2023-24 Season Discussion and Speculation 4 - A Rocky Start

[NapoleonII]

Next time I go to LA Fitness to play pick up... i'm going to require everyone to give me background checks before we play.

You really aren't equipped for conversation, are you?

Let me make this simpler - your "daughter" goes to a game with you and sees Miles Bridges playing, a lot of fans are booing him every time he touches the ball and she asks you why.

What do you say?

He did some bad things outside of basketball and people are soft. He can ball though, look at how good he is.

Nah, people like you are the soft ones. In olden times, people like Miles (and you, it sounds like) would be cast from the village and made to hack it alone.

The rest of us depend on moral frameworks and being decent to one another.

Dude can do a thousand different things to feed his children, he’s not wearing a jersey of the best league.

[NapoleonII]

It's baffling to me how many men argue against Me Too (or any woman claiming abuse, for that matter) by saying one should be proven guilty in a court of law.

Then a court of law deems this dude a villain, a child abuser to boot, and now you want him to play on your team?

Lmao.

[SunsRback4Good]

Sunskerr lurking

Spoiler:

No homo just happy to see you

[NapoleonII]

All the annoying details are on Wikipedia actually in personal life section (California records are impossible to get)

Bridges pled no contest to felony DV and got 3 years probation.

The allegations in the indictment were strangulation, brain concussion, nasal bone fracture, rib bruise, all in front of their two children.

[NapoleonII]

He then violated probation in October by throwing billiard balls at her car while the kids were in the car

This guy has tons of fatality markers.

Meaning his ex is at high risk of being murdered by him.

[SunsRback4Good]

Bridges is a scum I wouldn’t want him close to our team. But given Matt Ishbia’s ties to MSU it’s a possibility that Miles may end up here. At this point I’d rather trade for Pat Bev or Miles Bridges if had to choose between the two.

[DirtyDez]

All the annoying details are on Wikipedia actually in personal life section (California records are impossible to get)

Bridges pled no contest to felony DV and got 3 years probation.

The allegations in the indictment were strangulation, brain concussion, nasal bone fracture, rib bruise, all in front of their two children.

Still trying to figure out how a no-contest plea to felony assault doesn’t result in jail time.

[Golanator]

We have a trade exception for $4,975,371 from the Dario Saric trade that expires on Thursday.

For a team with no cap flexibility and very few trade assets, I hope we use it. Take on a salary in that range to potentially flip down the line.

[Son of Ra]

Honestly disgusted by the discussion about Bridges the last few pages. It's insane he's not in jail or that he's employed in the league at all. Maybe this comes with age or, dunno, having a moral compass and not being an ****.

Stix you sound like you're one reply away from claiming she probably deserved it. Appalling.

[Golanator]

Honestly disgusted by the discussion about Bridges the last few pages. It's insane he's not in jail or that he's employed in the league at all. Maybe this comes with age or, dunno, having a moral compass and not being an ****.

Stix you sound like you're one reply away from claiming she probably deserved it. Appalling.

wHo CAreS hE cAn puT ThE oRANGe tHInG iN THe BAskeT

[dremill24]

We have a trade exception for $4,975,371 from the Dario Saric trade that expires on Thursday.

For a team with no cap flexibility and very few trade assets, I hope we use it. Take on a salary in that range to potentially flip down the line.

It depends on who they're trying to get and what they cost. They're so limited on assets that they might have to use either the Payne or Saric TPE, as opposed to both since they might not have the assets to send for two different guys. So they might let that expire to use the larger Payne one for a guy who makes more. Or they might not use either because the guy they want makes too much so they have to package salary (Little, minimums, etc.) instead.

[Golanator]

We have a trade exception for $4,975,371 from the Dario Saric trade that expires on Thursday.

For a team with no cap flexibility and very few trade assets, I hope we use it. Take on a salary in that range to potentially flip down the line.

It depends on who they're trying to get and what they cost. They're so limited on assets that they might have to use either the Payne or Saric TPE, as opposed to both since they might not have the assets to send for two different guys. So they might let that expire to use the larger Payne one for a guy who makes more. Or they might not use either because the guy they want makes too much so they have to package salary (Little, minimums, etc.) instead.

I hear you and that makes sense, I just hate letting our very minimal assets go away for nothing.

I was also talking about taking on a dude for free. Say James Bouknight for example if the Hornets owner wants to save some money. He makes under the Saric TPE and has a team option for $6,064,496 next season. That could be useful for a flip this summer. We can cut Yuta or Goodwin to make room.

I want to use the Payne TPE this summer too. We just have more time for that one since it doesn't expire in 6 days.

[bwgood77]

Not a Suns post but I was thinking about the Rockets and how the early season/offseason talk was that they went and signed vets too quickly which might trap them/accelerate their progress at the expense of a lower ceiling ala Sacramento and I don't know if it's true.

They have a franchise guy it looks like in Sengun, and the other prospects in Smith, Eason, and Whitmore look promising. Now Green the last few weeks is turning the corner. Amen Thompson hasn't shown much nor has he been able to play his way into the rotation, but with those other five guys he will not even have to develop a multifaceted offensive game (defensively for him the sky is the limit). That's six core guys with varying levels of potential all looking like viable NBA prospects.

Time will tell, as all NBA teams are experiments and you can only test things with time. But it looks to be the opposite of what was said in the offseason - the Rockets look like they have enough for the future. My guess is that Whitmore becomes the #2 star after Sengun, but Green, Smith, and Thompson also have that potential.

Or maybe they all just suck next year who knows.

They suck. Their offseason was terrible. They signed 2 of the worst volume shooters in recent history. One of them is a SG in a small PGs body, and getting old. The other is just an asss, like in general - antics withouth substance. Barf.
They got lucky in 2 things: One, Sengun grew about 2 inches and developed very good during the summer. If those don't happen he is a good, young, poor mans Sabonis. Now he is a legit C, with the same skills as Sabonis, which actually makes him a better player (in the near future anyways).
Two: their two new signings (who are actually not good at shooting) started the year off white-hot for some reason. I mean Brooks was leading the league at one point in 3point %. His previous seasons were 30% and 32% - even now that he is returning to the mean is at 39%. That is just not sustainable, it never was.
If one or two of their youngsters turn out to be something they still have a chance to get better, and build a core around Sengun, but they will have to drop FVV and Brooks - preferably a year before their contract expiry for a pick or something.

I really like their future. In the article I posted some stuff about, I found this interesting:

And the decision to say no to James Harden, whose long-rumored reunion with the Rockets didn’t happen last summer because Udoka preferred the fit with VanVleet, was another strong sign Udoka’s voice mattered a great deal from the start.

I love Sengun and Jabari Smith Jr, and Jalen Green is coming on. I think FVV fits in nicely and they still will have a great D. Since they were rumored to really want Bridges, I bet they end up getting DFS or possibly O'Neale.

I think a FVV/Green/DFS/Smith Jr/Sengun lineup is tough.

Then when they get Adams healthy next year (and they got him for scraps), their D will take a huge step...with a very nice 3 man big rotation.

[bwgood77]

Baffling how ya'll complain about Miles Bridges off-court issues as if they effect his ability to do anything on the court. So quick to defend Mr. Brad Glass who eats up a ton of cap which is why we don't have any flexibility when it comes to trades. But then... " i don't want Bridges cuz he is a wife beater! waaaa" when we realistically couldn't trade for a better player (even at rental) because Brad Beal is making 46+mil this year to be a mediocre shooter and disinterested "star" going through the motions.

I disagree about Brad Beal, mainly because of the circumstances we were in and I thought we'd end up with nothing for a washed Paul and Shamet, and end up losing them and still being over the cap. I don't care about how much Ish pays in luxury tax.

But I agree about Bridges. I'm a fan of the Suns on court product. I am not a fan obviously of what Bridges has done, but we'd have him for a half year for now which would help.

[bwgood77]

It's amazing how talent trumps what you have done in the past. Kobe (raping is worse than beating, whether or not you didn't "think you were raping"...and he admitted she thought different than he did)...it gets settled out of court. And he's an icon. Ray Lewis very likely killed someone...and is a legend. Now I hate Kobe for that abhorrent behavior, and one time being caught probably means it happened often. Anyway, would I say I don't want Kobe or Ray Lewis on my team? If they are going to improve the on court product, that is what I am a fan of. He's an exciting player too. MIke Tyson too....he was in movies after raping someone, though of course he had been in prison, and also beat the crap out of his wife...I think said it was the hardest punch he's ever thrown.

These guys are entitled....and most are respectful, but I imagine it happens a lot. Doesn't excuse anything, but Kidd was another example. I know Colangelo traded him for Marbury, which shows he wasn't about it, but then again the Nets went from an ok team to a finals team with the trade, and Marbury made us far worse than Kidd. Imagine if we had Kidd in the first few years of Amare with Marion and JJ.

