Who will be the role players now that everyone's been reborn?

July 2005 marked another summer, with the NBA free agency market opening. The next few days were crucial for the entire league to carefully cultivate and strengthen their rosters for the new season.

Two of the Suns' five-man run-and-gun offense have been lost, leaving only a few remaining. They are now arguably the busiest (and most aimless) and most productive (robbing Peter to pay Paul) elite team in the Western Conference.

Amidst the busy trade for three-point sharpshooter Quinn Richardson, the Suns acquired Kurt Thomas, dismantling their perimeter defense to eliminate the king of three-point shooters and acquiring a quality defensive role player who could seemingly hold his own against the inside. While it appears to be a targeted reinforcement, it is actually a fearful attempt to compensate for weaknesses with strengths.

Amidst the busy sign-and-trade deal involving superstar Joe James, the Suns acquired Diaw, Chen Dong, and two first-round picks from 06 and 08.

Trading a top-tier star who can contribute 17.1 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game for future draft picks? It seems like clearing salary cap space, but in reality, it's a lack of clear future plans. In the end, it's all for nothing. Four years of developing a superstar who could have been the team's core perimeter player for the next 10 years is traded away for a bunch of junk. Thumbs down!

The more you compare, the more painful it becomes!

Look at the Heat's roster improvements, trades, and contract extensions – that's how they truly go all out to win the championship!

First, they secured Shaquille O'Neal, their core center for five years, with a $1 million contract, forming an invincible duo with Dwyane Wade, their core center on a rookie contract.

Next, they traded Eddie Jones for Jason Williams (who could pass to O'Neal) and James Posey (who could provide defense and create space with three-pointers).

Subsequently, they signed Antoine Walker to a four-year, $32 million mid-level contract, which allowed him to both create space with three-pointers and relieve the scoring pressure on O'Neal and Wade.

Finally, they brought Gary Payton's talent to Miami and re-signed franchise legend Udonis Haslem, increasing the team's depth and preparedness for a long run and any unexpected events.

A side-by-side comparison of the two management teams' operations reveals that the Suns, who were all talk and no action but made no progress, were complete amateurs!

As for Kurt Thomas, whom the Suns acquired in the trade of Richardson, the results are still pending. Whether it was a good deal or not will depend on the player's performance on the court in the new season.

However, Chen Dong led the Suns, who were just there to accompany the team, to an unexpected victory in the Summer League. Chen Dong amazed everyone, averaging 26.6 points, 8.3 assists, and 4.8 rebounds per game, showcasing top-tier immediate impact and making the Suns' management proud. It seemed that not being able to re-sign Joe James at a low price wasn't all bad.

With Chen Dong's amazing performance from a second-round pick to a first-round pick, the Suns essentially traded a Joe James and a dispensable second-round pick for four first-round picks. Diaw was the 21st pick in 03.

Therefore, Phoenix Suns general manager Brian Colangelo generously offered Chen Dong a three-year, $251 million first-round draft contract. In other words, Chen Dong's talent was recognized, he was included in the key development list, and his contract was upgraded from a second-round pick to a first-round pick.

Referring to David Lee's $278 million contract for the first three years of the 30th pick, plus the $179 million first-round pick standard contract for the fourth year, Chen Dong's contract is equivalent to 9% of the standard first-round pick contract.

Good grief, he's essentially signing himself to a three-year child labor contract? And at a 9% discount?

Chen Dong believes that Curry's experience may be rare and valuable, but he has no intention of replicating Curry's experience. His agent, Dan Fegan, also does not approve of such a contract.

Second-round picks sign three-year contracts, and many high school draft picks accept such contracts. For example, Monta Ellis and CJ Miles signed such contracts. Boozer also signed a three-year contract back then, then tore it up and became a traitor.

In short: sell yourself to the team, and the team will focus on developing you and you'll earn more money.

If they don't sign, then it's a second-round draft contract. Whether you can make it depends on your own ability and opportunities. The team will focus more on developing first-round draft players (who have signed four-year rookie contracts).

Upon hearing Chen Dong's refusal, Suns general manager Brian Colangelo was not surprised and did not offer much persuasion. Instead, he immediately offered a second contract, a standard contract for a second-round pick: a 2-year, $111 million 1+1 contract. As the 31st pick, the first year was a guaranteed $45 contract, and the second year was a $66 contract with a team option.

Chen Dong signed the contract, becoming a "millionaire" on paper, and then stood up to shake hands and talk with General Manager Brian Colangelo with a smile.

Welcome to the Phoenix family!

"I will play well and perform in a way that lives up to this contract!"

In Chen Dong's view, a good general manager is one who doesn't plan for the team's long term but only pursues current results.

No matter how brilliant Riley's decisions are, he's not a good general manager for the players.

Without a doubt, the pairing of young inside-outside cores like Joe James and Amar'e Stoudemire is the only stable partnership that can allow the Suns to play together for the next 10 years. Logically speaking, even if they trade Marion, re-signing Joe James would be the right choice, just like Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant.

Moreover, Nash's five-year, $65 million max contract has been rendered a child labor contract by his amazing MVP-level performance last season.

If Joe Jensen were to sign an extension early, he could definitely secure a contract with an average annual salary of $850 million. Considering Kobe's max contract and Nash's max contract of over $1000 million, the Suns have already saved more than $700 million. If they just need to trade Richardson's mid-level exception contract, the Suns' salary cap space can be completely used to keep their All-Star quartet. It is clear that the owner is unwilling to spend money, but the management is also not doing its job and has not done a good job in the contract extension work.

If this team were still Bryan Collino's team, this situation would never have happened. The Suns are thinking long-term, and they would never allow Joe James, whom they have nurtured for four years, to leave!

Instead of trying to persuade Joe Jenson to stay, the management watched him leave when his rookie contract expired. This is a classic case of "preferring a foreigner to a domestic slave."

To put it bluntly, they're worried that the new boss will have a hard time (still being the general manager), and they're also worried that the new boss will drive a Land Rover, which would make trading the Suns seem like such a stupid decision!

In fact, building the team around the Big Three of Nash, Marion, and Stoudemire would have been the best idea. It would have allowed them to benefit from Nash's final peak years, ensuring the Suns remained a top team under his leadership, while also foreseeing the challenges that would arise when Nash and Marion aged, leaving Stoudemire to carry the team alone.

With the departures of Joe Jensen and Richardson, the Suns' management quickly found replacements:

On August 15, the Phoenix Suns signed free agent Raja Bell to a five-year, $24 million contract.

On August 22, the Phoenix Suns acquired three-point shooter James Jones on a three-year, $8 million contract.

On August 25, the Suns signed Eddie House to an $840,000 contract as a backup point guard for Nash.

Time flies, and September is here in the blink of an eye, with the new season approaching.

The Phoenix Suns' 16-man training camp roster for the 05/06 season has been released, as follows.

Centers: Amarestadmaier, Kurt Thomas, Pat Burke.

Power Forwards: Shawn Marion, James Jones, Chuck Hayes, Brian Grant

Small forwards: Boris Diaw, Chen Dong.

Shooting guards: Raja Bell, Jim Jackson, Kylana Azubuk.

Point guards: Steve Nash, Leonard Barbosa, Eddie House, and Andre Barrett.