acquiring assets to make a move plus the poor attendance and interest influence him to make a move to help the team now or do they hope for the best? They don't have the cap space to make an impact in free agency this year so a trade is really all that can be done to improve things immediately. I can't see keeping this team together all year and adding another rookie or two help this team move forward next year.
The Suns have been sitting at the 8th seed for a while and are not really gaining ground on anyone ahead of them with the Thunder & Pelicans right on their tail. If it were just the Pelicans then I'd be more optimistic about holding on for a playoff run but with OKC trailing I'm surprised the Suns have been able to hold them off for so long. I don't think anyone can argue that the only reason OKC is behind us now is due to their early injuries which got them off to a really bad start. If they didn't get hit with their early injuries the Suns would be on the outside looking in rather than trying to cling onto their spot.
With Dragic and Green being the main 2 guys who are on expiring deals right now as well as being big pieces in the rotation. Neither is guaranteed to come back and their price may be too steep anyways. Dragic should fetch a better return than Green but Green would have value to a contender looking to add scoring off the bench. Could either of them be moved this year before we lose one or both for nothing in the offseason or hold onto both for a playoff push and hope for the best? They could explore moving other players.
Could the Morrii be moved before their extensions kick in, either both at once or just one of them? How has their ongoing technical problems affected their value? Markieff is way too soft to be the long term answer at PF. He's a consistent score putting up around 15 ppg but is a terrible rebounder on both ends of the court. He’d be a good backup PF but with his attitude on the court now being an issue and cause for concern, would that get worse with a demotion to the bench? His contract is reasonable by itself, even as a first forward off of the bench, but how would he react if the Suns moved his brother? Marcus is a true tweener forward and one who thinks and tries to play like he’s much better than he is. His contract is a little high considering his lack of production and consistency. He’s had maybe a dozen good games this year but in the rest he’s had a negative impact. Like his brother his attitude has been a problem in games giving up free points on technicals. He’s a poor defender at either forward spot, too slow for opposing SF’s and too small and soft for PF’s. Offensively he holds the ball way too long and isn’t productive enough nightly to justify all the shots he throws up. He’s basically making the MLE to appease his brother and he’s not earning it by his on-court production. Is he worth that to appease his brother, who already is having attitude problems of his own?
What about IT's future, I don't see him being content backing up Dragic & Bledsoe for the next 4 years, that's assuming the team does extend Dragic in the offseason. He's on a good priced contract so he should be movable but for what in return and when? Would a contender want him as scoring off the bench or someone else like to have him as a starter? He's the Suns 3rd best player but is coming off the bench because the 2 guys better than him share his position. He provides good insurance in case either Dragic or Bledsoe goes down for a stretch but if they're healthy he's the odd man out. It can be argued his presence has hurt Dragic & Bledsoe's production and play, knowing he's the first guy off of the bench usually in place of one of them. Also he has shifted everyone else out of position since our 3 best players all share the same position, moving guys like Green, Marcus, or Tucker up to PF and Kieff to C to close out games. Sure Hornacek could be blamed for that some but I think he's doing the best with what he has.
Any of the youngsters should be made available, other than Len, if the return helps now without hurting things too much longterm. We are a really young team but we have logjams at both wing positions and PG. We can't develop Bullock, Goodwin, Ennis, and Warren without playing time and there are a number of players ahead of them on the depth chart. I wouldn't want to lose Warren as I think he'll be a solid starter at the least in the future but without freeing up minutes somewhere we won't really know for sure. Throw Plumlee into the mix also as a young player who could get a return of some sort since he's on his rookie contract and a decent backup C. I don't see him taking the starting spot back from Len and of course there were rumors he's been unhappy since the Suns acquired Wright. What could be had in return for any of them either alone or packaged with a rotation player?
The Suns have been sitting at the 8th seed for a while and are not really gaining ground on anyone ahead of them with the Thunder & Pelicans right on their tail. If it were just the Pelicans then I'd be more optimistic about holding on for a playoff run but with OKC trailing I'm surprised the Suns have been able to hold them off for so long. I don't think anyone can argue that the only reason OKC is behind us now is due to their early injuries which got them off to a really bad start. If they didn't get hit with their early injuries the Suns would be on the outside looking in rather than trying to cling onto their spot.
With Dragic and Green being the main 2 guys who are on expiring deals right now as well as being big pieces in the rotation. Neither is guaranteed to come back and their price may be too steep anyways. Dragic should fetch a better return than Green but Green would have value to a contender looking to add scoring off the bench. Could either of them be moved this year before we lose one or both for nothing in the offseason or hold onto both for a playoff push and hope for the best? They could explore moving other players.
Could the Morrii be moved before their extensions kick in, either both at once or just one of them? How has their ongoing technical problems affected their value? Markieff is way too soft to be the long term answer at PF. He's a consistent score putting up around 15 ppg but is a terrible rebounder on both ends of the court. He’d be a good backup PF but with his attitude on the court now being an issue and cause for concern, would that get worse with a demotion to the bench? His contract is reasonable by itself, even as a first forward off of the bench, but how would he react if the Suns moved his brother? Marcus is a true tweener forward and one who thinks and tries to play like he’s much better than he is. His contract is a little high considering his lack of production and consistency. He’s had maybe a dozen good games this year but in the rest he’s had a negative impact. Like his brother his attitude has been a problem in games giving up free points on technicals. He’s a poor defender at either forward spot, too slow for opposing SF’s and too small and soft for PF’s. Offensively he holds the ball way too long and isn’t productive enough nightly to justify all the shots he throws up. He’s basically making the MLE to appease his brother and he’s not earning it by his on-court production. Is he worth that to appease his brother, who already is having attitude problems of his own?
What about IT's future, I don't see him being content backing up Dragic & Bledsoe for the next 4 years, that's assuming the team does extend Dragic in the offseason. He's on a good priced contract so he should be movable but for what in return and when? Would a contender want him as scoring off the bench or someone else like to have him as a starter? He's the Suns 3rd best player but is coming off the bench because the 2 guys better than him share his position. He provides good insurance in case either Dragic or Bledsoe goes down for a stretch but if they're healthy he's the odd man out. It can be argued his presence has hurt Dragic & Bledsoe's production and play, knowing he's the first guy off of the bench usually in place of one of them. Also he has shifted everyone else out of position since our 3 best players all share the same position, moving guys like Green, Marcus, or Tucker up to PF and Kieff to C to close out games. Sure Hornacek could be blamed for that some but I think he's doing the best with what he has.
Any of the youngsters should be made available, other than Len, if the return helps now without hurting things too much longterm. We are a really young team but we have logjams at both wing positions and PG. We can't develop Bullock, Goodwin, Ennis, and Warren without playing time and there are a number of players ahead of them on the depth chart. I wouldn't want to lose Warren as I think he'll be a solid starter at the least in the future but without freeing up minutes somewhere we won't really know for sure. Throw Plumlee into the mix also as a young player who could get a return of some sort since he's on his rookie contract and a decent backup C. I don't see him taking the starting spot back from Len and of course there were rumors he's been unhappy since the Suns acquired Wright. What could be had in return for any of them either alone or packaged with a rotation player?
