Phoenix Suns Thread - Like a sunrise

Milk Steak

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Has this been confirmed anywhere? I can’t find it.

Interesting that they have pushed back Ulis’ guarantee date to the weekend and have just signed Elie Okobo to a 4 year $6 million deal.

Interesting that Illawarra’s latest import signing in the NBL will play summer league for the Suns
Yeah with Harrison,Okobo and Knight there it’s not surprising. And they still may do more in free agency or trade
 

Richard Cranium

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Interesting that Illawarra’s latest import signing in the NBL will play summer league for the Suns
Naar?

He's Strayan, cobber.

Also, after having a look at some Okobo highlights, I'm a little excited. Athletic, good change of pace and hesitation moves, and a nice quick release on him jumper. Has raaaange as well. Not as sure about his defence or playmaking, but does seem to be a willing passer and doesn't look lazy on D.
 
Naar?

He's Strayan, cobber.

Also, after having a look at some Okobo highlights, I'm a little excited. Athletic, good change of pace and hesitation moves, and a nice quick release on him jumper. Has raaaange as well. Not as sure about his defence or playmaking, but does seem to be a willing passer and doesn't look lazy on D.

He is too. That’s poor research on my behalf.

What do we do at PG?
 
I'm hoping we still try and sign or trade for a starting calibre PG.

We then dangle Knight in front of a few teams to see if we can get some value. If there's nothing going, then keep him around and hope he serves as a decent back-up.

I'm not a fan of Booker with play-making duties, it takes a lot away from his game. It might work at some points when we're playing a line up that gives some spacing on the court. But I don't want us relying on Booker as the ball-handler.
 
I'm hoping we still try and sign or trade for a starting calibre PG.

We then dangle Knight in front of a few teams to see if we can get some value. If there's nothing going, then keep him around and hope he serves as a decent back-up.

I'm not a fan of Booker with play-making duties, it takes a lot away from his game. It might work at some points when we're playing a line up that gives some spacing on the court. But I don't want us relying on Booker as the ball-handler.
Can’t see who Knight is going to get us though. Either go hard at a Kemba Walker or sign a guy like Beverley or Van Vleet for a nice price, although feel like the latter will be overpaid
 
I'm really liking the look of Bridges and Okobo.

Both aren't lighting the world on fire going by the stat sheets but they're taking good shots and showing some good things.

Okobo bit stiff with his assist numbers, counted a lot of uncounted assists because players couldn't finished.

Ayton doing ok but isn't setting the world on fire. Shows some lapses in fundamentals and awkward positioning.
 
I’ve been away all weekend and have recorded both games, so will post my thoughts after watching them.

Booker signed! Very happy.
 
Ok boys. Finally watched both games.

Firstly, it’s great to see Igor and the whole coaching staff down there. Very impressed by this and ditto Booker actively supporting. Great stuff.

Like the movement on offence which Igor has obviously drummed in during his brief time with squad. Good activity on defence as well.

Ayton: What a freak athlete. Grabbed boards he had no right to get but needs to get some mongrel into him. Can’t play from behind as often as he is. Every time he got the ball on the low block something good happened. This will be easier in the season as spacing will be far better so he’ll be able to get more catches. Like his face up game. Good shooting form. He’ll just need to stay out of foul trouble to average a double double. However if he’s willing to get into it, he’ll be a 20/12 guy. Booker would be good for 3 lobs a game to him.

Okobo: Like his passing and that quick release jumper off the dribble.

Bridges: Uber impressive. Great stroke and ball pressure. Has clearly skipped leg day in the gym but it worked out ok for Tyson Chandler. Will love having him in PJ Tucker’s corner for 3 balls.

Reed: Also impressive. Strong body and that 3 ball clip should see him get some minutes.

Jackson: One minute he looks like a blue chip stud and the next he looks putrid. Still looks to be playing out of control. I do think he’ll benefit immensely from better spacing as he’s a great cutter and can finish strongly.

Bender: Ugh. Not good. At all. Only time he looks ok is getting a defensive board and giving the outlet pass. He’s reasonable defensively but offensively he just looks confused or scared or both. Right now he’s a massive bust. Would prefer Dudley to get back up 4 mins over Bender. If Igor can turn him into a role player he is a coaching genius.

I think we’ll be fun to watch this year with those guys going forward but still a long way off (based on 2 Summer League games) from contesting for an 8th seed
 
Ayton is improving every game. I thought today was going to be a test against Bamba as he is long, but no worries!

Ayton gets everything in the flow of the offence. So good. His defence is nowhere near as bad as people were making it out to be pre draft also.

Shaq is going nicely and omitted him from my post earlier. Solid defence and seems to run the offence well. Very quick. Just a consistent jump shot away from being right there.

Also as a collective, this defence in Summer League is pretty good. Keeping teams to low scores. Dallas got 19 offensive boards against us in Game 1.
 

Milk Steak

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Ayton is improving every game. I thought today was going to be a test against Bamba as he is long, but no worries!

Ayton gets everything in the flow of the offence. So good. His defence is nowhere near as bad as people were making it out to be pre draft also.

Shaq is going nicely and omitted him from my post earlier. Solid defence and seems to run the offence well. Very quick. Just a consistent jump shot away from being right there.

Also as a collective, this defence in Summer League is pretty good. Keeping teams to low scores. Dallas got 19 offensive boards against us in Game 1.
Haven’t had time to watch the SL games. Has Jackson been as bad as I’ve been reading?
 
Haven’t had time to watch the SL games. Has Jackson been as bad as I’ve been reading?
He’s had moments where he’s looked sensational but others where he’s trying to hero ball. I hope they rest him for the remainder of Summer League.
 
Haven’t had time to watch the SL games. Has Jackson been as bad as I’ve been reading?
He seems to be forcing shots, shooting 3s off the dribble, which is probably not his strength. I understand that's something he needs to work on but he's looking terrible doing it.
 
I love the energy this SL team has. We've got wings who are defensively sound and can hustle. Then we've got a coach who is encouraging them to do just that and it's showing in the energy on the court. Between Josh Jackson, Reed, Shaq Harrison and Bridges, I'm excited for what these guys can do this year. Ariza should definitely be able to teach those guys a thing or two.
 
I love the energy this SL team has. We've got wings who are defensively sound and can hustle. Then we've got a coach who is encouraging them to do just that and it's showing in the energy on the court. Between Josh Jackson, Reed, Shaq Harrison and Bridges, I'm excited for what these guys can do this year. Ariza should definitely be able to teach those guys a thing or two.
It’s infectious. Everyone appears on the same page. They are playing fun ball to watch. We’ve been waiting a while but things are finally starting to look up.
 

Milk Steak

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First summer league game I’ve been able to watch.
Harrison clearly best on court. Drove hard and finished well,especially in the last quarter.
Reed had some nice moments with some 3s and a few good drives,definitely worth keeping on.
Bender had a mix of nice 3s and his usual short flat missed,but generally played alright.
I thought Ayton was very......meh. Looked a bit lost and I thought he could have played with a little more intensity. Seems to be only scoring on cheap open dunks under the rim. Early though
 

james Dean

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Ayton seems like a catch and finish guy and not much else in SL. I haven't exactly seen any of these post moves that propelled him to #1?

Not that it matters, we won't even remember these games in 3 months.
 
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