The goal eventually SHOULD be to win a ring eventually, and the best shot at doing just that would be to begin planning a team of the future.  As of right now, we cannot win a championship with what we have by any means.  To do this, we must aim to collect a group of guys that are relatively still in their prime to make a legitimate run.  The first step is not trading all of your assets and picks away, but it is to obtain value from what you have now, and translate that into youth and talent.  Our flaw in this theory though, is the fact that we have no pieces to build a team around so we might as well be starting from scratch.

Robin Lopez (22):  I understand the league is thin on size and length, but with his injury record and lack of upside, it is pretty safe to say he is a bust, and not a piece we should plan for the future.  Though he is only 22 at the moment, how much better can he really get?  I feel as though he will become a smaller version of Big Z now, and way too soon.

Gani Lawal (22):  I truly believe Gani can be groomed into a good role player for the team, but definitely not a center piece.  Anything is still too early to predict with him though, so only time will tell.

Garret Siler (24):  The big fella really needs to start making strides in any direction, but let's face it, he probably won't be seen in a suns uniform next year.

Goran Dragic (24): In the kind of league today, is Goran really the kind of point guard you want to build your team around?  I know we've invested a lot of time already in this guy, but he seems to be only streaky at best, which is reminiscent of a young Beno, and I truly believe that is his ceiling.  The most worrisome note, is the fact that we have no other projects behind him as a fall back or even somebody to challenge his position.

Jared Dudley (25): Last year I would be quick to say Jared Dudley is pretty dispensable as well, but his improvements on the offensive end show that he is not done working and is ready and willing to move forward with himself and the team.  He is definitely a role player to keep around.

Marcin Gortat (26): Role Player.

Josh Childress (27): Expensive role player.

Channing Frye (27): Role Player.

Mikael Pietrus (28): Role Player

Hakim Warrick (28): Typically, guys like Hakim are the guys the league would move forward with in team building, but Hakim is already at the age where he may not be ready to make major changes physically and mentally to make himself a dominant player in the league.

Vince Carter (33): Even if Vince takes a sip of the Phoenix fountain of youth, where will it take us?  Vince cannot single-handedly take us to an NBA finals, not with this supporting cast.

The Captains
These are probably the most untouchable guys on the rotation.  Not just because of their continued high level of play, but also because of what they mean to the team and its facade.  They have honestly become the face of the franchise, and the fans would be able to stomach the moving of any other player better than these two.  Their greatest value also lies behind the scenes because they offer the highest level of IQ to pass onto any young players we can get.

Steve Nash (36): Obvious age considerations, and the league is becoming a point guard elite league so the older he gets, the less likely we will see a deep post season

Grant Hill (38): Still playing at a high level despite the age, but how much longer can he keep this up?

My point is, we have a team of role players, and expiring stars.  This equation does not equal a ring, and our next step should not be trading away picks we have, or selling them on draft day, but the real step is to use them and try to polish some gems out of them.  Sure we will have some depressing seasons, but ideally, within the next two drafts, we can groom 2-3 decent players that hopefully can become franchise players because we are definitely lacking in that category.  I am not asking for a once in a generation talented player a la KD, LBJ, DWade, or Kobe, but just a well groomed cast that we can believe in like the Hawks, Pacers, Clippers, Kings, Wolves, and even Portland.  These teams have some good stars, but the most important thing is, there is a light at the end of the tunnel for them, and it's their choice if they want to close the gate.  The light at the end of our tunnel right now shows a silhouette of Goran Dragic and Robin Lopez, which is a frightening image.

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I know we don't have any room in the backcourt right now, but he'd be a nice piece if any of our three point guards go out. I'm not saying he's a 1 but it would be nice for the rotation

and trust me, i love the grant hill at the one lineup just as much as the next guy, but idont know if we can afford to be playing grant hill 40 minutes in back to back games, despite his awesome/healthy routines

I honestly did not realize this, but if you look at it position by position, an argument can be made that these suns can be just as good if not better than the 62-20 suns, if everything flows the way it's been.

