The cobbled together, stuff we held on to during the playoffs mega super rumor and team direction thread.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

That scrub's 3 pointer at the end of the Phoenix game cost me a $256 win off of a $10 bet

I needed the score to be between 201 - 210 . . and that last 3 put it at 213.

I don't blame the Mavs for wanting to beat his ass for stealing the ball and taking that shot.  That's an unbelievable way for me to lose.

I've lost college games like that, but not an NBA game. 

 

Absolutely ridiculous. 

 

[NBASupes]

3 minutes ago, georgia said:

Dallas had 3 guys that can create.    We have one.    We better add another.   Last year when Lou was a creator and even Gallo we saw what could happen.    This year we had just Trae.   

We had defensive issues too which all start and end with Trae. Its hard to add creators around Trae.

[Peoriabird]

16 minutes ago, georgia said:

Dallas had 3 guys that can create.    We have one.    We better add another.   Last year when Lou was a creator and even Gallo we saw what could happen.    This year we had just Trae.   

Phoenix had several creator so what happened to them?

[NBASupes]

3 minutes ago, Peoriabird said:

Phoenix had several creator so what happened to them?

Bro forgot about they got the Point gawd and they have Booker who many here would swear is the answer if he was available for trade. 

[georgia]

22 minutes ago, NBASupes said:

We had defensive issues too which all start and end with Trae. Its hard to add creators around Trae.

No doubt.   But we need someone else that can score when he’s out.    Either a starter or sixth man

[NBASupes]

5 minutes ago, georgia said:

No doubt.   But we need someone else that can score when he’s out.    Either a starter or sixth man

I still would like to add Eric Gordon. I think he would be a nice fit as a 6th man

[georgia]

6 minutes ago, NBASupes said:

I still would like to add Eric Gordon. I think he would be a nice fit as a 6th man

That should be feasible using the Gallo contract.    I’m for it.  
 

No idea if good idea or not, but I do wonder what Wiggins availability will be if GSW had to resign Poole Payton and Porter.    And heck maybe Looney

[NBASupes]

6 minutes ago, georgia said:

That should be feasible using the Gallo contract.    I’m for it.  
 

No idea if good idea or not, but I do wonder what Wiggins availability will be if GSW had to resign Poole Payton and Porter.    And heck maybe Looney

Wiggins cost too much

[Diesel]

56 minutes ago, georgia said:

Dallas had 3 guys that can create.    We have one.    We better add another.   Last year when Lou was a creator and even Gallo we saw what could happen.    This year we had just Trae.   

[warcore]

Well let's hope the Suns feel like they have to trade Ayton to try and give CP3 and Book one last shot at a title. Clearly they lost because of Ayton. Right???

[JTB]

2 hours ago, NBASupes said:

I would take Ayton if his trade value is reasonable like Lonzo was for the Bulls. I only see one elite big and that's Gobert. Ayton is still just up and coming

I will take either one. At this point I really don’t care get one of them. Both have clear advantages over each other.

 

2 hours ago, Peoriabird said:

This game should be a wake up call for Hawk fans...this defense cannot be a bottom 10 defense while trying to rely on showtime laker offensive production game after game.  The Suns were the best offense in the league right and got shut down.  The Hawks must stress defense this offseason period!!!

I think this is a overreaction to one bad game on Aytons end. The suns were bad all around but I will say this …..

if Schlenk wants to go an all defense route around Trae then I’m all for it. It would not be a challenge to put an all defensive minded unit around Trae as the option is there but that route wouldn’t help the offensive needs.

Trading for Gobert would be intriguing if Schlenk has a mindset of getting good perimeter defenders that way Gobert does what he’s best at ….staying near and around the goal. 
 

Trade that works:

Capela + Bogi for Gobert 

Free agency:

Go hard after unrestricted free agent and heavily defensive minded SG Bruce Brown Jr. 

Starting Lineup:

Trae

Bruce Brown

Hunter

Collins

Gobert

 

There you have it….4 defensive starters around Trae and possibly the 3 best defenders Gobert has ever played with. Brown and Hunter can play up in their opponents chest defensively. Collins can roam a bit and guard 4s primarily all while playing good solid defense. Gobert locks down the paint and elevates the teams overall defense as the anchor he is.

Decent shooting between Brown & Hunter but need consistency. Collins extremely efficient at shooting all around but not someone I would consider a sharp shooter like Bogi when healthy. Resign Delon Wright to back up Trae.

[JTB]

3 hours ago, warcore said:

Well let's hope the Suns feel like they have to trade Ayton to try and give CP3 and Book one last shot at a title. Clearly they lost because of Ayton. Right???

