Suns sign 2nd-round pick Taylor Griffin

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PHOENIX (AP)—The Phoenix Suns have signed second-round pick Taylor Griffin(notes) to a contract.

Griffin, the older brother of first overall pick Blake Griffin(notes), averaged 9.6 points and 5.8 rebounds as a senior at Oklahoma. Terms of the deal Monday were not disclosed.

The forward averaged 6.2 points, 3 rebounds and one steal in five games for the Suns in the Las Vegas Summer League.

Updated Aug 17, 5:35 pm EDT
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47 Comments

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  1. John John
    47. Posted by John John Thu Aug 20 8:43am EDT

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    C Bear, I think if the two play head to head, the advantage goes to Taylor. He'll have more to prove and lil' bro' won't want to show him up too much.
  2. <i>paulandrose80@...</i>
    46. Posted by paulandrose80@... Wed Aug 19 9:08pm EDT

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    TJ, i hope you @#$%in get hit by a car.

    i,m better then that bum
  3. big dog
    45. Posted by big dog Wed Aug 19 7:44pm EDT

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    scalabrine is a good sold nba player he plays his role 4 the team . he will never start but a great bench player thats what championship teams need.
  4. TJ Styles
    44. Posted by TJ Styles Wed Aug 19 10:40am EDT

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    I apologize, I guess I would be the one that ultimately turned the conversation to the Boston bench, but I was simply stating what I thought the Suns should do. I suggested a trade with Boston, and someone else started talking about the Boston bench.

    I disagree with the people upset with the Marion for Shaq and the Bell and Diaw for Richardson trades. I think they were good moves that have been used wrong. I think the coaches screwed up with Shaq. Shaq should never have been on the court at the same time as Nash. Shaq should have been the go-to guy when Nash sat.

    As my post that degenerated into a discussion of the Boston bench pointed out, I am all for trading Nash at this point. He is a great player, but I think its time for Phoenix to get a younger point guard that will be around for more of their core's careers. They have to lock up Stoudemire in a contract, and make sure they hang on to Barbossa and Richardson, then trade Nash for a young, defensive-minded point guard, and look to pick up a strong post center. The Suns already have a quality bench, all they are missing is a strong center and a leader that will push the players to play defense.
  5. Carlo
    43. Posted by Carlo Wed Aug 19 9:27am EDT

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    Now I remember why I hate Boston fans........because they are bandwagon fans and they think everything revolves around their teams.

    How the hell did Scalabrine get into a discussion about the Taylor Griffin, who BTW should be in the D-League.

    Are the Suns trying to abandon their fanbase?

    They should have kept D'Antoni, not traded for Shaq, kept Diaw and Bell.

    Steve Kerr is a worse GM than John Paxson, I wonder what they have in common?
  6. <i>funky_gohan</i>
    42. Posted by funky_gohan Wed Aug 19 8:57am EDT

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    crap kerr he must ejected as team manager he did wrong in suns rooster,blown marion,diaw,bell ,jones and coach D'antoni!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  7. Rev Rambler
    41. Posted by Rev Rambler Wed Aug 19 1:40am EDT

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    I wish the Knicks would bring Isaiah Thomas back so Steve Kerr wasn't the worst GM anymore! There are alot of teams cutting payroll but this is terrible. At this point Nash needs to go and the Suns need to start rebuilding with young players. We had a chance to win a title but the Suns wouldn't trade Marion for Garnett. Its all been downhill since then. The "Big Cactus" was a BIG JOKE in Phx and a waste of time.
  8. OKC thiefs
    40. Posted by OKC thiefs Wed Aug 19 1:09am EDT

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    Steve Kerr is awesome. Kerr fo 3!! 3 bad signings...
  9. dee
    39. Posted by dee Tue Aug 18 9:20pm EDT

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    He is so fine
  10. Shaq and a Half
    38. Posted by Shaq and a Half Tue Aug 18 8:50pm EDT

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    Who was the guy who turned a Taylor Griffin article into a debate about the Celtics bench? Haha. I love Yahoo! Sports. XD
  11. littlechuvak
    37. Posted by littlechuvak Tue Aug 18 8:38pm EDT

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    Suns rock!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  12. TJ Styles
    36. Posted by TJ Styles Tue Aug 18 7:50pm EDT

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    I am not denying that Scalabrine will probably not see much playing time next year on the Celtics. I realize that Scalabrine is probably not up to par with a lot of the players on one of the elite 4 teams in the NBA. Sure, Scalabrine may be the 12th man for Boston...and he may be the 8th man in New York or the 4th man in Washington. Some players may thrive in one teams environment and not in another's.

    I cannot comment on where exactly in the rotation I think Scalabrine is. I have never seen Shelden Williams play. All I can do is look at his stats and guess. I watched most of Boston's games last year, but I do not recall Walker standing out to me. Maybe I just wasn't paying enough attention, but he averaged 7:24 over 29 games, so I may have blinked a couple times and missed him. That doesn't mean anything, he may be a good player that I simply didn't see, but because I have not seen him play, I cannot say whether I think Scalabrine will be before or after them in the rotation.
  13. E
    35. Posted by E Tue Aug 18 6:35pm EDT

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    LMAO..........Did TJ Styles just write a dissertation?
  14. Yusef
    34. Posted by Yusef Tue Aug 18 4:30pm EDT

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    TJ Styles,

    I had no idea that you had so much love for a 12th man on a roster. The only reason Scalabrine played in the 2009 NBA playoffs was because of all the injuries that the Celtics had, such as KG and Perkins. Do you actually think Doc River is going to give this bum of an NBA player any playing time? Shelden Williams is better and will get more playing time than Scalabrine. The only thing Scalabrine can do is shoot the three. Look at the Celtics bench for the upcoming season. He will not get any playing time and will not make the playoff roster. Bill Walker is better and deserves more playing time than Scalabrine. Walker is only in his second year and will continue to improve. SERIOUSLY, THIS IS BRIAN SCALABRINE YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT!

    Celtics Bench
    -Big Baby
    -Sheed
    -House
    -Daniels
    -Williams
    -Allen
    -Bill Walker
    -JR Giddens
    -Scalabrine
  15. TJ Styles
    33. Posted by TJ Styles Tue Aug 18 4:02pm EDT

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    Did Brandon Jennings tell you that, Yusef? Did he play against Scalabrine and call him overrated and hype?

    Why do I think that Brian Scalabrine was left off the roster for the 2008 playoffs that included Kevin Garnett, PJ Brown, Kendrick Perkins, Leon Powe, Glen Davis, and Scot Pollard? How many power forwards and centers do you need on one team? With PJ Brown, they did not need Scalabrine to back up Perkins, and with Brown sharing some minutes backing up Garnett, with Powe having an amazing year, and Davis starting to play better, there just wasn't room for Scalabrine on the roster. I like how you neglected to mention that he WAS on the 2009 playoff roster, and averaged 20 minutes a game through last seasons' playoff run. All this while recovering from multiple concussions.

    I am not saying Scalabrine is a great player. I am not saying that he is the next Michael Jordan. I am saying that the qualities he has makes him a valuable commodity at the small forward position.
  16. Yusef
    32. Posted by Yusef Tue Aug 18 1:32pm EDT

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    TJ Styles,

    You are crazy to think that Brian Scalabrine is good NBA player. All he is a player that can shoot the three ball. He is an extremely poor rebounder and defender. He has NO ATHLETIC ABILITY what so ever. IT IS A MIRACLE THAT BRIAN SCALABRINE IS IN THE NBA. Why do you think Doc Rivers left Brian Scalabrine off the 2008 playoff roster and didn't play a single minute during the 2008 NBA Finals? THE GUY HAS NO TALENT. The Celtics are actually waiting to ride out Scalabrine's last season with the team this year or trade him to Indiana to get Marquis Daniels. BRIAN SCALABRINE IS A HORRIBLE NBA PLAYER!
  17. Geo S
    31. Posted by Geo S Tue Aug 18 1:09pm EDT

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    just leave the current celtic roster alone,icluding daniels.this is as good a team that i can find.great front line,and if rivers can learn to coach he'll have a good backcourt.
    give walker and rondo the ball and "let the games begin".i'm tired of baseball.
  18. TJ Styles
    30. Posted by TJ Styles Tue Aug 18 12:00pm EDT

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    I suppose before I get blasted, I should elaborate on my Scalabrine comment a bit.

    I am not saying that Scalabrine is the caliber of player that Odom and Hedo are. I simply mean that at 6' 9" with a good outside shot, he can create match up issues. Teams like the Cavaliers and Nuggets had a hard time guarding Hedo and Odom, and Scalabrine has the skills that can create that kind of match up issue for teams. If the Suns, for example, were to go with Amar'e at center, Davis at power forward and Scalabrine at small forward, it would be difficult for many teams to defend that.
  19. TJ Styles
    29. Posted by TJ Styles Tue Aug 18 11:35am EDT

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    The Suns' biggest problem is, and always has been, roster management. 48 minutes of run-style offense is hard to keep going with an 8 or 9 player rotation, especially when the centerpiece to the whole thing is 33 years old. On top of that, regardless of what Shaq says about his running game, he does not fit in that style offense.

    What hurt the Suns last season was their inability to effectively execute on their decision to increase their defense. They had a roster that gave them the flexibility to run a fast-paced offense with Nash, Barbossa, Richardson, Barnes and Stoudemire, then settle back on a slower defensive based line up with Dragic, Hill, Dudley, Amundson, and Shaq. Had they used the roster well, Nash could have racked up a nice lead, then handed it over to Shaq to defend while he got his rest. At any given point in the game, the Suns would have no less than two stars able to take over a game (Nash/Stoudemire and Hill/Shaq), and both Shaq and Nash could get away with playing around half the game. That is a lot of rest for the key pieces of your team.

