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**Dissonance19** · 06-29-2006, 11:04 AM

Pretty interesting. Tells us who we wanted, what happened and what we may or may not do, especially possibly trading Jones or Kurt Thomas...which is confusing..

link

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Unable to trade up for any of the players they coveted and looking to clear space under the luxury tax threshold to retain free agent Tim Thomas — and perhaps add another veteran player to the rotation — the Suns traded the No. 21 pick (Kentucky guard Rajon Rondo) to Boston.

The Celtics took on the contract of forward Brian Grant and sent the Suns a first-round pick next season — one which was originally the property of Cleveland and is lottery-protected until 2011.

LeBron James and the Cavaliers made the playoffs this year and are expected to make the lottery limitation obsolete again next season.

With one deal done, the Suns then sent the rights to the 27th overall pick, which turned out to be Spanish point guard Sergio Rodriguez, to Portland.

The Suns received $3 million in cash (not counted for or against the salary cap).

It’s the third straight year, and the sixth time since 1997, that the Suns finished the draft without a first-round pick. Last year, they traded Nate Robinson to New York in the Kurt Thomas deal and in 2004 they shipped Luol Deng to Chicago.

Phoenix saved about $4 million under the tax threshold by dealing Grant ($1.8 million), who is expected to retire but will be paid by the Celtics whether he plays or not, and not paying the slotted salaries of their two draft picks (combined, about $2 million).

That puts them in better position when it comes to luring back Tim Thomas, who becomes an unrestricted free agent on July 1.

Including the money from the Portland pick and money saved against the dollar-fordollar tax threshold, the team saved in the neighborhood of $9 million, said Suns director of basketball operations David Griffin. Owner Robert Sarver has been adamant that the team will not exceed the tax moving forward.

Tim Thomas said earlier this month he wants to remain a Sun and will give Phoenix the first shot at resigning him.

“Every dollar we can push away from (the tax threshold) is money we can dedicate to Tim, that’s a huge part of why we did what we did,” Griffin said.

“There are other players we have identified, but we love Tim, we think he loves us. It’s our intention to get something done.”

Phoenix coach and general manager Mike D’Antoni said the team is looking at the possibility of signing Thomas and an additional free agent for next season — but that would likely involve slicing more payroll. Forward James Jones and Kurt Thomas have been mentioned prominently as players Phoenix could deal to make more room.

When the dust settled, the Suns were also left with three first-round picks next season: Their own, Atlanta’s (protected through the first three picks) obtained in last summer’s Joe Johnson deal and Cleveland’s.

“Who knows, maybe we’ll actually use a pick next time,” D’Antoni joked.

Open and direct about the players that interested them in the draft pool, the Suns said they targeted seven players that interested them (starting with Washington’s Brandon Roy and Gonzaga’s Adam Morrison) including a handful they felt were attainable.

D’Antoni said the team had extensive conversations with every team from Boston at No. 7 on down to Indiana at No. 17, in hopes of landing players like Swiss guard Thabo Sefolosha, UConn center Hilton Armstrong, Memphis forward Rodney Carney and Arkansas guard Ronnie Brewer.

“We tried everything,” D’Antoni said.

“We were offering three first-round picks (two this year and the Suns’ own firstround pick in 2007) to move up. Then it was two firstround picks and a lot of money. But it wasn’t happening.”

And when Seattle surprised many by taking Senegal center Saer Sene at No. 10, the dominoes really began to fall the wrong way.

The Hornets took Armstrong at No. 12.

Fearing the Suns might steal Sefolosha, Chicago — long known to covet him —traded with Philadelphia to nab him at No. 13.

Brewer went next to Utah and the 76ers grabbed Carney at No. 16.

By then, the Suns had given up and were making calls to pull out of the draft.

“After that, I just couldn’t see anybody better than the guys we have,” D’Antoni said. “We didn’t think they’d be in among our top 10 players. There was no use taking the spot and the (salary) space up. We didn’t want to get in that position.

“Our fans might be a little bummed out today, but they won’t be disappointed when November rolls around. At the very worst, we’ll have last year’s team plus Amaré (Stoudemire) and I think that’s pretty good. But I think we’ll do even better than that.”

The Suns want to add a shot-blocking presence and another “ball distributor and decision maker” on the perimeter, although not necessarily a point guard.

D’Antoni said Leandro Barbosa will be given another chance to prove he can be the long-term backup behind Steve Nash at the point.

**Seuss** · 06-29-2006, 11:24 AM

Please don't be ****ing retarded and trade Kurt.
Suns need Kurt and this team would not beable to beat SA/Mavs without Kurt.

f22egl · 06-29-2006, 12:36 PM

According to the New York Daily News , the Suns would have picked Balkman at 21 if he had remained on the board.

Tiz · 06-29-2006, 12:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by f22egl

According to the New York Daily News , the Suns would have picked Balkman at 21 if he had remained on the board.

That is coming from Isiah though is probably just trying cover himself after the backlash he took for making that pick.

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