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31-year old guard Dan Dickau will be in training camp trying to make the Suns’ roster. He last played in the NBA during the 2007-08 season with the Clippers. He has played in 300 games (57 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 15.4 minutes, 5.8 points, 1.4 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. He might have a decent shot of making the Suns who don’t have a lot of depth.
The Suns got rid of some players over the off-season but Steve Nash is back. Steve Nash might be getting old (35) but he still is one of the best point guards in the NBA. Nash played in 74 games for the Suns last year and he averaged 33.6 minutes, 15.7 points, 3.0 rebounds and 9.7 assists per game. Nash is the player who makes the Suns go on offense and they will be likely a running team again this season so look for Nash’s numbers to improve. 23-year old Goran Dragic will back up Nash again this season. He played in 55 games for the Suns last season and he averaged 13.2 minutes, 4.5 points, 1.9 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game. Don’t expect Dragic to play much this year unless Nash gets injured.
PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE POINT GUARDS IN 2009-2010: A
The Suns have bought out Sasha Pavlovic’s contract for the upcoming NBA season saving the team around $500,000 bucks. This means that the Suns netted a 2nd round pick in next year’s NBA Draft for Shaquille O’Neal. Nice job Steve Kerr (Suns’ GM)!
The Suns are all about cutting payroll right now. That’s what led to the trade of Shaquille O’Neal and the departure of Matt Barnes as a free agent. The Suns also quickly bought out Ben Wallace’s contract after he came over from the Cavs in the Shaq trade. The Suns did re-sign Grant Hill and Louis Amundson which were both good moves for the team. SG/SF Sasha Pavlovic came over from Cleveland in the Shaq trade and he could surprise some people as he’s never got enough playing time to truly show what he can do and the Suns might give him that court time. Channing Frye was signed as a free agent and he could help the bench some. The Suns drafted power forward Earl Clark in the first round and he should get significant playing time this season if he proves he can handle it. Forward Taylor Griffin (Blake’s brother) was the other Suns’ selection in the NBA Draft and he will be lucky to even make the team.
OFF-SEASON GRADE FOR THE FRONT OFFICE SO FAR: D-