Would you do.. (Suns/Celts trade)

[jdub1660]

I'd still say Vlade Divac was a great flopper...which kinda proves a point that international players seem to be great floppers...Divac, Ginobli, Noicioni...

[Steve Weinman]

Would you Do a Tony Allen and Scal and maybe cash or a 2nd round pick for Raja Bell? I mean Raja could come in here have the Defensive presence that Posey had and can knock down the open three. Plus we could give time to giddens and he could develop behind Raja

Put me on the "Absolutely, in a second" bandwagon here.

We're talking about one of the better wing defenders in the game (though I'll concede Chris' point that he likely hasn't been quite as good in that department over the last couple of years and has already gone over the 30-year-old hump, but he has remained in the upper echelon at the very least).  Furthermore, he has been absurdly efficient, shooting better than 40 percent from deep in each of his three seasons in Phoenix and putting up true shooting marks of 56 percent or better in each of those seasons as well (54.3 percent for his career isn't bad either).  He plays tough, take-no-prisoners defense on one end and stretches the floor on the other.  Sounds like exactly the sort of the thing the Celtics lost this summer could use right about now.

As for durability concerns, he played in and started 75 games last season and averaged more than 35 minutes per game.  By the time the playoffs rolled around, he was as fresh as ever, sinking 13 of his 20 three-point attempts in the first round defeat to San Antonio.

I have a really hard time seeing Phoenix making this sort of a move, but I'd love it for the C's.

-sw

[Michael Anthony]

The contract situation works well too - 2 years @ $5 million

[asterix]

Would you Do a Tony Allen and Scal and maybe cash or a 2nd round pick for Raja Bell? I mean Raja could come in here have the Defensive presence that Posey had and can knock down the open three. Plus we could give time to giddens and he could develop behind Raja

I would do this trade in a heartbeat. Something tells me Phoenix wouldn't however.

Me too. Phoenix would never do it. Scal is untouchable in a bad way

[Roy Hobbs]

I have a really hard time seeing Phoenix making this sort of a move, but I'd love it for the C's.

Ditto.

[Finkelskyhook]

Would you Do a Tony Allen and Scal and maybe cash or a 2nd round pick for Raja Bell? I mean Raja could come in here have the Defensive presence that Posey had and can knock down the open three. Plus we could give time to giddens and he could develop behind Raja

    I challenge anybody in this blog to propose a trade without Scal.

[gpap]

Would you Do a Tony Allen and Scal and maybe cash or a 2nd round pick for Raja Bell? I mean Raja could come in here have the Defensive presence that Posey had and can knock down the open three. Plus we could give time to giddens and he could develop behind Raja

I would in a hearbeat! The question is would Phoneix make the trade? Probably not.

[jdub1660]

YES SIR!! I would take this trade. I like Tony Allen and the possibility of him rejuvenating his career and all, but he's at the same position as House. House is a better shooter, and can play PG for us as well. With Miles playing well, and Walker being great for us so far, I don't see the need for Tony Allen as a SF filler or SG that can't hit the 3.
With Raja Bell, we can have him take solid minutes at backup SG, and if Ray went out, he could fill that void as a starter, as House does great off the bench. Plus, any trade ridding us of Scal would be AWESOME!!!

[pumpfake]

the question is does bell give us a better chance at the 09 championship?
i would say yes.

in the long term though, which has definitely been on da's mind, ta is a better option.

bell would mimic what posey gave us last year well,
but allen still has the potential to be much better if he can stop being a mental space-shot.
plus bell's 32 and his game is elevated by nash so we're not sure quite what we would get from him this year,

no way suns would do this though, unless ta was a much better 3 point shooter.

i'm gonna be sad watching scal's minute increase this year.

[amenhotep04]

I wouldn't do the trade.  Bell has some great games, but he's not consistent. He has some games where he looks as if he should be playing in the D-League.  I'd rather have Tony at 26 and roll the dice with him.

[blueygreen]

Heh, I love the Raja Flop song, I remember seeing it a few months ago. Speaking of which, I'm pretty sure we were one of the top in the league at taking the charge last year. Posey, Powe, Pierce and (dare I say it) Scal took a number of charges for us last year.

As to the trade itself, I think it's quite interesting. I'm as big a Tony supporter as anyone on this blog and I'll admit to not seeing enough Suns games recently however I felt the general consensus was that Raja was proverbially over the hill defensively and really didn't deserve his honours last season. I think it would spread the floor well but doesn't quite bring all that Tony has. Our second unit lacks the slashing presence that Tony brings to the table. Raja would be most effective as a way to let players like Pierce and KG get to work going to the rim without doubles but if it were a unit without either of those, we need another strong slasher, which Tony gives us. His first step is as good as I've seen, as if his dribble has improved as much as it's looked recently, then I think he brings a very useful and dangerous element to our second unit.

[Tradetime]

Not a bad idea here at all. I think Bill Walker is going to be ready to contribute quicker than many think. The Suns under Terry Porter have spoken of turning into a half-court team on offense, no more days of the sprint up floor and free-for-all offense. This will better suit Shaq.
I think the Suns would consider such a deal.

[hankszabo]

bell has had a terrific career for a guy no one, and i mean no one, thought could play in the league, but i look for a big year out a fully healthy tony allen!  allen was hurting last year, as he was still recuperating from that knee.

this season, i look for tony to have his best year yet.  maybe 8 to10 points per game with effective perimeter shooting and slashes to the basket, and a nice defensive presence.

[TripleOT]

So the Suns are going to trade one of their core guys, a defensive stopper with a reasonable contract, for Scal, who is one of the worst players in the league, with 2 years and $3+m a year left on his contract, Tony Allen, whom they could have signed as an UFA, and a second round draft pick?

OK