Lord Darth Hunter Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 Dragic is a prime example of why the NBA keeps having lockouts. He is in no way a "max player." The Lakers, Knicks or any other team would be stupid to give him a max contract. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Lohr Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 And money seems to be a primary factor (along with maybe nightlife), considering that all three of his apparent primary choices (N.Y., Miami, and the Lakers) are all worse than the Suns. Winning doesn't seem to be a big concern, so that tells you something about Dragic that perhaps we couldn't see before. It's also ironic that he claims that this is largely because of the Suns system and that he "just wants the ball in his hands" - yet, his first choices include playing with either Kobe Bryant or Carmelo Anthony. Yes, we know how much those guys love to defer to their point guard. I just read that the Suns are "pissed" at how Dragic has handled this and are now looking to package his brother along in any deals. Hey, I understand being pissed (I am, too!), but that makes me wonder why we should do something that will only make him happier? Keep Zoran, maybe he'll prove useful. If not, at least they won't be together the rest of the year. Then you can release him before next season and force whatever team has/is trying to sign Goran to decide if they should take on his brother, too. I think I'm of the mind that they should trade Thomas, if it can improve other areas (Taj Gibson would be nice - and if G. Green were included, the Bulls may go for it). Then keep Dragic and, as one local writer put it, call his bluff. Perhaps it'll be addition by subtraction and things will be smoother in the backcourt (with a hopefully improved frontcourt, to boot). Maybe that will make Dragic happier and think twice about his stance in the summer. The money the Suns can offer will also make him rethink things, judging on how his priorities appear. If he still wants out - or, just as importantly - if the Suns don't see enough the rest of this season to warrant giving Dragic that kind of money, then so be it. This team still has talent and assets and can go a different direction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pong Messiah Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 I agree. And, though I've never really considered myself a true Blazers fan, I have to say how much I loved that starting lineup back then: him, Buck, Glide, and TP. Well, alright, 80% of that starting lineup. At least the remaining part allowed my dad to go around saying his favorite sports-related joke: "What's a Duckworth? Not much!". *rimshot* *sigh* I'd like to think that maybe Dad's up there telling Jerome that very joke right about now. In Duck's defense: while TP could reliably hit 3s and Clyde could get hot at times, it wasn't a great starting lineup from a shooting standpoint; while it was odd and often frowned upon (at least at the time) to see a big man with such a soft touch on short/mid-range jumpers, he was actually a good fit for that lineup. And with Kersey and Williams (and sometimes Clyde), it's not like Duckworth needed to be a top-tier rebounder/defender. Of course he was flawed; I'd never choose Duckworth over Olajuwon or Sabonis, but I think that he was more of a net positive than he got credit for. ------- So Kersey died from a blood clot, maybe from surgery. Ugh. Local social media has been surreal this morning. Jerome Kersey stayed in Portland, and remained a public figure after retirement. It seems like everybody has a story about bumping into him, about how he was one of the friendliest, most genuine guys you could ever come across, how he would give his time to talk basketball with even the most casual fan. This isn't a criticism of Clyde Drexler, but I always got the impression he took his position as public figure/role model very seriously, and he obviously had his "Clyde Persona" on when he was out and about. Like he was the kind of guy who would help an old lady cross the street not 'cause she was an old lady who needed help across the street, but because he knew he was being watched by some kids and it would serve as a lesson for them about good citizenship. Does that make any sense? I dunno if it does. Regardless, there is nothing WRONG with that -- the old lady gets helped either way, so it's good stuff. I guess there's just a bit of artifice about it, and for me as a fan, it created a sense of distance. With Kersey, you never got that feeling of distance. He always came off as simply... himself, and people loved him for it. I think it's hard to understand if you didn't grow up in Portland, but it literally feels like half the city lost a great old friend today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Lohr Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 [Probable unneeded clarification: "liking" the sentiment, not the cause] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Lohr Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 Sean Deveney ✔ @SeanDeveneyFollowSuns holding firm to preference for Isaiah Thomas trade, Im told. Dragic supposed to be heir to Steve Nash, Sarver wants to keep it that way11:22 AM - 19 Feb 2015 I agree - but we have 19 minutes to make that happen. Stop talking to the media, Sarver, and move, man, move!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucas1138 Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 The Bulls would never give up Taj Gibson for Thomas/Green. Everrrrr. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucas1138 Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 I'm more curious what the hell the suns are waiting on with Miami's deal. I'll laugh so hard if they refuse to move him and he leaves for nothing in July. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucas1138 Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 There it is. Dragic to MiamiReggie Jackson to DetroitEnes Kanter to OKCBrook Lopez to nowhere, a trade deadline tradition unlike any other. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Metropolis Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 I don't know how excited I am about getting Dragic. What I do know is that our point guard play this year has been atrocious. So it's definitely an upgrade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucas1138 Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 Twitter is super fun right now. Isiah Thomas is on the 76ers and the Celtics right now- but definitely not the Suns Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Lohr Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 Yeah, I'm hearing on local radio that Thomas is gone and Brandon Knight is headed here. Among other things...details are still coming in. And I'm still confused. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Lohr Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 Both Dragic brothers, Thomas, and Plumlee just got taken from the team bus to talk to Hornacek. (And MCW seems to be headed to Milwaukee. Thank goodness it's not here. Brandon Knight will either make a great backup...or will they continue to try the two-PG thing? We shall see. Losing the fricking Lakers pick hurts, though, either way.