Why would the Suns want Beverly if they already have Bledsoe and Thomas? Unless they are expecting Bledsoe to bolt next year, in which case they wouldn't want to lose Dragic then. Either way, I can't see how Bev is a piece they'd be going after.
1. If PHX is willing to make Dragic available due to having several other PGs (at least PG-sized players) on the roster already and that Dragic is about to hit the free agent market and get paid, I am not sure they have much need for Beverley, a PG who is about to hit free agency and get paid. 2. From HOU's perspective, I'd prefer that they keep Beverley and trade future assets instead. If Dragic is a "third star," this means that the team should consider itself a real title contender this year-- i.e., "win now mode." If so, you want to keep all the current contributors that you can. You'll need Beverley to spell Dragic, play next to Dragic, take on a hot opposing PG, etc. Beverley may well make the difference in a critical game during a playoff series and you don't want to lose that. 3. I wouldn't care so much about giving up the NOP pick and preserving it for a later trade for a "third star" if we land that "third star" in Dragic already. You have to be willing to pay a price for someone of Dragic's quality. So, give them the NOP pick, Jones, Capela, Canaan, Johnson, future pick(s), overseas players, whatever. Go all in. If Dragic proves insufficient this season, the team will have the cap flexibility that it preserved by declining Parsons to go after Kevin Love or Rajon Rondo.
Guys. If the Suns can keep Bledsoe for 14 million or less they're not going to trade Dragic.. aka ALL NBA 3RD TEAM. It would be extremely incompetent of that organization to do that. We also have no real shot at Bledsoe too. Man, I bet if any Suns fan saw this thread they would be laughing their ass off. It's really funny and depressing how hopeful some of you guys are... I would love to have Bledsoe or Dragic here too, but it's just not happening. Parsons could be wearing red next season, but it's just not happening. Dwight could shoot 75% from the FT line, but it's just not happening. Harden could shave his beard, but it's just not happening. Cyberx could tell us we're landing Lebron James next season, but it's just not happening. Clutch could shut down this thread, but it's just not happening. Drew could actually be a king and not a joke, but it's just not happening. It's not happening, guys. Be realistic. :\
It is a crap shoot other than OKC, SAS and possibly Clippers. Portland, Houston, GS, DAL and Memphis will be grouped together.
SOlid post. Dragic would be ideal to give us a legit shot this year without concern about being hamstrung in future years. My thinking is that either Bledsoe or Dragic is available. No idea if we have the assets to get either. It would appear we don't have the cap-space to do a sign-and trade for Bledsoe but obviously Bima would know better. agreed the Sun's have PGs coming out their ass and likely have no need for Bev. Plus, we need him for a championship run anyway. He's the anti-Westbrook, remember?
As of today Tier 1 (no order) -OKC -Spurs -Clippers Tier 2 -Warriors -Grizzlies -Blazers Tier 3 -Rockets -Mavericks -Suns(assuming Bledsoe) -Pelicans(assuming healthy) -Nuggets(assuming healthy) Tier 4(all lottery teams)
Obviously you try to keep any/all assets you can, including the NOP pick... but that isn't realistic if you are going to get someone like Dragic. I also agree with you that you try and keep CONTRIBUTING assets on the team now above draft picks. Part of the appeal of getting Dragic is that you can go to war with a very good backcourt rotation of: Dragic/Beverley/Harden for 90+ minutes a night at the PG/SG spots.... also allows you to worry about getting a PF and SF depth. I think the real question is, does Morey think that Dragic is a #3 star on a Championship team? He obviously didn't 2 years ago, but Dragic has continued to develop and the Rockets are also under the gun.
most independent people have us in about the same place as we were last season. My real concern is injury depth, Asik and Lin didn't provide much as backups, but as injury replacements, they were great and last year's Ariza contributed way more to winning than Parsons did, but whether that carries into this season, who knows.
Memphis destroyed us last year. Unless our defense improves exponentially, we will remain behind them. Dallas is better than us right now, but if we are able to add Dragic without giving up too much ( I know that will be hard) then we can have a good chance of beating them. GSW played very well in the playoffs against the Clippers. We aren't as good as them right now either. This could change with more improvement. Right now, we may be able to make it in the playoffs or miss them all together. Internal growth will make all the difference.
The Suns can only pay Bledsoe $14.7 per year million anyway. And if they are keeping Bledsoe and Dragic, why did they draft a PG and sign iThomas to that big contract? Makes no sense. Dragic is signed for ONE MORE YEAR. That's it. And then it's very possible that a team like Houston offers him a big contract in 2015 and he leaves. The question is how much does a 28 y/o Dragic factor into their long term plans? They aren't talented enough right now to be trying to compete for a championship. They have one potential superstar on their roster in Bledsoe, and a bunch of nice complimentary players....that's not enough in the western conference.
There was a pretty noticeable gap between Houston and the rest when we were healthy after about the first month, we just couldn't get everyone healthy at the end, and our depth was always an issue (basically even awful teams were schooling our bench last year) We're throwing the best 2 players on the court against basically every team except the Clippers and Thunder in the west, and the only team that really has smother you with depth down is the Spurs.
It doesn't matter if the Grizz destroyed the Rockets last year, they don't play each other 82 times a year. Houston finished ahead of Memphis last year. The Rockets finished ahead of Dallas as well. GS finished behind the Rockets as well. The Rockets could finish 4th or 7th... there is no way to know for sure. If the Rockets get Dragic... yeah, they better be better than Dallas....
Yup, I agree..... we lost Asik/Lin and Parsons and added Ariza. I am not worried about the Ariza/Parsons swap.... but if someone like Canaan can step up, the Rockets very well could end up pushing the Clippers for the #3 seed.
We split with Memphis last year. 1 of of their "destructive" victories was a 1 point win, and then they beat us soundly the following night. Strange definition of destroy you have.
LOL! People crushing Morey for not getting something for Chandler before the Mavs threw all of that cash at him. But the Suns will keep Dragic after this year, despite having Bledsoe and Thomas too. Yeah right. Does everyone forget that Morey let Dragic walk because of the player option that would let him out early? I'm not saying that was a good reason, but it will bite the Suns here.
