Rockets acquire Suns picks, return Nets picks to Brooklyn

Let's say FRP or equivalent is worth about the 17th pick as usually most FRPs that are traded end up well outside the lottery.

He's better than Fox, but he's older so his Bird Rights are near worthless. I'd probably put AD as worth less than Booker, but more than Fox. That would put AD worth around 3.5 to 4 FRPs or equivalents.

 

[Shelburne] "Situation in Suns locker room is toxic right now. That shootaround yesterday I heard was very awkward, very weird"

 

Stone could not be more obvious. Need to hide our cards better, talk to other teams, open mind to other possibilities.

 

Hide our cards better?

The PHX picks were always...aside from value..first and foremost, about Booker.

 

On one of the recent Windhorst podcast, Bontemps commented on how stuck the Suns is. He flat out said Suns should sell Booker or KD to the Rockets this summer. Don't waste time to start the inevitable rebuild.

The longer they wait, the older the stars, and the less the Suns can fetch.

 

Great reminder why Stone is far from an idiot, not good at his job etc etc. The moment they got Beal, it was all bound to fall apart. Fit, chemistry and skill still matters.

 

lol, that is the very definition of “in the sh#t”.

 

I hope that we never land Booker. Tired of the Booker talk. The guy is not a winner, it's CP3 that made him a winner, then CP3 got old and they went back to not being all that great. The one magical run they had in the bubble was likely to playing in an empty gym.

 

here's to hoping the wheels fall off the suns bus. so many great prospects this summer!

https://www.tankathon.com/mock_draft

 

It's less that Booker is the end all be all. And the concern on how many good years KD has left are valid. All those things are factored into the price. It's about keep upgrading the team.

It's nice to see Jalen, Alperen, and others improve. But we don't have a top 25 yet. Possible one of the homegrowns might grow into a top 25, but they also may very well not.

The picks and swaps depreciate as the years go on. At some point, have to cash in. Fox chose Spurs, and Lakers land Luka. One or two stars can shake loose, but eventually, team should jump in with a bid that it is comfortable with.

This summer, re-evaluation will be fierce.

 

Booker should not be the be all and end all. And unlike the Nets, Suns have shunned all negotiations with Rockets + have looked elsewhere in moving their best players, see KD trade talks with GSW + Mavs.

 

The good news is that in the off-season we can potentially trade for BOTH Durant and Booker (2 separate deals).

Suns could conceivably get a return of Green plus 2 other young guys, and their picks back. It would be a heckuva start to a rebuild for them.

 

Phoenix still bitter about 1994 and 1995

 

No one knows what will happen to those picks if the rockets kept each one until the draft position gets set. There’s (just a guess) around a 70-75% chance one falls into the top 4. Then you have a ton of value in just one pick. There’s is no escape for the suns. The players they have will continue to get older and worse. Durant will have less value this offseason than last etc.

 

This coming offseason marks the end of the asset accumulation/appreciation game for us. We've won it.

The next stage is choosing. What combination of choices turn those assets into a team that can beat OKC, BOS, SAS, LAL, DAL, CLE etc. in consecutive playoff series; and into a team that can maintain that at a sustainable cost over 3,4,5 years?

IMO, that entails acquiring a 1A player who is under 35, and then making moves to alter the team construction to fit around them; Or it entails acquiring ~two top 40ish players who are still in their mid twenties, still on affordable second contracts, and answer the offensive creation / shooting / rim protection problems that create synergies with Amen.

Trading for Booker or KD doesn't accomplish either path IMO. Using the Suns picks elsewhere as trade ammo to to accomplish one of those paths is the better way.

 

Keeping the picks have upsides, as the advantage is keeping the pipeline going for good and CHEAP talent, as others Rockets players get paid.

Still doesn't let Stone (and Ime) off the hook on tough decisions, as they have to make room for roster spots or still end up in flipping few of the young talent eventually for consolidation. Christopher / Garuba / Tyty was that first wave to make room, eventually a 2nd wave may come.

If Suns still keep Booker and KD, the picks won't be as good (as a deep tank team). Leverage wise Stone, can just say, yea we'll use the draft capital. Leverage when negotiating in the summer.

 

It will interesting to see what happens. I enjoy having a team I hope to lose myself. It’s been going on a while now from the Nets to the Suns to the Mavs now. All of those picks or swaps have value with 2 old teams and the Nets being extremely mediocre to almost bad. If the nets want high picks picks it will be hard to flip the switch after next season while getting those drafted players playing time.