Should Phoenix Suns Leave Jalen Green UNPROTECTED In Expansion Draft?

The expansion draft is right around the corner, at least it appears like it, and the sons are deep.

Who exactly should they protect? Let's talk about it. This is my personal list.

If the expansion draft was today, because it's hard to project in the future,

who I would protect, who I'd want to keep, and then who would be borderline and can't keep.

Let's start with the untouchables. Devon Booker, Jalen Greene, C'mon Mollawanch,

Rocher Fleming. With that group of four, I would say, when I put this out there,

the name that everybody was kind of talking about the most was Jalen Greene.

A lot of that had to do with, do you want to pay Jalen Greene the amount of money that he's

keeping? Is there any argument for the sons to not protect Jalen Greene in an expansion draft?

Let's be clear. This is when you put it on Twitter. Yes. Okay. Well, now we understand a lot more

about that. It's A, not your money. B, it's not that much money, and C, it would be stupid not to

protect Jalen Greene. So I think that's where I stand. Yeah. I think about Jalen Greene and his

potential, like this deal that he's on right now could end up being a value deal. We have no idea

what the ceiling for who he is or who he could be is. So thinking about the contract now, even as

you said, it's not even that much money as is and down the line, it could age very, very well.

And obviously you're thinking about what you have to pay him the next time around. But if that's a

problem you have to deal with, then you're doing the right thing. That's a great problem to have.

24 years old, average 25 a game at his floor. His absolute floor when he's at the peak of his

powers. He's a good compliment to Devin Booker. He's a whole lot of what the team needs. And when

he's not around, you feel his presence not being there, both in energy as well as style of play on

offense. Like that's, that's a home run for you in terms of especially the contract context that

you brought to the conversation. So yeah, there's no realm in where you wouldn't protect Jalen Greene.

Well, and then you've got this younger guy who is going to have yet another chip on his shoulder

going to a Las Vegas who will likely be in your division or a Seattle who will be in your conference

wanting to coach your ass every time he plays you. Like that sounds like a nightmare scenario for

a guy that's not going to really make that much money. And it wouldn't help you all that significantly

to let go. I think the good news is like the actual expansion draft wouldn't be for another

couple of years. Now this current thought exercise is like if tomorrow they say, hey, this expansion

draft is happening. Who would you protect? Because we can't project into the future. But by the

time this actual expansion draft happens where you could protect eight players, you'll have a pretty

good idea on how Jalen Greene and Devon Booker look and it'll be a little bit later in Jalen's

career. So I think that that given sample size until then will really, you know, tell a lot. But

I guess I wouldn't be like totally surprised of a couple years from now. Let's say like, okay,

maybe this isn't working out exactly the way you'd expected to currently that they don't protect

them. But I can't see any trajectory where they don't protect Jalen. They would trade him long

before they ever let him walk in an in an expansion draft, even if they only got second round picks.

Like they would, I mean, you'd never get to that. But they'd trade him long before they let him walk.

Not until it passes. Looking at things through the lens of it, it's happening right now. There's

no way it's a lot that's happened. Now not to pat myself on the back, but I would assume there's

no other arguments with the untouchable category. Devon Booker, come on, Mala watch for sheer

Fleming. I don't know. Devon Booker makes a lot of money. I feel like the unsusable is rather obvious.

Yes. Okay. So I just want to make sure we're on the same page because the next eight names are

where it gets really interesting. So I've got four and untouchable. That means there's only four

more names that the sons could technically protect as of right now, who I would want to keep.

Dylan Brooks, Grayson Allen, Colin Gillespie, and also a Gidaro noticeably missing and starting

the borderline category is Mark Williams, and then Ryan Dunn, Jordan Goodwin, and Haywood

Highsmith. I think we unpack the Mark Williams sign of things first. Is there an argument for right

now, the son saying we'd actually want to keep Mark Williams over one of the four names Brooks,

Allen, Gillespie, Gidaro, that I have being protected. There is an argument. And I think that when you

start looking at it, obviously the one for one is probably Mark Osso because of the position part,

but I think when you keep looking at it, you think about Dylan and Grayson being a little bit older.

