Whats the Suns biggest rotation problem when Vince Carter starts to play ? Glut of wings right...and i guess what to do about Vince Carter. His salary and offensive skills (and Alvin Gentrys pronouncement) says you gotta get him at least into the starting lining up but him at SG with Nash - but that would result in a lot of defensive liability at the backcourt (is Carter a better defender than JRich?? - i never watched him that much so i dunno).

So just an idea... why not stick with Dudley at SG or even better IMO go with Pietrus at SG.  Better defense, still with some offensive punch (at least from long-range).  Anyway Hill, Frye and Nash already provides a lot of the offense.  Carter comes off the bench as some kind of an offensive super-sub playing 25-28 mpg, 14-18ppg and giving the 2nd unit some offensive punch now that Frye is firmly set as a starter.

With Carter playing that about dries up any playing time for Childress (or Pietrus) and I really like Childress - he plays with a lot of intensity and seems to be in almost every play (steals, blocks, rebounds, battling for position inside) when he's on the floor.  So get Childress into the rotation as a PF in place of Hakim, whose biggest asset (pick and roll offense, volume scorer from time to time) is almost always countered by his liabilities (non existent defense & rebounding).  Childress is a way better rebounder and defender than Warrick will ever be.  And his .560 FG% says he can be a better scorer than he is now with his limited/ inconsistent playing time.

Memphis is faltering and they have to worry about extension for zach Randolph.  So they might be willing to trade Gasol.  IMO Suns should try for Gasol even if it means giving up Robin Lopez - i dont think memphis would do trade for lesser players or non-centers (clark, even dudley).  Memphis might opt for Rolo since he's not immediately up for extension, even if we have to sweeten the deal with some 2nd round draft picks (or give up Siler!!! hehehe)

Benefits: Gasol is definitely more seasoned than RoLo you know he's capable of at least 14ppg-9rpg nightly while Rolo is still just "promising" despite a good run last year; Gasol is healthier while RoLo seems injury prone; Gasol would be perfect w/ Frye an inside-out frontline tandem; he's tough.

Downsides: Suns get to worry about Gasols extension; Rolo younger by 3? years (but w/ possible career injuries?); Rolo youth/ skills/ atlethicism might turn him to be a star-caliber player (but again injuries? and who says Gasol cant be one although hes not as athletic and is older).

Sorry guys i know Suns in a 3 win streak and here i am throwing trades out there - but i'm still worried about rebounding - Gentry probably have some fixes for rebounding but IMO getting an above average big man that can run with Nash/ Dragic is a better/ more stable solution.  What do you think?

Anybody think we might have a shot at Paul Millsap - should mid December come along and were not getting anywhere with Hedo-Hakim tandem at PF??  Heard he might be available if Al jefferson works out well with Jazz.

Two big questions IMO: 1. Do we have anything of interest were willing to give up AND Jazz is willing to take?? 2. Can Millsap's play fit in with Nash/Suns wings?? No question though that he will be a better rebounder over anyone we have (save for Robin if he continues to improve) and despite being undersized at PF i think he's still a better post defender over Hedo-Hakim.

our resident salary cap expert:  Can Suns do an immediate trade of Warrick? And can Warricks salary be coupled with remaining TPE (from Amare) to trade for a pure PF - say somebody like Luis Scola?

People here might be correct in assuming that maybe Suns kind of jumped the gun on Warrick - now that Hedo is onboard theyve got a glut of "small forwards" that will try to play the PF position.  If we can get a true PF Hedo can shift to SF.  Or Hedo can still play PF with the acquired PF playing in the 2nd unit with Frye - giving Frye some muscle on the boards.  As it is now a Frye-Warrick-Dudley frontline 2nd unit basically a lineup of small forwards.  Am not to worried with Hedo as the starting PF as long as he's playing alongside Lopez.

Would the Sixers be OK with a Richardson for Iggy trade? They get to shed off a long Iggy contract that runs up to 4 more?? years vs 1 year for JRich.  Maybe include Barbosa/ Collison in so they could also include Dalembert to give them more cap savings and Suns can try to turn around and trade Dalembert to other teams (e.g.Sacramento who had interest on Dalmbert for some combination of Nocioni/ Sergio Rodriguez/ Udrih/ Kenny Thomas OR other teamsneeding a center) coz we dont need another center like Robin Lopez.

End result we get a huge upgrade at SG, maybe get a pure PG backup in Dalembert trade  and let Dragic play backup SG.  I think Iggy can play good as a defender to support  Amare/ Nash just like Marion.  Of course above trade means a long contract being taken on by Suns ... dont know if Sarver is willing to do that.

Read from somewhere Spurs have interest in Amare? If he does get moved do you guys think Spurs would be willing to give up Ginobili and Dejuan Blair? Ginobili is one tough player and if he doesnt re-sign it financially helps the team next year.  But i think its gonna be Blair who'll make the big difference.  Im not saying he's better overall than Amare (coz he isnt) but if were gonna lose him to free agency anyway i think Blair is a much better value than Igoudala or JJ Hickson or Beasley.

