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Phoenix Suns (Official Thread)

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A regular Suns draft. Get rid of what you can for whatever you can. I'm surprised that Kurt Thomas didn't get moved for a 2025 3rd round pick. I would have liked them to take the Spurs mentality with the first pick and sit on a forgein player for a year or two... or draft Josh McRoberts. Didn't happen... instead Sarver gets 3 million in his pocket. Alando Tucker I think is a great pick, but, get comfortable on the bench. He's a winner and a decorated player, but, they have enough guys to take the "shots". He doesn't come from a very similar offense either, so it'll be an adjustment with the Suns up tempo play. I don't know that the pick made great sense, especially with the possibility of getting a Grant Hill on a min contract. Who knows what kind of talks happened, it would have been nice to make a move for Jason Smith. They don't have enough big bodies on the bench.
 
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<H1 class=topHeadline>Jones heads to Portland
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Paul Coro
The Arizona Republic
Jun. 29, 2007 10:56 AM
The Suns agreed Thursday night to a trade that will send swingman James Jones to Portland as part of the deal that had the Trail Blazers buying Phoenix's 24th pick for $3 million.

Portland is allowed to take a player without returning one because they acquired a trade exception in the Zach Randolph deal with the New York Knicks.

The deal, confirmed by two league sources, may not become official until next week because of pending physicals.

The move is another one to help reduce the Suns' luxury tax next year. Jones was slated to make $2.9 million this season and $3.15 million in the final year of his contract in 2008-09.

Jones, 26, played the past two seasons for the Suns in the role of long-distance shooter and sound defender. He played 18.1 minutes per game last season and averaged 6.4 points on 36.8 percent field-goal shooting, including 37.8 percent on three-pointers
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At first I was pissed at this. I like James Jones, although he was streaky. And again... they get nothing but cash, not even future considerations. The Suns better make some strong free agent moves. Last year was B.S. Eric freakin Piatowski and Marcus Frickin Banks. Neither even played in the playoffs and probably combined for a little under 10 million in cap room. I hope Kerr makes some smart moves. I know they have great interest in PJ Brown and some in Grant Hill. I personally would have rathered them move a non-contributer like Piatowski, Banks or even Jumaine Jones instead of James. Fourteen your thoughts?
 
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Alando Tucker
Who: Suns? first-round draft pick
Pos: Forward
Ht/Wt: 6-6, 205 pounds
Age: 23
College: Wisconsin
Background: Tucker earned Big Ten player of the year honors with the Badgers and was a first team All-American according to The Associated Press. He is Wisconsin?s all-time leading scorer (2,217), surpassing ex-Sun Michael Finley for the top spot on the list. He holds seven school records, including games played (134) and started (126), field goals (798), free throws (520), free throw attempts (817) and offensive rebounds. As a junior, was the first Badger to lead the Big Ten in scoring in 46 years (Dan Rehfeldt, 1950) when he averaged 19.0 points in 2005-06, then upped that total to 19.9 as a senior.
Scouting report: An incredible athlete whose running and leaping ability fit the Suns perfectly. A strong offensive rebounder and defender who plays bigger than his size. Not a good perimeter shooter, which is his major weakness. A smart, tough player who is used to making baskets with the game on the line.

D.J. Strawberry
Who: Suns? second-round draft pick.
Pos: Guard
Ht/Wt: 6-5, 201 pounds
Age: 22
College: Maryland
Background: Scored in double figures in all 25 Maryland wins as a senior, earning second-team All-ACC honors ? Collected 200 steals in his four-year career and is known for his quick hands. ? Son of former major league baseball star Darryl Strawberry ? Rebounded from a serious knee injury as a sophomore to play 66 games in his junior and senior seasons, averaging 14.9 points and 3.5 assists.
Scouting report: A suffocating defender on the perimeter who shows great quickness and lateral movement.
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And BTW I'm happy with Strawberry. He has a good shot at making the team as a great defender. I'm pulling for him.
 
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<H1 class=topHeadline>Grant Hill becomes focus
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Paul Coro
The Arizona Republic
Jun. 29, 2007 09:58 PM
Phoenix's roster moves could end in a hurry if Grant Hill says yes to the Suns.

He will get his first chance today when the Suns make him their free agency priority with the first allowable phone call at 9 p.m. Sources in each conference said they believe Phoenix tops Hill's list, which also includes San Antonio, Detroit, Toronto and Orlando.

NBA teams can begin recruiting and negotiating with free agents tonight but cannot sign them until July 11.

