2019 NBA offseason thread

The Suns can't get much worse, can they?

 

Former Suns GM Ryan McDonough should never be allowed to work in an NBA front office again. The team hasn't been to the playoff since 2010 and after McDonough took over in 2013, the team drafted Alex Len No. 5 overall, Dragan Bender No. 4 overall, Marquese Chriss No. 8 overall and Josh Jackson No. 4 overall. Devin Booker has been a nice player, but he's the only useful player they've drafted since 2013, despite routinely drafting in the top 10.

Aside from the fact that they drafted those guys over countless All-Stars, what's worse is what they got for any of them after it was clear that they weren't the players they initially thought they were. They were so soured on Len that they let him walk in free agency after his rookie contract. Same with Bender, who remains unsigned. For Chriss, they ended up with Tyler Johnson, a role player who shot 37 percent for the Suns last season, and just traded Jackson AND a pair of draft picks for the privilege of buying out Kyle Korver.

So, yeah, it's pretty bad.

 

You don't think Ayton is a useful player?

 

He'd be awesome if they perfect that time machine to travel back to 1992. As is... Like, Steven Adams and Clint Capela are seen as "just OK," and guys like Marc Gasol and Roy Hibbert went from "all-star level" to "useful role player" and "out of the league" in the blink of an eye, seemingly. Centers seem like the running backs of the NBA, and unless you have one that can handle a guard on a switch, you can't play them against the better teams in the league.

 

Ayton is absolutely quick and athletic enough to switch off on a guard. He also just turned 20 two weeks ago. Maybe give him a minute or two before writing him off as a product of a bygone era?

 

I guess this saves a little on the tax bill. Otherwise, why do this?

 

I figured he was going to retire. Surprised he'd keep playing somewhere else.

 

It was painful to watch Livingston last year. He was clearly suffering from physical pain and his once reliable mid-range game evaporated. Additionally, his lateral movement was gone and while known as a "heady" veteran, he made some of the stupidest fouls of the year, undercutting 3 pt shots and other unneeded fouls. He certainly wasn't worth $7.7M (which is about $28M under the tax bill as I understand).

 

Yeah, he'll be fine. I'd rather have Doncic out of that draft but this isn't going to be a 'Sam Bowie over Jordan' situation. Ayton's going to be very good.

 

My mistake. He’ll be fine. Still not the best player from his class, though, despite being No. 1 overall.

 

And there's this.