I don't think that the Lakers are or should be in panic mode but there is no harm in looking into deals that will help keep things from getting stale.

The Pistons Do it because they get a starting play-maker that can get everyone involved while Stuckey can continue in his combo guard role.Austin Daye gets to see more minutes with Prince gone and finally,they get Bynum who when healthy(huge ?) can truly be a force in the post.He is a legit Center who can allow Monroe to move from C to PF.Added plus:They can play small ball with Gordon-Blake-Stuckey and have 2 big guys covering for them in the post.

They Lakers do it because they need a glue-character guy at the 3 who will defend,understand the Triangle and shoot better than Artest who is probably better suited to play the 4 nowadays anyway(when teams go small).Maxiell is their tough-offensive rebounding opportunist dunker who will come off the bench and match up against Blair and Davis and other bench energy PF's of the league that occasionally give fits to the team.(Leon Powe in 2008?,Davis last year and obviously this year) and last but not least T-Mac who has reinvented himself as a 6,8" point forward that can easily fit in the Lakers system with his High Basketball I.Q,capable defending,shooting and with others carrying the Load he can be fresh in the 4th quarter where he can help Kobe with his crunch time scoring abilities(reduced but still enough).

Bynum's Length will be missed and he has been an integral part of the Lakers 2 championships but he is injury prone and the Lakers now know that against a healthy Boston team even with an 100% healthy Andrew it will be very tough. Odom-Ratliffe-Maxiel can equal his productivity. But if Gasol is limited??? No answer for that...

http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=637l3ck 

P.S At the very least you get a few trade pieces for the future.

Vince Carter should be traded.

It will boost our team this year and set us up for next year.

A few ideas. 

http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=29ernsg Pick up the phone.

http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=4oxx7ef  This could be great for all.

http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=2ehn223  Not a big fan.

Charlotte might do it because they want to reduce payroll as a small market team going nowhere although With Silas they have been playoff bound witch in the East means 4-0 versus Celtics,Heat,Chicago and Orlando(last year??)

Sixers are looking much better but Brand is still difficult to trade and they need to find minutes for Evan Turner. Carter could keep them playoff bound(first round cannon fodder) and next year they can continue without him and move on with their young backcourt while using their financial flexibility to sign a frontcourt player. Iggy is a dream for the suns. He does 90 % of everything Hill use to do 12 years ago.!!!!

Jamison would fit rather nicely and he has stated that he might retire(so,no next year money owed!!).He is depressed in Cavs land and would help us rebound and space the floor. Parker is a solid wing defender-Shooter.

Just a few thoughts. Go suns. Win # 3 is up ahead!!

While Marcin Gortat is starting to click rather nicely with the rest of the team and helping us defend the interior better it's rather obvious that to avoid losing games like the Pistons game we must complete one last trade that will allow this team to realize their second half of the season potential. We have only been defeating the bottom feaders lately as well as teams in slumps(Knicks) or injury riddled teams(Blazers).Of course a win is a win and we have also lost a few by shear bad luck. But!! Denver will soon be imploding,the Blazers won't be able to keep squeezing out victories(too many injuries) and Utah is tuning out it's coach and losing all over the place,New Orleans is overachieving and Chris Paul looks extremely brittle and hesitant(he is the next Roy,no cartilage in right knee..)The Warriors and Clippers can't make up the lost time.

Our system is in place,our leadership is to be envied and we almost even have Carter giving a S**T. Trade for a Power Forward that can roll to the basket and just catch and dunk while being able to body up against other power forwards and give our team the look of a strong contender.

Ok. So here we go. Help me out guys. Nash and Hill deserve it and so do the Fans(US).

A combination of Lopez *,Warrick,Childress and Pietrus. USE our Trade Exception(Very valuable). With Lopez we should try and add Childress. With Warrick, Pietrus because of the money owed.