Now Dylan feels like he almost is untouchable because of what he means to the culture of this team.

And Grayson is very important as well, but when you start thinking about Mark, especially because we've

seen this team without him, something we've said in a lot of those games where they come up short,

the absence of Mark Williams is built in this game the way he dies to the basket after setting

screens. What he can do for this team because we've seen him at the peak of his powers this season.

And I think that what we've learned in the modern NBA is a center that can do the things that

Mark Williams does well. They are easy to find. And when you have a guy like that, it's hard

to replace that. So not saying that these other guys are easier to replace, but I think you'd

have an easier time finding somebody who does that than you would have finding another Mark Williams.

Yeah, I think the argument though is injuries, right? So so whatever contract Mark is under,

you're taking a chance that he's not available because they'll dumb cliche is the best ability is

availability, right? So that's where I would understand why you might consider Mark not being a guy

that you keep protected because you are inherently taking a risk with that, whether it's it's tough

to replace them or not. If commands in your in your untouchables and then you've got oh, so

and I want to keep, I think there's there's a numbers game too. I think that's the thing for me,

Steven, which is it's not necessarily that oh, so is the guy is being kept. It's that command

should hopefully project to be the starting center for this franchise in the future. Because I don't

know if we think oh, so because I was going to be the starting center, but command is is supposed

to be right. That to me is the name that keeps Mark Williams out of the want to keep it into borderline.

That's not, I mean, that's still not guaranteed. Sure. Still, but 19 years old, he's playing basketball,

he's been playing basketball for five, less than five years at this point. There's nothing guaranteed

on the other side of even just a couple of seasons from now that command is starting caliber ready.

That being said, I think for me what Mark is the health is part of it. The other part of it is

the contract and then the third part of it for me is do you think you can find something better

on the market because you're not the only team that's going to have to cut bait with something

that you may be valued that necessarily that naturally leads itself to a more opportunity to

bring other talent in the room. And there should be a breadth of options for players that are

borderline starting caliber. If not outright starting caliber that you just can't protect because

you only have four options with that mix. So you can find something better on the on the market.

And you think that's a better way for you to bring talent in. That might be another reason why

they don't do it. Now, I'll ask you guys at the end here. If you would swap any of these names

in and out. But before I do that, let's talk about Ryan Dunn. What's the argument to put Ryan

Dunn into the protected eight? There isn't. I don't think there is right now. I mean, the only

thing is you could say, well, potential. Okay. I think the guys that you have on there have more

potential to help you out and help you win in the near term. Steven. Yeah. I mean, I think

investing in your 3 and D guys because there are dime a dozen that can actually get that job done.

And also someone that's as young as he is and kind of like you said, investing in the future with

that. I think those things have to be brought into the into the fold when speaking about Ryan,

even if he is not playing his best basketball at the present moment. You have to kind of have

a forward thinking prospective with that. And I think with Ryan, he's probably the best option

with that that's outside of your top four if you're looking forward. Also, it's a little bit in

that mix as well, but also is at a different position. It has his own diversity that he still has

the answer to. So I'm just looking at it through a different lens. It's more about what I can

come up and you see that they can get out of these guys and between also and Ryan, I think there are

some conversations to be out there. It kind of comes back and goes against what I was saying about

Mark to a certain point, but I think the argument you'd have to make would revolve around him being

homegrown talent. A guy who you believed in, you invested a draft pick in and you brought him into

your system and just to kind of keep that continuity with other guys like that as well. So I think in

that situation, you would keep him over somebody else that you've brought in either whether or not

they're a veteran, whatever, however important they are. If you're looking in the long-term potential,

which that's the conversation that has he shown enough as of late to do that. But I think when

it comes down to it, it's like we believe in this guy, we can kind of mold him into being maybe a

better version of some of these guys who are currently around, but that requires a lot of belief in

him still becoming that. Hey, when you guys start to make me change my mind. I'm not trying to tell you

that. I guess I said, he says there's arguments for him to be in that type of thing.

