Center of the Sun: More Suns trade rumors than wins this past week

There's still time to donate tickets for Bright Side Night! Let's help send as many deserving kids as we can to their first Suns game on December 11th against the New Orleans Pelicans!

Game Recaps

@ Washington Wizards - L (106-101) Full Recap

@ Orlando Magic - W (92-87) Full Recap

vs Minnesota Timberwolves - L (98-85) Full Recap

vs Denver Nuggets - L (120-114) Full Recap

It was another bad week for the Suns. But at least there weren't any 20+ point blowouts... right? [Crickets]

Yeah, I agree.

I really like our potential for the future and our younger players but they aren't going to move the needle of the win-o-meter much this season. There's been a lot of talk about trades here on BSotS but if the Suns do start making some trades, should we be looking to trade some of our vets/more established players for more youth or try the opposite? I am NOT in favor of trading away any of our young talent for vets to try and add a few more W's this season. But I'm also not in favor of trading away all or most of our vets for younger players with "potential". There needs to be a balance between vets and young talent on any team. Unfortunately, the Suns haven't seemed to be able to find the correct balance yet.

Key Stat

75.5%

That's the Suns' team percentage for free throws made so far this season. At first glance it doesn't look that bad but it puts the Suns at 22nd in the NBA in free throw conversion. The Suns are also 3rd in the NBA in free throws attempted per game (27.0) which means that the Suns aren't capitalizing on the advantage that they have by getting to the free throw line as often as they do.

The good news is that the Suns FT numbers have been getting better since I started keeping an eye on these stats last week.

Stats courtesy of TeamRankings.com.

Quote of the Week

“He looks like he’s better but you have to watch Devin (Booker). Devin will act like he’s better and he’s hurt. You have to pay attention to him. He just wants to go out there and play with his heart. He loves playing basketball. He’s a throwback player when it comes to injury. Throwback players play through anything. You have to drag them off the court. He has that toughness about him that coaches love and teammates respect.” - Earl Watson before the Washington game

Rookie Watch

Marquese Chriss - 15.3 MPG, 5.9 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 0.6 APG, 0.5 SPG, 0.6 BPG

Dragan Bender - 10.0 MPG, 2.9 PPG, 1.2 RPG, 0.3 APG, 0.2 SPG, 0.4 BPG

Tyler Ulis - 11.3 MPG, 3.7 PPG, 0.7 RPG, 1.8 APG, 1.3 SPG, 0.1 BPG

All stats courtesy of Real GM.

How about some NOT so Wild & Crazy Trade Rumor talk this week?

Even though McD recently said that the Suns aren't shopping Brandon Knight, there's a lot of talk about possible trades involving him. CBS Sports speculated on four potential trade partners.

First, the Orlando Magic. They don't mention a specific trade scenario but they think that Knight might be coveted there.

Second, the New Orlean Pelicans. Again, no specific trade scenario but they think that a deal for Knight and Tyson Chandler could be worked out that could be good for both teams.

Third, the Brooklyn Nets. This one is also non-specific but it would involve the Suns trading Knight and some of youth to the Nets in exchange for Brook Lopez.

Fourth, the Philadelphia 76ers. This one involves working out a trade package that would be headlined by Knight going East and Jahlil Okafor heading West.

Hoops Habit also had some potential destinations for Brandon Knight not long ago.

One of their potential trade partners is the New York Knicks. Yes, they admit that with Derrick Rose and Brandon Jennings the Knicks are already in a pretty good spot at point guard this season... but just for this season. Both Rose and Jennings are on one year deals so a trade for Knight who is under contract for four seasons (including this one) could be a plus for them. If both Rose and Jennings play well this season, it might be too expensive to re-sign both and one or both might decide to move on if they get bigger offers elsewhere... especially if the Knicks miss the playoffs again.

Another potential partner they mention is the Dallas Mavericks. Seth Curry has been their starting PG lately because he's been the only healthy PG they've had. Their other present options at PG are aging vets Deron Williams (32), J.J. Barea (32) and Devin Harris (33)... and Seth Curry is 26 as opposed to Kinght who is 24. Dallas is going to have to get younger and Knight might be the best bet they have to bring in a young and experienced PG.

They also mention the Pelicans, Nets and Sixers as potential trade partners for Knight.

Although they aren't tied to the Suns, there are rumors that Tom Thibodeau may trade some of his young talent (anyone not named Wiggins or KAT) to bring in a vet or two to jump start their rebuild. As some Suns fans have already suggested, Sir Charles In Charge also suggests that a Bledsoe/Rubio trade might be something that the Wolves would seek out. I'm not sure if this would be a good trade for the Suns but if Minnesota was willing to throw in something else to sweeten the pot... who knows.

Sacramento seems to always be rumored to be looking to trade someone. Cousins, Gay and Casspi are the most mentioned names so far this season. Perhaps the Suns could get involved with either the Wolves or Kings in a three team trade?

Do any of these trade ideas should as though they could be fleshed out into workable trades that could help the Suns? What other potential trade partners would you suggest and which Suns players other than Knight do you think might wind up playing for another franchise before this season ends?

With December 15 (the date on which most players who were signed in free agency this past off-season become eligible to be included in trades) quickly approaching, more NBA trade rumors and actual trades will start to surface.

News & Notes

Paul Coro discusses Alex Len.

TJ Warren expects to play again in a couple of weeks. Paul Coro

Suns organization helps provide for the underserved on Thanksgiving. Arizona Sports

A good article in Forbes about the Suns.

Marc j. Spears details Devin Booker's father's influence in his son's journey to the NBA. The Undefeated.

Hoops Habit lists 5 early season takeaways for the Suns.

Earl Watson recognizes defensive problems and is attempting to correct them. Arizona Sports

Jared Dudley thrives in his return to Phoenix. Paul Coro

Derrick Jones Jr is reassigned to Naz.

Previewing the Week Ahead

Wednesday, November 30th vs Atlanta Hawks (10-7)

Saturday, December 3rd @ Golden State Warriors (15-2)

Just two games this week but neither will be anywhere near an easy game for the Suns.

First the Suns host the Atlanta Hawks. The Hawks are off to a strong start this season and have the 4th best record in the East. I don't expect the Suns to win this game but I wouldn't be completely shocked if they did. Why? Well, why not? You just really never know with the Suns.

After a couple of days off the Suns head out to California to face the Golden State Warriors for their third matchup of this still young season. They have actually played well against the Warriors in their previous two meetings although they have lost both of them. I expect them to play well against them again but still come up short in the end... especially since the Warriors seem to have started to learn how to make their new lineup work even better for them since the Suns last faced them.

I think that the Suns will go 0-2 this week but I wouldn't be terribly surprised if they went 1-1.

How do you think the Suns will fare this week?