- The Suns aren’t good enough to win a championship the way their roster is currently constructed, Gerald Bourguet of GoPhnx.com opines. Bourguet believes they need more ball-handling, offensive creation, playmaking and size at power forward. It’s unlikely that simply trading Jae Crowder will solve all those issues, he adds.
A pair of venture capitalists recently submitted a $3 billion offer to buy the Suns and the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, according to Marc Vartabedian of The Wall Street Journal.
The offer was made by Jack Selby, managing director of the Thiel Capital investment firm, which was founded by tech mogul Peter Thiel, and Jason Pressman, managing director of Shasta Ventures. Thiel, a co-founder of PayPal, among other companies, could also provide financing for the purchase, Vartabedian reports.
Selby and Pressman had a meeting in Phoenix last Wednesday with some of the Suns’ top officials and got a tour of the team’s arena and practice facility, Vartabedian adds. They are one of several groups that are hoping to buy the team, and second-round bids are due in January.
The $3 billion offer would be the second-highest purchase price ever for an NBA franchise, trailing only the $3.3 billion that Joe Tsai paid for the Nets in 2019.
The Suns were put up for sale after the NBA suspended owner Robert Sarver for a year and fined him $10MM following an investigation into inappropriate workplace conduct. He purchased the team in 2004 for $401MM, which was a record price at the time.
Team vice chairman Sam Garvin said over the weekend that Sarver will seek a buyer who plans to keep the team in Phoenix.
The Lakers are seeking shooters in their trade talks with rival teams and have discussed a potential deal with the Pistons involving Bojan Bogdanovic, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic. Along with players to match Bogdanovic’s $19.343MM salary, the trade could include a protected first-round pick from L.A. in either 2027 or 2029, sources tell Charania.
Bogdanovic has been enjoying a career-best season since Detroit acquired him from the Jazz in September, averaging 21.0 points per game while shooting 50.8% from the field and 43.7% on three-pointers. He signed a two-year, $39.1MM extension in October that will keep him under team control through the 2024/25 season.
Charania hears there are about a dozen teams that have expressed interest in Bogdanovic, with all offering first- or second-round picks in return. Charania’s sources say the Pistons aren’t committed to moving Bogdanovic and have expressed a “significant reluctance” to some of the teams that have inquired.
The Athletic insider passes along a few more rumors:
- The Suns were trying to work out a three-team deal to send Jae Crowder to the Bucks, multiple sources told Charania. Phoenix would have received Eric Gordon and Kenyon Martin Jr. from the Rockets in the proposed trade, while four of Milwaukee’s second-round picks would have gone to Houston, along with unidentified players. The Rockets have nixed the deal so far and are hoping to get a first-round pick for Gordon and “a very good first-rounder” if they decide to move Martin. Charania hears that Houston has gotten interest in Gordon from several contenders, but is less willing to talk about parting with Martin. The Bucks may search for another team to help complete the deal for Crowder.
- The Hawks and Heat have also expressed interest in Crowder, Charania adds, and Miami will have more assets to offer when Dewayne Dedmon, Victor Oladipo and other players become trade-eligible on Thursday.
- The Hawks have talked to several teams about John Collins, including the Jazz, Nets and Mavericks, according to Charania, who adds that Atlanta hasn’t shown interest in a Brooklyn deal that would include Joe Harris. The Suns also like Collins, but they aren’t willing to take on his pricey contract. The Hawks would like to acquire Kyle Kuzma from the Wizards, but Charania hears there’s not much traction on a potential deal with Washington.
There’s plenty of interest in Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma as the NBA’s unofficial trade season begins this week, according to Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report.
Pincus cautions that Washington hasn’t decided to move Kuzma, but there’s a risk he’ll leave in free agency next summer if he declines his $13MM player option for 2023/24 as expected. General manager Tommy Sheppard recently indicated that the Wizards intend to re-sign Kuzma, but Pincus points out that the team already has two established scorers in Bradley Beal and Kristaps Porzingis and is off to an 11-16 start.
Pincus adds that Kuzma could be one of the five best players on the free agent market and may become too expensive for Washington to keep.
“He wants out,” an NBA source said told Pincus. “He’s looking for over $20 million a season and in a big market (or with a contender).”
Pincus cites the Kings, who tried to trade for Kuzma in 2021 before the Lakers sent him to the Wizards, as a team to watch. Sacramento can’t unconditionally offer a first-rounder earlier than their 2028 pick, but Pincus believes a deal could be constructed around Harrison Barnes and either that future pick or a young prospect such as Davion Mitchell.
The Suns may see a Kuzma trade as a chance to finally unload Jae Crowder, Pincus notes, suggesting Crowder and Cameron Johnson, who is recovering from knee surgery, may be enough to get a deal done. Johnson will be a restricted free agent next summer, which would allow the Wizards to match any offer he might get.
