NBA Draft Hats
The Phoenix Suns are already on the rise, but they reportedly hope to make the team even hotter, luring the kind of starpower that few other NBA squads could match.
The Suns plan to make an aggressive play to land LeBron James out of free agency and, in turn, to use that as leverage to persuade Carmelo Anthony to join up with James in Phoenix, according to Yahoo! Sports/FOX Sports 1 NBA Insider Adrian Wojnarowski.
The two superstars have both chosen to opt out of their contracts with the Miami Heat and the New York Knicks, respectively. But how could Phoenix possibly compete with the sizzle and sexiness of South Beach or The Big Apple?
Well, the Suns reportedly have some answers to that, including a pitch that no other team in the league can top.
As Wojnarowski reports, here's what could make Phoenix an intriguing destination for LeBron and 'Melo:
--For starters, the two have privately have expressed an interest in playing on the same team, according to Wojnarowski, and this might be their best chance of making it happen. Why?
--Quite simply, because Phoenix can afford it. As Wojnarowski reports, with $33.5 milion in salary-cap space, the Suns can easily cut the $10 million they'd need to match the max contract starting salaries of LeBron ($20.7 million) and 'Melo ($22.4 million). Heck, if LeBron wants some other free agent instead of Carmelo -- Wojnarowski cites Chris Bosh and Kevin Love as possible examples -- that could happen. And best of all?
--The Suns could do it without losing much of their young talent. Wojnarowski reports that the team can offer maximum contracts to both LeBron and 'Melo "without unloading the young core of guards Eric Bledsoe and Goran Dragic and center Miles Plumlee." Many observers felt Dragic should have been an All-Star this year, and Plumlee -- at least on this team -- plays like one himself. Oh yeah, speaking of Bledsoe ...
--Bledsoe's agent -- Rich Paul -- also happens to represent LeBron. And the Suns are banking on Paul's knowledge of the franchise. Per Wojnarowski: "The Suns know the agent has a more intimate understanding of Phoenix's potential appeal than most. Paul knows the Suns are the fifth-winningest franchise in NBA history, that owner Robert Sarver has gone into the luxury tax three times in recent years, that Phoenix has long been a preferred residence of thirtysomething stars with families." But wait, there's more.http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/l...ix-suns-062914
The Phoenix Suns are already on the rise, but they reportedly hope to make the team even hotter, luring the kind of starpower that few other NBA squads could match.
The Suns plan to make an aggressive play to land LeBron James out of free agency and, in turn, to use that as leverage to persuade Carmelo Anthony to join up with James in Phoenix, according to Yahoo! Sports/FOX Sports 1 NBA Insider Adrian Wojnarowski.
The two superstars have both chosen to opt out of their contracts with the Miami Heat and the New York Knicks, respectively. But how could Phoenix possibly compete with the sizzle and sexiness of South Beach or The Big Apple?
Well, the Suns reportedly have some answers to that, including a pitch that no other team in the league can top.
As Wojnarowski reports, here's what could make Phoenix an intriguing destination for LeBron and 'Melo:
--For starters, the two have privately have expressed an interest in playing on the same team, according to Wojnarowski, and this might be their best chance of making it happen. Why?
--Quite simply, because Phoenix can afford it. As Wojnarowski reports, with $33.5 milion in salary-cap space, the Suns can easily cut the $10 million they'd need to match the max contract starting salaries of LeBron ($20.7 million) and 'Melo ($22.4 million). Heck, if LeBron wants some other free agent instead of Carmelo -- Wojnarowski cites Chris Bosh and Kevin Love as possible examples -- that could happen. And best of all?
--The Suns could do it without losing much of their young talent. Wojnarowski reports that the team can offer maximum contracts to both LeBron and 'Melo "without unloading the young core of guards Eric Bledsoe and Goran Dragic and center Miles Plumlee." Many observers felt Dragic should have been an All-Star this year, and Plumlee -- at least on this team -- plays like one himself. Oh yeah, speaking of Bledsoe ...
--Bledsoe's agent -- Rich Paul -- also happens to represent LeBron. And the Suns are banking on Paul's knowledge of the franchise. Per Wojnarowski: "The Suns know the agent has a more intimate understanding of Phoenix's potential appeal than most. Paul knows the Suns are the fifth-winningest franchise in NBA history, that owner Robert Sarver has gone into the luxury tax three times in recent years, that Phoenix has long been a preferred residence of thirtysomething stars with families." But wait, there's more.http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/l...ix-suns-062914
