Phoenix Suns Mailbag: Bagman Begins

The Suns are 3-2 and, as expected, they have been both incredibly fun and enormously frustrating. I still have no idea what to make of this team. There are real issues and it is hard to argue otherwise. That said, there are also a lot of good things to look toward.

I’ve seen people overrating three wins against non-playoff teams. I’ve also seen people reacting way too quickly to two losses, one more acceptable (Clippers in LA) than the other (Dallas at home). Five games in, there’s nothing that can be considered a fact. There are only signs and trends.

We have a lot of questions to get through on my first attempt at something like this. It’s also not really a mailbag because the questions came from Twitter. Mailbag just sounds better.

Oh and yes, this mailbag is later than I promised it. The wireless network where I live refuses to connect to my editor account now, no matter what device I use. If you’d like to know how attentive technical support has been to my problem, watch Otto Porter on this play.

Anyway, onto the questions.

@scottyco21: Are you surprised Leuer has outplayed Teletovic to this point?

I mean…kind of. We know what both players are. Teletovic is a heat check shooter who gives precisely zero Fs and can kill you when he’s feeling it. Leuer is a little more of a cerebral player who produces steadily but will never take over.

So, which one plays better would seem to be based on one thing: Is Teletovic hitting his shots? So far, the answer is a big N-O. He’s shooting 23 percent from the floor and is 2 for 8 from three. He also doesn’t pass, rebound, or defend at a level that excuses that.

Meanwhile Leuer is fifth in passes per game and fourth in assists on the Suns. He also 5-9 from beyond the arc.

This doesn’t surprise me because, except for last season, Leuer was a bona fide stretch four who played smart basketball but would never heat check. I thought Mirza might benefit from working in the pick-and-pop, but even when they try, he just misses.

I think Teletovic will eventually find himself, and the rotation will depend on what the Suns need. However, Leuer has played well and has earned a spot in the rotation. I’m not mind-blown, but I am surprised.

@Mark1Houston: should the Suns package one of the two PGs in a trade with Morris for a starting PF?

No. I don’t think the Suns would or should move Knight or Bledsoe unless they get a true star player. Eventually, you can’t keep committing to young guys as core pieces and then trade them frantically. A winning team has consistency among the guys who make and play the most. However, I will counter with my personal package that is reasonable and can net a good return: Tucker, Morris, Cleveland’s first round pick.

I wish NBA GMs had a Facebook group where they just posted trade packages and said “for best offer”. If I were McDonough, this is what I put on the table.

The issue: I can’t think of one player that Suns fans would really want that could be gotten with that package. Heck, I can’t even think of someone the Suns could get for Markieff Morris straight up.

Ryan Anderson? Great shooter, would fit well, but is an unrestricted free agent after this season who has no defensive ability and chronic health issues. Kenneth Faried? Probably better than Morris and could up the physicality, but has no range and makes 50% more than Morris per year.

So, I pose this challenge to you: Comment with names of players you think the Suns could get with that package (or just for Morris) and I’ll review those names in the next mailbag.

@kevininzunza31: Do you think with time , TJ Warren has a chance to steal that SF position . Like this season?

It’s coming. Trust me. I still think it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense given the makeup of the roster, but it will happen.

On that note, here’s a list of reasons I like Warren off the bench

• Tucker is a better on-ball defender than Warren. T.J. is good for his age, but he’s not a stopper, and he is still learning a lot of the intricacies. Do you really want him guarding LeBron?
• Warren can be the focal point of the offense with the bench unit, because the way he attacks is hard for inexperienced bench defenders. He’s fast and he knows how to get his shot up. Tucker doesn’t just get better with the ball in his hands against a bench unit. He still works off-ball. Meanwhile, Warren loses production chances because he is taking on far greater challenges. Teams need at least one good scorer off the bench. Warren is that guy.
• Warren still hasn’t developed his shot yet. It looks improved and he looks more confident in it, but the results are still under par. Brandon Knight is the best three-point shooter in the starting lineup at 34 percent. If your best three-point shooter in today’s NBA is under league average, that’s an issue. Tucker isn’t great either, but he at least knows when he’s feeling it from the corner. Starting Warren clogs the lane too much.

I love Warren, but given the way the roster is constructed, I like him better as the sixth man. I will die on this hill and he’ll start this season. I still don’t like it though.

@bballbreakdown and @JMGCJR (both asked some variation of this) How do u think Knight and Bledsoe will mesh this year?

I like the fit in theory. I’ve talked about Knight being more efficient as a spot-up shooter and how he and Bledsoe can work off each other. So far, the early signs have been good despite Knight struggling a little early on.

Here’s the thing with Knight: He’s been creating excellent shots for himself and missing them.  There’s just this moment when he gets the look and everyone is all smiles. Then he misses and all the joy is gone. It’s like winning the lottery and then suddenly realizing how much of it goes to taxes.

He took Josh Smith off the dribble like it was nothing and missed the layup. He’s had some great pump fakes that get him space and then he just bricks the jumper. It’s frankly infuriating.

Meanwhile, Bledsoe is very much the same old Bledsoe. His 2.8 turnovers per game are a notable improvement, and he still just has stretches where he cannot be stopped. Did you see him almost jump clean over Darren Collison the other night?