Pincus also believes the Knicks have interest in Kuzma, who is represented by CAA, the former agency of team president Leon Rose. Obi Toppin could be the centerpiece of a deal, according to Pincus, who adds that New York has young players such as Immanuel Quickley and Cam Reddish to offer, along with a wealth of draft assets.
- Suspended Suns owner Robert Sarver wants to find a buyer who will keep the team in Arizona, Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic reports. Team vice chairman Sam Garvin is confident Sarver will find a buyer who won’t look to move the franchise. “I think he really wants to find someone who loves Arizona, wants to keep (the Suns) in Arizona and is committed to the fans and is committed to the community,” Garvin said. “I think he’ll do a good job on the sale.”
Having previously contemplated suicide amid a series of personal tragedies, Clippers guard John Wall is in a much better place now as he prepares for his D.C. homecoming on Saturday night, writes Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. Describing the basketball court as his “sanctuary,” Wall said he believes he still has a lot left in the tank.
“(If) the money and all that s–t go out the window, I could come here and play the game I love,” he said. “… Just being here around the guys, in an environment where I know I’m on a team, that calms a lot of it out.”
As Youngmisuk details, tonight will be the first time since his last home game as a Wizard in December 2018 that Wall has played in front of fans in Washington. He returned to the city as a Rocket during the 2020/21 season, but no fans were in attendance due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The veteran point guard, who bought 50 tickets for the game, told Youngmisuk that it will be an “emotional” night for him.
Here’s more from around the Pacific:
- Suns guard Devin Booker is considered day-to-day due to left hamstring tightness, head coach Monty Williams said today, per Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. With Phoenix in a three-game losing streak and another showdown with the Pelicans on tap for Sunday, Booker will presumably do his best not to miss any time.
- Tweaking the rotation to ensure that Draymond Green is playing with the second unit might go down as the move that saved the Warriors‘ season, writes Kendra Andrews of ESPN. As Andrews outlines, Golden State had been attempting to find ways for its young players to emulate Green, but ultimately decided that Green himself was the only player capable of filling that role alongside the reserves.
- Kyle Goon of The Southern California News Group checks in on how Russell Westbrook has settled into his reserve role, suggesting that the Lakers guard seems comfortable with his place in the rotation after coming off the bench for the last 21 games.
The Suns‘ philosophy following a bad loss is to “flush it,” but that’s harder to do when those bad losses come in consecutive games, writes Gerald Bourguet of GoPhnx.com. Having entered the week as the Western Conference’s top seed, the Suns were blown out in Dallas on Monday, then returned home and were thrashed by the Celtics on Wednesday. At one point in that second game, Phoenix trailed Boston by 45 points.
As Bourguet writes, the Suns are still 16-9 and deserve the benefit of the doubt for now, especially with Chris Paul just returning and Cameron Johnson still sidelined. But the lack of a reliable No. 2 scorer behind Devin Booker could become an issue, and the ongoing absence of former starting forward Jae Crowder, who is waiting to be traded, has been a problem as the team deals with injuries.
Here’s more on the Suns:
- After losing their top spot in the West to the Pelicans, the Suns have two big games on tap in New Orleans on Friday and Sunday. Those games will give the team a good opportunity to show that its recent swoon was just temporary, says Greg Moore of The Arizona Republic. However, if the slump continues, president of basketball operations James Jones may face increasing pressure to make a roster move well before February’s trade deadline, Moore argues.
- Although Wednesday’s loss to Boston was a disaster, Chris Paul‘s return provided a silver lining, especially given his postgame comments, writes Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. Paul said he “felt good” in his first appearance after a 14-game absence. “He looked good and talking to him after the game he felt good, most importantly,” Devin Booker said of his backcourt mate. “Coming off any injury no matter how much time you take off, you’re going to be a little hesitant getting back into it. He said he was pain-free, didn’t feel anything and he’s ready to go, so that’s good news.”
- Monty Williams isn’t surprised by the success Joe Mazzulla is having in Boston, telling reporters this week that he tried to get the Celtics‘ current head coach to join his coaching staff near the start of his time in Phoenix. “He was a guy that was smart enough to not come here with us,” Williams said, according to Rankin. “I had heard about him through a number of people, and I talked to my representation about talking to him, but (the Celtics) thought so highly of him there, you couldn’t even talk to him.”
The Suns‘ last three games have represented reserve swingman Josh Okogie‘s three highest minutes totals of the season, and his doing his darnedest to capitalize on the extended run time, per Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports.
Okogie has gotten a bigger minutes load as a result to a variety of injuries up and down Phoenix’s roster. With Cameron Johnson and Torrey Craig both absent, Okogie has averaged 16.3 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 3.7 APG, 1.7 SPG, and a +14.7 plus-minus rating, in 25.7 MPG.
