So, what happens today. What potentially looked like a blockbuster day may turn into more minute changes. Here a brief summary so far.

Dwight wants to stay in Orlando but won't sign waiver for Early Termination Offer (ETO)

Dwight now willing to sign ETO and stay through next season. (Believe it when the ink is dry)

People now highly interested in Deron Williams since Howard won't be joining him there. Nets looking to trade pieces to surround Williams not trade Williams.

Barbosa has been traded to Pacer. Not sure of the pieces going back

Sam Young has been traded to Grizz for rights to 2005 2nd rounder Ricky Sanchez (?)

Lakers, Portland, Minnesota in serious talks. Beas to Lakers, Blake back to Portland, and Crawford to Minnesota

Nash still not on the market. What do we do today, if anything? Clippers looking to move Bledsoe. They are looking for a big guard so a Lopez swap is not likely. Would love to see us pick up an extra pick for Lopez.

Peyton still has 4 teams by the nads. Decision could come today (okay, that is not basketball, but it is on the minds of all us Arizona sports fans.)

That is all for now. Post away.

I just moved to Colorado Springs and am considering going up to Denver for the Game tonight. It would be great to go with another Brightsider if someone is going. I saw tickets for as cheap as 3 dollars last night. It is sort of funny as I did not realize that I could actually go to the game until last night. I have not been in Colorado for an NBA season so it just did not click that a Suns-Nuggets game was only an hour away.

I thought posts about interesting topics were getting clogged up with rumors and such so I thought I would make and actually where we could post rumors and free agency news. Would not be a bad idea to do this every day for a few days.

I have an interesting idea with some of the news flying around today. One of the rumors is that Amare might be on the trade block. Again. How do we get him? I know it is a long shot but there are a few scenarios. Since the most likely rumor is with New Orleans for Chris Paul we could become a third team in that trad. Knicks would get Paul, we get Amare, and the Hornets get the Corpse of Vince Carter to cut a huge amount of salary cap.

Knicks: Seem more enamored with Paul than Amare

Hornets: Get cap space and could be serious players for 2 or more big time free agents next year. Plus we could throw in our first rounder.

Suns: Get Amare back to be there to here for Nash's ride into the Sunset.

We could also change it up and throw in some nice young pieces. Morris/First rounder/ Pietrus expiring/ Filler

Then the master plan takes another turn. We could sign Jrich for the mid-level. Starting lineup

Nash

Jrich

Hill

Amare

Gortat

Add Chilly, Duds, Frye, and Lopez off of the bench and we have a better team than we did in 2010. Way long shot I know, but is it worth it? I say HELL yes. What say you?

So the day is finally here. There has been endless discussion concerning this day since the end of our season, which was regrettably the same day as the end of the regular season. Who should we get and why? Do we go for best player available or do go for need? Are we looking for upside in the likes of Thompson or Biyombo? Or a proven player like Marcus Morris? Or a known glue guy and hustler like Faried? PF,SG, SF, or PG? Lots of things to think about and that is just to start.

Rumors: There have been rumors involving the Suns and the #2 pick involving Nash or Gortat. If talks actually did occur they never went that far. Though we are still looking at acquiring that pick our two best players are likely not involved. Since Minnesota has better offers on the table than we could really offer that idea is mostly dead (though could be resurrected, remember what happened in Princess Bride when Wesley was mostly dead). Our front office has also dropped a few hints as to who we might pick in Iman Shumpert or Markieff Morris. These are likely a smokescreen, but what are we hiding.

Trades: This is where there is likely to be a flurry of activity today. Some of the rumors that have been surfacing over the last few weeks will finally be finalized today. Let's break these down to picks and players

Players: Josh Smith has long been favored by the fans of this site is officially available. Is he actually a target of our FO? Atlanta is looking for expirings and maybe a young player. VC, and Lopez could be a good option for them.

Paul Milsap seems to be available but would likely come with the extra contract of Devin Harris. Both of these guys are solid players but do we want all that salary for wanting Milsap.

Iggodala has been all over the league. Nothing has been tied to us, and we are not likely to be involved since we could not offer anything comparable to what the SIxers have already been offered.

Tony Parker and George Hill are on the block as well. Hill I like but Parker does not fit our system. They are looking for lotto picks and to unload Jefferson's contract.

Lakers seem to be making Odom available in multiple situations. Not likely we would even deal with a division rival.

Of course Monta Ellis seems to be available as well

Picks: This is where things get interesting. Almost every pick has been rumoured to be available over the last few weeks, but the hot ones are 7-10 (11 if you count our attempt at it). Most are looking for some form of talent. The Bucks (10) are hoping to unload Maggette in the deal. I am pretty sure that Detroit would like to unload Hamilton with the 8th selection. These spots are ones we know are available.

So, that is where things stand this morning. I have to say that I am hoping we work the phones today and become involved with some of these players/picks. The two players I most covet would be Iggy or Josh Smith. We have the assets to get at least one of those guys (pipe dream to get both, though we would be contenders again). What I would also like to see is us get another pick or two. I would love to move up a few slots and grab some extra talent. It would not be bad either to acquire a lower pick so that we could add some the guys we like but are not worth a lotto pick. Shumpert or Faried come to mind for this.

So have at it. Think of this as a new form of rosterbation known as drafterbation.

So I was perusing around to check the mornings scuttlebutt. I found a few things that might be able to generate some topics of discussion (so that other topics don't get cluttered with unrelated topics). So here is the first one. The recent ESPN mock draft has us taking Alec Burks. What do you guys think about Burks? Is he getting a workout with us? If he could learn to shoot he could be fantastic in our system.

The other bit of news is concerning our hopes of getting Aaron Afflalo. It looks like his agent is looking for 8-10 million per year. So first question is, is he worth that? Second is, if he he is will our front office put up the dough? My thought is that is a lot of money for a still improving player who a quality starter but may not ever be a star. The second is that there is no way we would pay that even if we could.

People have argued that he is nowhere near an all-star or a top five center. Let's start with the first one.

The only centers who played in the All-star game last year were Dwight Howard, Al Horford, and Tim Duncan. Now, considering that 2 of those are PF's who get voted on as C's then there was one true center on the All Star team last year, and only one from the Western conference. We now that Duncan will make the AL-star game pretty much until he retires, so a center slot is easy for the taking. What would it take? If Gortat averaged 16pts 11rbds 1.5 blocks and shot 56% that could easily get him. All of these are very reasonable numbers for him.

Now on to the next subject. Does Gortat have the potential to be a top 5 center. We can take a the numbers mentioned in the last paragraph.16 points would have made him 6th for centers behind Dwight, Bargnani (a center seriously), Lopez, Jefferson, and Lee (see Bargnani comment). He would be ahead of notable players Horford, Nene, Duncan, Frye (yes he was the 9th leading scorer for a center), and Hibbert to round out the top ten. Pretty good. 11 boards would place him 2nd behind only Howard and ahead of, you guessed it, everyone else. 1.5 blocks would place him 11th (this is a little low and could be improved on, but he is more of a stallwart defender than a fashy one). 3rd in fg% which is right where he was last year.

Tell me all that does not put him potentially in the All-star game and maybe a top 5 center or better. Especially when Horford, Bargnani, and Lee are really considered PF's. Again these are projections (pretty realistic if you factor hell be getting 35+ minutes a game). But there has been a lot of talk that he will never be a an all-star or his ceiling really is not that high. The numbers tell a little different story and he only has room to grow. Now, the last time I checked a top five player at any position was considered a star, and even more so can be said of a center, which is the real anchor of a team on the defensive end. Anyway, I thought I would just through this out for debate. Have at it

So, this may have only been the Pistons on our home court, but I want to share a little perspective. Last time we gave up a game in the 70's was Wed April 9th against the Spurs. And the last time we gave up fewer than the 75 we gave up tonight was Tue Nov 9th 2004. That's right more than six years ago to find a better defensive effort as far as points allowed. So, for now, message heard. Happy new year (since I am on the East coast), Old Ang Sayn, and let this be the start of  new season for the Suns.