Nope it’s not clear at all but man media is the devil! CP3 and Booker were just as bad as Ayton but of course they weren’t pulled from the game. All 3 were horrible in that game 7 but Ayton getting the blame and was pulled due to this…..

 

this was horrible reason to pull Ayton solely due to this possession. I guess Monty missed the laziness of CP3 after that failed trap! If Paul has some alertness Ayton probably doesn’t creep over so much for the fake hesitating trap look.

If you’re going to play a box 1 trapping zone defense you HAVE to be committed to staying alert, rotating, and recovering! The heat make it look so simple but it’s far from that.

CP3 laziness helped Monty become annoyed with Ayton….amazing! But Ayton didn’t have a bad series. He had a very bad crucial game like CP3 and Booker!

 

 

This guy is able to do this kind of scoring and not even be second offensive scoring option. He doesn’t touch the ball enough despite how anyone feels about him. 

Make no mistake about it! While Gobert will give the hawks more on defense he is still not a two way player that Ayton is despite what or how anyone feels about game 7. The issue with Gobert signing is that even after you get Gobert you still do not have a second go to scorer! Ayton resolves that while still being a good solid defender and quite frankly just all around center who’s still growing.

Both players are extremely good fits with Trae but you need to go about building between the 2 pairings differently.

[NBASupes]

1 hour ago, JTB said:

Nope it’s not clear at all but man media is the devil! CP3 and Booker were just as bad as Ayton but of course they weren’t pulled from the game. All 3 were horrible in that game 7 but Ayton getting the blame and was pulled due to this…..

 

this was horrible reason to pull Ayton solely due to this possession. I guess Monty missed the laziness of CP3 after that failed trap! If Paul has some alertness Ayton probably doesn’t creep over so much for the fake hesitating trap look.

If you’re going to play a box 1 trapping zone defense you HAVE to be committed to staying alert, rotating, and recovering! The heat make it look so simple but it’s far from that.

CP3 laziness helped Monty become annoyed with Ayton….amazing! But Ayton didn’t have a bad series. He had a very bad crucial game like CP3 and Booker!

 

 

This guy is able to do this kind of scoring and not even be second offensive scoring option. He doesn’t touch the ball enough despite how anyone feels about him. 

Make no mistake about it! While Gobert will give the hawks more on defense he is still not a two way player that Ayton is despite what or how anyone feels about game 7. The issue with Gobert signing is that even after you get Gobert you still do not have a second go to scorer! Ayton resolves that while still being a good solid defender and quite frankly just all around center who’s still growing.

Both players are extremely good fits with Trae but you need to go about building between the 2 pairings differently.

He's not even close to Gobert. Capela right now is better than Ayton will ever be on defense and Gobert is superior to Capela. Offensively, he don't got no dog. Gobert is limited but he's a better verison offensively of what Clint is. Ayton is not reliable. He's up and down like Trae but Trae is elite on offense more times than not. Ayton isn't. This isn't even close, the gap is massive for a 5. I am not even sure these two can work together personality wise either. Its not like either has a voice in the locker room

[Mikey]

The Ayton leaving Suns rumor just got way more likely after last night. Not only did he not speak with the media last night, Monty mentioned his lack of minutes was "an internal matter". Also rumors he had to be separated from Monty. We all know Sarver won't pay him. Time for the hawks to strike

[Peoriabird]

7 minutes ago, Mikey said:

The Ayton leaving Suns rumor just got way more likely after last night. Not only did he not speak with the media last night, Monty mentioned his lack of minutes was "an internal matter". Also rumors he had to be separated from Monty. We all know Sarver won't pay him. Time for the hawks to strike

So if the coach of the year sees nothing in his own player, we should?  just asking

[kg01]

17 minutes ago, Mikey said:

The Ayton leaving Suns rumor just got way more likely after last night. Not only did he not speak with the media last night, Monty mentioned his lack of minutes was "an internal matter". Also rumors he had to be separated from Monty. We all know Sarver won't pay him. Time for the hawks to strike

Shiiiiiiii, at least he showed some 'fight' last night.  More than I can say for a lotta the other suns.  Talk about rolling over and playing dead.  They were world beaters all regular reason.  Playoffs turned into kittens.

[Diesel]

Hawks fans... don't read what's not there. 

Dallas had more than Luka.  I know Luka will get the bounty of the credit because he played very well and he's the white whale.  BUT Dallas had Luka, Dimwitty, and Brunsen....

When you have three players that are scorching you.. you can't focus on one.

That's what the Suns-Mavs series should be labelled.   3 players scorching the Suns...  And CP and Book not showing up. 

