Phoenix Suns

It's lotto week! The last couple of weeks have provided Suns fans with next to zero news, despite this being one of the Suns' most important offseasons in franchise history. Clearly, new GM Ryan McDonough is not all about flash and sound bytes. He'd rather just pick the right people - coaches and players - to move this franchise forward. Lotto Tuesday night, Suns fans will finally find out what all this angst for the past few years has brought on the Suns franchise. While it's just about random bouncing balls, fans will undoubtedly apply the results to some version of 'karma'. If the Suns lose ground (ie. pick 5-7), then the franchise is now cursed. If the Suns gain ground (ie. 1-3) then it's the basketball gods laughing at us since this is the worst Top-3 draft in years. This draft is heavy on depth but lacks any surefire superstars at the top. For luck, the Suns are sending Lon Babby to the show. Coach In another lottery, the Suns are soon going to pick from a pile of up-and-coming assistant coaches to lead this team into the next few years. Expect the hire to be a guy who embraces analytics and is willing to take a job likely to produce 50-60 losses in the next 12 months. The coach will be growing with the team, much like Monty Williams in New Orleans (still respected despite horrific loss counts) and hopefully not like Mike Dunlap in Charlotte (fired after one season). Rumor has it that the Suns want a coach in place for individual player workouts in prep for the draft, and the sooner the better. The problem with that is some of the best options - Brian Shaw (Indiana), Mike Budenholzer (Spurs), Lionel Hollins and Dave Joerger (Grizzlies) - are all coaching for at least 1-2 more weeks and possible right up until mere days before the draft. An inquiry to Lon Babby about the timing of a hiring went unanswered, so we don't know if the Suns are willing to wait until mid-June to hire their next coach. The hot assistants available at this moment include J.B. Bickerstaff and Kelvin Sampson (Rockets), Jeff Hornacek (Jazz), Quin Snyder (Russia/Lakers) and Steve Clifford (Lakers). Suns GM Ryan McDonough used to work with Rockets GM Daryl Morey, so you can expect some real talk between them about the two Rockets guys. Will the Suns choose from that letter group, or wait patiently for the playoffs to end? Will they surprise us with someone we haven't heard of? Or will they keep Lindsey Hunter, who got an interview last week? Stay tuned. Draft No word yet on the profile of pick the Suns want in June. Smart money says that's because there's not a single untouchable position on the roster, leaving every prospect still on the Suns' board. And that likely won't change with the lottery on Tuesday night. The top picks are so interchangeable that we won't know who "won" the draft for at least a year, if not three. If McDonough can pick out a future star like he did Rajon Rondo in 2006 (was drafted 21st but Celtics had him in the top 2), then we are in good shape. That's the real key to the draft. Have the draft position and player-evaluation talent to pick the best of the bunch. No word of workouts in Phoenix, or even of favorites from the Combine last weekend. Heck, we don't even know who the Suns interviewed among the top talents. Ok, I'm done rambling about absolutely nothing. No news is no news. Your turn!