    On top of that, it gives you an array of weapons to combat pretty much any team out there. You have a fast-paced run and gun offensive line up that can take advantage of the slower teams out there, but you can easily switch to a more half-court based defensive minded lineup to combat teams built with a strong center. The problem with the Suns is that they keep looking for a backup for Steve Nash to continue what they do when he sits. If there is a younger mini-Nash out there that can fill his shoes when he sits, then why would you need Nash? Shaq was Nash's best backup. He was best able to provide the leadership and be the "go to" man on the court when Nash was sitting. Trading Shaq was foolish.

    And it seems they are hell-bent on making another foolish move. Trading Stoudemire is a mistake. Stoudemire is the kind of player you can build around if you get the right talent around him. Barbossa and Richardson are both the right talent. I really like Nash as a player, but I think his lack of defense is a detriment to the team, and I don't think there is anyone on the team that has the star power or enough drive to step up and make Nash lead a better defensive team.

    I personally think the Suns should trade Nash and Hill to Boston for Rondo, Davis and Scalabrine. Hill would fit into Boston's game plan perfectly. He is a good defender that can hit a mid-range jump shot and can cut. I think he would be the perfect player to come off the bench for Pierce, and his game would give Pierce more rest so he won't be so tired when it comes to the playoffs. For Nash, this would give him a real opportunity to finally get his ring. Nash fits in pretty well with the offense, being able to hit a 3-pointer and being able to run a fast-break better than most any point guard in the league. Nash is more threatening off the ball than Rondo, so defenses have to respect him and cannot double off him as easily. And Pierce can run an offense effectively, so that should help alleviate the issues with Nash running a half-court offense. The question is defense, but look what effect KG had on the rest of Boston. I think if anyone can get Nash to play Defense, it's KG. Or Tim Duncan. One of the two.

    Rondo would be a perfect fit in the Suns. He has a lot of energy, and rebounds like a mad man. That should help make up for Stoudemire's lack of rebounding, and maybe even drive him to make a better effort. There is no excuse for Amar'e to not average 10 rebounds a game. Since Rondo has a weaker jump shot, not having a player like Perkins in the paint should make him more lethal. Rondo is a good defender and as the director on-court, could change the philosophy of the Suns to play better defense. They have the talent to do it, they just need the motivation. I think Davis would make a good backup to Stoudemire. He plays with a lot of energy and can hit the 15-foot jump shot. I also think that putting him on the court with Amundson should really make it hard for other teams to get rebounds. I realize that Davis doesn't have high rebounds on the Celtics, but the Celtics players understand the importance of rebounds, so there is more competition. I also like Scalabrine. In Boston, he was used as a backup center, but I think he would be more valuable to the Suns as a small forward. He is 6' 9" with a 39.3% three pointer. What Hedo did for the Magic and Odom does for the Lakers, Scalabrine could do for the Suns. And the fact that he can play center if needed is just a bonus.
  20. LA Cowboys
    28. Posted by LA Cowboys Tue Aug 18 11:09am EDT

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    The Suns won 2 titles already when they put the LAKERS out of the playoffs.............lolLAKERS ALL THE WAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  21. Brian L
    27. Posted by Brian L Tue Aug 18 10:23am EDT

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    "4. Posted by pjewiijr100118 Mon Aug 17 6:12pm EDT Report Abuse
    thats not exactly a compliment shaq and a half lol
    i mean come on brandon bass and glen davis suck lol "

    Seriously, does anyone that make comments like this actually WATCH basketball?

    Did you see what Big Baby did against Chicago and Orlando last year? Why did Boston re up his contract then?

    And why did Orlando sign Bass if he "sucks"? He's going to be the starting PF for the defending East Champs.

    Seriously, for guys like this douche if their not a top 5 player at their position then they "suck".

    I'll tell you what if I was phoenix, I'd take Bass or Big Baby. And if Taylor Griffin is going to be as good as one of them then Phoenix got a steal.
  22. Brian L
    26. Posted by Brian L Tue Aug 18 10:22am EDT

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    "4. Posted by pjewiijr100118 Mon Aug 17 6:12pm EDT Report Abuse
    thats not exactly a compliment shaq and a half lol
    i mean come on brandon bass and glen davis suck lol "

    Seriously, does anyone that make comments like this actually WATCH basketball?

    Did you see what Big Baby did against Chicago and Orlando last year? Why did Boston re up his contract then?

    And why did Orlando sign Bass if he "sucks"? He's going to be the starting PF for the defending East Champs.

    Seriously, for guys like this douche if their not a top 5 player at their position then they "suck".

    I'll tell you what if I was phoenix, I'd take Bass or Big Baby. And if Taylor Griffin is going to be as good as one of them then Phoenix got a steal.
  23. tonggan
    25. Posted by tonggan Tue Aug 18 7:30am EDT

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    @20 its not kerr's fault...he's got his hands tied by a cost-cutting owner.
  24. Chris F
    24. Posted by Chris F Tue Aug 18 7:19am EDT

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    What the suns need to do is get in a time machine, go to the year 2000, and bring back a younger Shaq. Championship guaranteed.
  25. C Bear
    23. Posted by C Bear Tue Aug 18 2:59am EDT

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    taylor interviewing his brother blake that would be something them to going up against eachother, or playing on the same team.
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