Bleacher Report - Articles by Brandon Schleigh

Matt Barnes Signs with the Phoenix Suns

Brandon Schleigh — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 19:11:50 -0400

According to multiple media reports, the Phoenix Suns will sign free agent Matt Barnes to a veteran's minimum deal worth $1.2 million after Barnes passes a physical on Monday in Phoenix.

"He's the perfect player for us—an athletic guy who runs the floor, finishes at the basket, and can shoot the outside shot," Suns general manager Steve Kerr said, according to the East Valley Tribune. "He's also a guy who has had big games in the playoffs for Golden State and likes the big stage."

Barnes has played for five teams in his six-year career. Barnes had his best year in '06-07 where he averaged 9.8 points and 4.6 rebounds while shooting .366 percent from beyond the arc with the Warriors.

Barnes' numbers dropped last season to 6.7 points and 4.4 rebounds, and he shot below 30 percent from three-point range.

Barnes gives Phoenix another player to use in their rotation, which consisted of Steve Nash, Raja Bell, Grant Hill, Amare Stoudemire, Shaquille O'Neal, Leandro Barbosa, and Boris Diaw. Barnes will add more depth to the Suns' small forward spot, and may even start over Hill.

The Suns appear to still be searching for a backup point guard and another big man. The Suns should covet Damon Stoudemire, Sam Cassell, and Jason Williams—who are the best point guards left on the free agency market.

Brian Skinner or Sean Marks should fill the void of another big man. Brian Skinner would add more defense, but Sean Marks would do the opposite, and add his limited offensive ability to the roster.

Phoenix Suns Offseason: Who's Left on The Market?

Brandon Schleigh — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 22:10:55 -0400

With no surprise trade thus far into the off-season, the Phoenix Suns now look towards free agency to bring some talent to the roster.

Elton Brand recently signed with the Sixers for a tremendous amount of money—$82 million for the next five years to be exact.

Corey Maggette surprisingly signed with the Golden State Warriors.

Mickael Pietrus signed with the Orlando Magic.

James Jones signed with the Miami Heat.

Chris Duhon signed with the New York Knicks

Not like any of these players were being heavily pursued by the Suns anyway, but who else is left on the market? Knowing the Suns management, they are on a tight budget, so who ever is left they better come cheap.

Here's a list of players that are still on the market:

James Posey- Probably the best free agent on the market right now. Why? This guy will do whatever it takes to win. He won two championships with two different teams (Miami Heat and Boston Celtics).

Posey is a three-point threat, a great defender, and a solid rebounder at the SF position. More than likely, he'd start in Phoenix, with Grant Hill coming off the bench. The Suns need another shooter and Posey would bring that, and more.

The Suns would have a slim chance at landing him however, considering he wants a five year deal at age 31. As ridiculous as that may sound, I know one team will make him the deal he is looking for, and that team will NOT be Phoenix.

Brent Barry-The Suns were in heavy contention to acquiring Barry when he was waived by the Sonics after being traded for Kurt Thomas last February by the Spurs. However, he resigned with the Spurs later in the season and is now looking for another team.

Barry would add another veteran to the already "ancient" team that is the Phoenix Suns. He could bring leadership, and a deadly shooter from beyond the arc.

However, Barry is most likely going to stay in Texas. Indications point towards the Rockets, where they can offer him their biannual exception worth $1.9 million. The Suns used their exception on Grant Hill last off-season so they'd only be able to offer him $1.2 million veteran's minimum salary.

Michael Finley-Another aging veteran who has a nice three point shot. He was a Phoenix Suns killer in game one of the first round of the playoffs (hitting a game tying three pointer in the closing seconds of the fourth quarter).

Finley no doubt has a little bit left in the tank, but is he willing to give Phoenix a chance? It's a shot in the dark, but he's worth calling.

Shaun Livingston-This kid had a lot of potential going for him being a 6'7 point guard, but with his devastating injury his value isn't very high. That being said, he'd be cheap (what the Suns are looking for) and could be a steal of the market.

