Depressing Suns Article

[Xylus]

For me, at least. It's a good article, though, and highlights some things that few people are talking about.



Shaq is last rising Sun

By Adrian Wojnarowski, Yahoo! Sports 6 hours, 43 minutes ago


PHOENIX – This had to be one of the most humiliating weekends in the franchise’s history, a collision of misjudgments and mistakes that transformed the biggest celebration in the Phoenix Suns’ history into an agonizing examination of the franchise’s fall. Suns owner Robert Sarver had made a mess of trades talks with Amare Stoudemire, botched beyond belief the firing of Terry Porter and transformed an envied enterprise into an embarrassment.

Somehow, Shaquille O’Neal had become a saving grace for the Suns. This was his gift to bosses who are stuck with his steep salary. They turned out the lights inside US Airways Center and Shaq gave him what he does best now, a laugh, a masked dance, a stand-up routine for basketball’s most irreverent and irrelevant night.

As a return on the Shaq investment goes, this promised to be the biggest night of his Suns career. The Suns needed a court jester to make everyone laugh here, to deflect the chaos consuming this franchise.

The NBA’s tabulation of votes that made Shaq and Kobe Bryant co-MVP’s felt as legitimate as election night in Havana, but who could blame the irresistible irony of Shaq and Kobe tugging on that MVP trophy at night’s end.

“That’s the first time I have seen an MVP that played 11 minutes in an All-Star game,” Phil Jackson said.

And that’ll be the last, because this promised to be goodbye for O’Neal as an All-Star. Only, it isn’t goodbye for the Suns. As badly as Phoenix management has tried, it can’t undo the mistake of absorbing Shaq’s $20 million-a-season contract that extends into 2010. There are no takers. So, the Suns are trying to move Amare Stoudemire and it threatens to spiral them into the stone ages.

For far beyond the greatest basketball players in the world Sunday night, the movie stars and politicians, the music and lights, there was a grease board hanging in the Suns’ basketball-operations office with two distinct columns of possible trades: basketball-motivated deals on one side and salary dumps on the other.

Make no mistake: The future of the franchise could be at the mercy of the impulsive, impatient Sarver.

“Sarver is all over the map,” said one Western Conference executive briefed on Suns matters. “One minute, he wants to do a basketball deal. And then the next, it’s a salary dump.”

The Chicago Bulls and Suns were talking seriously on Sunday, and multiple league sources believe those two teams are the best chance for a Stoudemire trade to happen. The talks with Chicago are still centered on the expiring contract of Drew Gooden, Tyrus Thomas and a first-round draft pick.

Nevertheless, Suns officials are privately insisting to teams that they’d better get out their best offers for Stoudemire, because they say they’re willing to keep him and let the trade deadline pass Thursday. The Suns have been disappointed in the quality of offers for Stoudemire, and no one is sure they’ll get better between now and Thursday.

Portland and Cleveland are waiting back, sources say, hoping the Suns are unable to close a deal near the trade deadline and that Sarver, desperate to shed the salary, will cave into the uninspiring offers those two teams have made for Stoudemire.

Portland has offered the expiring deal of Raef LaFrentz, rookie point guard Jerryd Bayless and a first-round pick. Cleveland has offered the expiring contract of Wally Szczerbiak, rookie forward J.J. Hickson and a first-rounder.

“They’re waiting to see if Sarver is desperate enough to dump him for cap room,” one Western Conference executive said.

Still, the Suns privately insist to people that they’ll never do that trade with the Blazers, which is why a Western Conference executive said Sunday night that Portland was exploring a LaFrentz-Travis Outlaw package for the Milwaukee Bucks’ Richard Jefferson and Luke Ridnour.