Nash and Amare are honestly about the same. amare if better if anything. amare still has the ability to go 20+9 average per game, but now with a midrange J and shooting 80% from the line (to compensate for the lack of old STAT explosion).  Nash on the other hand I feel is still about the same.  In terms of production per minute I don't think he's dropped off at all due to age.

Now to move on to the rest of the guys.

LB i think will be (if not greater) the LB we knew and loved from 06 this year.  clear mind, focused, and now here to work.

The big big thing is replacing matrix., but the two headed beast we have at the 3-spot between grant hill's defense and rebounding ability combined with JYD's scrappy-ness and 3's covers all the basis to fill the matrix+qrich void and more.

Joe Johnson is an irreplaceable player, but JRich's offensive as of right now is doing things JJ has not been able to do. 

Channing's play right now is something that throws us over that team for sure.  His ability to stretch the defense to the 3, yet allowing STAT to do his thing in the paint is better than Steven Hunter.

Lou's hustle and blocking ability is better than jake, walter, and lampe combined.

I know there are a lot of factors I'm not covering, and a lot more involved, but outside of the fact that the west has gotten a lot better since then, and Joe Johnson's ability to cover Nash's PG duties when he's out, what seemed to be a dismal look on a season is showing it's true colors.  The real tests come in the following days as CP3(If he plays) has always lit us up, and then LAL on thursday

I got a couple:

Toney Durant
Brother: Kevin Durant (Younger)
Summer League Stats

Stephen Graham
Brother: Joey Graham (Twin)
Preseason Stats (Bobcats)

Seth Curry (Maybe Better?)
Brother: Stephen Curry (Older)
College Stats (Duke)

Ben Hansbrough

Brother: Tyler Hansbrough (Younger)
College Stats (ND)

anybody got anymore?

Sure the "New Suns" have been red hot, and have scored 140 in the last 3 games.  But it's no secret that they're last 3 games should have been cake-walks regardless. 

From a Defensive Standpoint let's break this down:

OKC averages 98 pts per game and, in order, we've given them 93 and 102 under Porter, and 118 under Gentry. 

LAC averages 95 pts per game and, in order, we've given them 69 and 98 under Porter, and 100 and 119 under Gentry. 

we have gotten worse on the defensive end, clearly Porter was failing the whole theme for his campaign, and these are the bottom tier teams of the league.  if we cant keep teams like OKC and LAC under 100 consistently towards the end of the season, then it is obviously a lapse of defense

To break the wall and get this team into the top 8, they will have to continue to play at a high level.

Leandro doesn't necessarily have to put up 40-7-7-6 every night.  but he's going to need to keep that option hot.  he has to sink his open 3's, he has to force that ball down the throat of the transition defense every game, which I have seen him slow down on towards this time of the year.  On top of his offense, he is going to need to showcase his defense.  This man CAN play defense, but he needs to concentrate on it and utilize his lateral quickness to shutdown the guards that Nash can't.

Barnes is going to have to come in and hit his 3's and play locklockLOCK-down D which is something he is capable of, but i feel he has been lacking.  As of right now, we put Grant Hill on the star SG's and SF's of this league, and it really should Barnes.  Hill can do it, but his lateral speed is slow for obvious reasons, and Barnes needs to step up and become James Posey.  These players have all the same attributes, just a difference of consistency.

JRich is going to need to get at least 15 touches a game. they brought him on to score, but they cant do it if some nameless PF demands 25 possesions a game and only finishes half of them at most.  With the absence of he-who-shall-not-be-named, it is time for JRich to do what he was brought in to do, be a scoring machine. 

Nash, Shaq, and GHill have been proving themselves to be calm, veteran contenders in their own right, but it's time for the rest of the Suns to step up on the defensive side of the field to make this playoff push realistic

The true test will be these next 4 games against BOS, CHA, TOR, and of course LAL. We've had trouble with all four of these teams so far and if we can end this week 4-0.  I will be surprised that he-who-shall-not-be-named will stick around by next october