Introduction So, when I posted a breakdown of what I thought the Suns would be doing in terms of the draft and free agency this offseason a few weeks ago, a lot of the feedback was about how likely the Suns were to make offseason trades, and how this would drastically affect free agent moves and what we do in the draft. So I thought I would break down the trade value and trade potential of the various Suns assets in a similar way to how I broke down free agent targets and draft targets: paint a picture of the options available. Like when dealing with draft and free agent acquisitions, there are really infinite trade possibilities and, as such, this is just a breakdown of what I think some of the more likely ways of moving our assets are. At the very bottom of the post is a handy chart I put together, looking at what I perceive to be the trade value and trade potential of all of the Suns assets (draft picks through 2014 included). Sorry it is at the bottom, but because I created it outside the application, it doesn't play nice with the formatting. A brief explanation of the chart and its logic. The left-right value is attempting to capture how much interest there would seem to be in a player. A lot of this I based upon consideration of a player's contract, his position, and his production. The top-bottom value is based upon how much a player could feasibly fetch in return in a trade. This took into account again contract, but also the depth of the position across the league that the player plays, and the teams that would seemingly be most interested in acquiring this player. IF YOU WANT TO SIMPLY SEE THE END RESULT, SCROLL DOWN TO THE CHART. ALL ROADS LEAD TO THE CHART! Also, if you want to see a discussion of a particular player, simply scroll until you see their picture. So, without further ado, here we go. Buckle your seat belts. The Picks The Suns' pick next year is likely to be at least mid-lottery. Both of the Suns' picks, then, have relatively high values. Lottery picks, even in weak-ish drafts like this one, are a valuable commodity. The 2014 pick is seen as having a high potential primarily because of the popular perception that next year's draft is projected to be so much deeper, meaning that the pick has more potential value in a trade today. That being said, it seems much more likely that the Suns' 2013 lottery pick is moved: I would not be surprised to see the Suns move down and acquire multiple late lottery/mid teens picks, especially if we end up at 6 of 7. I would be surprised if the Suns moved their pick for next year or moved up in the draft. The 2014 first round pick from Minnesota is a little harder to grade. It is lottery protected (top-13) next season, but if the Timberwolves can finally get healthy, this pick could feasibly fall in the high teens/low twenties. This is a useful asset as a toss-in in a trade, but given the uncertainty surrounding the pick, it doesn't seem like something teams are going to be actively pursuing until next season. The 30th pick in this year's draft doesn't have a ton of value, due to the draft's overall shallow depth pool. However, it could still garner something from a competitive team that needs one more piece, especially if that piece is a rotation big, as this year's draft is particularly deep in that regard. A team in win now mode, like the Spurs, is probably the most likely to actually pursue this pick. It is also likely a toss-in asset in any larger trade or any trade down. 2nd round picks are swapped all the time, but we already swapped our 2nd round pick, and the pick we currently have is very low value. Point Guards Goran Dragic via knickswag.com Dragic provides something of an immediate conundrum for the front office and Ryan McDonough. He's not a superstar, and likely never will be. He is, however, the best player on the team and the most valuable. He's got definite pros as a player: he's an above average distributor, an activ

Suns fans have a visceral connection to the 1993 NBA Finals. They still hear the swish that accompanied John Paxson's title-winning 3-pointer, still feel the 105-degree heat that baked the city during the celebratory downtown parade. For Jerry Colangelo, the memories are particularly powerful because events on and off the court during that series helped define his legacy.

Charles Barkley was the main identifying image during the 1992-93 run to the Finals. We caught up with him recently for an update on his feelings about a few subjects from that memorable Suns era. -- About it being a 20-year anniversary: "Damn, it's been 20 years. It was a spectacular time. Michael Jordan was at the top of his superpowers. It was a great series and just a really cool thing."

There was no way it was going in. John Paxson, a great shooter, exactly who you don't want spotting up for a game-winning 3-point shot, was positioned to bury the Suns.

On paper, the 1992-93 Suns looked like a championship contender from the get-go. After all, where could that addition of a superstar such as Charles Barkley to the nucleus of a club that had averaged 54 wins a season the previous four years go wrong?

-- Danny Ainge: I don't remember any one. I just remember it being as fun a time as I've ever had playing basketball. I thought Coach Westphal did an amazing job of coaching that team and that group of personalities. He was a great fit in his approach. He let players talk. He let players have input. He always said he coached the way he wanted to be coached and we had a very good group. Charles was in great shape and he just made coming to work fun. The guy made me laugh every single day I came to work. KJ was a great player and Dan was a great worker. Just wonderful teammates. -- Charles Barkley: Meeting expectations. A lot of people picked us to get to the Finals. And then when we lost the first two games at home (in the first round), we came back under pressure. We were in shock after we lost the first two at home. We were down and depressed. The reporters came in and we were all sitting there with our heads down. A guy said, 'Did you hear what Westy (Paul Westphall) just said?' I said, 'No, we've been in here.' 'He said you were going to LA and win Game 3 and then win Game 4 and then come home and win Game 5, and people will say what a hell of a series it was.' We were ready to go then. People forget we had the best record in the NBA. But to get punched in the mouth off the bat was not easy.