Your arguments make sense. He's about saying a question for you, Espo. So other than Mark and Ryan

in the borderline category, I have Jordan Goodwin and Haywood Highsmith, right? Would you then make

an argument that Jordan Goodwin or maybe even Haywood Highsmith would be somebody that you would

put above Ryan done in the pecking order to protect? I think Haywood Highsmith could get there,

but for me, I'd keep Jordan Goodwin over Grayson Allen. Okay. Hey, economics, he's going to make

less. But B, when you look at the DNA that you're trying to craft with this team and you look at the

guys that you're keeping, there's nobody outside of maybe Dylan Brooks that embodies that more than

Jordan Goodwin. And I think that I would want to protect that, keep that in my system and understand,

okay, Grayson's been out with some of this right knee management, makes a decent amount of money,

could be on that back nine of his career rather than the front nine. Maybe I look at that's the kind

of guy that I put out there. I keep Jordan to keep that consistency and how much of a dog he is,

what he's meant to bringing this group together and stick with that. That would be my argument

there is I'd rather keep Jordan over a Ryan or Mark probably because of economics and what he

means to the group. And I probably drop Grayson into that borderline category. Let's talk about

replacements. That's why I liked that one. I like that. You know, you're pushing back on you say,

Grayson Allen out Jordan Goodwin and Gil, when you look at my top eight and then you look at my

bottom group of guys as well, would you make any swaps if this was you? I mean, there's the

mark conversation in the Ryan conversation. Those are the ones that are the strongest. I think

give you the most pause. And then right after that, what Espo was saying about Jordan Goodwin,

I think about what we talked about so much with culture. And that's why Dylan Brooks, I think

so high. And at the top of that, want to keep list, but Jordan Goodwin, you think about what he's

done and having players in a locker room who honestly quite frankly do things that can't really

be replicated in the way that he does them. It's not you're not going to find somebody else that

does it just like that that means so much for this franchise and the DNN for this franchise. So

that's kind of what I think about with those guys who, again, it's not like saying certain guys

at dime or dozen, but they do things that the part of it, the production part is more replicable,

whereas like the extra parts of Dylan Brooks, the extra parts of a Jordan Goodwin, you can't really

replicate and you have to get that from that specific player. You didn't answer my question,

though, Gil. Would you make a swap? That sounded great, but I need an answer. Yes. I'm sticking

with what I said and going my own argument and probably going back in that what want to keep

and maybe taking probably taking Grayson out. Okay. All that sounds so Grayson is the guy for both

of you to take out that top eight. Steven, would you make any swaps and if you do, would it be Grayson

who gets swapped out? I think Grayson shooting in the particular style of play is a little too much

to not have secured. So I won't go Grayson. I would probably keep it as is at the moment.

That's what I like to hear. Can I throw one thing out? Please. Do we buy fully into Colin

Gillespie being that guy or is this potentially more of a, he's shown flashes, but he's not going to

be the kind of guy we've seen all year. That's the one name that I look at it and I go, I see the

potential. I think he's that guy, but do I know he's that guy? I think currently you can't take

the risk of letting him go. He started for you majority this season. I know he's at his

lows, but he's had his high. Again, this is a benefit of this happening a couple of years from now,

where Colin will have been on a standard contract for a while. I think he's a guy that a lot of

sons fans even like the ilk of Ryan Dunn don't want to give up on because he feels like

our guy as well, the internal development. But what do you think? Would you make any swaps? Am I wrong

on my untouchable category that want to keep or am I borderline crazy with having Mark Williams

in the borderline category? You let me know what I got right, what I got wrong, what you thought

about them as well. And of course, you can let us know everything that you feel about the sons

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and we'll talk to you all very soon.