<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Word on the Street: Phoenix, Seattle Closing in on Deal? Multiple sources told DraftExpress today that the Phoenix Suns and Seattle Supersonics are working on a potential blockbuster trade. The Sonics have implied to numerous people over the past 48 hours that ?something is going to go down,? white another source in Seattle told us that the Supersonics are ?getting very close? to finalizing a trade. While the exact details of the trade are still unknown, numerous names have been mentioned as key components. The main ones are Shawn Marion and Rashard Lewis, who would be exchanged along with the team?s first round draft choices (#10 for #27). Other pieces that are being discussed include Leandro Barbosa and Danny Fortson. Seattle is interested in moving Rashard Lewis due to the fact that they believe he will opt out of his contract next summer and will end up losing him for nothing. With so many concerns about the future of the franchise in Seattle, the best way to put fans in the seats is certainly to start winning more games, which is the primary motive of this trade. Phoenix?s motive is to avoid the luxury tax for next season, which they are dangerously close to, and still keep the team as competitive as they are now. The Suns still have to extend Boris Diaw for 5 years and anywhere from 45-55 million dollars, which would put them well above the luxury tax threshold. With Leandro Barbosa looking for a contract starting in the 7-8 million dollar range, and Steve Nash, Amare Stoudemire and Shawn Marion making max or near max dollars, keeping their core together past next season does not appear to be very likely. Instead, the Suns can save quite a bit of money in the long term by taking on Rashard Lewis? more affordable deal and securing an immediate contributor (such as Rodney Carney or Ronnie Brewer) on a cheap 4 year rookie contract. Lewis makes over 5 million dollars less than Marion. Danny Fortson would be used as filler to make the trade work under the cap. He is an ending contract next year and could either give the Suns more toughness, rebounding and depth, be used as trade bait, or bought out of his contract. That depends on whether or not he can resolve his differences with Jerry Colangelo, whom he sued for defamation in 2004 for calling him a ?thug? in the media after breaking Zarko Cabarkapa?s wrist in a game between Dallas and Phoenix.</div> DraftExpress I don't know that I particularly believe it, but man, that would be interesting.
I wouldn't be so sure if it's true or not, hard to tell because in other articles concerning the Bulls and Suns trades, Mike D'Antoni said that Marion was not on the market... But, DraftExpress usually has good info.
Rashard would tear it up in Phoenix! with nash giving him three anfter three, wow. i have always liked rashard, and the phoenix system fits him even better than seatles. marion would be nice alongside ray allen as well
Poor ray allen. Will he ever be on a Legit contender? marion would cry if he went from the suns to the sonics. I dont see how this Makes the sonics a better team.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting michiganave17:</div><div class="quote_post">Poor ray allen. Will he ever be on a Legit contender? marion would cry if he went from the suns to the sonics. I dont see how this Makes the sonics a better team.</div> I don't see how Shard makes the Suns a better team. Marion is an overall better player.
I second what NbaBaller just said. Marion would lose all he has ever had, and Rashard is arguably extremely overrated.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting NbaBaller:</div><div class="quote_post">I don't see how Shard makes the Suns a better team. Marion is an overall better player. </div> This would be a great move for the Suns. Boris Diaw has pretty much made Marion expendable and the Suns are tight on cap space with Nash, Amare, and Marion making max. They keep their salary situation very well managed since they are in a small market and it allows better flexibility. Diaw, Tim Thomas, and Barbosa all have to be re-signed and they may not be able to re-sign them without getting rid of Marion and his large contract. If this deal goes through, not only will the Suns be able to re-sign Diaw (who makes Marion expendable), Barbosa, House, and Tim Thomas but they also get an all-star calibur player (at least a rental if he opts out) and a lotto pick. Marion is a good player and worthy of a max contract but he dissapears in the playoffs, can't create his own shot, and hes pushing 30. I don't think he'd be nearly as effective offensively on any other team because he really needs to be wide open to get a good jumpshot off and he can't post up or penetrate well. If he doesnt have a Nash or Boris Diaw creating shots in an up-tempo syystem his offense just won't be very good. Also, just my opinion but I think his rebounding stats would go down as well if hes on a team with legit big men playing alongside him, and if both his scoring and rebounding go down he doesnt look like a player who deserves a max contract.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Run BJM:</div><div class="quote_post">This would be a great move for the Suns. Boris Diaw has pretty much made Marion expendable and the Suns are tight on cap space with Nash, Amare, and Marion making max. They keep their salary situation very well managed since they are in a small market and it allows better flexibility. Diaw, Tim Thomas, and Barbosa all have to be re-signed and they may not be able to re-sign them without getting rid of Marion and his large contract. If this deal goes through, not only will the Suns be able to re-sign Diaw (who makes Marion expendable), Barbosa, House, and Tim Thomas but they also get an all-star calibur player (at least a rental if he opts out) and a lotto pick. Marion is a good player and worthy of a max contract but he dissapears in the playoffs, can't create his own shot, and hes pushing 30. I don't think he'd be nearly as effective offensively on any other team because he really needs to be wide open to get a good jumpshot off and he can't post up or penetrate well. If he doesnt have a Nash or Boris Diaw creating shots in an up-tempo syystem his offense just won't be very good. Also, just my opinion but I think his rebounding stats would go down as well if hes on a team with legit big men playing alongside him, and if both his scoring and rebounding go down he doesnt look like a player who deserves a max contract.</div> Ok I guess that is pretty understandable. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Other pieces that are being discussed include Leandro Barbosa and Danny Fortson.</div> I'm also wondering, why trade Barbosa especially if you are getting Fortson in return?