 

In comparison to what we have... we don't have three players that consistently scorch the opponents.  Trae can only do so much.  At times, some of our inconsistent players will have a good game at the same time and it looks fantastic.  But the problem is that we are reliant on inconsistent players. 

How this translates into we need another C, I don't get that?

The problem is what it always has been.. we need consistent scoring from our wings.  When Bogi's knee is not hurting him, he can cobble together a really good game and we look good.   When Hunter is not playing like a bitch, he can put together a good game.    But it's very rare that those two things happen at the same time.   The one thing that we know is consistent, if one of two players step up, Trae will find a way to contribute.

So the thing we should look at this offseason.. getting some consistent scoring. 

 

 

 

[AHF]

9 minutes ago, kg01 said:

Shiiiiiiii, at least he showed some 'fight' last night.  More than I can say for a lotta the other suns.  Talk about rolling over and playing dead.  They were world beaters all regular reason.  Playoffs turned into kittens.

This is just too much a repeating pattern for CP.  Think this writes his legacy to some extent.  That "lost series after 2-0 lead" is bad.

2 hours ago, NBASupes said:

He's not even close to Gobert. Capela right now is better than Ayton will ever be on defense and Gobert is superior to Capela. Offensively, he don't got no dog. Gobert is limited but he's a better verison offensively of what Clint is. Ayton is not reliable. He's up and down like Trae but Trae is elite on offense more times than not. Ayton isn't. This isn't even close, the gap is massive for a 5. I am not even sure these two can work together personality wise either. Its not like either has a voice in the locker room

I think it is no-brainer that Gobert is the better player for next season and it isn't all that close which is more about how I view Gobert than how I view Ayton.  If TS went for Ayton instead of Gobert, it would come down to one or more of:

• Availability
• Trade price
• Contract price
• Age

29 minutes ago, Mikey said:

The Ayton leaving Suns rumor just got way more likely after last night. Not only did he not speak with the media last night, Monty mentioned his lack of minutes was "an internal matter". Also rumors he had to be separated from Monty. We all know Sarver won't pay him. Time for the hawks to strike

It does seem to send a message about how they prioritize him on the pecking order and he can't have missed that message.  If he feels disrespected by Monty that won't be the primary reason he gets moved but if Sarver was already on the fence about whether to commit to him then this is a pretty strong signal they might let him go (i.e., trade his rights if at all possible).  If a team had the cap room, I'd say odds would be pretty good that Suns wouldn't match if the contract passed a certain price ala Bogi here.  What that translates into is a possible discount on price similar to Bogi (we offered compensation, they didn't like it and ended up with nothing so Phoenix needs to be careful to make sure he doesn't sign a sheet they won't be willing to match and accepting something is always better than nothing).

There seem to be very viable paths for both Gobert and Ayton to be on the market but definitely not a done deal as far as any of us know.

[Peoriabird]

2 minutes ago, Diesel said:

Hawks fans... don't read what's not there. 

Dallas had more than Luka.  I know Luka will get the bounty of the credit because he played very well and he's the white whale.  BUT Dallas had Luka, Dimwitty, and Brunsen....

When you have three players that are scorching you.. you can't focus on one.

That's what the Suns-Mavs series should be labelled.   3 players scorching the Suns...  And CP and Book not showing up. 

 

In comparison to what we have... we don't have three players that consistently scorch the opponents.  Trae can only do so much.  At times, some of our inconsistent players will have a good game at the same time and it looks fantastic.  But the problem is that we are reliant on inconsistent players.

 

 

 

Here is the thing...early in the series against Phoenix, the fans and pundits were saying the same thing about Luka's supporting cast i.e. they weren't showing up and then they showed up in the last game. How is that any different from what Huerter did last year vs Philly? Or even Gallo/Bogi in some games?

By the way, I agree that center isn't the problem

[AHF]

1 minute ago, Peoriabird said:

Here is the thing...early in the series against Phoenix, the fans and pundits were saying the same thing about Luka's supporting cast i.e. they weren't showing up and then they showed up in the last game. How is that any different from what Huerter did last year vs Philly? Or even Gallo/Bogi in some games?

By the way, I agree that center isn't the problem

Luka's supporting cast won multiple playoff games without him.  That is very different from Huerter, Hunter, etc. who have shown some very important flashes but haven't been there with the same consistency.  For example, Jalen Brunson has 9 games this postseason where he scored between 21 and 41 points.  Hunter has 2 games and Huerter has 1 game between 21 and 41 points in their careers.  Bogi has 4.  So Brunson has 9 this year alone (which happens to be the first year Dallas is doing anything in the playoffs with Luka) and Bogi, Hunter and Huerter have a combined 8 for their entire careers.