The Phoenix Suns, who have lost one shooting guard this summer and are close to losing another, signed free agent Raja Bell to a five-year contract worth just under $24 million on Wednesday. http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2123876 I don't know why they wwasted so much money on this guy that i havent heard since the 2001 season waste i think what do the suns fans think when they looose j.j. will this guy carry his shoe marks i dont think soo what do you think suns fans?
How do you figure this to be a bad move? Raja is a great defender, and a player who played a low-key role the last couple years. He is still a very good player, and a premier defender reminds me sort of Trenton Hassel. They actually needed depth anyway regardless of if they had kept or lost JJ. This move was actually agreed in principle to before they lost JJ.
This is pretty old news, man. I think it's actually an excellent addition, becuase while Bell isn't the scoring type who is going to make people forget J.J, he is a lockdown defender on the perimeter, and that's something that the Suns really need. As to how much they paid him, well, they had to grab him before other teams did, because guys with his upside and defensive ability are valuable. Plus, look around at some of the other contracts that have been given out lately. Redd for $96 million? Hughes for $12 million a year? Bell's signing doesn't look that bad, and I think he'll help the Suns a lot. EDIT: The signing was first reported awhile ago, I guess it's only now been officially announced. Didn't mean to get down on ya about it being old.
Raja is a really good defender, I don't see how this is a bad move for the Suns. They needed to improve their defense, and that is what they are doing.
Raja Bell is a great idea for the suns. They need defense. He's a great defender. And he's from my hometown. Miami!!!!!
Let's not forget shooting 40% from the arc last season. That goes up playing with Nash and Stoudemire. Johnson's 3 point shooting went up 17% between 03-04 and 04-05. Adjusted for minutes played Raja is absolutely comparable to Joe. Their production is basically the same. If Raja played the minutes Joe did their PPG is dead even with the slimmest edge to Raja. He grabs a half a rebound less than Joe, steals are a dead heat again a slim edge to Raja. In assists Joe gets one and a half more per game. FG% is less than a half a percent difference Joe at .461 Raja at .454. they both shoot free throws at nearly equal percentages, but if Raja played the 39.5 mpg that Joe did he'd have gone to the line 30 more times. The only edge Joe has is in 3pt%, but I already addressed that. The edge that Raja has? He's about $9million a year less expensive. $9million a year gets the Suns a lot more help than half a rebound and one and a half assists per game. Equal production for well under half the money? What's not to like? See ya around Joe, have fun going 25-57 next year.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Autolobotomist:</div><div class="quote_post">Let's not forget shooting 40% from the arc last season. That goes up playing with Nash and Stoudemire. Johnson's 3 point shooting went up 17% between 03-04 and 04-05. </div> His offense really doesnt matter that much. The suns have so much offense. They need good defense. The suns were probably the best offensive team last year. They got far but in the long run they fell short. This is a great move for the suns because its adding to their game.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Autolobotomist:</div><div class="quote_post">Let's not forget shooting 40% from the arc last season. That goes up playing with Nash and Stoudemire. Johnson's 3 point shooting went up 17% between 03-04 and 04-05. Adjusted for minutes played Raja is absolutely comparable to Joe. Their production is basically the same. If Raja played the minutes Joe did their PPG is dead even with the slimmest edge to Raja. He grabs a half a rebound less than Joe, steals are a dead heat again a slim edge to Raja. In assists Joe gets one and a half more per game. FG% is less than a half a percent difference Joe at .461 Raja at .454. they both shoot free throws at nearly equal percentages, but if Raja played the 39.5 mpg that Joe did he'd have gone to the line 30 more times. The only edge Joe has is in 3pt%, but I already addressed that. The edge that Raja has? He's about $9million a year. $9million a year gets the Suns a lot more help than half a rebound and one and a half assists per game. Equal production for well under half the money? What's not to like? See ya around Joe, have fun going 25-57 next year.</div> Could not have said it better myself. Raja is a guy who will greatly help this ballclub. If we sign Finley I think we have greatly improved this offseason.
