NBA Draft Lottery: 14. Phoenix Suns
NBA Draft June 12th. 2009, 4:30pm
Last year’s pick: 15. Robin Lopez. Only averaged 10 minutes a night; he’s not his brother, that’s for sure.
Quality No. 14 picks, since 1980: Al Thornton (2007), Troy Murphy (01), Peja (96), Tim Hardaway (89), Dan Marjele (88), Michael Cage (84), Drexler (83), Don’t front on Michael Cage because of the jheri curls. He won a rebounding title once.
Impending free agents: SF Grant Hill, SF Matt Barnes.
Need positions: SF, maybe a PG of the future, maybe a C of the future if you’re not enamored with Lopez.
Trade talk: Shaq? Nash? Amare? Nobody seems happy since the coaching change.
Assume the best – the big three stay. Sure, two of them are old and one’s allergic to rebounding, but we’re being positive. Let’s say … Shaq can duplicate last season, and Jason Richardson avoids trouble long enough to score 20 a night. All they need is a defensive-minded SF who maybe can hit a three every now and then, and the Suns should be in the hunt for a 6-7-8 seed in the playoffs.
Earl Clark of Louisville jumps off the page. Great athlete, big upside, and though he’s tentative offensively at times, he seems like the type who can pump in 10 a night as a rookie. Don’t see Indiana grabbing him at 13 because they already have wing types (Granger, Dunleavy, Rush). He should be around.
Chad Ford has the Suns taking Brandon Jennings here, but we’ve got him as a Top 10 pick. (Jennings apparently outplayed Jonny Flynn yesterday in the Bay Area.) While there’s a need for PG, and there’s certainly plenty of strong options, then you start talking about breaking up the core and rebuilding. Which may not be a bad thing.
Do you want a low playoff seed, or to play for the future?
20 Responses to “NBA Draft Lottery: 14. Phoenix Suns”
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June 12th, 2009 at 4:38 pm
i think they should get rid of amare…everything i hear about him is bad. bad attitude . no work ethic
June 12th, 2009 at 4:38 pm
They probably have enough to get into the playoffs, but no way are they contenders. The only reason why they shouldn’t rebuild right now is because Nash can still put butts in the seat.
June 12th, 2009 at 4:40 pm
I’m going with Hakeem Nicks here
/loyal TBL readers know what I’m saying
June 12th, 2009 at 4:40 pm
As far as trade talk goes, rumors have been swirling that Shaq could be shipped out to Los Angeles to be reunited with Kobe Bryant and the Lakers. Part of me believes this might be a hard pill to swallow for the Diesel, as at this point in his career, he’d clearly be playing a distant second fiddle to the Mamba, but on the other hand, the big guy’s such a publicity hound that maybe he wouldn’t mind riding another guy’s coat tails out in Tinseltown. I say pull the trigger; these two primadonnas deserve each other.
June 12th, 2009 at 4:40 pm
Amare for Ben? Ben has a good attitude and great work ethic.
June 12th, 2009 at 4:40 pm
Is there a website where you can find out who has what draft picks? Not just for this draft, but like something that kept track of all the traded draft picks.
June 12th, 2009 at 4:43 pm
For who? And Shaq wouldn’t even be the third best player on the Lakers. He’d love to go to LA. He’d have a franchise to retire with, as opposed to being ostracized by all the teams he played for and then threw under the bus.
June 12th, 2009 at 4:43 pm
ruck i go to nbadraft.net it might have what your looking for.
June 12th, 2009 at 4:50 pm
the only way la will trade for shaq is if they get multiple draft picks and cash is part of the deal.and plus i dont think la has the cap space to handle his contract. a sign and trade with ariza throw in someone like luke walton and it might work but i dont seeing that happen. kobe does not want to play nice with shaq. shaq tried to make nice with kobe over allstar weekend and kobe wasnt having it at all
June 12th, 2009 at 4:51 pm
The only way Shaq goes to LA would be after his contract expires and he signs for the veteran minimum and keeps his mouth shut.
June 12th, 2009 at 4:52 pm
“For who?”
The rumors simply don’t answer this question, they only say Shaq to L.A. Or maybe they DO say for whom, and I just can’t hear over all the swirling.
June 12th, 2009 at 4:54 pm
They dont need Shaq. Gasol/Kobe are a Finals lock for the next 3 years with Yao and Ginobli always hurt. The West is getting old and weak.
June 12th, 2009 at 4:54 pm
Oh, so in other words, they’re baseless.
June 12th, 2009 at 4:55 pm
Shaq and Lopez for Bynum, Walton, and Vujacic?
June 12th, 2009 at 4:58 pm
For all the talk about LA being over the luxury tax, they’re only the 8th highest payroll team in the league this year.
June 12th, 2009 at 5:05 pm
i tried the trade4 on the trade machine and there is no realistic way for the trade to go down unless another team gets involved
June 12th, 2009 at 5:08 pm
mrejr, Bynum’s contract goes up to $12.5 million next year. It’s not on the trade machine yet.
June 12th, 2009 at 5:11 pm
damn you trade machine
June 12th, 2009 at 5:39 pm
What does Nash have in his hands that Shaq and Amare want so bad? The last DVD copy of Kazaam?
June 12th, 2009 at 6:02 pm
Trade value?