SB Nation User Blog: rsavaj

Trade Idea: PHX-UTA-NOH-CHI

rsavaj — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 20:44:14 -0000

This is my attempt at a 4 way trade between PHX, UTA, NOH and CHI. I think it makes sense for everyone involved...what do you guys think?

Phoenix Out: Shaquille O'Neal(expiring), Jason Richardson(2 years)
Phoenix In: Luol Deng(5 years), Tyson Chandler(2 years), Andrei Kirelenko(2 years)

Chicago Out: Luol Deng(5 years), Tim Thomas(expiring), Jerome James(super expiring, 80% covered by insurance)
Chicago In: Shaquille O'Neal(expiring)

New Orleans Out: Tyson Chandler(2 years)
New Orleans In: Jerome James(expiring), Tim Thomas(expiring)

Utah Out: Andrei Kirelenko
Utah In: Jason Richardson

Reasoning for all four teams after the jump....

Why for Phoenix?: They sell high on Shaq and pick up a young player they covet in Luol Deng, who hopefully with the help of Phoenix's voodoo training staff can revive his career. Tyson Chandler is the center that they've long been looking to pair with Amare; his defense and rebounding would be ideal fits in the SSOL system. Leandro Barbosa's play has made Jason Richardson expendable, and for a team that drastically needs another defender, Andrei Kirelenko seems like a perfect fit and would replace a lot of what they used to have in Shawn Marion.

Why not for Phoenix?: Chandler, Deng and AK =a lot of money to take in for three underachieving players. In Chandler/Deng's cases, their injuries might derail their careers, and this move completely limits any financial flexibility Phoenix could look forward to with Shaq/Nash/ coming off the books. For a money conscious franchise with a stingy owner, this trade almost seems like an impossibility.

Final Lineup:
Nash/Dragic
AK/Barbosa
Hill/Deng/Tucker
Amare/Dudley
Chandler/Amundson/Lopez

Why for Chicago?: Luol Deng has not lived up to his contract, and acquiring Shaq works out for them in a variety of ways. It immediately boosts their lineup to make them contenders in the East; it gives them a big name to boost season ticket sales; finally, if it doesn't work out, they can just let Shaq expire and gain a lot of cap space for 2010 by dumping Deng's contract. Concerns about Shaq potentially throwing a wrench into the offense are overblown and unfounded; under Alvin Gentry's "Seven Seconds or Shaq" system, the Suns averaged 118 ppg over the final 31 games of the season.

Why not for Chicago?: Even though Deng has been unproductive and injured, he is still young, and he can still turn things around. Trading a young player with potential for an aging Shaq may be hard to swallow.

Final Lineup:
Rose/Hinrich/Hunter
Gordon/Roberson
Salmons/?
Noah/Tyrus Thomas
Shaq/Brad Miller/Aaron Gray

Why for New Orleans?: Simple. They tried to trade Chandler for expirings last season, and with management in cost-cutting mode, there's no indication that they wouldn't welcome expirings for Chandler again. With Jerome James's contract being 80% covered by insurance, this trade offers them massive financial relief.

Why not for New Orleans?: Again, it's pretty simple. If they want to contend in the West, keeping Tyson Chandler with Chris Paul seems crucial. However, judging by their actions last season, their ownership seems to place dollars over wins.

Final Lineup:
Paul/Daniels
Butler/Posey/Brown/Peterson
Peja/Wright
West/Thomas/Bowen
Armstrong/Ely/James

Why for Utah?: AK has worn out his welcome in Utah. He hasn't lived up to his contract, and Jason Richardson brings desperately needed firepower to their lineup. He also has a shorter, cheaper contract, and provides offensive insurance just in case Korver and Boozer don't come back.

Why not for Utah?: Would Jason Richardson be a good fit in Jerry Sloan's system? Maybe not, so I could definitely understand why Utah fans would hesitate to do this trade.

Final Lineup if Korver doesn't come back:
Williams/Price/Knight
Brewer/Almond
Richardson/Harpring/Miles
Boozer/Milsap
Okur/Koufos/Collins/Fesenko

Some footage of the players Phoenix would be receiving:

Luol Deng

Andrei Kirelenko

Tyson Chandler

Poll

Which team says no first?

Phoenix

10 votes

Chicago

26 votes

Utah

32 votes

New Orleans

14 votes

Neither, fair for all

27 votes

109 votes | Poll has closed

Rumor: Shaq to Chicago for Luol Deng

rsavaj — Thu, 28 May 2009 01:41:01 -0000

This rumor is reported by someone who has been very accurate in the past & is a main source of insider info to Bulls fans:

http://www.rumorpress.net/

There is a possibility Shaquille O’Neal could be in a Chicago Bulls uniform next season. In a rather surprising discovery, the Phoenix Suns and Bulls plan on engaging in trade talks that could send the future hall of fame center to Chicago, as soon as teams are allowed to talk after the playoffs. Suns GM Steve Kerr is looking to deal Shaq and is said to be interested in Loul Deng. The Suns would like to move the aging center mainly because he has slowed the up-tempo Suns down drastically. They feel Deng could bring some young, athletic energy back to the team. The Suns also feel Deng could still live up to his potential and contract if he can stay healthy

(MORE at link)

That's the first post in this thread on RealGM( http://www.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=908509 ). I think the deal may have some merit, but only if Kerr/Sarver don't screw it up. Shaq was great for us last season, but who knows if he'll be able to replicate that success next year. I'm confident in our training staff's ability to get Deng back to the level he was playing at just a few short years ago( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7N22f1L3yHc ) . However, I still believe that Shaq's All-NBA, All-Star, 21 million dollar expiring is worth more than Luol Deng, Jerome James(expiring contract, 80% covered by insurance making him financially appealing) and Tim Thomas(another expiring contract), which is the deal that most Chicago fans seem to be pushing.

