ESPN’s Pelton gives Phoenix Suns a ‘C’ for offseason moves
Aug 1, 2017, 11:40 AM | Updated: 2:57 pm
(AP Photo/Matt York)
(AP Photo/Matt York)
The Suns have gone all-in on the youth movement.
It didn’t look like that for most of the offseason, however. The Suns were continuously linked to trades for big-name stars such as Kristaps Porzingis, Paul Millsap and Kyrie irving that would likely have involved shipping out some young talent.
But, at least for the moment, they have held pat with the concept of building around their young core that includes Devin Booker, Marquese Chriss, Dragan Bender and rookie Josh Jackson.
And after telling the Cleveland Cavaliers that Jackson will not be included in a deal for Irving, it seems they have taken a line from Kenny Rogers’ “The Gambler.”
“You’ve got to know when to hold ’em.”
The Suns have held onto their assets as they build for the future and for their lack of action, Kevin Pelton of ESPN.com gave the Suns a C-grade for their draft and free agency moves.
Since drafting Josh Jackson No. 4 overall, the Suns have basically sat the offseason out. After being linked to veteran power forwards, they changed directions to focus on building around their youth, giving general manager Ryan McDonough a new, long-term contract and adding NBA veteran James Jones to their front office. With center Alan Williams re-signing, Phoenix still has about $6 million in cap space remaining. That could increase if the Suns re-sign restricted free agent Alex Len to a deal that pays him less than his $12 million cap hold. If so, Phoenix would be in position to take advantage of a buyer’s market for adding salary midseason.
According to Spotrac, the Suns have the second-most available cap space at just over $6.3 million.
They have the money and assets to go out and acquire a big name, but the question is will they stick to #TheTimeline?