When both of them are in attack mode, the Suns have a really good dynamic because either one can be called upon for any task on offense. It’s really hard to defend the rim when one guard drives and just flings it to the other, who can also drive.

I still want Knight spotting up more, and he has followed a really good first couple of games with a couple of cold ones. However, I think the skill complement is good and the Suns should be willing to commit to this as the long-term backcourt.

@TheBeardedPole: Am I the only one unable to watch the Suns because Kieff infuriates me so much?

I mean, it doesn’t prevent me from watching the whole team, but I see your point.

The 34 percent shooting is an issue. The fact that his defensive effort is lacking is still an issue. The fact that he isolates from the mid-post way too much is still an issue.

Have you ever ended a romantic relationship with someone, then realized that all the flaws you find in them were always there to begin with and you were previously willing to overlook them? That’s what I think has happened with Morris. He always made some bad plays and was never good at defense. Ever since he called out the fans, was charged with assault, and publicly acted like a jackass toward the franchise, he’s lost that free pass.

People forgave it at first because he led the league in field goal percentage in the final two minutes of one possession games. He also had a few monster nights that led the Suns to needed wins. Now, that’s been generally forgotten, and all we see now is a guy with an incomplete game who doesn’t have the talent to justify being a pain in the butt.

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I don’t think Morris is tanking games out of spite. He’s not a good professional, but he values his career enough to not kill it like that. He’s just entered a rough patch at a time when the fans don’t have that kind of patience with him.

That doesn’t excuse his bad decisions and poor effort, but I think it’s unfair to be like “What? Markieff Morris sucks at defense? This is breaking news! Trade him! Scrub!”. He’s always been this kind of player. We were just willing to tolerate it because he was good on balance. When he starts putting up 23 and 8 with 10 points in the last three minutes, I think this will pass.

@SDfanKyle: Does Keef finish season on team if Suns are in playoff hunt at deadline?

We’ve talked enough about Morris so short answer: I’m not saying he definitely will not be traded, but I think it is unlikely regardless of the team’s position. I think the only way he gets traded is if the Suns net equal or better immediate talent as a result. I don’t think the market for him will make that possible.

@NachitoChavez10: Why am I not excited at all to watch the Suns? I’m not a fair weather fan and I’ve been to a few games already

This question is a good starting point for something I’ve noticed over the last couple of years: The Suns love to make their fans crazy. Think about how many games the Suns have looked awful in over the past couple of years. Sometimes, they make spirited comebacks, sometimes they fall just short, and sometimes they just suck the whole night. It’s just so hard to know what you’re getting with this team on a nightly basis.

I’m not sure if that’s your reason for not feeling excited, but it would be a good excuse. If my grandmother were alive to see this team (Suns fan since the early 70s), she would get a heart attack every single game.  This has been the reality under the new era. Remember in 2013-14 when the Suns had like three twenty point comebacks, annihilated the Thunder and lost to the Lakers in a must-win game all in the span of a few months?

Sometimes it’s hard to be excited for a team that’s so volatile. Also, this team is a fringe playoff candidate, and maybe you’re tired of that. I would encourage you to get over that and enjoy the good things.

@JustinSchnied14: r we going to fire hornacek

Today? No. That would be stupid. Ever? Probably. George Karl and Lionel Hollins got fired after winning playoff rounds, for God’s sake. I’ll assume you mean in the near future.

My question is this, and please feel free to answer: Who would you rather have coaching this team? Brooks? Thibodeau? Of course, the Suns could bring up an assistant and invest in new talent, but a rookie head coach sometimes has to learn as well (Steve Kerr notwithstanding).

This is a big example of cognitive dissonance in a sports fan. We all want change that makes our team better, but we don’t want to wait for that change to yield results. We don’t want to invest in long-term bonds. We want results now.

Usually that’s not how it works. Look at teams like the Lakers or Hornet pre-Steve Clifford: Coach turnover is not conducive to winning without talent.

I think Hornacek performed his job extremely well in 2013-14. I do not think he did as well last season. However, no mater your line of work, job performance is not a straight line of improvement, decline or stagnation. Some articles I wrote last year are better than ones I wrote in the last week. I’m a better overall writer now, and Hornacek is a better overall coach now that he has experience.

I think Hornacek needs more patience from the Suns front office and the fan base. Navigating the locker room instability of last season was an impossible task. How many coaches win through that? Gregg Popovich probably could, but he’s never had to try because of the people on his roster.

Hornacek is not Red Auerbach, Phil Jackson, or Pop. However, rushing to blame him for the playoff drought ignores a lot of context. We like to place blame on defined targets because we like to say “This is the problem. This needs to be fixed”. Sports, and life in general, are often more nuanced than that.

I’ve complained about the lacking ball movement and some debatable personnel decisions. I stand by Hornacek though, at least for now. Mailbag complete. Tweet questions for the next one when I ask for them or leave them in the comments below. Out.

Next: Bench Mob Podcast: Moral Victory

P.S. I dedicate this mailbag to Grantland, a great website where I read many Bill Simmons mailbags. I hope this was 2 percent as entertaining as those were. RIP Grantland.