But, the Suns are looking for a veteran point guard, that can take a load off of Nash, which leads me to my next candidate.

Tyronn Lue-Lue has averaged 8.9 points and 3.3 assist per game in his career. He was pursued by the Suns after he was waived by the Kings in March, but Lue chose Dallas over Phoenix. Lue stated that he chose Dallas because he was afraid that Suns former coach Mike D'Antoni would only use seven players in his rotation.

Lue played with Shaq back in 2000 and 2001 where he was a part of their two championship rings. More than likely Lue will sign with the Suns.

Devin Brown-Brown is an above average defender with limited offensive abilities but could be signed by the Suns for a cheap contract worth around $1.2 million. He averaged 7.5 points last season with the Cleveland Cavaliers and had his best year in the season of 06-07, where he averaged 11 points for the Hornets.

He is rumored to be on the Suns radar already, so don't be surprised if he is wearing purple and orange next season.

Darius Miles-Now he isn't necessarily on the free agency list of most attractive players, but apparently the Suns have shown interest in him. Why? I personally have no clue. He was once, a good player (nothing more) with some potential, but has missed the past two seasons due to a right knee injury.

On the plus side, Miles would be another gamble for cheap. He could potentially come into town and do some damage, or he could be a bothersome player aggravated by injuries. If Miles was signed, he'd have to serve a ten game suspension for violating an anti-drug program.

Other notables-Quintin Ross, Jason Williams, Eddie House, Casey Jacobsen, Maurice Evans, Keyon Dooling, Bonzi Wells, Fred Jones, Anthony Johnson, Ricky Davis.

My predictions (which are almost always wrong): The Suns sign Tyronn Lue, resign Sean Marks or Brian Skinner ( preferably Brian Skinner), and sign Devin Brown.

Deal or No Deal: Phoenix Suns Draft 2008

Brandon Schleigh — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 09:27:45 -0400

The Phoenix Suns fans have not been particularly thrilled with the past few years of the NBA Draft. Since 2004, the Suns have not kept a single draft pick until just last year when the Suns chose Alando Tucker and Dj Strawberry.

Here's a recap of the Suns past few drafts picks:

2004

Phoenix chose Luol Deng as their number seven pick in the draft, passing up on players such as Andre Iguodala, Josh Smith, and Al Jefferson. However, the Suns traded Deng to the Bulls for a future first round pick the next year.

I personally don't understand what the Suns management was thinking. Did they think the Bulls would land a number one pick anytime soon? (Ironically, the Bulls do land the first pick four years later, but that wasn't the pick the Suns had acquired.)

2005

The Suns had the No. 21 pick in this year's draft. The Suns chose Nate Robinson when there were many other players left on the board, including: David Lee, Jarret Jack, and Linas Kleiza. Although none of these players had an immediate impact on their respective teams it would have been nice for the Suns to have some young talent on the end of the bench.

Too bad the Suns staff doesn't believe so; they traded away Quentin Richardson, who they just signed after the 2004 NBA Draft, and Nate Robinson for Kurt Thomas. I understand the Suns needed some size but they could have gotten some quality big men in the past two drafts such as Al Jefferson or David Lee.

2006

Again the Suns grab the lucky No. 21 pick in the draft which they acquired from the Chicago Bulls in 2004. The Suns choose Rajan Rondo, a point guard out of Kentucky. I'm not a big college fan, but for some reason I believed the Suns got a steal out of the draft.

But of course, the Suns again trade their draft pick. This time they traded Rondo and Brian Grant for another future first round pick and cash consideration. Several weeks later, the Suns sign free agent Marcus Banks to a five year, $24 million deal to backup Nash.

Not only does Banks have no similarities to Nash's game, but he's also always been a career loser. Never won in college and has always been on the losing team in the NBA.

Not only could the Suns have easily developed Rajan Rondo, but they also passed up on guys like Kyle Lowry or Jordan Farmar. Here's the thing: the Suns could have just developed their draft pick for one-fourth the price of Marcus Banks.

