Suns' off-season builds steam
Paul Coro
The Arizona Republic
Jul. 9, 2006 12:00 AM
LAS VEGAS - There is more going on with the Suns this week in Las Vegas than getting Amaré Stoudemire game-ready and figuring out if Romain Sato or another summer player can stick.
What happens here won't stay here. Phoenix's staff is having talks that will have long-term impacts on a team with at least three roster spots to address beyond trade options.
The Suns coaches and executives gather in a taped-off section of Cox Pavilion, home to Vegas Summer League games. There, they have an optimistic discussion with Leandro Barbosa's agent, Bill Duffy, that makes the possibility of a long-term contract extension with him more promising. Away from the arena, Suns staffers gather to talk about their next move in free agency or trade.
They have nearly all summer to act, although the team's $3.6 million trade exception will expire Aug. 21. The Suns actually could use the exception to bridge a salary disparity of $3.7 million in a sign-and-trade deal. That is looking more like the scenario that Phoenix would use to address the backup point guard slot.
The Suns are not out of the free-agent business even after their initial targets signed elsewhere. There are priorities to find a veteran point and depth at the wing. One or the other would be addressed in free agency, where the capped-out Suns can split up the $5.4 million mid-level exception or use veteran minimum deals.
If Phoenix goes point guard via free agency, it could be Marcus Banks or Chucky Atkins before Jannero Pargo. If the Suns choose to sign a swingman, it might be Rasual Butler, Devean George, John Salmons, Jumaine Jones or Matt Barnes. For the right player, Suns Managing Partner Robert Sarver is willing to push the payroll past the luxury tax threshold, a costly move because of the dollar-for-dollar penalty and the switch of becoming a taxpayer rather than tax pool receiver. If Phoenix does so, it would likely be because of a trade.
"We're moving forward in terms of keeping our existing core and addressing needs within the framework of the payroll," said David Griffin, the Suns' vice president of basketball operations. "I expect by the time October comes around we'll be better than we are today and more locked into our existing core."
The Suns' exclusive negotiating rights for Barbosa and Boris Diaw contract extensions expire at the end of October.
In evaluating summer players, a team with title aspirations has a delicate balance to wrestle - impact vs. potential. That dilemma is further toughened because any summer league addition not named Stoudemire likely would start outside the rotation, one that now includes Stoudemire, Diaw, Barbosa, Steve Nash, Shawn Marion, Raja Bell, Kurt Thomas and James Jones.
"You're trying to find a piece here and a piece there," said Vinny Del Negro, the team's new director of player personnel. "You're trying to finish the puzzle off. Sometimes, those last pieces are not as easy to find. Hopefully, it's a free agent that can give us something we possibly don't have or want to get better at."
Griffin said upside must outweigh the help a specialist could provide. He predicts the Suns would add two minimum-salary free agents.
"When you have as many high-end deals as we do, you're going to have to accurately predict minimum-contract guys," Griffin said. "When you're making a run at a title, that's a delicate balance. There's a likelihood that you can get a veteran that will play for you and help you win a championship."
The players know the free-agency game as well as the game they play best. Ruben Douglas can run and score in bunches but that does not make a future in Phoenix or the NBA any more likely.
"I just try to play the best basketball I can," Douglas said. "If Phoenix is interested, they are interested. If not, hopefully someone else is. If not, I'll go over waters and make some money."
Paul Coro
The Arizona Republic
Jul. 9, 2006 12:00 AM
LAS VEGAS - There is more going on with the Suns this week in Las Vegas than getting Amaré Stoudemire game-ready and figuring out if Romain Sato or another summer player can stick.
What happens here won't stay here. Phoenix's staff is having talks that will have long-term impacts on a team with at least three roster spots to address beyond trade options.
The Suns coaches and executives gather in a taped-off section of Cox Pavilion, home to Vegas Summer League games. There, they have an optimistic discussion with Leandro Barbosa's agent, Bill Duffy, that makes the possibility of a long-term contract extension with him more promising. Away from the arena, Suns staffers gather to talk about their next move in free agency or trade.
They have nearly all summer to act, although the team's $3.6 million trade exception will expire Aug. 21. The Suns actually could use the exception to bridge a salary disparity of $3.7 million in a sign-and-trade deal. That is looking more like the scenario that Phoenix would use to address the backup point guard slot.
The Suns are not out of the free-agent business even after their initial targets signed elsewhere. There are priorities to find a veteran point and depth at the wing. One or the other would be addressed in free agency, where the capped-out Suns can split up the $5.4 million mid-level exception or use veteran minimum deals.
If Phoenix goes point guard via free agency, it could be Marcus Banks or Chucky Atkins before Jannero Pargo. If the Suns choose to sign a swingman, it might be Rasual Butler, Devean George, John Salmons, Jumaine Jones or Matt Barnes. For the right player, Suns Managing Partner Robert Sarver is willing to push the payroll past the luxury tax threshold, a costly move because of the dollar-for-dollar penalty and the switch of becoming a taxpayer rather than tax pool receiver. If Phoenix does so, it would likely be because of a trade.
"We're moving forward in terms of keeping our existing core and addressing needs within the framework of the payroll," said David Griffin, the Suns' vice president of basketball operations. "I expect by the time October comes around we'll be better than we are today and more locked into our existing core."
The Suns' exclusive negotiating rights for Barbosa and Boris Diaw contract extensions expire at the end of October.
In evaluating summer players, a team with title aspirations has a delicate balance to wrestle - impact vs. potential. That dilemma is further toughened because any summer league addition not named Stoudemire likely would start outside the rotation, one that now includes Stoudemire, Diaw, Barbosa, Steve Nash, Shawn Marion, Raja Bell, Kurt Thomas and James Jones.
"You're trying to find a piece here and a piece there," said Vinny Del Negro, the team's new director of player personnel. "You're trying to finish the puzzle off. Sometimes, those last pieces are not as easy to find. Hopefully, it's a free agent that can give us something we possibly don't have or want to get better at."
Griffin said upside must outweigh the help a specialist could provide. He predicts the Suns would add two minimum-salary free agents.
"When you have as many high-end deals as we do, you're going to have to accurately predict minimum-contract guys," Griffin said. "When you're making a run at a title, that's a delicate balance. There's a likelihood that you can get a veteran that will play for you and help you win a championship."
The players know the free-agency game as well as the game they play best. Ruben Douglas can run and score in bunches but that does not make a future in Phoenix or the NBA any more likely.
"I just try to play the best basketball I can," Douglas said. "If Phoenix is interested, they are interested. If not, hopefully someone else is. If not, I'll go over waters and make some money."