[Fo-Real]

I know current basketball is a weird subject here lately but, dose anyone think we are holding Bol out of play until the deadline is over so no one asks him to be thrown in on a trade??

[Saberestar]

I know current basketball is a weird subject here lately but, dose anyone think we are holding Bol out of play until the deadline is over so no one asks him to be thrown in on a trade??

I don't think so, he was having some pain but he says he is OK and pain free for the last few days.

He is probable for tonight's game.

[Son of Ra]

It's amazing how talent trumps what you have done in the past. Kobe (raping is worse than beating, whether or not you didn't "think you were raping"...and he admitted she thought different than he did)...it gets settled out of court. And he's an icon. Ray Lewis very likely killed someone...and is a legend. Now I hate Kobe for that abhorrent behavior, and one time being caught probably means it happened often. Anyway, would I say I don't want Kobe or Ray Lewis on my team? If they are going to improve the on court product, that is what I am a fan of. He's an exciting player too. MIke Tyson too....he was in movies after raping someone, though of course he had been in prison, and also beat the crap out of his wife...I think said it was the hardest punch he's ever thrown.

These guys are entitled....and most are respectful, but I imagine it happens a lot. Doesn't excuse anything, but Kidd was another example. I know Colangelo traded him for Marbury, which shows he wasn't about it, but then again the Nets went from an ok team to a finals team with the trade, and Marbury made us far worse than Kidd. Imagine if we had Kidd in the first few years of Amare with Marion and JJ.

Doesn't excuse anything yet you're doing just that?

Your reply is basically "aww, shucks, that's how it's always been, guess there's nothing you can do about it".

Some of you need to take a good look in the mirror. That includes everyone debating whether his skillet justifies overlooking his actions. I'm not even taking prime **** Karl Malone for free. This is a hobby, a past time and even if it weren't morality shouldn't change...
I'm not trying to play moral police here but this stuff isn't even debatable.

I'm not engaging in this conversation anymore but I'm genuinely shocked that this is apparently ok for so many in 2024. Looks like the male psyche is still stuck in he 50s.

[bwgood77]

It's amazing how talent trumps what you have done in the past. Kobe (raping is worse than beating, whether or not you didn't "think you were raping"...and he admitted she thought different than he did)...it gets settled out of court. And he's an icon. Ray Lewis very likely killed someone...and is a legend. Now I hate Kobe for that abhorrent behavior, and one time being caught probably means it happened often. Anyway, would I say I don't want Kobe or Ray Lewis on my team? If they are going to improve the on court product, that is what I am a fan of. He's an exciting player too. MIke Tyson too....he was in movies after raping someone, though of course he had been in prison, and also beat the crap out of his wife...I think said it was the hardest punch he's ever thrown.

These guys are entitled....and most are respectful, but I imagine it happens a lot. Doesn't excuse anything, but Kidd was another example. I know Colangelo traded him for Marbury, which shows he wasn't about it, but then again the Nets went from an ok team to a finals team with the trade, and Marbury made us far worse than Kidd. Imagine if we had Kidd in the first few years of Amare with Marion and JJ.

Doesn't excuse anything yet you're doing just that?

Your reply is basically "aww, shucks, that's how it's always been, guess there's nothing you can do about it".

Some of you need to take a good look in the mirror. That includes everyone debating whether his skillet justifies overlooking his actions. I'm not even taking prime **** Karl Malone for free. This is a hobby, a past time and even if it weren't morality shouldn't change...
I'm not trying to play moral police here but this stuff isn't even debatable.

I'm not engaging in this conversation anymore but I'm genuinely shocked that this is apparently ok for so many in 2024. Looks like the male psyche is still stuck in he 50s.

I never said it's ok, but I am pulling for basketball play. I am not paying these guys. Would I hire them with this background? No. I am pulling for the Suns to win a championship in what may be a full window. He was punished by the league and is on probation, so if he screws up he is done. He missed a whole season.

I don't know all the details either, and I'm never quick to judge someone unless I know all the facts. But even his wife has backtracked.....there is no real reason for me to call her out for bull.

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[Stix]

Also...
Landry Shamet last year was 37.7% from 3pt. Chris Paul 37.5%.

Brad Beal this year from 3... 34.7%.

Also about flexility from the Beal trade...
Its a lot easier to trade Paul at basically an expiring 30mil (last year is non-guaranteed) and Shamet at 9mil than it is to trade Mr. Glass and his street clothes at $46+mil (increasing every year - WITH A NO TRADE CLAUSE) for 4 years, is it not?