Bulls assistant GM Gar Forman – who most believe will succeed John Paxson over the summer – has spearheaded the Bulls’ trade talks. Gooden brings an expiring contract, and Thomas is an athletic, 6-foot-9 power forward the Suns can plug into Stoudemire’s slot. After a sluggish start to his career, Thomas, 22, has blossomed this season. Across the past 21 games as a starter, he’s averaged a career-best 12.5 points and 7.0 rebounds. He could fit well into the faster offense that new Suns coach Alvin Gentry – who replaces the fired Terry Porter – is expected to bring to the Suns.

The Suns’ VP of basketball operations, David Griffin, loved Thomas when he was coming out of LSU three years ago. The Suns also have discussed adding Matt Barnes into a trade with Stoudemire, front office officials said. Still, the market for Stoudemire has been sluggish. Part of that is the recession that has owners more interested in trimming payroll than adding to it. And part of that has been the desperate state of the Suns that’s left teams believing they can steal Stoudemire. In these economic times, this is a league of sellers, not buyers.

While the Suns are insisting that they’re willing to hold onto Stoudemire without the right offer, most teams are skeptical. They think Sarver is determined to dump Stoudemire, whatever the recommendations of his top basketball executives, Kerr and Griffin. Sources say the Bulls have been off-balance in dealings with the Suns, just because they’re never sure which way Sarver will veer next.

Make no mistake: These are the Sarver Suns. What Sarver allowed to happen to Porter on Sunday was inexcusable, trying to postpone his firing until the end of the All-Star game only to have it drag out for days and embarrass him. The Suns thought they could sneak his dismissal through until Monday and that turned into a disaster on the night of the All-Star Game.

Most Suns fans were left mumbling that ex-owner Jerry Colangelo would’ve never let things spiral this way. Colangelo was one more Suns ghost haunting the franchise Sunday, passing out rings to his U.S. Olympic gold medal basketball players at halftime. He had the microphone one more time in US Airways Center, but he no longer had the voice here. Robert Sarver runs these Suns, and this weekend turned out to be mostly about his incompetence and inability to sustain a proud franchise.

Shaq danced on Sunday night and they roared here. Only, no one wanted to come to grips with the cold-hearted truth of the matter. Shaq was dancing on the Suns’ basketball grave.


I wanted Porter gone as much as anyone, but I thought he was a good guy and deserved better.

[Xylus]

Oh yeah, and JRich got arrested. Again.


http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/2009/02/16/20090216spt-jrich.html


Richardson charged with reckless driving

by Paul Coro - Feb. 16, 2009 09:44 AM
The Arizona Republic

http://www.azcentral.com/i/sized/B/A/3/e298/j350/PHP49999748483AB.jpg

Suns guard Jason Richardson was arrested and booked into Scottsdale City Jail on Sunday after a police officer pulled him over for driving 90 mph in a 35 mph with his 3-year-old son unrestrained in his vehicle's back seat, according to Scottsdale police.

Scottsdale police first clocked Richardson, 27, traveling at 67 mph in a 40 mph zone of the 6500 block of East Camelback Road before the vehicle turned northbound onto 64th Street. Police said that Richardson then reached a speed of 90 mph before being pulled over in the 5400 block of North 64th Street at about 8 p.m.

The police summary stated that Richardson identified himself as a Suns player and admitted speeding. The officer noticed that Richardson's 3-year-old son was in the back seat and was not in a child seat, as required by state law. Richardson told the officer he and his son had gone to dinner and were on their way to his Paradise Valley home.

No impaired driving was suspected by Scottsdale police.

The boy's mother picked up their son and Richardson was booked into jail, where he was released after a few hours.

Richardson is being charged with endangerment, reckless driving, failure to use a child seat and two charges of excessive speed.

Richardson, acquired by the Suns from Charlotte in a December trade that sent away Boris Diaw and Raja Bell, was also accused of DUI on Dec. 21 by a Salt River-Pima-Maricopa Indian Community officer.

When that citation came to light in early January, Richardson said, "It's one stupid mistake I made. Everybody who knows me knows I'm a great person. I've always been a good guy, the things I do in the community. I just hope this doesn't ruin anything in the past."