Bourguet notes that Okogie has especially shined defensively, a reality he himself has noticed and acknowledged.
“For me, it was just more so, like, ‘I’m not gonna get on the court scoring,’ you know what I’m saying?” Okogie said. “’Cause we had so many people who could do that on the team. So he needed me to be on the court to play some defense and lock somebody up.”
There’s more out of California:
- Lakers backup small forward Juan Toscano-Anderson exited the team’s 126-113 loss to the Raptors last night with a sprained right ankle. According to Jovan Buha of The Athletic (Twitter link), the team announced that Toscano-Anderson is expected to miss at least the next two weeks due to the injury, and will be reevaluated at that two-week mark.
- Following an exciting 8-2 run that seemed to salvage the Lakers‘ 2022/23 season, the team more recently has dropped two straight contests thanks to the injury absences of Anthony Davis (who played just eight minutes in the first loss), LeBron James (who only missed last night’s loss) and Wenyen Gabriel (who missed both games). Buha writes in a story for The Athletic that it has become evident the team needs additional help up front.
- Kings star point guard De’Aaron Fox has been hampered by pain in his right foot for over a month, according to Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. Fox’s shooting has taken a hit of late: across his past seven contests, the vet has made just 38.2% of his field goals and just 28.6% of his triples. According to Fox, there’s no risk of making the injury worse by playing, so he’s hoping to get used to tolerating it. “I’ve played well while it was hurting, so I’ll be fine,” he said.
The Warriors, Clippers, and Nets are the three teams projected to pay a nine-figure luxury bill in 2023, according to Eric Pincus of Sports Business Classroom. In his roundup of each team’s proximity to the tax line, Pincus has Golden State’s tax bill estimated at $176.5MM, with L.A. at $144.7MM and Brooklyn at approximately $109MM.
The 2021/22 campaign represented a record-setting year for luxury tax payments, with the Warriors, Nets, and Clippers heading up seven taxpayers that were penalized a total of $481MM, by far a single-season NBA high.
However, as Pincus outlines, NBA teams are on track to smash that record in 2022/23, with the Bucks ($69.8MM), Celtics ($66MM), Lakers ($40.6MM), Mavericks ($33.6MM), Suns ($32.6MM), Nuggets ($17.6MM), and Sixers ($1.8MM) joining the three aforementioned clubs to total over $692MM in projected tax payments.
That number will likely dip a little before the end of the season, with certain teams trading some salary to reduce their end-of-season bill and others – such as Philadelphia – perhaps trying to get out of tax territory altogether. But it seems safe to assume the teams that finish the season below the tax line will still see a major windfall.
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- There’s more parity than ever at the one-quarter mark of the 2022/23 NBA season, according to Howard Beck of SI.com, who breaks down the numbers on the glut of teams hovering around .500 and explores several theories from people around the league about why parity might be on the rise.
- ESPN’s Brian Windhorst takes a closer look at the NBA’s rule change allowing sovereign wealth funds to purchase minority stakes in NBA franchises, which we briefly covered last week. Under the new policy, a foreign fund could buy up to 20% of a team, though any such purchase would be “subject to significant vetting,” sources tell Windhorst. There are currently no sales to sovereign funds under review by the league, Windhorst adds.
- In an interesting piece for The Athletic, Mike Vorkunov speaks to Luis Scola about the veteran NBA forward’s transition from longtime player to team owner. Scola, who appeared in 743 games across 10 NBA seasons from 2007-17 and won an Olympic gold medal playing for Argentina in 2004, became the controlling owner of the Italian team Pallacanestro Varese earlier this year.
Suns point guard Chris Paul intends to make his return to the court on Wednesday night vs. Boston after missing the last month due to a heel injury, according to Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report, who says (via Twitter) that Paul is expected to suit up barring a last-minute setback.
Paul last played on November 7 in Philadelphia. He has missed 14 games as a result of what the team has referred to as right heel soreness and is officially listed as questionable for Wednesday’s contest.
The Suns, who began the season with seven wins in 10 games, haven’t missed a beat without Paul available, going 9-5 since he went down. The 16-8 squad holds the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference, a half-game ahead of the 15-8 Pelicans. Incidentally, Phoenix will face New Orleans three times in the next 10 games, so Paul should be available for those showdowns against his old team.
In Paul’s absence, Cameron Payne has been the Suns’ starting point guard and has thrived, averaging 15.1 PPG and 7.3 APG with a .395 3PT% in his 14 starts. He figures to continue playing a major rotation role even with CP3 back in the lineup.
Landry Shamet and two-way player Duane Washington also picked up some ball-handling responsibilities while Paul was out, but Washington likely won’t be part of the rotation, while Shamet will return to an off-ball role.
Suns forward Torrey Craig, who has missed the last three games due to a right groin strain, is also listed as questionable and is a candidate to return vs. the Celtics, as Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic writes.