| Suns’ Approach Towards ’06 Draft Correct? Authored by J.T. Magee - July 3, 2006 - 12:02 pm
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They are gearing up for an NBA Finals run next year. They tried to trade up in the draft in order to get swingmen like Thabo Sefolosha, a versatile, defensive-minded; Ronnie Brewer, who is in the same mold; and Rodney Carney, a pure high-octane and high-athletic swing man. But according to D’Antoni, there were no takers. In an interview with Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic, D’Antoni said there was no point in trying to "get a young player who's going to eat up some room and just sit there and not get any time and not develop." A lot of and’s, but the point was made. No rookie would’ve received the playing time he needs in order to develop.
The Suns are going for the Finals. They may have been able to use someone like Marcus Williams, but they had a financial deal set with Boston and they wanted Rajon Rondo. Same thing with Portland and Sergio Rodriguez. If those two players were in one, the Suns would take him, Sergio Rondo, or Rajon Rodriguez, in a heart beat. But Rodriguez can’t play D against NBA point guards and Rondo’s jumper is going to hurt him in the first few years. Better to save a little dough and get out.
What about the big men? While I had Alexander Johnson high on RealGM’s Mock Draft, he is a poor man’s Amare Stoudemire. Plus he went in the second round. Josh Boone is a good rebounder, but he may never get in good enough shape to play in Phoenix’s style of offense and overall play. Joel Freeland, the Brit who was bagging groceries a few years ago, is a few years away from contributing. They could take a flier on him, but why not get another couple million for that pick instead of spending that money?
One player, according to Isiah Thomas, the Suns were after was Renaldo Balkman, who he drafted with the 20th pick. Maybe that was his way in justifying the pick. I like Balkman and if Thomas felt he was worth it, then so be it. But according to the Suns’ brass, they didn’t have him on their radar. I bought into it and gave that as a reason for his drafting Balkman at 20. It was very bad journalism on my part for trusting Thomas’ word and for not investigating more.
Phoenix made the right decision in entering the draft: try to trade up. There were no takers, except for Utah. They were going to draft Sefolosha for both of the Suns’ picks. While I’m not sure on that, I hear they were in the mix for that. Could be hearsay, but Utah was one of the teams who could afford to trade down in trying to build for the future. But since Sefolosha was off the board, the Jazz felt Brewer was better to have than any two players that could’ve been available.
Now that the draft is over, Phoenix has one goal in mind: re-sign Tim Thomas. He came on strong and found his niche with the Suns. He can shoot it from outside and take it to the rack. He will be the greatest beneficiary from Amare Stoudemire and vice versa. They will feed off each other and Thomas could become one of the most, if not the most, efficient offensive player in the entire NBA. Once they re-sign him, they will target a point guard.
Who is on their radar? One point guard is Bobby Jackson. He has always played at full speed, but due to his years of constantly being injured, is he worth the risk? Chucky Atkins is another. He is a true point guard, but can he keep the tempo going? Jannero Pargo is a cheap option, but can he give Nash the rest he needs and still run the team? Both Marcus Banks and Speedy Claxton could fit because of their speed. But would they be willing to take a pay cut in order to win a championship and stay as backups?
The free agent crop is small, but Phoenix, avoiding the draft, has their goal in mind: keep the core together and go after the title. They made it to Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals with just 4 small forwards in their frontcourt and a seven-man rotation. With Amare Stoudemire coming back and Kurt Thomas providing the interior defense in 15 minutes, Phoenix is set for their dominance of the West and their chance at their first NBA Championship. Was passing on some of the point guards worth it? Yes. As long as they win, which they will. |