[Xylus]

Where the fuck is my Raja Bell avatar?

[IronMexican]

J-Rich going 90 in a 35 while his kid had no seat belt...idiot.

[Bartleby]

Pathetic. What a dumb ass.

[Red Hawk #21]

J-Rich needs to get his head straight

[Pelicans78]

New Orleans may be recovering from a natural disaster, but at least it can host a major event like the Super Bowl and last year's All-Star game. Stern praised New Orleans for doing such a great job. I don't think Phoenix will get that same praise.

[Michael Brown]

I'd say old Sternie did a heckuva job.

[DUNCANownsKOBE2]

Apparently J-Rich got a little too excited about the coaching change.

[Dex]

Even I figured that the aftermath of the Shaq trade would be bad, but I didn't imagine things spiraling out of control as quickly as they have.

That's what happens when a gamble doesn't pay off, Stevie.

[MarHill]

I believe what the Suns management did to Porter was a load of crap. To have him twisting in the wind like that over the weekend was wrong.

If you wanted to fire him...fire him before the All-Star Weekend.

Also, they shouldn't have hired him in the first place if thought he wasn't the guy. Most employers make sure they do their "due diligence" before hiring them. Suns management should know what kind of coach he was and what type of players they had and the two wouldn't mix well together.

But, to fire him after 4 months is wrong. What were they expecting....the Red Sea to part again? :bang

I'm a Spurs fan...but right is right and wrong is wrong. And this was bush league!

:flag:

[DUNCANownsKOBE2]

Even I figured that the aftermath of the Shaq trade would be bad, but I didn't imagine things spiraling out of control as quickly as they have.

The Shaq trade didn't do anything bad. That's the easy thing to blame and it has no reasoning behind it. It's not like the Suns were championship juggernauts before the Shaq trade.

[DUNCANownsKOBE2]

I believe what the Suns management did to Porter was a load of crap. To have him twisting in the wind like that over the weekend was wrong.

If you wanted to fire him...fire him before the All-Star Weekend.

Also, they shouldn't have hired him in the first place if thought he wasn't the guy. Most employers make sure they do their "due diligence" before hiring them. Suns management should know what kind of coach he was and what type of players they had and the two wouldn't mix well together.

But, to fire him after 4 months is wrong. What were they expecting....the Red Sea to part again? :bang

I'm a Spurs fan...but right is right and wrong is wrong. And this was bush league!

:flag:

I somewhat agree, however, Porter had it coming the way he treated a veteran team.

Blaming Porter for not turning Amare and Nash into good defensive players is the equivalent of blaming a special ed teacher because a kid with severe down syndrome can't understand calculus. In other words, it's completely unreasonable.

[MarHill]

I somewhat agree, however, Porter had it coming the way he treated a veteran team.

Blaming Porter for not turning Amare and Nash into good defensive players is the equivalent of blaming a special ed teacher because a kid with severe down syndrome can't understand calculus. In other words, it's completely unreasonable.


Then the Suns management shouldn't hired him. Porter did coach in Milwaukee and they could have found out how he treated their veteran players.

If they wanted to change a philosophy.....things like that takes time. There are very few quick fixes and when you trade players as well and still try to win....that's almost impossible to do.

The Suns management put him in a bad position to win and they deserve a lot more fault than Porter.

[hater]

wow that is depressing...

Spurs really did a heck of a job :D

[Spurminator]

At least he didn't have to endure the booing of the home crowd when he was introduced as an assistant for the All Star game like Jimy Williams did when Houston hosted the MLB All Star Game.

[Ghazi]

Porter got a screwjob IMO.

[Dex]

The Shaq trade didn't do anything bad. That's the easy thing to blame and it has no reasoning behind it. It's not like the Suns were championship juggernauts before the Shaq trade.