*Lopez showed flashes last year but Gortat is healthier and can help us right now with his rebounding. Lopez is still a young lottery pick on a cheap rookie salary that could help many playoff teams but we also know that without our trainers his back would probably be an even bigger issue. He should go if we are to get another teams valuable young PF. He is the difference between getting a Darell Arthour and a Taj Gibson.

Robin Lopez + Michael Pietrus to Chicago Bulls for Taj Gibson + James Johnson. Noah can play Pf when he comes back and they need size against the Celtics.

Robin Lopez + Josh Childress to Atlanta Hawks for Josh Smith + whatever... Swap First round picks or give them anything they need to facilitate this Highjacking. Atlanta has mortgaged their future to Joe Johnson while playing their best player Horford out of position. We could even take Marvin(Bust) Williams and just give them DUDLEY(no....).

Cleveland may have had enough with J.J Hickson. It's just the atmosphere in Ohio that is reducing everyones interest and value in playing BBall.

Someone should call Sacramento about Jason Thompson and/or Carl Landry. 

Luis Scola or Jordan Hill for any combination of our above players. Rockets are looking for Star power and need to be flexible to get them. They also need a center.

Final idea and one my favourites is to try and take advantage of the fire sale that is being created over at the Nuggets and try and get Nene for them. He can easily play the PF position although he is normally presented as a C. Like Amare a few years back..

I haven't checked if the numbers work, but i'll try to after i recieve feedback.

Let's not start with the No more trades/ let the team jell/ Nash and Gentry will figure it out.

We need a starting PF. Period. 

The absence of a PF puts too much pressure on the Centers for inside scoring and also doesn't help the second unit on offense witch has been a huge issue especially when Frye's shot isn't falling. Hill is amazing but we can't expect him to guard the Pf that are either too tall and strong for him and Frye or too fast for Gortat.

P.s Carter is who he is. For every New York game there are 2 games where he will help on the boards to show his effort but he will also go for 2/11 Fg and 8 points. Translation: Expendable Huge semi expiring contract= Young player in return. You can't play for the Suns and be hesitant because you might get hurt; it just goes against the Culture Nash and Hill have instilled.

If we don't,we are One and (definitely) Done.

Sorry for the long post.

Amare Stoudemire + Jason Richardson for Andre Iguodala + Elton Brand + 1st round Pick.

We save some money,they save lots of money. We get back a great SG/SF in Igouodala plus a low post player in Elton Brand who can help right away. I'll get back with the Pros and the cons.

We don't exactly blow it up but Richardson has not been really helping whereas Igouodala helps us with his all around game and play making. Amare seems too self centered and if the team keeps struggling,it will only solidify his intention on leaving.

http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=ygvfbxn 

Each end every single team in this league have gone through a tough a time at some point in the league.The Suns are unfortunately going through one now and us fans are all suffering  because of it.

There is hope though. Through every single nice run or tough time our Team has gone through the season something positive has always come out of it. When we started out hot it was Dudleys leading the defense and our crunch time mojo along with Frye's prolific shooting that go us going. When Barbosa got injured and we started to lose a few close games it was Dragic that shined and is still shining. Now we can see Lopez earning the minutes he deserved,who brings a unique element to our team(a shot blocker,rebounder),that we will soon be able to fully utilize.

One game at a time. Are team is good. I suggest we look into a trade only if we are a .500 team just before the all star weekend. Hopefully in our last skid or run towards the end of the season,Earl Clark wakes up and starts playing like a young Marion hrough the playoffs.

In my opinion,we only get past the first round by having home court advantage and even with that i believe that against the Spurs we would probably loose(in heartbreaking fassion no less),i also believe that the Rockets and Blazers are a really bad match up for us although Portland will have all kinds of depth problems. A second round playoff exit is very probable. Next year,we are practically the same team only a year older and with just Dragic,Lopez and Clark being expected to be better.Maybe Stoudemire if he stays and because it’s a contract year.We also don’t have a first round draft pick. Houston,Memphis,Thunder,Blazers,Kings and Clippers are all expected to be better.Some of them,much much better. 
Do we really believe we can’t make the playoffs this year by trading JRich and Barbosa for McGrady and Lowry? Even if he plays at 70 % it gives the team a new dimension. Dragic,Dudley and especially Clark get more minutes to cover our departed duo’s thus accelerating their progress and improving our defense while on the floor. Clark could shine as our 3 at this point with more playing time. I say we still get Home court with the same results in the second round unless the team starts to roll after a couple of months gelling. At the end of the year we’ve got he money to improve in every conceivable way through free agency. Johnson,Bosh,Gay,Camby,Lee,Ray Allen would sign for a contender like the suns and we would have enough cash to resign our own or even get someone on the cheap from teams that are in dire straits financially…
Win win win. The present wont really change but the future would be as bright as ever. And all that just by trading Richardson and Barbosa!!!!!!!!

P.S Enough with the Barbosa sentiment. He is a great guy and i would wish we could get him back next year but it wouldn't be the end of the world.

With almost half the season in our rear window,i believe we can honestly say that our Suns while tremendous on many nights with big wins on the road early in the season and dominant performances against Top teams at home as of late,are still painfully inconsistent with their over reliance on their 3 point shooting and poor rebounding. Can't really do anything about the size issue at this point because as a team they are designed to have at least 3 players off the ball stretching the court witch leads to few offensive rebounds and more than often poor defensive rebounding. So.. What should we do to become better and more versatile so we can at least own home court advantage in the playoffs?

Trade the painfully inconsistent and streaky shooter that Richardson is for the Uber Talent that is McGrady. We will be getting a player who can create miss-matches shoot the three and get to the line(Richardson does not slash enough nor creates for others,he just sits around and waits for Nash to set him up)and he probably isn't worse on defense as well. If healthy(Suns medical staff..),motivated for his next contract and for the chance to get through the first round the suns can't loose. 

Trade must include Leandro Barbosa. I know that in the beginning of the year something like this would be unthinkable with the way he played towards the end of the year especially when covering for the injured Nash,but this year he has regressed badly and it's getting worse as the season progresses. He is making awful decisions on the court,especially in the last few games and seems out of control.Dragic is emerging as our backup point guard and even plays with Nash giving us tremendous ball movement. Dragic also defends better. It's unfortunate that Barbosa seems to only play well in an all out,up and down,no defense,sevend seconds or less style of game. I really thought he would become a complete player this year. Maybe he needed to start and couldn't handle the 6th man role anymore. He is still very useful to the suns and to any other team for his off the bench scoring in buckets ability and i hate that he would have to go. But the team's needs come first. Kyle lowry who should be included in the trade could replace his numbers and their is a great possibility that Leandro would shine around all those tough defenders in Houston.

Worst case Scenario,the team gets into the playoffs with McGrady playing so-so,lose in first or second round and then we can use the 23 million from his expiring contract to be players in the 2010 free agent situation.We can get the pieces needed to make a last run next year with Nash playing brilliantly. Imagine getting Joe Johnson and David lee... We could be brilliant. Even Bosh might come.. Imagine that.. We would be in the position we where at the end of the 2004/5 season but with a better bench and an a bit more controlled offense that could work in the playoffs. Amare resigns and with Amare,Dragic,Frye,Free agent mega star 1 and free agent star 2 + Dudley and Lopez we could be a beast for the next 5 years. I'll put Nash in as well. With such a great team and with his minutes getting to the 25-30 range he could easily be phenomenal for at least 4 years.

Best case scenario,we don't miss a beat, McGrady recovers his form while playing with Nash and with Amare handling his share of the scoring. We make a deep run possibly even defeating the Lakers in the western conference finals. We sign McGrady for about 9 million and use the rest of the money to get another huge piece that will make us a very dangerous team for the next few years.

What do you guys think? Should we take a chance? I believe we shouln't play it safe. In the long run we become better,we contend for years to come.

P.S If this happens Kerr might finally get a 1000 genious points for getting Shaq's expiring contract.It just ruined 2 seasons of ours,with the help of Duncans improbable three in 2008 and Stats Eye injury last year. 

P.S 2 A healthy Grant Hill and an almost Healthy McGrady 7 years after,finally together on the wings!!!!!!!!

Rumor has it the Bucks are looking to get rid of their underperforming young lottery pick.

Suns could get the most out of him,he will perform better around experienced teammates who will give him the ball where he can Dunk it.. WE should try and get him. He has good size for a forward and rebounds well. He is a good defender and get help Hill in limiting his wear and tear.

We have had problems against strong small forwards,Dudley is better suited for defending guards.

It's been a good season so far,almost great in my opinion especially considering the low expectations by almost everyone. Unfortunately though,in almost all of our 11 defeats this year,we have seen our teams glaring weaknesses. Rebounding,interior and perimeter defense. So.. i'm just throwing this trade idea out there for all Suns fans to see. As always,i will analyze why each team does it and why it doesn't. This trade does not guarantee that both teams get immediately better but in the long term i believe that both get what they want.

Trade idea: Amare Stoudemire and Alando Tucker for Kevin Love and Corey Brewer and Brian Cardinal+exchange first round picks with phoenix for 2010.

Why Phoenix does it.

Kevin Love is a beast on the boards,he runs the floor well,has the size to match up against low post threats,his outlet passes ignite fast breaks and last but not least,he's got excellent basketball i.q and he's only 21!!! He's also making his three's lately.. Bonus!!

Corey Brewer is a ferocious defender on the wings and would definitely benefit by playing with Steve Nash. Nash has always been at his best when he had either a dedicated defensive player at the Sg position or a decent passer that can allow him to play off the ball and shoot coming around screens. Raja Bell fits the first category, Joe Johnson and Nick van Excel the second one. Corey Brewer could be a faster,younger Raja Bell but with a worse 3 point shot.

Brian Cardinal is an expiring contract who will only help financially. Always important for our front office.

Trading first round picks with a lottery team is always a smart thing to do. Although i don't know if they will accept.

Why Minnesota does it.

Stoudemire is one of the most explosive players in the league and attendances will definitely go up for the teams home games. He can play his natural position of power forward with Jefferson manning the middle and controlling the rebounds. A healthy Amare brings offence to the table and helps you win games.

Tucker can help minnesota on the perimeter with his offence and they need help.

They had 3 first round picks last year,they have got a young team,the draft seems weak this year.

Why Phoenix doesn't do it. 

Stoudemire is important to the team and they will really struggle to win games,possibly ruining their playoff hopes.

They have only had success when they had an offensive monster in the low post.

Why Minnesota doesn't do it.

They might not be able to keep Stoudemire after this year with his early termination option,in the cold minnesota.

Love is a young top draft pick that is already impressive in the development of his game.

Brewer is a no. 7 pick who just had a bad injury that robbed him of his rookie year and is just playing catch up.

They enjoy drafting high picks,they are used it.

Stoudemire might hurt their feelings like Garnett did and he also makes plays in Jefferson's areas of operation,might get crowded..

PROBABLE OUTCOMES.

Phoenix doesn't miss a beat,everyone starts feeling more comfortable knowing that they have someone to watch their back. They get 30-34 points on fast break with Nash and Love initiating the Break. Corey protects Nash from the crazy Point Guards and also shuts down the small forwards. No 2 in the west. Conference finals.

Minnesota goes 28-13 in their last 41 games and they get the 8th seed in the west,took the Lakers to 6 games with games 3 and 4 being a bruising defeat for L.A Stoudemire goes for 31 ppg and 12 rebounds in the last 41 games and 6 playoffs ones. Constantly expresses his love for the city the fans and the team in which he loves his role in.2 months later he takes Miami's offer of 16 million although Minnesota was offering 18.5!!! I don't think he did it for Taxes either..

Phoenix's draft pick from Minnesota was not a lottery pick in the end. Same old Phoenix draft luck.

So that's my idea,tell me what you think Phoenix fans. I'll conjure an idea up that involves Richardson with Minnesota.

I'm writing this as we're watching the end of the 3rd quarter of the Magic @ Suns. Suns ahead by 4. We really have to look into this thing they call "Defense". The way our early 19 point lead evaporated that fast is serious reason for concern.It's not as if we are running THAT much,like we did in the past. We are just not playing defense. We are not making as many cuts towards the basket. Too much looking at Nash. Stoudemire is turning into a 6:10 version of Ben gordon. One dimensional scorer,constantly failing to defend,neither in the low post against Howard nor on the perimeter with Lewis. This is not an Amare bashing post but it's glaringly obvious that he is just unfocused on the other side of the floor as of late.. The magic are too tired today so we will probably be getting the W tonight but just in case we end up losing,we all know what the reason was. Inability to close out on shooters after the pick n' roll. Elementary stuff. It might get real ugly tomorrow against Denver. Oh yeah.

No team can get a 10 on offense and a 10 on defense. When the suns are really good,their offense is close to a 9 and their defense is 6. That gets you convincing victories against elite teams.In the last few games it's been offense 7.5 and defense a 4. against the kings. it was an 8 on offense and a 4.5 on defense. We max out at 7.5 on defense,in some 4th quarters,against the Celtics,Rockets,Heat and Sixers we did just that. Keep an eye on that Suns fans.

P.S As i finished writing this we are early in the 4th qtr and once again late on the perimeter and Redick makes the 3 84-85.

Editor's Note: I made the title of this post a little more informative, and note that this has been an ongoing discussion.  Check out this post as well for more comments. - ZF

****************************************************************************************************

Sometimes you have to make a bold move to make your team better even if you have to pay a bit more for it.

My trade proposal is this. We trade Jason Richardson to Utah along with Pavlovic for Andrei Kirilenko and Either Eric Maynor or Kostas Koufos.

http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=lauoxm

Why Phoenix should do it.

A) We get a super athletic wingman who in our system can play the 4. He can guard anyone from Lebron and Bryant to Garnett and Nowitzki succesfully. He is a block shooter and can run with anyone. 

B) Eric Maynor seems to be a poised player that could blossom behind Nash and Kostas Koufos is a solid Center that will get better in his second year(He's looking real good with the Greek National team this Month). Both help in the rotation. And they are young!!

C) Barbosa gets to start. Maybe the most important reason to do this trade. 

Why Utah does it.

A) They get rid of Kirilenko's pretty big contract and with Pavlovic they get to save some more money.

B) Jason Richardson will be a huge improvement at the Sg Position and although everyone will say that he is not a Jerry Sloan Type of player,i believe Coach Sloan can implement him well in his old reliable system.

Why they don't do it.

Although Utah is need of financial relief they may like Kirilenko too much do this type of trade that doesn't give them back a larger expiring contract. Also They are pretty high on their Young guys esspecially Maynor who they believe was a steal that late in the Draft. Let's not forget the JRich is not a Sloan type player...

For the Suns it's also a money thing. The Front office will basically see this as getting ride of one big contract for an even bigger one. Basically adding 3 millions + 3 millions in tax.

Basically the Suns get an intangibles guy that does a lot of the dirty work and can really play DEFENSE.

Looking forward to your ideas guys. If my trade needs some tweaking it would great to hear about it.

P.S I Believe that Utah is getting a bit more in salary cap relief with this deal so maybe we should try and get their first round draft pick for next year as well : ).

Hi everyone. Im interested in getting opinions on which Phoenix Suns team has done a better job in bringing smiles and great expectations through the year they played. 

Let's go over the Teams by year along with a few stats and player roster.

I'm going to split the last few years in pre and post Shaq trade for 2008 and the 2008/9 Terry Porter and 2009 Gentry Suns.

2005 Suns : 62 wins, 110.4 points per game, 103.3 points allowed, .477 FG%, .393 3FG%, 2,026 3s attempted, lost in Western finals (San Antonio, six games).

Eight-Man Rotation: Amare Stoudemire, Shawn Marion, Joe Johnson (47.8% 3FG), Nash (43.1% 3FG), Quentin Richardson (38.9% 3FG), Leandro Barbosa (36.7% 3FG), Jimmy Jackson (45.9% 3FG), Steven Hunter.

2006 Suns : 54 wins, 108.4 points per game, 102.8 points allowed, .479 FG%, .399 3FG%, 2,097 3s attempted, lost in Western finals (Dallas, six games).

Eight-Man Rotation: Nash (43.9% 3FG), Marion, Diaw, Barbosa (44.4% 3FG), Raja Bell (44.2%) 3FG, Tim Thomas (42.9% 3FG), Eddie House (38.9% 3FG), James Jones (38.6% 3FG), Kurt Thomas, Stoudemire (injured).

2007 Suns : 61 wins, 110.2 points per game, 102.9 points allowed, .494 FG%, .399 3FG%, 1,967 3s attempted, lost in Western semis (San Antonio, six games).

Nine-Man Rotation: Nash (45.5% 3FG), Marion, Stoudemire, Diaw, Barbosa (43.4% 3FG), Raja Bell (41.3%) 3FG, James Jones (37.8% 3FG), K. Thomas, Banks.

2008 Suns : 55 wins, 110.1 points per game, 105.0 points allowed, .500 FG%, .393 3FG%, 1,764 3s attempted, lost in first round (San Antonio, five games).

Eight-Man Rotation: Nash (47.0% 3FG), Marion/Shaq, Stoudemire, Diaw, Barbosa (38.9% 3FG), Raja Bell (40.1%) 3FG, Grant Hill, Gordon Giricek.

2009 Suns : 46 wins, 109.4 points per game, 107.5 points allowed, .504 FG%, .383 3FG%, 1,445 3s attempted. Missed playoffs.

Eleven-Man Rotation: Nash (44.0% 3FG),Shaq, Stoudemire, Diaw/Dudley, Barbosa (37.5% 3FG),Raja Bell/Richardson , Grant Hill, Barnes(34.5% 3FG),Dragic, Amudson,Lopez.

Things to think about:

1) Was the 2005 team destined for success if not for the J Johnson injury? Could we have beaten the Spurs and then the rugged Pistons?

2) Was the 2006 team running smoothly enough towards the end or where they too tired with the injuries,7 game series,huge minutes for our small 7 man rotation?

3)  Was the 2007 team too reliant on Nash running it? Was our bench play mediocre down the strech? Did we just get screwed when the momentum was heading our way in the Spurs series???

4)Did the Team look good or real good before we traded Marion? Could we have done it with just the addition of Hill?    where we that dangerous entering the playoffs on a 15-5 run with Shaq? Could we have pulled through if not for      Duncans improbable three?

5) Did the team seem tough and a bit more balanced at two points in time during the Porter era? At the start of the season and right before christmas day and Roger Masons ridiculous three that sucked the life out of the team? Would Gentry's Run Run Run system be much more successful if not for Amare's Injury?

OK Then.

So.. The questions  are: (along  with my answers)

Most entertaining Suns team? 2005 team.

Better crunch time performing Suns team? 2007 team. 

Best defending Suns team? 2006 team.

Suns team that caused biggest matchup problems to opponents? 2006 team.

Most confident Suns team while entering Playoffs? 2007 team.

Best Suns team Chemistry? 2005 team.

Best Suns Team that could win even if "our three's aren't falling"? 2008 team pre Shaq.

