duncan228
02-20-2009, 02:28 PM
SI.com Writers' Roundtable. (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/basketball/nba/02/20/writers.roundtable/1.html)
3. What do you make of the Suns' decision to fire coach Terry Porter, replace him with Alvin Gentry and then stand pat at the trade deadline?
Ian Thomsen: They couldn't stand to continue underachieving without changing something. When they realized the market for Amar'e Stoudemire wouldn't yield equal value in return, they decided to change the coach instead. The fairest thing to say about the Suns is that owner Robert Sarver and GM Steve Kerr are having to deal with these kinds of situation for the first time. They're learning the hard way the limits of their office. For instance, when they slowed the pace they were aiding opponents who have rarely been able to limit Steve Nash's brilliance in the open court -- which Kerr accomplished by installing Porter. The question for Sarver and Kerr is whether they're learning from the moves they've made over the last year. Is this the experience Kerr needs in order to be great at the job someday? So many young GMs make mistakes early in their tenures, but then they turn into the Danny Ainge or the Danny Ferry that we know today. (Or maybe every GM should be named Danny.)
Jack McCallum: Why, it all seems incredibly logical. Get rid of an offensive coach because he can't coach defense, hire a defensive coach, then fire the defensive coach because he's not a good offensive coach. Make decisions based on money, then stand pat on deadline day even though there were chances to dump Shaq's giant contract. Honestly, the only thing that made sense was, once the Porter move was made, promoting Gentry, a well-liked and able coach who will have the ear of this ninth-place team if it stays within striking distance of the playoffs.
Chris Mannix: Asking Nash to run a controlled offense is like asking Nolan Ryan to throw junk. Shouldn't happen. While I disagreed with the Suns' decision to fire Porter -- four months is nowhere near enough time to give a coach who is trying (at the front office's requests) to revamp the team's style of play -- they made the right move in bringing back D'Antoni's up-tempo offense, which is most effective when Stoudemire is a part of it. Even with the news that Amar'e might miss the rest of the season, the Suns did the right thing in keeping their 26-year-old power forward and returning to a system that maximizes his strengths.
Steve Aschburner: Gentry was available -- already in house -- from the start, so if he's the answer as head coach, the $6 million paid out to Porter is going to dwarf, as a mistake, whatever savings Sarver and his administrator Kerr realize from various draft picks and legitimate prospects they dumped. Not trading Stoudemire made sense simply because he wasn't worth to other teams -- as evidenced by their offers -- what he still can be worth to the Suns. I doubt there's any psychic cost to dangling Shaq; he tends to beat teams out the door, mentally. I don't see him retiring as a Sun.
3. What do you make of the Suns' decision to fire coach Terry Porter, replace him with Alvin Gentry and then stand pat at the trade deadline?
Ian Thomsen: They couldn't stand to continue underachieving without changing something. When they realized the market for Amar'e Stoudemire wouldn't yield equal value in return, they decided to change the coach instead. The fairest thing to say about the Suns is that owner Robert Sarver and GM Steve Kerr are having to deal with these kinds of situation for the first time. They're learning the hard way the limits of their office. For instance, when they slowed the pace they were aiding opponents who have rarely been able to limit Steve Nash's brilliance in the open court -- which Kerr accomplished by installing Porter. The question for Sarver and Kerr is whether they're learning from the moves they've made over the last year. Is this the experience Kerr needs in order to be great at the job someday? So many young GMs make mistakes early in their tenures, but then they turn into the Danny Ainge or the Danny Ferry that we know today. (Or maybe every GM should be named Danny.)
Jack McCallum: Why, it all seems incredibly logical. Get rid of an offensive coach because he can't coach defense, hire a defensive coach, then fire the defensive coach because he's not a good offensive coach. Make decisions based on money, then stand pat on deadline day even though there were chances to dump Shaq's giant contract. Honestly, the only thing that made sense was, once the Porter move was made, promoting Gentry, a well-liked and able coach who will have the ear of this ninth-place team if it stays within striking distance of the playoffs.
Chris Mannix: Asking Nash to run a controlled offense is like asking Nolan Ryan to throw junk. Shouldn't happen. While I disagreed with the Suns' decision to fire Porter -- four months is nowhere near enough time to give a coach who is trying (at the front office's requests) to revamp the team's style of play -- they made the right move in bringing back D'Antoni's up-tempo offense, which is most effective when Stoudemire is a part of it. Even with the news that Amar'e might miss the rest of the season, the Suns did the right thing in keeping their 26-year-old power forward and returning to a system that maximizes his strengths.
Steve Aschburner: Gentry was available -- already in house -- from the start, so if he's the answer as head coach, the $6 million paid out to Porter is going to dwarf, as a mistake, whatever savings Sarver and his administrator Kerr realize from various draft picks and legitimate prospects they dumped. Not trading Stoudemire made sense simply because he wasn't worth to other teams -- as evidenced by their offers -- what he still can be worth to the Suns. I doubt there's any psychic cost to dangling Shaq; he tends to beat teams out the door, mentally. I don't see him retiring as a Sun.