And right now he's a way better rebounder than Amare will ever be and i do think he will fit in with the Suns despite his lack of speed - i mean this arent exactly the SSOL Suns we have now

With the suns in kind of a rut this December (or maybe just playing to their actual levell after surprising all of us in November) the Stoudemire-Barbosa-Jrich-etc trade scenarios are starting to heat up again.  But maybe we shouldnt be looking at the big names - just their salary levels alone makes such trade talk pipe dreams.  Im sure there are some lower level players that can be had to help Suns with their biggest weakness - rebounding/ post defense - without nullifying their offense. One player that comes to mind is OKCs DJ White - anybody can enlighten me if hes any good?  Ive seen only his stats and a few games last year and his stats are quite impressive last year (8ppg n 4-5rpg i think) in limited minutes.  But i think this year OKC has gone to a Jeff green-Krstic-Collison-Ibaka big man rotation so White might be expendable??

This is kind of related/ reaction to the post put up by UASun re: Lamar Odom - i dont think Lakers will agree to see Odom in a Suns uniform.

I agree with some that David Lee would be a better fit besides Amare with his youth and ability to run.  So i dont know if this will work: 3 team trade Suns get Lee from NYK; Utah sends Boozer to NYK (a one year contract Walsh covets for a star that they might extend longterm to lure Lebron in 2010); Suns sends Pavlovic and combination of other 1-year contracts e.g. Lopez, Dudley, Amundson? (Utah still get their 2010 cap relief and save some right now due to Pavlovic buy out opition plus the combination Sun sends out will be around 8-9mil as compared to Boozers 12mil.)

Suns would be giving up a couple of young good players (Amundson, Dudley, etc) but Lee would fill in the gap a lot better as a young player we can develop ove ther the years.  IMO i  would even give up Earl Clark if need be.

or any other star forward to try to trade for stoudemire.  The GSW rumor is good enuf with S. Curry or Randlolph but i dont think GSW would give em up. Bosh would be better an instant replacement , might not be as explosive as Amare but definitely more dependable and willing to defend/ rebound and can run with Nash. Colangelo just might bite making sure Raptorsget something for Bosh who they can extend if his eye/ knee turn out ok have free cap space by 2010.

Boozer would be tricky as we'll probably need a third team - i doubt if Sloan would like a defensive stiff like Stoudemire; but i think the Jazz are also looking coz Boozer can go to Pistons or other teams as a free agent.  This way theyget something for him.  Concern of course is if he can play up-tempo. But i like Boozers toughness.

Suns just won another hi-scoring game - 113-103 over the Pacers - and shooting percentages in mid 50's%!  With all the emphasis on defense i never thought i would be seeing these numbers.

Somebody help me out though - are these numbers coming from a more efficient half court game or D'Antoni-style offense of shooting less than 10 second into the possesion??  I live in the philippines and not all the games are broadcast and some games i miss due to work (if games are broadcast they come on at around 9AM)- so ive only seen one game to date vs New Orleans - the one game where they didnt hit over a 100 points and listened to a couple of audio (internet).

Amare with a ton of points! maybe he's on track  to contend for MVP - but what i really liked  was his 11 rebounds.

Very good win for the Suns and i think the biggest plus is that Porter played the bench EXCLUSIVELY for a lot of vital minutes (even early 4th quarter) and they didnt get blown away - they should get better as Lopez, Dragic gets more experience.  Barbosa was great on offense putting down a lot of Spurs comeback tries! One observation though is that they lacked rebounding off the bench - Diaw with 1 rebound!!!  Maybe they should put Barnes on the second unit instead for his rebounding (plus  i think Grant Hill beat him out shooting wise for that starting spot).  If Diaw keeps coming up lame on the boards lets get Amundson in there - the guy will kill for those rebounds!

First time to post here so i dont really know how this works.... but im a big Suns fan since the Majerle, Barkley, Kevin Johnson days. Anybody give any thought to getting Shawn marion back to the Suns? i tried it on some trade machine and it will work if we trade Barbosa and Diaw for him. It would solve our need for a wingman and defender outright, plus a chance to unload Diaw's contract.  We lose Barbosa's scoring (and reasonable contract) but shooting guards should be the easiest to pick up from the free agents available.

Big question is if Miami will go for it... or even more important if MArion will?? I think Barbosa's reasonable contract would be acceptable to Miami and a third team involved can get Diaw.  TEam that comes to mind is the Knicks if you can believe that D'Antoni realy loves Diaw.  Knicks can send Eddy Curry to play alongside Beasley with the Heat  (while Barbosa plays alongside Wade) or send David Lee/ Balkman/ Malik Rose - which will give Miami depth with Barbosa/ Lee/ Balkman in exchange for Marion with Rose a salary cap saver by next season.  I know the scenarios are kind of out of this world but if it goes thru and marion decides not to re-sign with the Suns we still get to shed Diaws bloated contract.