If we trade Shaq, we HAVE to get back another four/five starter to play next to Amare. Run/Gun is fun until you have our undersized front-court getting absolutely demolished by Al Jefferson, Pau Gasol/Lamar Odom/Andrew Bynum, Tim Duncan, Carlos Boozer/Memo Okur, Dirk/Dampier, Scola/Yao, Griffin/Randolph/Camby/Kaman, etc.

Thus, I propose the following trade. New Orleans gets an expiring contract for Chandler(what they tried to get for him at the deadline), Chicago gets Shaq+Jason RIchardson to add to their lineup and frees themselves of Deng's contract, and we roll out the following lineup:

PG: Nash/Hinrich/Dragic

SG: Deng/Barbosa

SF: Hill/Dudley

PF: Amare/Tim Thomas

C: Chandler/Lou/Lopez

I think that's a fantastic lineup. Hinrich adds defense and can either back up Nash or play alongside Nash at times. Deng/Hill are good perimeter defenders, and Chandler takes the dirty work in the post so Amare can wreak havoc. Under Gentry I think that lineup can actually go deep in the playoffs. The most important part of this trade is quite obviously the return of Tim Thomas, who provides phenomenal swag and may actually play like he gives a damn again since it's his contract year.

Of course, most Chicago fans don't want anything to do with Jason Richardson, and I understand that, so doing the deal without Richardson and Hinrich would be fine with me too, but then I don't know how we'd handle our starting lineup, because Deng should start over Richardson, and Hill plays so much better as a starter.

Anyways, what are your guys thoughts on a potential Shaq to Chicago deal?

An Unpopular Position

rsavaj — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 01:00:11 -0000

A lot of people maintain that since D'Antoni's teams didn't win the championship, they essentially "got us nowhere"/were somewhat pointless, or a waste of time. I thoroughly disagree. Stan has said many times that ENJOYING THE JOURNEY is a huge part of what makes sports special, and I can say that I thoroghly enjoyed the journeys that the SSOL crew took us on.

This wasn't written by me, but it sums up my feelings far more eloquently than I could:

For the last few years there has been this ongoing debate on the value of the Suns as "entertainment". The crux of the argument is that Phoenix, while fun to watch, has never made it to the finals (let alone won the title), so one has to question whether the team can be regarded as successful or, more to the point, whether it was worthwhile to maintain a "fun" approach to the game with no assurances that this philosphy could ever make them championship.

Before getting to my almost-certainly-unpopular position, let me point out that there are no assurances in any sport. Ever. The Pistons have been held up as a paragon of teamwork and defense, but it isn't as though they punch a ticket to the finals every year. Their successes are tempered with failures. And like most teams, the failures are more frequent and often more celebrated.

The issue with Phoenix, however, was the absence of any ultimate success and the definition of success as "winning during the regular season" or "being fun to watch". Bill Simmons - love him or hate him - captures this perfectly in his piece on the Suns as "critically acclaimed".

So I'll cut to the chase - I liked the Suns as entertaining and "fun to watch", regardless of thieir limited yields in the postseason.

Here's the thing: I'm not an old guy, but I'm certainly not a young guy. And when you get older, the weight of reality seems a lot heavier. You might have kids and a career and mortgage payments and medical issues (for you or the family), and your folks get older and maybe pass away, and you have wills to write and tuition to save for and eveything in the public domain seems to hit you a little harder.

Enter sports.

When you're young, you can obsess about sports - every little stat, every transaction, every story in the news. Sports probably occupied 85% of my free time as a teenager. But nowadays, sports is a mostly-pleasant diversion from real life. I watch the games I can, I keep an eye on the nightly scoreboard when possible, and I visit places like this to discuss issues with likeminded fans from time to time. But sports is no longer the panacea it once was.

The biggest value of sports, for me, is entertainment. There are 82 games in a year, spanning 6 months. The playoffs, in contrast, last for a couplle dozen games over a month and a half. If you focus solely on the latter at the expense of the former, you're going to hand wave a lot of time away just to be disappointed (very likely, given that only one team wins it all) at the end of the season. Of course you are upset if your team exits the playoffs, no matter what, but is there not substantial value to watching a Suns-Nets double OT shootout (even if it's ultimately meaningless?) If you devalue the regular season to focus solely on the playoffs, you are missing Kobe's 81-point game, you're missing an unlikely string of Arenas buzzer-beaters, and so on.

