Knicks just signed him with their MLE. He's 4th on that team in minutes, has started 1/3 of their games (due to Robinson's injury issues), and is contributing well. What makes you think he'd be available?
Can't imagine why Phoenix would be interested in dealing Ayton though. Seems like they're doing pretty OK, and now they've got him locked up for 4 years. But y'know, maybe they regret re-signing him and want to get out of the deal...
https://www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/4278129/deandre-ayton Check his stats, he's not exactly lighting it up this year. Their fanbase is mostly out on Ayton, and Ayton has a history of issues with the Suns franchise. But regardless, I'm mostly saying this is the type of player I would trade for from our side, not necessarily saying the Suns would. Just looking up and down the centers in the NBA, besides the obvious ones, there's no one else I really think is an upgrade besides Ayton and maybe Turner/Poeltl.
Ayton is a SLIGHT upgrade over Nurk, but also 2x the money. On a contribution/cost evaluation - Nurk is the better value.
Disagree but it's all hypothetical anyways. Fit is important and a center that plays effective rim and switching defense and finishes everything at the rim is the ideal center on this team. Like if we could somehow get Poeltl I'd be super stoked as well.
Simons AND Nurk for Ayton is a HUGE overpay. And if you think watching Nurk is frustrating, you’re just going to get more of the same from Ayton. There is a reason why the Suns didn’t really want him back and why the Nets didn’t want him in any KD trade discussions.
If you want something to be concerned about, our starting line up which has played the most minutes as a 5 man lineup BY FAR has a negative net rating: https://www.nba.com/stats/lineups/advanced?slug=advanced&TeamID=1610612757 And it's not even like a little bit of a negative. It's -5.8. 111.6 ORTG and 117.4 DRTG. Our overall offensive rating is 111.9 and our DRTG is 109.4. So it's on par with our league average offense and significantly worse than our top 10 overall defense. Our next most used comp is the starting line up, but with Eubanks instead of Nurkic. The DRTG is worse by one point, but the ORTG skyrockets from 111.6 to 125.7. Makes sense, Eubanks is objectively a worse defender, but the offense skyrockets. Probably he doesn't throw dumbass passes and he finishes everything at the rim that he gets. Now it's early, but this is something I'm actively monitoring for the rest of the season.
Ehh, I think I’m good. Ayton is a nice player, but on a max contract? I’d rather deal for Turner, and I really don’t want to deal for Turner. Seems like the best move these days is to find and develop your own starting C.
or simply go shopping in the discount bin...the MLE & less big-man market in this new NBA, I don't think there is a position group a team should spend less on than C, especially traditional C's
The Suns might go for that, and I find it intriguing, but first of all, I'd like to know if Ayton's sudden shocking statistical decline is because he's unhappy in Phoenix or because he got his money and now doesn't care. Evidence of decline: https://hoopshype.com/lists/nba-players-regressed-step-back-2022-23-lebron-ayton-lavine/ Also:
This trade makes too much sense not to happen: Turner's playing great for Indy, but he's a UFA, so I'm sure they expect to lose him. Suns have been shopping Crowder all season - Indy can flip him to a contender.
Ayton is not allowed to be traded to Indiana until after mid-July '23. This trade literally can NOT happen.
Why? [EDIT] D'oh - forgot that Indy signed him to an offer sheet. OK, then I suggest this: Porzingis is playing great for WAS, but you KNOW he's going to get injured. Besides, he just makes more sense in Phoenix (and vice versa for Ayton and DC).
Jeremi is 6'6.5" so you're adding 3.5" not 1". Winslow, Little & Sharpe all measured 6'4.5" while Hart came in 6'3.75". Yes they'd all benefit from more size, but fantasies work better if they're tethered to reality. Reality is this Blazer club is the shortest rotation they've featured in decades and maybe ever. While this is somewhat of a reflection of where hoops is at these days, I think the whole switchability concept would work much better with an agile Center who teams couldn't target and was more of a rim protector. A versatile 4/5 would add so much to this club. STOMP
I'm not sure what you're seeing/comparing here as Ayton is one of the best examples of a 5 with switchablity on D going while Nurk is on the other end of the spectrum. The Suns absolutely wanted their big man back as evidenced by matching the max offer, they just hoped to get him back at a lesser price which probably is a reflection of their now ex-owner STOMP
You’re really willing to pay twice Nurk’s salary for ‘switchability’? And in addition to that, have to add a 1st or some other kind of additional assets? For a guy who also averages less than 1ppg more and 1rpg less? Lol, alright.
You would think that the market Ayton who averages 1 rebound less and 1 more point and twice as much in salary than Nurk would also be non-existent. And yet, there are those on this thread that insist on trading for him. Crazy world we live in…
All you need to do is look at phx defense vs Portland and it is clear why switch ability is important, if it's worth the difference in price between nurk and ayton is above my pay grade, but I think that much better defense and a younger prospect are worth more than what nurk is