ESPN’s Pelton gives Phoenix Suns a ‘C’ for offseason moves
For their lack of action, Kevin Pelton of ESPN.com gave the Suns a letter C grade for their draft and free agency moves.
(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?
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Comments
20 Comments
The same can be said about the people over-valuing Kyrie Irving. Third best PG in the league? Maybe even on-par with the two most recent MVP's? Even Mr. Fantastic would call that a reach.
This is a player who hasn't made an All-NBA Team in two years. Which was the only time he's ever made an All-NBA Team, and it was the Third Team. Know who else did that before? Goran Dragic, the season prior at that.
In addition to Curry and Westbrook, Irving isn't better than Chris Paul, Damien Lillard, John Wall, or even Isaiah Thomas. The only reason I didn't put James Harden on that list is because he's going to play off the ball this season, presumably.
Irving doesn't have a history of elevating a team beyond 33 wins, and definitely doesn't make the players around him better. He's incredibly skilled offensively, but not worth trading the farm for. Cleveland isn't even in a position to demand more than I'm sure the Suns already offered.
Pass please! #TheTimeline
Irving is 25 and an elite scorer.When you can get a player of such talent and still keep Jackson you need to do whatever it takes. A team of Irving, Booker, and Jackson could eventually be great. We are not talking about all of the bull about Chriss and Bender. Kyrie is a proven commodity, a player that has been clutch down the stretch, and I believe away from Lebron he will even be better.