If you don't see how Marion would make us a better team then I think you need to look a bit harder. And I agree, DraftExpress does usually have good sources and it does make sense for both teams, but these sorts of trades are rumoured every year and nothing comes of them. We'll see.
Just as an afterthought - we all know Rashard is going to opt out (especially if he goes to Phoenix and averages 25ppg with Nash feeding him the ball), aren't the Suns in the same situation financially when that does happen and he wants a max deal?
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting NbaBaller:</div><div class="quote_post">Ok I guess that is pretty understandable. I'm also wondering, why trade Barbosa especially if you are getting Fortson in return?</div> It says because Barbosa will probably want 7-8 mil dollars in his new contract.
I love this for Seattle. They get an athletic Forward to go along with Ray Allen's outside shooting. I don't think you will see a tremendous drop off with Marion because of not having Nash. Luke Ridnour is also one of those point guards who distributes the ball very well. If they end up getting Barbosa as well imagine them going with this lineup at times: PG- Ridnour SG- Barbosa SF- Ray Allen PF- Marion C- maybe Petro??(Don't know how they will solve the center spot in the offseason) That lineup would be super athletic and could put up a lot of points very similar to Phoenix.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Sir Desmond:</div><div class="quote_post">Just as an afterthought - we all know Rashard is going to opt out (especially if he goes to Phoenix and averages 25ppg with Nash feeding him the ball), aren't the Suns in the same situation financially when that does happen and he wants a max deal?</div> That's exactly what I was going to say. The only difference is that with Marion, you don't have the uncertainty of whether or not he signs with you. I can understand the Suns reasons for shopping Marion, but Lewis doesn't seem to be the right replacement. Both based on his game and his contract situation.
I'm not a Shawn Marion fan, but if we were in a position to get an All-Star and an extremely talented combo guard (Barbosa) for a good but not great player (Sweet Lew) who wants to leave and a disgruntled forward (Fortson) who needs a change of scenery I would be ecstatic. We want to be an up tempo team and we'd be getting arguably two of the top five up tempo players in the league. How any Sonic fan could argue against this trade proposal would make no sense to me. It doesn't cost us money in the short or long term and it makes us a better team. I'd prefer to trade for someone other than Marion but in this market you aren't going to get a player of his caliber to come in for Sweet Lew. Rick Sund, work your magic, fam. It would also make for very interesting theater watching the relationship between Fortson and Colangelo materialize--and Lewis and Colangelo considering Lewis opted not to participate in the Olympic try out this summer.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Sir Desmond:</div><div class="quote_post">Just as an afterthought - we all know Rashard is going to opt out (especially if he goes to Phoenix and averages 25ppg with Nash feeding him the ball), aren't the Suns in the same situation financially when that does happen and he wants a max deal?</div> They're going for a championship next year, even if Lewis is a one year rental he'll help them alot and like I said before Diaw replaces Marion nicely so they only gain production. Then once Lewis opts out they've still got Nash, Amare, Diaw and all the players they can now re-sign plus a lotto pick.
