The word around the NBA, according to the Arizona Republic, is that the Suns are close to acquiring Hedo Turkoglu and Josh Childress in separate deals.
If these deals happen, the Suns would definitely not be the same squad that went to the Western Conference Finals last season.
In acquiring Turkoglu from the Toronto Raptors, the Suns would give up Steve Nash-pal Leandro Barbosa and Dwayne Jones.
After a breakout year with the Orlando Magic in 2007-08 when he scored 19.5 points and had 5.7 rebounds and 5.6 assists, Turkoglu was named the NBA's Most Improved Player.
Yet his numbers dropped off the past two seasons, including a trying year in Toronto last season where he scored just over 11 points per game.
The other deal involves Childress, a former standout at Stanford and sixth overall pick in the 2004 draft.
After four seasons with the Hawks, Childress jumped overseas to play in Greece where he scored almost 16 points per game last year.
To get Childress, the Suns would have to deal with the Hawks (who still have his rights). The deal reportedly is a sign-and-trade that gives Atlanta a second-round pick in 2012. Childress has also reportedly agreed to a five-year, $34 million deal.
The addition of these two players would change the Suns' new mindset. Turkoglu is expected to fill the void left by Stoudemire, but he isn't the rebounder or defender that Amar'e was (if you can call it defending).
That is, the team would again be known for scoring points in droves, with defense as a secondary notion.
This team is still talented enough to secure a playoff spot, but do they have the defense or rebounding the make another run at the conference finals?
Adding a lockdown defender or big-time rebounder would help, but the Suns seem content to try to outscore their opponents.