Most unfortunate Suns Team? 2007 team.

Best Suns team that could win that year's Eastern Conference finalist the easiest? 2007 team.

Worst Suns team when it came to bench contributors? 2005 team.

Worst Rebounding Suns team? 2009/Gentry team.

Suns Team that relied on Nash a bit too much? 2006 team.

Suns team that you where Happy when they won but calm when they lost? 2009 Porter team before trade.

Suns team the seemed to have it but weren't sure? 2008 team with Marion.

Hope to get your Opinion guys!!

GO Suns.

I'd like to talk about what we seem to be missing as a Suns team this year.

Which players by position does everyone think we should have so we could be a top tier West team this year.

Let's assume that Shaq's contract expired this year and we had the 20 million in our pocket. I believe Our Pg position is set with Nash.the same goes with Sf with Hill and Pf/C with Stoudemire. Of course Wade for Sg and Howard for C are not available. : ) We need to consider the cap as well as the fact that it would not be wise to blow it all on one player!! This post takes place in an ideal dream world where a team would trade for Jason Richardson's ridiculous contract..

Basically to make this easier,the proposition should look like this.

Bench Pg if needed: player x or player y

Sg if needed: player x or player y

Starting Sf or bench Sf if needed: players x or y

Backup Pf: player x or y

Starting C or bench C if needed: players x or y.

Lets not forget that besides this years free agents we could use our cap space to get players that are on contracts but their team might consider trading to us for a second pick. If you want though just put any player you'd liket(not Lebron..)without considering his availability. Do you want Diaw back? Maybe Marion? Would Rasheed Wallace have worked? Maybe Odom would fit nicely?How about getting Josh smith or Jamison? Should we make a play for Scola or Artest? Let's see what you think.

My thoughts.

Pg. Ramon Sessions would be great coming of the bench while positioning himself for the future.

Sg. Corey Brewer for his defense or Joe Johnson for obvious reasons.

Sf/Pf. A versatile player that could slide to the 4. Lamar Odom would have been Ideal,Marion as welll or Batum.

Pf/C .We need a player that rebounds and has range Or rebounds and defends. So... Troy murphy or Tyson chandler or Joel Przybilla or Luis Scola.

As you see,Joe johnson is the only franchise player i dared to consider. All others,i just believe would be great for us whether or not their teams consider them projects,valuable or overrated and overpriced. 

Looking forward to your thoughts everybody. 

The 2009-2010 Phoenix Suns have been getting bashed by pretty much everyone that follows and writes about the NBA and they haven't even played one game. That is unfortunate but at the same time it relieves the team of unnecessary pressure and allows it to enter the season with a chip on their shoulder and that underdog feeling that we all know sometimes surprises everyone.

It kind of reminds me of the 2005-2006 season where after loosing Stoudemire,Johnson and to lesser effect Q Rich everyone believed the suns would be toast and could not improve on their incredible but a bit unpolished 2004-2005 season. 

First of all let me mention that unlike the 2005-2006 season,this time around there at least 6 teams (Lakers,Spurs,Nuggets,Boston,Cavs,Magic) which will be strongly competing for the Championship and before i get into my trade ideas,player previews and other off season thoughts let me say that all the aforementioned teams are  ridiculously over the cap with a few of them being practically stacked from 1-8 on their rotation (lakers,celtics,cavs...)because of their ownerships ability-willingness to overspend.

We on the other hand have Sarver. Our ownerships shortcomings have been well documented. 

So what are we looking forward to? Running.. with a purpose.

We will be systematically running guys. That's what the suns are built for and that is how we can maximize our players abilities. Most of the teams in the league will have trouble following the suns but we all know that to get to that next level and beat the really good and focused teams you need that extra effort and focus on the defensive end.

I know i'm not breaking new ground here but i need to get this out of the way.So let me talk about the Key players.

