PHX Suns thread 2010-11

[CKR13]

Amare Stoudemire opts out and will be a free agent. With that development, Suns are interested in signing David Lee to a long term contract nearing Max amount.

[mayfel]

frye will stay with the suns

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=Argbsd1g7A0vieFZL4wikwW8vLYF?slug=ys-fryesuns070110

[CKR13]

Still a decent signing (Frye). I hope Frye will rebound more as he really fell in love with standing beyond the arc and wait for Nash / Dragic for the pass and let it fly. At the start of the season, Frye was waxing hot on his 3pt% and during the later half, his 3pt% fell and he fell out of the rotation on some games.

[CKR13]

Frye's deal is worth $30 Million on a five year span.

Warrick's deal is worth $18 Million on a span of four years.

With the recent signing of Frye and Warrick, the Suns payroll is around $50 Million ( Not counting the non-guaranteed deals of T.Griffin and D.Jones)

Grant Hill's $3.7 M expiring contract and Jason Richardson's $14.4 M expiring contracts are tempting deals for teams wanting to clear cap space for the 2011 summer.

[CKR13]

Suns lineup

as of this date

Under Contract

Jason Richardson
Steve Nash
Leandro Barbosa
Grant Hill
Robin Lopez
Goran Dragic
Earl Clark
Jared Dudley
Channing Frye
Hakim Warrick

Personnel with Non-Guaranteed Deals

Taylor Griffin
Dwayne Jones

Drafted Rookies (Has yet to sign)

Gani Lawal
Dwayne Collins

[CKR13]

The Cleveland Cavaliers are offering Jamario Moon and the non-guaranteed contract of Delonte West to the Phoenix Suns for Leandrinho Barbosa.

[rocketstar47]

Without Amar'e, Suns suddenly have something to prove

The Suns have had more than a year to prepare for this moment.

Phoenix and Amar'e Stoudemire always seemed on the verge of some sort of break up, whether by trade or free agency or simply throwing up their hands from the sheer exhaustion of wondering how and when it would end.

But now that it has happened, now that Stoudemire left the only franchise he has known in eight star-crossed seasons to join the Knicks for $100 million over five seasons, the impact is still unavoidably jolting.

The Suns were in the Western Conference finals in May, giving the Lakers a competitive series, and in July they're searching for a replacement that almost certainly doesn't exist after committing $48 million to Hakim Warrick and Channing Frye.

When the time actually came, there was, it turned out, no way to be prepared. Phoenix lost a star big man, the ideal pick-and-roll pairing with Steve Nash, arguably the best player in the league the second half of the season once he got healthy -- all potentially without compensation. Good luck cushioning that. It is a risky move for the Knicks to make such a massive investment in someone with his injury history, especially the knee problems, but an absolute setback for the Suns.

The timing makes it all the more obvious. Had they fallen off the end of the playoff earth last season the way most people (hello!) expected, that would be one thing. A directionless season or more health concerns would have made this outcome understandable. But the Suns were one of the success stories of the league and Stoudemire was clearly trending upward in almost the exact manner he and the team predicated: that there would be a slow start after so much time missed because of the eye injury but that his dedication to getting back and talent would result in great heights. And that's what happened.

This is a conference finalist in whiplash mode barely an exhale after a great run. Stoudemire, gone. General manager Steve Kerr, vindicated at the end after so much criticism, gone. David Griffin, Kerr's top assistant, gone.

Valley of the Stunned.
Even more damning, three of the most important people in the franchise, two executives responsible for putting the roster together and the power forward who averaged 23.1 points and 8.9 rebounds, left on their own. This just can't be 5 ½ weeks after threatening the Lakers.

Meet the replacements.

Kerr: none so far.

Griffin: none so far.

Stoudemire: returnee Frye or newcomer Warrick. Frye is a perimeter threat, or at least he was before the wincing conference finals of ladies night at the singles bar -- miss, miss, miss, miss. Warrick is basically a career backup -- 43 starts in 82 appearances in 2006-07, 30 in 75 games the next season -- who will be on his fourth team in three seasons.

The Suns were in a difficult position with major financial implications. They tried to keep Stoudemire, but with conditions that would at least partly protect them against future injury. The proposal he rejected was for five years and $96.6 million dollars, but the final two seasons were partially guaranteed. Stoudemire would have needed, according to Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic, to play 2,200 minutes in the third and fourth seasons. It wasn't an unreasonable request given the injury history and that 2,200 minutes is an average of just 26.8 minutes over 82 games for someone who logged 34.6 last season.

Except that this was the Summer of LeBron, when too many teams had spent years building up fans' hopes of a major signing, and Stoudemire was coming off a very good finish that eased outside concerns, and so he got an offer that was for more money over the same time and minus the same injury clause. The deep-pocket Knicks could afford to gamble more on his health than the Suns.

The fallout will be tracked for years. If Stoudemire remains injury free and stays around 20 points and nine rebounds and the Suns quickly fade into irrelevance with a front line of Robin Lopez, Frye, Warrick, Grant Hill turning 38 in camp, Jared Dudley and 2009 first-round pick Earl Clark, they will lose money from missed home playoff games. If Stoudemire goes down grabbing a knee in the next couple seasons, then the Knicks will have taken the sucker bet and Phoenix upper management will be saying "Told you so" even if they don't actually say it out loud.

No matter what, though, the Suns need Warrick, Frye and Lopez to produce in a big way. Whatever happens to Stoudemire in New York, it won't change the fact that it isn't May anymore and that Phoenix is suddenly back in the previous role of having everything to prove.

[Test]

same story every time. Amare go to Knicks - IT IS GOOD because Knicks will have good PF. Amare go from Suns and it is also GOOD because now Suns have a chance to prove something... Bla bla bla bla bli bli blu... LeBron goes to Nets - it is GOOD! If LeBron rejects the offer - it is also GOOD...

[lbtriggerman]

I'm looking forward to watch the Suns. They will still be a run and gun team. I hope that they will still do good.

[CKR13]

Nash said on an interview that he "looks forward to a challenging season ahead" maybe Nash will have another MVP Season just like in 2006 when the Suns where minus Stoudemire.

[cb1230]

Suns have a great future ahead of them. With a veteran in Warrick and Dragic ready to become their leading point guard when Nash leaves. Also, with Robin Lopez starting to become a true center.

[lbtriggerman]

With an unselfish PG, I think a lot of other players will step up this season. Might even be a good thing for the Suns. They can be the previous Detroit Pistons team that won the championship (forgot the year - too lazy to research sorry).

[CKR13]

Pistons won 2004. while this year is a team on a transition where Brook Lopez could have a break-out season, Goran Dragic still has room for improvements and with Nash as mentor. The said Mentor is in superb condition and still has mileage in the tank.

But what I am looking for is the emergence of power forward Earl Clark. Suns management said that this year, Clark will be subject to considerable minutes based on the rotation.

[CKR13]

The Phoenix Suns have acquired forward Hedo Turkoglu from Toronto in exchange for guard Leandro Barbosa.

Suns also acquire guard/forward Josh Childress from the Atlanta Hawks on a sign and trade deal involving a second round draft pick. Josh Childress is due $34 Million on a span of five years from Phoenix.

[sportsfans]

Once I thought that James will go to Suns instead of going to Heat. But That is his own choice maybe a great choice.