# Need ideas...



## Tactics (Mar 6, 2003)

I'll be writing editorials for this site soon, I am covering the Suns and the Pacers. I chose the Pacers because they are my favorite team, but I chose the Suns because I will be moving to Arizona in January and will probably become a fan since I'll be able to go to their games. My question is, does anyone have ideas for editorial topics about the Suns? Some of my ideas off hand are just maybe talking about the future of Barbosa, Johnson, and Stoudemire. Well any ideas? Just tell me whatever, the more ideas the better.


----------



## Arclite (Nov 2, 2002)

The pros and cons of trading Marion, a top pick and/or JJ for Tracy McGrady.

How Amare's experience in the Olympics will affect his game next season, i.e. practicing against Tim Duncan day in and day out, how some players seem to wear down near the end of the NBA season after playing through the summer..

Possible free agent acquisitions in the offseason and how they would affect the team..


----------



## SKiP (Jan 28, 2004)

Give a summary on each team in the Suns new division next year and predict how good they will be.

Talk about the future of "No Show" Vujanik and whether he will join the Suns.

Write about the best players in Pheonix Suns history: Sir Barkley, Kevin Johnson, Dan Majerle, Tom Chambers, and Paul Westphal.


----------



## azirishmusic (Feb 25, 2004)

Here are some of the most popular topics on the various Suns boards:

EXPANSION DRAFT BOBCATS

1. Will the Bobcats take White in the expansion draft?
2. Should the Suns give compensation for taking White?
3. Could the Suns get the Bobcats to take Eisley if they included the lottery pick?
4. What should the Suns do if the Bobcats insist on the lottery pick to take White? [Without clearing the cap space, the Suns could not make a bid for Kobe Bryant].

NBA DRAFT

1. Is there any question that Okafor will be taken first?
2. What are the Suns main priorities?
3. Will their decision be defined by what happens in the expansion draft?
4. Can the Suns afford to take another player who might not contribute for a couple of years?
5. Should the Suns trade the pick if it is in the top three?
6. Should the Suns take a Euro and leave him in Europe so as to not tie up cap space when going for free agents?
7. Should the Suns take a PG if that is the best player available?
8. Who is likely to be available at the #7 spot.?
9. Should the Suns consider Iguodala in spite of his poor outside shooting?

FREE AGENCY

1. How much will the salary cap be?
2. Is it realistic to wait until after the trial to decide on signing Kobe Bryant, since all the other top free agents would be taken by then?
3. Is Kobe Bryant really likely to leave the Lakers?
4. If Kobe Bryant is not available and the Suns have cleared cap space - who should they take?
5. Of the free agent centers, which are worth having in the list of Dampier, Camby, Okur, Mark Blount, Foyle, Etan Thomas. Greg Ostertag, and Divac?
6. Who much are these guys going to cost and are they worth it?
7. Should the Suns re-sign McDyess and if so for how much?
8. Of the main shooters who are free agents (besides Kobe), which are worth going for and how much would be appropriate: Brent Barry, Q Richardson, Emanuel Ginobili, Hidayet Turkoglu, to name a few?
9. Should the Suns hang onto their cap space and wait for trade offers?

TRADES

Most trade discussion is limited because it will depend on what happens with the expansion draft (who ends up with more cap space), where the salary cap is set, who is taken in the draft, and what happens with free agency.

Recently, most trade discussions have focused on Tracy McGrady of the Magic. The main topic has been how much the Suns can afford to offer, with reluctance to include Joe Johnson being a big sticking point.

SUMMER TRAINING

The Suns will be putting a lot of emphasis on skills development over the summer, with several players having key areas to work on:

Lampe - Needs to improve his strength, defense, and blocking out on rebounding. He also needs to learn the offense and become more than just a shooter.

Carbakapa - He looked good prior to being injured and lost his confidence. Will playing on the Serbian Olympic team help his confidence? Would he be better off doing weight training and working on defensive footwork?

Barbosa - Leandro showed a lot of talent his rookie year, but is not a polished point guard. Will he be able to get strong enough to play point? Will he learn to the ball handling skills needed to run the team?

Jacobsen - Casey showed great improvement with his three point shot last season over his rookie year, but lacks a mid range shot. Will Casey develop into an all round shooter or remain a three point specialist?

Eisley - Howard did not play well after coming to Phoenix from the Knicks. Can he regain the form that made him one of the top backup PG's when with Utah or even what he showed as a starter for the Knicks?

Vujanic - He has been called one of the top guards in Europe with the ability to make his own shot.
- Will the Suns be able to sign him?
- Will he change his style to be more of a real point guard or remain a small shooting guard?
- Will he play good enough defense to stay in the lineup?

Voskuhl - How serious was his injury? Will he be able to keep improving, or remain an "energy" backup? Can he get stronger?

White - If Jahidi White stays, can he develop the quickness to become a solid defender without fouling all the time? Can he learn to catch the ball cleanly on offense?

OLYMPICS

The Suns will have Amare Stoudemire and Shawn Marion on the Olympic team. Both of them need to work on defensive technique, so practicing against other Olympic players is thought to be excellant training for the summer.

There is plenty to think about.


----------



## Tactics (Mar 6, 2003)

thank you for the ideas, I will be writing a Pacers article this week, and if I have enough time I'll do a Suns one to. Once again thank you.


----------



## Amareca (Oct 21, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b><< SkipToMyLou >></b>!
> Give a summary on each team in the Suns new division next year and predict how good they will be.
> 
> Talk about the future of "No Show" Vujanik and whether he will join the Suns.
> ...


Conny Hawkins, Alvan Adams, Walter Davis


----------



## MongolianDeathCloud (Feb 27, 2004)

One thing that always bothers me is that when teams have a best scenario, like signing Kobe or drafting Emeka for example, they only talk about that scenario. For instance, people only talked about Kidd being a Spur and no other possible acquisitions.

I'd like to see an article that examines the Suns other FA options -- look at their needs, look at a few scenarios other than the ideal one, and possibly look for some 2005 FAs and see if it's worth waiting for that Free agent class or making a push now.

Here's a list of the free-agents:http://www.nbadraft.net/egger004.asp

And you can get salaries at hoopshype.


----------



## MongolianDeathCloud (Feb 27, 2004)

Another idea. Since people often talk about the Suns being a contender soon, look at the contenders of recent years and compare their rosters with that of the Suns, and see what type of formula the Suns could shoot for.


----------



## PHXSPORTS4LIFE (May 8, 2003)

the lineage of the great point guard. alot of teams in the nba have had great point guards, but i'd be willing to bet that few can match the string of the suns:

ronnie lee
dennis johnson
kyle macy
jeff hornacek (played the 1 b4 acquisition of kj)
kevin johnson
sam cassell
jason kidd
penny hardaway
steve nash
stephon marbury

then a finishing paragraph discussing whether or not barbosa or vujanic have what it takes to fall in with that lineage.

and how many teams have had a string of white sgs in the modern era like the suns:

westphal
horney
thunder
ainge
sexy rex
casey jacobsen

or a discussion on the eternal woes at center (i mean, look at how bad this is):

lost coin flip for Kareem Abdul Jabbar
alvan adams
sergei gluchkov (sp?)
joel kramer
truck robinson
lost coin flip for david robinson
mark west
oliver miller
jerod mustaf
joe barry carroll
danny schayes
joe klein
luc longley
jake tsakalidis
jake voskuhl
jahidi white

or a torrid expose' on the affair the gorilla had with two of the suns' dancers!


----------