Did I forget to mention the Suns had one more pick in this draft? The No. 27 pick which turned out to be Sergio Rodriguez, but they traded him to Portland for luxury tax reasons.

2007

The Suns had two first round picks (No. 24 and No. 29), and one second round pick (No. 59). For the 24th, 29th, and 59th pick, Phoenix chose Rudy Fernandez, Alando Tucker, and DJ Strawberry. Rudy Fernandez is traded to Portland along with James Jones for cash, again to avoid the luxury tax threshold. But what a miracle offseason for the Suns—they actually decided to keep several draft picks!

2008

Phoenix has the No. 15 pick in the draft, and Steve Kerr mentioned several times to the media that the Suns would like to move up in the draft or acquire another pick. However, several trade rumors have already been shut down (two of which I previously spoke of in my last article).

A new favorite rumor of mine has Leandro Barbosa and the No. 15 pick for Corey Maggette and the No. 7 pick. This deal is highly unlikely because Maggette has yet to reach a decision whether or not he wants to opt out of his $8 million contract.

As a Phoenix Suns enthusiast, I pray the Suns staff figures out a solution to benefit today's team as well as tomorrow's.

Phoenix Suns Trade Rumors: Boris Diaw and Leandro Barbosa

Brandon Schleigh — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 08:55:54 -0400

Boris Diaw and Leandro Barbosa are most likely changing zip codes this offseason.

No doubt you already heard about the rumors of Boris Diaw heading over to Toronto for TJ Ford and the No. 17 pick in the draft, or the trade that might send the Brazilian Blur to Portland for Martell Webster and the No. 13 pick in the draft.

Both of these trades seem very possible but I have taken the liberty of "modifying" these trades to better benefit both teams—and more importantly, to benefit the Suns.

Let's analyze the trade that would bring the Suns TJ Ford from the Raptors, shall we? The Suns have been looking for the heir to Steve Nash since Nash first rejoined the Suns in the 2004-05 season. TJ Ford's game is similar to that of the two-time MVP, and he has a "pass-first mentality."

However, Ford lacks a consistent jumper—and, like Nash, he has a bad back. Last season, Ford suffered a devastating blow from Al Horford of the Atlanta Hawks, and was sidelined for several months.

Is Ford worth obtaining, knowing he has a bad back? It's a dice roll. However, the last time Phoenix gambled on an injury-prone player, the player won two MVP trophies. Although I am personally for this trade as I've been watching Ford since his Milwaukee debut, I can't say the Suns would be willing to dish out Diaw so easily.

Here's my modified trade: Boris Diaw and Raja Bell for TJ Ford, Jason Kapono, and the No. 17 pick in the draft.

This trade would benefit both teams. The Suns get a consistent three-point shooter in Kapono, and the Raptors get a defensive-minded shooting guard in Bell—not to mention the versatility of Diaw. This trade would also reunite TJ Ford with head coach Terry Porter, who he played under in Milwaukee.

Now it's time to analyze the potential trade between the Phoenix Suns and Portland Trailblazers. The Suns would get Martell Webster and No. 13 pick for Leandro Barbosa.

Is this a fair trade? Quite possibly—however the Phoenix Suns should try and push their luck and pry Channing Frye from the Blazers, too. Frye won't get much playing time with Greg Oden coming back from injury, which is why the Suns should push for him.

Here's the new trade: Leandro Barbosa, No. 17 pick in the draft, No. 15 pick in the draft for Martell Webster, Channing Frye and the #13 pick in the draft.This trade solves a problem for the Suns by giving them a backup power forward, and gives Phoenix a deeper bench. The Blazers get lightning-quick Barbosa, and now have two picks in the upcoming draft.

However, I see the Blazers packaging those two picks along with Raef LaFrentz and Travis Outlaw for the possibility of Richard Jefferson.

The trades would leave Phoenix altering their image—and more importantly, give them a roster built towards the future as well as today. Hopefully, both deals are accepted and the Suns can then look towards free agency. Is Michael Finley available?