Steve Nash is by design of nature a poor defender.Should we relegate him to the D League? No. Because he is a brilliant play maker,exceptional shooter and selfless player who makes everyone around him better(sometimes his opponent as well!!).He just needs help by his wings(like Johnson,Marion and Bell did)against some opponents.Even with an extra year on his back  he will be great for us.

Barbosa will be a strong candidate for 6th Man once again. In the second half of last season he seemed to be really reaching the high levels we had envisioned him at,2 years ago. He was comfortable in the transition attack(understatement of the year),very active on the perimeter with his defense and surprisingly creative in the half court with his drive and kick. He will be covering for Nash and allow Dragic to develop without pressure.

Jason Richardson would be great to have for half the money but unfortunately that is not the case..He is not a good complement to Nash because he is not a good defender nor a good ball handler so he can't help with relieving the ball pressure Nash faces but what's probably worse about him is that he doesn't understand the whole ball movement idea that the Phoenix attack is all about. He shoots well and is athletic but Barbosa is better. Would be better suited coming of the bench to score in bunches. Will see how it goes.

Grant Hill is great. We can just hope he stays on the court and give us 75 % of what he did last year. It will be a huge deal for the suns,Where do i start? Defence,Basketball I.Q,Mid-range game,Passing,Handling,Intangibles. I would start him at the 2 guard just for the balance he would bring to the backourt even if we would not be able to spread the floor as well,JRich and Barbosa demand attention from the defence beyond the arc...

Having Hill at the 2 mostly,allows our rookie Earl Clark who i am very high on to start or log heavy minutes at the 3 while using his strength,defensive mindset and rebounding to help Stoudemire and our perimeter defense in a similar way that Marion once did. He also can shoot the ball pretty well and run on the attack.

Amare Stoudemire is the key and the future. If he's through with all the freak injuries he has endured, i strongly believe he will show up with a sense of purpose ready to show us the dominating Amare that ended the 2008 season and begun last season with the Pacers game being a glimpse at the not to distant future.

We have all seen and been amazed by the power,precision and finishing abilites that Stoudemire possesses,we have seen him progress in some aspects of his game like his outside jumper and remain stagnant with others like his help defense and boxing out. Nobody is perfect,that's why in this game you have team-mates that cover your deficiencies and help you in the same way you help them. It's not about the 5 best players on the court it's about the 5 players the play best for and as a team. The doesn't mean of course that Amare in his search for greatness and acceptence as a complete player should not work harder on his game elements that are lacking and just rely on others. Defence is 90 % effort. It's as simple as that.

Second year centers are usually much better in every way so i do expect Lopez to help us on the boards and on defence,especially against classic centers that usually trouble Amare and the pick and roll. 

Channing Frye was also a good pick up that will help in the front court.His good range will keep the lane clear for Nash and Stat as well as our slashers. Hope he helps with the rebounding.

Goran Dragic will come into his own while at times frustrating every last one of us Suns fans. He will improve.

Jared Dudley is smart and gives it everything and i am very interested in seeing if he can continue to earn minutes and produce like he did at the end of last year.He was outplaying Barnes almost every night at some point!!

Amundson is all energy and hustle and will help us like he did last year. If he could just improve his free throwing and shooting he would be fantastic at such a low price.He probably already is!!

Yes i know i am looking at all this in an overly optimistic way but hey, it's not that big of a stretch for most of our players to do what is expected from them. The system it self will cover some of our problems and utilize most our players attributes to their best.

Last thoughts..

1) We could have gotten something more for Shaq.

2)We should have brought Marion back.

3)Should have traded for Chandler, he would help if healthy and it would also weaken the Hornets.

4) Why not bring Kurt Thomas back. We could use a 4th big.

5)I'll pay from my pocket for a player like David Lee,Haslem and Corey Brewer(defensive ace!!!)

Looking forwards to your comments and constructive criticism of all of the above.

This is probably part 1 of my thoughts on the 2009-2010 Suns. : )