I, for one, miss the "fun to watch" Suns, and I'd take them back in a heartbeat even if it meant continual struggles in the playoffs. Life is short. Sports is entertainment. I don't want to spend the season grimacing through 82 games or being bored to tears by a plodding half-court system, even if it results in Ws. I want fun and excitement and a fun distraction from the things in life that matter.

That distraction was undervalued, packaged, sold, and unceremoniously kicked out the door. If it results in a championship somehow, make no mistake - I'll be thrilled, I'll jump for joy, I'll fly to Phoenix to watch the parade. But I'll also be sad that it came at the expense of 6 months worth of fun and entertainment. Because if those things are suddenly valueless to you, then you had better be drawing a paycheck for it. Otherwise, what are you really getting?

Sources: Suns put Stoudemire on trade block

rsavaj — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 19:29:34 -0000

Sources: Suns put Stoudemire on trade block

I can't believe they're going to trade Amare before they fire Kerr or Porter :(

OFFICIAL: JASON RICHARDSON IS A PHOENIX SUN

rsavaj — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 23:04:39 -0000

http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/2008/12/10/20081210sunstradeonline.html

WOW WORDS WORDS WORDS WORDS WORDS WORDS WORDS WORDS WORDS WORDS WORDS WORDS WORDS WORDS WORDS WORDS ORDS WORDS WORDS WORDS WORDS WORDS WORDS ORDS WORDS WORDS WORDS WORDS WORDS WORDS ORDS WORDS WORDS WORDS WORDS WORDS WORDS ORDS WORDS WORDS WORDS WORDS WORDS WORDS ORDS WORDS WORDS WORDS WORDS WORDS WORDS ORDS WORDS WORDS WORDS WORDS WORDS WORDS ORDS WORDS WORDS WORDS WORDS WORDS WORDS

Credible source says Jason Richardson to Suns

rsavaj — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 22:24:51 -0000

Along with Jared Dudley, in exchange for Raja Bell, Sean Singletary and Boris Diaw.

dbdynasty is the Suns insider on the RealGM forum; he broke news of the Shaq trade weeks before it happened, and he provided constant updates on the D'Antoni situation this offseason.

The salaries match:

Richardson is spectacular on offense, and a great 3 PT marksmen last year, so he'll help spread the floor, but according to Hollinger's scouting report, he's an atrocious defender.

I really, really love Raja Bell and Boris Diaw. Raja is part of the heart of this team, and he can still ball, even though he's become inconsistent and his defense has clearly suffered. Boris Diaw is exceptionally talented, and he's put it together this year to become a valued role player and a great guy off the bench. He's our second best post player and our best post defender IMO. Without Boris, we're left with Amundson and Fropez as our backup bigs....not a good sign.

We should trade Tragic before we trade Singletary as well, but I do like Jared Dudley quite a bit.

[Note by Phoenix Stan, 12/10/08 3:04 PM PST ]

On the surface I don't like this trade. I am all for moving Bell because we have depth there so replacing him with a shooting guard that needs the ball doesn't make much sense. JRich can ball but I don't see him as a good fit on the Suns right now.

If we are going to make a move we need a backup PG and/or a backup Center. Our two deepest positions are the shooting guard / small forward. Why would we want more of those?

So I vote no unless there's more to this.

[Note by Phoenix Stan, 12/10/08 3:16 PM PST ]

Looks like my vote counts for crap. Seems official:

Reaction?

Shaq says RUN!

rsavaj — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 06:52:44 -0000

Shaq Says Run!

HALLELUJAH!

words words words amare needs to learn how to rebound amare needs to learn how to rebound amare needs to learn how to rebound amare needs to learn how to rebound amare needs to learn how to rebound amare needs to learn how to rebound amare needs to learn how to rebound amare needs to learn how to rebound amare needs to learn how to rebound amare needs to learn how to rebound amare needs to learn how to rebound

Matt Barnes signs with Suns

rsavaj — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 05:40:52 -0000

http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/2008/07/20/20080720barnes.html

http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/121245

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3497934

Suns fan here; I haven't watched too much of Barnes aside from the amazing run during 07 Playoffs. What can you guys tell me about him? What's he like on defense? Any info you guys could contribute would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for your help.

The other potential scenario for the Clippers is a trade. They've been talking to the Suns about a...

rsavaj — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 18:52:02 -0000

The other potential scenario for the Clippers is a trade. They've been talking to the Suns about a deal that would send Corey Maggette and No. 7 to Phoenix for Leandro Barbosa and No. 15.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/draft2008/columns/story?columnist=ford_chad&page=MockDraft-080623

D'ANTONI JUST GOT FIRED

rsavaj — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 06:33:08 -0000

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/jack_mccallum/04/30/suns.dantonio/index.html?eref=sircrc

:O

Personally, I think the wrong man got fired.

This is a sad day for the Phoenix Suns...I wish Mike the best of luck.

I can't think of any words here so....this sucks. It really does. This is upsetting.

Um. Am I at the limit yet?

WHY CAN'T WE FIRE KERR INSTEAD?

FOUR MORE WORDS NEEDED!

Sad face.