I don't really understand this trade from the Suns perspective. Marion is many times better than Rashard at defense and rebounding. Although the Suns may not like how his scoring disappeared during the playoffs, he won't need to score next year with Amare coming back. They could be targeting a player at the #10 pick that would replace some of Marion's talents (which would mean the trade wouldn't happen until draft night). That said, Rashard is a perfect fit for Phoenix's three-oriented offense, and he'd probably appreciate not being pressured to post up all the time. I doubt Barbosa would be in the trade, though, given how the Suns need legit backup point guards. For the Sonics, it would be a risky deal assuming Marion can flourish without Nash and Diaw, but probably a risk worth taking. His contract will be up before Ray's, and there's virtually no chance the Sonics will contend during that period without a massive explosion from Wilcox, Swift, or Petro. Marion would bring in more fans than Rashard.
i think the marion lewis trade would give amare staudimire room to have a HUGE season next year if hes healthy. with marion out of the way amare will average more rebounds and more points with nash feeding him at the elbow and in the post.
Here is what I believe Sonics management have to be thinking: 1.) The players in the draft (Shelden Williams, Randy Foye, and definitely not Brandon Roy) that they have been targeting most likely will not fall to them at #10. 2.) None of those aforementioned players are worth trading up for -- w/ the exception of Brandon Roy -- and what would it take to trade up when all of those players would be projected back ups for us next season? Maybe too much. 3.) Rashard Lewis will not sign an extension this offseason and will opt out in '07. 4.) Nick Collison will not remain in Seattle past next season if Chris Wilcox is signed to a long term deal -- which all indications are that he will receive this offseason. 5.) Luke Ridnour will not resign with the Sonics next season unless he is given the minutes that he feels that a starting point guard deserves -- including crunch time 4th quarter minutes. Given Earl Watson's impact last season no one expects Ridnour to be playing 38+ minutes per game next season. 6.) Danny Fortson will not factor into any plans for the Sonics next season other than being involved in trade discussions w/ other teams. 7.) Clinton Moore and any other low maintenance free agents that we have do not factor in at all when it comes to front office decisions. They are either afterthoughts or will be used as throw ins (Clinton Moore) for trades in the event that his player option is not excercised. 8.) The only untouchable players on the roster are Ray Allen and one of the young centers (Swift/Petro) -- most likely Swift b/c he was a lotto pick and has developed more rapidly than Petro. Wilcox, if resigned, will factor into the untouchable category. Watson is very highly regarded but the financial burden of his contract may cause for his name to included in trade discussions if a comparable replacement is included (Leandro Barbosa?) So if we are in a situation where we could potentially lose Rashard Lewis, Chris Wilcox (although not likely), Nick Collison, and Luke Ridnour w/o any compensation it make sense for us to be as active as we can in pursuing trades. The 10th pick in this draft will not give us any player that will be a 20+ minute per game player in our rotation so why not look to move down if it will assure us that we will have a rotation that will be solidified for the next two+ seasons? Acquiring Shawn Marion fills two holes: Rashard Lewis' inevitable departure and Nick Collison predicted one. Acquiring Leandro Barbosa fills two holes: Giving the Sonics shooting guard depth and giving Earl Watson an opportunity to secure the starting point guard role while Ridnour can position himself for his next team. Losing Rashard Lewis: Hurts our spacing b/c of his proficient 3 point shooting and makes our frontline more accountable for scoring in the post -- also he has been a mainstay in Seattle and his departure may not be received well from fans. Losing Danny Fortson: Hurts our interior toughness. Hurts our offensive rebounding and hurts our ability to score in the half court -- whether it is from his screening or his put backs. Also a fan favorite, but I doubt that many expect him to have a large role on our team in the event that he isn't traded. Losing Earl Watson: In the event that Phoenix needs to acquire back court depth to make this deal work, losing Earl would be huge b/c there would be no guarantee that Ridnour would resign and we could be left depleted at the one. Our 27th pick may have to be used for a competent back up point guard and I don't believe that Rondo would be available that late. Maybe Lowry would become an option at that point. Losing #10 pick: Hurts us if either Foye or Shelden Williams are still on the board. Otherwise a comparable player may be found at pick #27 if the draft goes as predicted. This team needs a shake up and I've always trusted Rick Sund's ability to make sound decisions when it comes to putting a competive roster together w/ limited funding. Again why would any Sonic fan not want to be in a position where we are improving w/o overspending. This proposal excites the hell out of me.
I wouldn't mind having Marion at all. The lineup would probably be like... Luke/Earl Ray Marion Wilcox Petro/Swift Imagine Marion and Wilcox running the floor...that would open soooo many more opportunities for everyone else. Marion's defense would be a huge boost too. We could go with a small lineup and have Marion at the 4. If Nick decides to leave...we'll be fine. Same if Ridnour goes. We'll have Barbosa, and bring in Gelabale and we have the French connection. There could be 3 french guys on the floor at once for us... As for the Suns....Lewis' perimeter game would give more room for Amare. I want this trade to happen...