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Lohr Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 Met, assuming the names I've heard coming over here are accurate, is there any potential there? I know Granger is a shell of what he was and a crap-shoot on any given night, Shawne Williams...has a pulse, and (from what I know) Cole seems like he might be able to handle back-up duties, if needed. I know nothing about Justin Hamilton, the only young guy. Any hope of something developing there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Metropolis Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 Granger is done! He will have a good game here and there, but he just isn't physically capable. Shawne Williams is a great spot up shooter, but his defense put him on the bench when we had no one coming off the bench who could give you 6-10 points here and there. Sucks because he was a spark early in the season. Justin Hamilton? Potential but he couldn't play well enough to stay in the floor. Scary when the Heat had noooooooooo depth, especially because of injury. Funny we had to take the brother as well. What's also funny is that Heat fans have come out of the wood works to talk trash. I can't blame them though. Watching the numerous second half collapses this year, especially to weak teams, was enough to kill your spirits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Lohr Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 So, it seems that not all of those guys are actually coming here. In addition to what that article says, we apparently are also getting Marcus Thornton (and, as I said above, the Lakers' pick is no longer ours. *sigh*). Not sure how I feel about all of this. There's going to be a whole lot of wait and see involved. Knight is preferable to Thomas, but maybe not worth giving up what could very well have been a top ten pick this coming draft. The picks are really all that we got for Dragic that's likely to really help - and who knows when those are coming or how high they'll be, at this point. [Edit: local media now saying that those two picks are "way in the future". Awesome.]* [Edit #2: seems we're also getting the Cavs' 2016 1st rounder. So...yeah.] *(Update: 2017 Top 7-protected...and unprotected 2021. 2...0...2...1.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Metropolis Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 Funny thing is that I don't follow college basketball any less than I did 10-15 years ago. I probably follow it more because Miami has been more relevant in recent years. For the life if me though i couldn't tell you who more than half the guys in this years draft were. The Heat since Riley has been in charge haven't really used the draft with the exception of Wade and Caron Butler. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Metropolis Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 And as has been typical this season, Bosh is out for tomorrow's game with the flu. The Heat's original projected lineup before the season started had only played a grand total of 9 minutes this year before McBob had season ending surgery. Rumors were he was part of the Dragic deal but that didn't happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Lohr Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 The media seems to be very happy with the Suns' day. ESPN's Chris Broussard was just on local radio and called the job they did today "admirable". Me, not so much. The more I think about it, the less happy I am. Collectively, in a boiled down essence, we're looking at Dragic, Thomas, and a top ten pick for Knight. That's it for the near future. The soonest pick isn't coming until 2016 and that's likely to be pretty late in the first round, considering it's from the Cavs. It's another year after that before we might get a Miami pick and the guy we'll get with the Heat's other pick...is currently in the sixth grade. Individually, I'm not crazy about the trades, either. Those two Miami picks seem like a pretty small return for a guy that was 3rd team All-NBA last year. Still, Dragic (as noted above) sabotaged the Suns ability to get fair return. Given the circumstances, including the fact that the team feared Dragic would be a distraction if he stayed, there probably wasn't a better deal to be had, though. So, we then have to wonder if Thomas, 1st round pick Tyler Ennis and a (probable) top ten draft pick is worth Knight and a (probable) late 1st round draft pick. It seems Thomas "needed" to go, as insider reports today are saying that Thomas' attitude made the team regret getting him almost instantly. Again, addition by subtraction. However, Ennis (according to recent reports) has been showing real improvement and that pick has been a source of real hope ever since we said goodbye to Steve Nash. Further more, it remains to be seen how Knight will fair here. He was reportedly disappointed to be going from being "the man" in Milwaukee to being the Suns new SG/backup PG. Plus, he'll be a RFA and already turned down a sizeable chunk of money from the Bucks. So, even if he's happy and play well here, we could end up having another summer like we did last year with Bledsoe. Joy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Lohr Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 (This is not all to say I think McDonough did a bad job, I'm just disappointed in general. A year ago, I felt like the team was making major strides and a piece or two away from being dangerous, again. Now, we're back to waiting and hoping - and likely years away from anything meaningful.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Choc Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 The problem with a max contract is that it actually drives guys up to the max level. For instance, lets say the max is roughy 20 mil. Dragic isn't worth 20 mil, he could be worth 14 mil or 15 or whatever but hes not worth 20. There could be several teams who value him in that range, but it just takes one to say "screw it, we can't do much with that 5 mil anyway, lets get the guy we want." And they offer him the 20. If there were no max, obviously one team would offer more but they probably wouldn't offer that 20 mil a year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Lohr Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 And with the cap size expected to increase significantly, it's only getting worse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Choc Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 I wouldn't say it's better or worse. It is what it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Metropolis Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 With the cap going up, rumored to be around $120 mil, you are going to have a baseball like situation where .240 hitters with a little pop can get 10 million a year. It also means you can have a team with 3 max players and still have room to fill out a roster. A team like Philly is going to have to overpay their unproven talent to get to the cap floor, and when time comes for one of them to bolt they'll be over priced on the open market. Nonoffense to MKW, but I still don't know why he won rookie of the year. Because they had to give it somebody I guess. But he'll get a large deal in a couple of years because they have to pay him something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Metropolis Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 Bosh might be out for the season with blood clots in his lungs. This season has been trying. You want to root but you don't know what to root for. Not how anyone wanted the post 6 era to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Metropolis Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 Apparently his condition is good and he should be okay. He will miss the rest of the season, but that's small potatoes when you think about Jerome Kearsy dying last week from blood clots. I didn't realize Anderson Varejao missed time because of that as well. Kinda takes me back to when Chris Sims for the Bucs had the ruptured spleen. We thought at the game that he just shook off a hard hit and toughed it out. It wasn't until we got home that we learned he was rushed to the hospital immediately after the game and that he could have died on the field. Luckily St. Joes is right there by the stadium. Sports is a release for fans. You don't think about how these guys are human as well until we endure one of these situations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts