Wayne Ellington, Terrence Ross, Nikola Vucevic On LA's Radar?

Interesting thing about Houston is that they traded Ryan Anderson and Melton for Knight and Chriss and in the process saved about 4m on team salary this year. Seeing how they're about 9.9m over the tax threshold, they're barely classified as a tier 2 tax payer (100k short of going to the next tax tier) and are roughly on the hook for about 16m in taxes.

However, had they stood pat and kept Anderson and Melton, they would have been a tier 3 tax payer ($2.50 per $1 over the tax), so that additional 4m in team salary would have led to 10m in additional taxes. They saved roughly 15m in total by doing that trade.

Then once they acquired Chriss, they declined his option next year, so he essentially is a 3.2m expiring deal. And now with the report from Shams that LA-Houston-Phx is trying to find a 4th team to take on Knight (fyi Phx cannot reacquire Knight this year), that would imply that Htown is doing whatever they can to shed salary from next season's books because they're projected to be massive tax payers again next year and are just one year away from being a repeat tax offender with more punitive taxes to come.

Htown is under new ownership and must be thinking, no way they pay an additional tax for this type of product. Shams stated that Htown called us 2 weeks ago for KCP, so they are the ones taking initiative in shedding that Knight deal off their books. They probably offered us a 1st to take him too. But that would impact our max slot next summer, so now we got to use that Knight/1st package to get what we want....which is probably Ariza/Melo (all while allowing Kcp to get more PT on another team which Paul/Klutch would be interested in).

So who is that 4th team...I'm still thinking it could be Boston...but they are over the luxury tax as we speak and Knight would just further push them over. But they're going to need a salary filler as an expiring deal to go chase AD next season and Knight would give them that. Plus Danny loves picks and Htown is willing to give them up. Boston needs to decide on Rozier and the Suns need a point to move Booker off ball.

Sac is still lurking with cap space and probably wanting to horde assets...they could be the 4th team too, but what would a clearly tanking Suns team get out of that deal?

 

I think they can't take him back per nba rules

 

I just got so lost in all of this but all I care about is us getting Ariza, not giving up any 1st round picks, not giving up any young players (Mo, Svi, Bonga), and getting rid of KCP once and for all.

 

Hou shouldn't even be involved they just suck away all the value and make things more complicated because they only want to move Knight and probably dont want to give up any picks to do so which nobody is going to touch Knight contract anytime soon

 

yeah, why help them get out from under knight and get a wing that fits their system? hard pass.

 

Yeah let's get Philly involved again or New York...somebody that can give up a PG basically and satisfy the Suns need while we get our guy in Ariza...

There was rumors that New York wanted KCP over the summer anyways...

 

We wouldn't be helping Houston...we would be helping Rob's ex clients.

Chriss, Gordon and Ariza have all been repped by Rob before.

We're not taking on Knight/pick, but another team will surely be interested in that package.

Look at the Wiz....there have been rumors that everybody is available there. Lets say Beal (3 year fully guaranteed contract) and Oubre (set to hit restricted free agency next summer) are involved, would Houston turn around that four 1st round picks package that they wanted to get Butler with and look to Beal/Oubre with something similar. Beal in Htown should look better than Gordon.

Maybe the Wiz are looking to get off some money and gain cheap assets in the process: Htown picks with Knight (expiring next year) and/or KCP (expiring) is something they're looking at.

Could Wall be heading to Phx? The interesting thing about the Wiz is that they have Klutch clients in Wall/Morris there. Green is also there and has played with Bron before in Cleveland. You got Melo waiting for Bron to rescue him in Htown...and obviously you also got the James Jones Bron connection as well.

Why exactly did Turner, a Lakers insider, report that Zo, BI, Kuz and Hart where off limits in this trade rumor? I mean that's obvious in this scope of a trade, right? This Ariza/Kcp thing can just be part of a leak, where the true targets are still hidden. You got Rob's guys, Klutch's guys, LeGM's guys....

#B-A-N-A-N-A-S

 

Per Broderick Turner of The LA Times:

"You would like to return home"...?!?

Then why didn't you Trev?... probably some politrick'n maybe, right?



Didn't even meet with Lakers brass, kinda like that other chick that is repped by the same people as you are.

Instead, you took a deal 40 minutes into free agency....and now dude wants to come back home. Really?!?

I guess we can let bygones be bygones tho...

 

While I like Trevor, I can't seem to shake the thought that this is a lateral move at best. We are losing depth at the SG spot to increase our redundancy at SF. I'm honestly not sure how this helps us as these 2 players are similar in on-court production.

 

as old as Ariza is, I still believe he's a much better defender than KCP today. N what redundency at SF? with Ariza, I only see Ingram and Lance as the actual legit SF's. Svi can play sg/sf, Kuz is really better served as a PF, same with James. Svi/Hart/Ingram is more than enough for the SG rotation

 

It seems like LA has their sights on more than just Ariza:

Per Denevey of Sporting News:

Also I'm with @Khmrp ...if you look at Bron's player profile and how he's announced on the game sheets: he's still labeled a SF. Kuz is the 4 and BI is the 2.

By dealing KCP to a new location where he can get more PT, that opens up more PT for BI to remain at the 2 and for Hart and Svi to come in off the bench. I know some of y'all want #HartToStart, but he's equally impactful as a supersub that closes out games.

With Ariza, our rotation during the regular season at the 3 becomes Bron/Ariza, where Bron can actually keep his minutes low till the playoffs. Ariza can also be staggered as a 4, while Kcp couldn't.

 

So when Turner said talks fell apart on that 3teamer, now we're hearing new targets emerge and now this:



It sure seems that the Suns either want one of our youngns (GTFO) or a 1st rounder (GTFO some more). If that remains the asking price, then just stand pat and attack the buyout market in mid February.

 

We're not as desperate for Ariza like we were Chandler so yeah, I'm comfortable just standing pat.

 

a good 3/D wing thats expiring we should target is Holiday of chi...4.5mill expiring, shooting nearly 40% from 3s currently

 

KCP + one of the young guys for a one year rental, old Ariza? Suns FO must be smoking the same stuff Steph is...

 

Honestly, I'm not understanding why we wouldn't just give up the 1st along with KCP to get Ariza here?

We don't need that 1st round pick this summer and it's going to eat into our cap room...I would just try and get an additional young player out of the Suns if we're giving up that first round pick...maybe Melton since we wanted him before? or heck give us Dragan Bender since he's such a "bust".

 

We need the first for any superstar trade.