The Shaq trade was the start of this whole debacle. If you want to count the day Steve Kerr starting making executive decisions, then go ahead, but this was the first pillar to fall.

When the Suns traded away Shawn Marion, they traded away their wild card player, and essentially their identity. They went from the high-octane, run-n-gun Suns to a team accommodating for the Big Cactus. Suddenly the coach is the problem. Stoudemire is the problem. Nash is the problem. And the three best defenders (Marion, Bell, and Diaw) all somehow left town during this defensive renaissance.

Am I wrong, or wasn't this the same group of guys that was creating playoff scares two years ago? I'll agree that run and gun probably wasn't going to win them a championship, but at least it got them to the big show.

You can ride Shaq's tail all you want. I'd admit that he is a great center. But he was still a bad fit for that team, and the proof is in the pudding.

[Ghazi]

^ I dont think the Shaq trade was THAT bad, and it actually looks good compared to the slew of other FO blunders the Suns have made in the past 5 years.

The day the Suns died was actually when they didn't match the Hawks offer. If they had Joe Johnson they would've won a title one of these years IMO.

It also didn't help in 2007 when fluke bullshit technicalities suspended Amare for a crucial game 5, and Amare's microfracture in 2006.

[DUNCANownsKOBE2]

Then the Suns management shouldn't hired him. Porter did coach in Milwaukee and they could have found out how he treated their veteran players.

If they wanted to change a philosophy.....things like that takes time. There are very few quick fixes and when you trade players as well and still try to win....that's almost impossible to do.

The Suns management put him in a bad position to win and they deserve a lot more fault than Porter.

It's not the first time in NBA history bad ownership and management put a coach in an impossible position and then fire him.

[DUNCANownsKOBE2]

The Shaq trade was the start of this whole debacle. If you want to count the day Steve Kerr starting making executive decisions, then go ahead, but this was the first pillar to fall.

When the Suns traded away Shawn Marion, they traded away their wild card player, and essentially their identity. They went from the high-octane, run-n-gun Suns to a team accommodating for the Big Cactus. Suddenly the coach is the problem. Stoudemire is the problem. Nash is the problem. And the three best defenders (Marion, Bell, and Diaw) all somehow left town during this defensive renaissance.

Am I wrong, or wasn't this the same group of guys that was creating playoff scares two years ago? I'll agree that run and gun probably wasn't going to win them a championship, but at least it got them to the big show.

You can ride Shaq's tail all you want. I'd admit that he is a great center. But he was still a bad fit for that team, and the proof is in the pudding.

There was no specific move/decision that started the debacle. It was a combination of many moves/decisions, most of which before Kerr had decision making power.

And last year, after the Shaq trade, it was still a run-n-gun team, the PPG actually went up post all star break.

The one move, if any, that started the tail spin, was KT + 2 first round picks for nothing.

[pauls931]

I think porter got the shaft too and was put in an impossible position which unfortunately meant he had to go. It's easier to replace the coach than Shaq, Amare, and Nash. I place this on Sarver and Kerr's shoulders.

I don't buy the shaq thing as the reason for the downfall, things actually came together and they got some quality wins towards the end of the season. Of course they choked against the spurs as usual...

My theory is a new system takes about a year to put in. You basically throw away a season, look at Dantoni's first season.

The suns management fucked up twice. Bringing in shaq midseason and expecting everything to fall into place for the playoffs. Then firing dantoni and expecting a new coach AND system to work immediately and instead just alienated the players and fans. Maybe the root of the problem is some key executives leaving...

[Twisted_Dawg]

Where the fuck is my Raja Bell avatar?

Sarver traded it.

[Cane]

This is what happens when you gamble big, you lose big.

[Findog]

The Suns felt like they had to move Marion because of his moodiness and his contract being up this summer. They weren't getting 100% from him, and he was going to walk and they'd be left with nothing. In addition, they weren't winning a title with SSOL anyways, and Shaq on paper addressed their weaknesses against San Antonio, the one team they couldn't beat in a playoff series.