Once Suns first-round draft pick Alando Tucker signs his contract and James Jones' trade to Portland is official, Phoenix will have 10 players under contract for the upcoming season.

Kurt Thomas exercised his $8.1 million option. With Sean Marks expected to re-sign with the team, a veteran's minimum contract to Hill would give Phoenix 12 players toward the 13-player minimum. It likely won't go beyond 13 players with Phoenix facing a $7 million luxury tax, second only to New York. One spot would remain open for flexibility, and second-rounder D.J. Strawberry could get it.

Hill, who was in the Valley recently, said on ESPN radio on June 12 that Phoenix would be a better fit than San Antonio. He said his priorities were style of play, title contention and light practices because of his injury history. Hill, 34, averaged 14.4 points on 52 percent shooting in 65 games last season in Orlando but missed 265 games in the previous five years.

Hill also would fit Phoenix's priorities as a versatile, high-character veteran. The Suns can't comment on free agents but General Manager Steve Kerr shared his approach.

"We'd like to add some experience," Kerr said. "We just added two rookies who are going to be raw and they're not going to know what's going on out there so we'd like to balance that out with guys who have been there . . . or I should say a player that's been there before. I don't know that we're going to sign more than one player based on our numbers.

"If we get what we're after, then we'll be thrilled."

A veteran's minimum contract for Hill would be $1,219,590, $448,980 of which comes from a league fund for veterans. Hill is coming off a seven-year, $92 million deal.

Kerr said Phoenix is unlikely to chase free agent big men.

"The way our team is, who Mike (D'Antoni) plays, you can always talk about, 'Let's go get a big,' " Kerr said. "But a big's probably not going to play. If he was going to play, he wouldn't be a free agent or he'd be in the market for big dollars. We're looking for versatility."
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Another special team in the making.
 
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I'll have to defer to you on the James Jones deal. I know you've said you were a big fan of his. I think giving him up for money is a little strange. We'll have to see what they wind up using that money for. Alondo Tucker is a good player, but he's from Wiscy (the most boring, slow, non-Phx offense you can find in college ball). It may take him awhile to get used to the system, plus the knock on him is that he can't shoot. We need a shooter! IMO they can wheel and deal and change guards and forwards until they are blue in the face and it won't make much difference as long as Nash is on the point. If they are going to beat SA, they need a big guy. It's that simple. The Suns have been a top two or three team in the west off an on for the last 10 years but haven't been able to break through. What's the one thing that none of those teams have had? A DOMINATE BIG MAN. enough said
 
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Suns' big-man search goes on

The Suns have one remaining roster spot open and will fill it with a big man by the end of the month.

Looking to fill the frontcourt void created when they traded Kurt Thomas and his $8 million contract to Seattle, the Suns held workouts this week with free agents Elton Brown, Vitaly Potapenko and Michael Ruffin.

Phoenix hopes to bring in Brian Skinner next week and has scouted Esteban Batista.
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I do think a 70 win season is with in reach if everyone stays healthy. They are definetly the favorites. I think adding an athletic big man is huge right now. They need someone that can give them quality minutes.
Grant Hill is in a perfect enviroment, he will flourish. And I think the addition of Tucker and Strawberry will be productive. We need to get deeper into the bench to be successful.
 
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Here we go Suns fans or uh... (14th). Is this year our year? Last year the cheap antics by the Spurs and Robert Horry changed the outcome of everything. It's arguable that if Nash didn't get slammed into the scorers table, there could be back-2-back talk. The Suns are even stronger this year. Goodbye Kurt Thomas and James Jones. Hello Alando Tucker, DJ Strawberry, Brian Skinner and the crown jewel.... Grant Hill. The team will be deeper and have a better defensive presense this year. Raja Bell, Shawn Marion and Strawberry all are unbelieveable defenders. They still lack an inside presense and will continue to outscore you instead. Brian Skinner will do his best job of replacing Kurt Thomas. Marcus Banks, who was a signed last year and did nothing, should have a turn around season. He put up huge numbers in summer leauge averaging over 30 ppg. Diaw also looks to rebound from an off year to help Amare up front. Grant Hill will add depth and play the most minutes with Raja, Boris, Amare, Nasher, Lenardo, Matrix and Skinner. Running at least 8-9 deep should be an upgrade from the 6-7 last year. More to come....
 
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DJ Strawberry is working himself into the line-up more than first round pick Alando Tucker. Strawberry is said to be NBA ready with his defense. That should help nice in the playoffs.
 
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