I don't know how many of you experienced this, but NBA league pass had the Blazers home telecast. I thought their fans were homers, but these guys take the cake. I am used to some homerism, but our guys will actually point out the defects of the Suns players as well as the other team. To these guys, the Blazers could do no wrong. Here are just a few examples:

Goran Dragic is lucky to make his layups as he out of control while Armon Johnson was embarrassing Goran on the offensive end. Goran needs to forget Euro ball and learn the NBA.

No way Lopez could possibly win a tip against Batum. Uh ok.

Nash led the league in turnovers last year. I have this thoroughly ingrained in my head as they pointed it out every time he, or any other Sun for that matter, had a turnover. It was a point of discussion for about 25% of the second half.

My personal favorite. The the only reason Nash won his MVP's was because of a rule change. It could also be that he is the best point guard over the past 10 years and one of the all time greats.

I wish I would have written them down. They were almost as frustrating as watching our lead slip away. I could come with something witty about the obvious superiority of the Blazers over the Suns, but instead I will just revel in our PLAYOFF series win from last year.

 

P.S. Feel free to post other humorous comments from the game here. Also feel free to tell me how off base I am and that our guys are just as bad. Sorry. I am just a homer. 

I noticed a couple more people missed on out the fantasy teams. If there is more people who want to do it, let me know. I'll create another league.

Link: http://games.espn.go.com/fba/tools/join?leagueId=164609

Title: The Bright Side

Password: sunnyside.

I will leave it private for now but will make it public a couple hrs before the draft. Feel free to recruit friends, family, and anyone else who loves the Suns and/or basketball in general. It is a 10 man H2H. I would be fine lowering the number of teams. I just want one of my leagues with some of my great Suns loving colleagues.

That's right. It is our undrafted free agent/budding star QB Max Hall. At least as of 3:30 EST he is. There is a well written article covering many of the "unknowns" concerning our young quarterback, including a funny anecdote concerning the potty mouth our famaous resident mormon. It seems the Cardinals have made it back to the front page. There is a curse that often comes with that. Let's hope we miss out on that this weekend. For all of us who have been anxiously waiting almost two weeks for Max's second start here is a link that will hopefully tide us over.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story?id=5708548

Ok. So this picture was posted on another story, but I think it deserves it's own post. Come on now, how many of you believe that is Kirilenko's real hair. Can't be right. I know the skinny jeans, colored laces, and randomn other things from the 80's are back but not the hair. This thing cannot be real.

So please feel free to vote here and have some fun with pictures and anecdotes.

Poll

Where did Kirilenko's hair piece come from.

14%

Snagged it from the Jazz Mascot.

10 votes

11%

Went to Spencers and bought a novelty 80's hair metal wig.

8 votes

29%

Shaved a Golden Retriever.

20 votes

36%

Kirilenko is actually a Wherewolf but only shaves his body.

25 votes

7%

Part of his audition for his "Red-Neck Trailer Park" comedy tour.

5 votes

68 votes | Poll has closed

So something that has not really been mentioned on this site is what the lockout means for us as Suns fans and what it means for our favorite Sun Steve Nash. This is possibly due to our denial that Steve will someday retire.

I know we are hoping for some form of robotics that could allow him to play inevitably, but the technology is not even in site. I guess we could try carbon freezing and try bringing him back when it does. This is also not a likely scenario, as Steve has so many other things that he is a part of.

This brings us to the reality of a lockout. Nash is signed for the next 2 years, but 2011 is shaping up as a possible lockout year. After that is settled Nash is going to be 38-39 years old. He could realistically move on. Not just from the Suns but from basketball all together. That's right. Retire.

Poll

So, if this is Nash's last year what do we do for one of the greatest PGs to ever play the game, and perhaps the best player ever to put on that Sun's uniform?

40%

Do whatever we can to get Lee to keep us as a contender this year.

125 votes

17%

Try to get Lee for a decent price to keep us a contender.

55 votes

18%

Work a trade exemption and see if we are close enough at the trade deadline and get someone to put us over the top.

58 votes

4%

Get trade exemption and add pieces for the year after the lockout (consider Nash may be gone).

15 votes

6%

Ride this year out as is.

21 votes

8%

Ride Nash's loyalty out to the very end and milk him during our rebuilding year's.

26 votes

2%

Other. I have an idea that I will share in the comments.

8 votes

308 votes | Poll has closed