I don't think they would've beaten Detroit in 2005 had they somehow made it to the Finals, but I do think they would've beaten any team in the league besides the Spurs in 2007. It was their crummy luck to draw San Antonio on the same side of the bracket.

Point being, I think the Shaq trade was a worthy gamble.

[Spur-Addict]

This thread title should read, "Depressing Suns".

[Findog]

Or "Setting Suns." Get it? See what I did there? Get it? See what I did there?

[lefty]

First time I saw Sarver's face, I didn't like him.

I didn't know why, I guess it was gut feeling.

No I know why; what he did to Porter was classless; fuck him

[Spur-Addict]

Or "Setting Suns." Get it? See what I did there? Get it? See what I did there?

oOoOooooOOo...... AhhhHHhhhh....:lol

[androck]

I don't think the Suns were ever going to win a championship under D'antoni. When they had Steve Nash at his peak, Amare pre-microfracture, Joe Johnson, and Shawn Marion, that was one of the most talented teams in NBA history. How many teams have four legit max-contract players on their roster at the same time during the height of their careers? I can't think of any since the Lakers in the 80s. Even the Celtics with Garnett, Pierce, Allen, and Rondo aren't at that level. Steve Nash was an All-Star talent with the Mavs but became a Hall of Famer under D'antoni's system. Amare is an All-Star scoring talent with major defensive deficiencies that could have been a Hall of Famer if he spent his entire career under D'antoni where his defense could be swept under the rug. After that run in 2005 with Joe Johnson fracturing his orbital socket, things started to fall apart. Joe Johnson wanted to go to a team where he could be The Man and that was never going to happen on the Suns. Marion was resentful of being the third-option on offense and wanted out.

The Suns suffered from the "Too Many Chiefs, Not Enough Indians" syndrome that kept the Lakers from winning the Finals in 2004 and directly contradicts the formulas that have been so successful for the Spurs and Pistons as well as the recent Celtics and the Avery Johnson Mavs. I can't see any scenario in which the Suns under D'antoni would have been able to beat the Spurs, the pre-Jason Kidd-trade Mavs, or the post-Pau Gasol-trade Lakers in 7 games and I think they would have struggled with the Chris Paul Hornets and a healthy Jazz or Rockets team. The definition of insanity is repeating the same actions and expecting different results and that is exactly what the Suns were doing from 2004-2008. They had to take a risk and make some changes.

The problem began when Steve Kerr came in. D'antoni was not willing to change his system (and frankly, why should he? He has created a very entertaining brand of basketball that fields a competitive team and puts fans in the seats) but Kerr felt (and I agree) that D'antoni's method was not going to win a championship. If Sarver's goal were simply to continue being a playoff team and selling lots of tickets, he should have stuck with D'antoni. If he wanted to win a championship, hiring a new coach was the right thing to do but he also should have anticipated that a massive change in personnel was going to be required. It is impossible to build a defensive powerhouse around Nash and Amare but Shaq would be a good piece to add to the puzzle; the problem was that they traded the wrong player for him. Marion was the best defender on the team and would have made a much better complementary player to Shaq due to his exceptional versatility on both ends of the court. The Suns should have traded Amare.

Phoenix has consistently had one of the highest payrolls in the NBA and Sarver tried to do as much as he could to reduce his out-of-pocket expenses in recent years so he spent the last few years selling his draft picks for cash. Kerr frequently gets blamed for that but honestly, it's Sarver who is forcing his hand. The Suns ransomed their future to pay for the present, the Shaq gamble and change of philosophy have failed, and now they are a shadow of their former selves and I think there is almost nothing they can do to improve their situation in the near future since they have almost no draft picks coming up and no young players with upside on their roster outside of Amare. On top of all that, Sarver made his fortune in the real estate and financial markets so the economic downturn is hitting him harder than most other NBA owners and he's even less willing to spend than he was in the past. Did the Suns need to make changes and get rid of D'antoni if they wanted to win a championship? Yes. Did they make the right decisions towards those goals in the short-term? No.