Kelley L. Cox – USA Today Sports Images The Phoenix Suns were one of the worst teams in the NBA this season, not just in terms of record, but also in terms of their potential to be better in the future. They finished the year with the fourth worst record in the league and, according to the infamous eye-test, they felt like a team that should have won even fewer than the 25 games that they did. Possibly the worst part about the Suns is the fact that they will largely have the same team next season as the majority of their players are under contract for next season. This means that the same team that seemingly had no chemistry and developed little rapport together, even over an 82-game season, will be back. One of the few players that will become a free agent for Phoenix this summer is Wesley Johnson. The Suns declined Johnson’s team option for the 2013-2014 season prior to this past year, which is why he will become an unrestricted free agent. However, some people are calling for the Suns to re-sign Johnson, despite the fact that they declined his option. That’s not the right move for the Suns in this situation. Johnson improved as the season went on, but he wasn’t a revelation by any means. In the 20 games after the All-Star break, Johnson played 27.5 minutes per game and averaged 12 points, 3.6 rebounds and 0.9 assists on 42.6 percent shooting and 33.1 percent three-point shooting. The thing about Johnson is, even though he’s still just 25 years old, that he has very little upside. He’s a role player that is there to be a shooter, only he’s a career 40 percent shooter from the field and 33.6 percent shooter from long range. With the Suns needing to make changes, but not having much cap-flexibility, having $4 million in cap-room is much more valuable than Johnson. Johnson will likely find another home in the NBA, but it shouldn’t be with the Suns if the organization makes the smart decision. Cody Williams is a Senior Writer with Rant Sports. Follow Cody on Twitter @TheSizzle20 and like his Facebook page.

Charles Barkley was traded to the Phoenix Suns prior to the 1992-93 season. During his time in Phoenix, he was a colorful, quote machine. On his knowledge of history:

Goran gave some informations to the Slovenian audience about recent season in NBA and his predictions for Eurobasket, which will be held in Slovenia in September. There are some interesting points for fans, I assume. First, I thought to translate Q&A, but because of the copyright (Made by Primož Salmič, published in Ekipa), it's better to summarize. (Sorry for grammar mistakes.) Goran thinks, that this was his best season, but in the NBA nothing is guaranteed for future, so he must always fight for his position - next season is new chapter for him. Statistically he had better performances in Huston, but it was just 20 games compared with 77 this year. He was warned about fluctuations – if you are a starter – and he thinks, he was the most constant player in the Suns team, so he is pleased with his performance. Actually, this was essential for him. He also enjoyed authorization from both coaches to play his own basket, to show his quality. He prefers this style over European, which resembles more on robot. But, on the other side, he also mention, that in Huston he knew all the time where his team-mates will be, where the action will end. In Phoenix he could never be sure about that. There were more fluctuations, less discipline. First lineup was relatively successful, but when changes began, everything went down. He repeated old news about problem with the team chemistry. It was a lot of new young, talented players, but the team was not functioning as a team. He had good relationship with Scola, Fry, Dudley and at the end also with Johnson. But now he heard rumours, that only three or four old players will be retained. He was in the contact with McDonnough. He was asked about his opinion about the future of the Suns, what would be good for them. As future Suns coach he would like to see Kevin McHale. On coaches. Alvin was better for established players. He knew, when to give them off, all was more in the “communication level”, there were a lot of joking. But, this year team was different. They needed a coach like they were in former Yugoslavia [more dominant, aggressive]. And they got it in Hunter. He was more strict, they trained more. Obviously, he was more suitable for current roster, but Alvin was more experienced and led games better. They both had pluses and minuses. He played better under Hunter, but he didn’t give the reason. They both nurtured fast play – what he likes – although this year a bit slower then previous. They had a lot of meetings, where they discussed about possible improvements. That is advantage of NBA comparing to Europe, where you get bad looks (minimal) from coach, if you are critical or you make just “suggestions”. He likes golden State Wariors, because they have young players, also Memphis. But Miami will easily became champion :) The other half is about Eurobasket and Slovene players. Goran gave some informations to the Slovenian audience about recent season in NBA and his predictions for Eurobasket, which will be held in Slovenia in September. There are some interesting points for fans, I assume. First, I thought to translate Q&A, but because of the copyright (Made by Primož Salmič, published in Ekipa), it's better to summarize. (Sorry for grammar mistakes.) Goran thinks, that this was his best season, but in the NBA nothing is guaranteed for future, so he must always fight for his position - next season is new chapter for him. Statistically he had better performances in Huston, but it was just 20 games compared with 77 this year. He was warned about fluctuations – if you are a starter – and he thinks, he was the most constant player in the Suns team, so he is pleased with his performance. Actually, this was essential for him. He also enjoyed authorization from both coaches to play his own basket, to show his quality. He prefers this style over European, which resembles more on robot. But, on t