Suns fans, and even some national media members, are confused about the acquisitions of Hedo Turkoglu and Josh Childress.
A national media member recently tweeted (paraphrased): Suns will need J Rich to score 35 a game because they have too many passers now.
What?!?!? How can sharing the ball be a bad thing? That made me laugh out loud. Literally.
Turkoglu is a bad fit because wants the ball in his hands all the time.
A gross generalization, based on a single frustrated season in Toronto. Hedo never made that complaint before in TEN seasons in the NBA. Sacramento - Mike Bibby, Chris Webber. San Antonio - Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili. Orlando - Jameer Nelson. Think maybe, just maybe, if these guys were good enough for him, that Nash would be, too?
Hedo can't play in the Suns current lineup because he can't rebound.
Yes, he sucks at rebounding. But that does not make him a bad fit in the offense/defense. In 2005-06, the Suns won 54 games and made the WCF with Boris Diaw at PF/C. Diaw averaged 6 rebounds per game. Suns had Marion with 11 rebounds a game, but the team only played a 7-man rotation back then. Someone had to get the rebounds, and Marion was a vacuum on a pogo stick. In 2008-09, Orlando went to the Finals with Hedo/Rashard Lewis F tandem. Orlando had Dwight Howard with 11 rebounds per game, but the team overall averaged about the same rebounds as the 2009-10 Suns. They just surrendered fewer, resulting in a great differential. The 2010-11 Suns, with zero improvement from any players, project to pull down 41 rebounds a game. Middle of the pack in the NBA, statistically speaking.
Hedo sucks at defense.
He is not a great defender, but he's not terrible, either. In Orlando, he took the opposition's second-biggest guy (after Howard took the biggest). He also played big roles on good defenses in Sacramento and San Antonio prior to Orlando.
Defensive rating for teams on which Turkoglu played: 2010 Raptors (30th overall), 2009 Magic (1st - Finals), 2008 Magic (6th), 2007 Magic (6th), 2006 Magic (24th), 2005 Magic (18th overall), 2004 Spurs (1st - NBA Champ), 2003 Kings (2nd), 2002 Kings (6th), 2001 Kings (7th)
The bottom line: Turkoglu won't win DPOY, but he won't drag down your defense, either. He's a smart player. He contributes to good defensive team play.
Hollinger: Suns overpaid Childress because he bases his entire game on athleticism, which usually fades by late 20s
This made me chuckle. Given the contracts around the league in the past two weeks, Childress is a STEAL at 6 mil per year. He's a 6'8" shooting guard who scores efficiently, always makes the smart play, great at on-ball perimeter defense, nabs 1-2 steals per game. His shooting stroke is poor, yet his true shooting % is high and has made 36% of his threes over his career. And he's still only 27. Childress might just be 6th-man-of-the-year, this year. He is exactly what the Suns needed on the wing to support JRich, Duds, Hill and Dragic.
In a recent BSotS poll, only 42% of you approve of BOTH transactions
Come on, people. Let me remind you of something:
The Suns only gave up a 15 min/game player (10th in a 10-man rotation), a future 2nd round pick, and $6 million dollars. In return, they got two starting-quality players on WINNING teams, known for their smarts and basketball IQ.
The Suns made a BASKETBALL TRADE. We're not used to getting good value back in any transaction. So we poke and prod and try to find the hidden stinkbomb.
And if that's STILL not enough to make you happy
Don't Worry. Be Happy.