[Stabbin' Cabin]

wow that is depressing...

Spurs really did a heck of a job :D


http://assets.espn.go.com/media/nba/2003/0530/photo/a_spurs_ht.jpg



You sneaky sons of bitches.

[pauls931]

http://assets.espn.go.com/media/nba/2003/0530/photo/a_spurs_ht.jpg



You sneaky sons of bitches.

LMAO, then Kerr will send amare to the bulls for a pack of gum to fulfill his obligations there....

[Dex]

There was no specific move/decision that started the debacle. It was a combination of many moves/decisions, most of which before Kerr had decision making power.

And last year, after the Shaq trade, it was still a run-n-gun team, the PPG actually went up post all star break.

The one move, if any, that started the tail spin, was KT + 2 first round picks for nothing.

:tu

Letting Thomas leave never made sense to me either. After that started the search for another bigman to defend Duncan...when you already had one in the back pocket. I could see how that lead to the current state of affairs.

Losing Joe Johnson was just a swift kick in the pants.

Then again, the Spurs let the same thing happen with Stephen Jackson.

[mystargtr34]

The Suns biggest mistake was their first one - not resigning Joe Johnson the first chance they got. Everything from there seemed to go down hill.

Selling off Rajon Rondo + Rudy Fernandez.

Trading Kurt Thomas + 2 picks for nothing.

Would of been a heck of a team.

[milkyway21]

the Phoenix Suns team has become a joke since the trade of Jo Johnson.

thank you for booing Duncan anyway. It just shows how loser your team really are :p:

I was disgusted by it, and for being such a "perfect" 2009 All-Star weekend host, sorry to say I cannot sympathize with you.

besides the Spurs I won't mind seeing any team in the WC winning a title, let it be the Nuggets or Portland, EXCEPT the Phoenix Suns

this team and spork killer are a perfect combination.

[Xylus]

the Phoenix Suns team has become a joke since the trade of Jo Johnson.

thank you for booing Duncan anyway. It just shows how loser your team really are :p:

I was disgusted by it, and for being such a "perfect" 2009 All-Star weekend host, sorry to say I cannot sympathize with you.

besides the Spurs I won't mind seeing any team in the WC winning a title, let it be the Nuggets or Portland, EXCEPT the Phoenix Suns

this team and spork killer are a perfect combination.

I hope you die in your sleep.

Because basketball is serious business and no one fucks with my team!

[pauls931]

the Phoenix Suns team has become a joke since the trade of Jo Johnson.

thank you for booing Duncan anyway. It just shows how loser your team really are :p:

I was disgusted by it, and for being such a "perfect" 2009 All-Star weekend host, sorry to say I cannot sympathize with you.

besides the Spurs I won't mind seeing any team in the WC winning a title, let it be the Nuggets or Portland, EXCEPT the Phoenix Suns

this team and spork killer are a perfect combination.

I think you need a big cup of STFU and be thankful that the Suns provided some entertaining series for you on your way to several titles.

[Armando]

The Spurs did a hell of a job on the Suns

[JMarkJohns]

The Suns biggest mistake was their first one - not resigning Joe Johnson the first chance they got. Everything from there seemed to go down hill.

Selling off Rajon Rondo + Rudy Fernandez.

Trading Kurt Thomas + 2 picks for nothing.

Would of been a heck of a team.

Technically, had the Suns kept all their "traded for nothing" picks, they still wouldn't have both Rondo and Fernandez, as the pick used to draft Fernandez was obtained by first trading the draft rights to Rondo.

So, realistically, it's an either or... However, had they kept every other pick, they may have been able to draft Fernandez later in that same draft, or they may not have needed him at all.