Kahn: New-Look Suns Have Lost Their Luster

[duncan228]

New-look Suns have lost their luster
by Mike Kahn

We can't be certain what we will find upon landing in the Valley of the Sun when the NBA training camp begins next month.

Terry Porter is now the coach of the Phoenix Suns, and the re-creation that began last season with Steve Kerr running the organization leaves us not quite sure what to make of these guys anymore.

Over the past four-plus seasons, it was a blast to watch the Suns, engineered by coach Mike D'Antoni, driven by Steve Nash, with splashes of supers om from Amare Stoudemire and glimpses of extraordinary potential from Leandro Barbosa and Boris Diaw. They were always a treat to watch and generally unstoppable.

It was a raw, full-blast hoopfest every time the Suns exploded up the floor in a playground frenzy. How would Nash complete the fast break this time? Would he go it alone or serve some special dish to one of his brethren? The Suns changed the feel of the game and opened it up for other teams. They were the embodiment of the new NBA that Commissioner David Stern envisioned — none of this one-on-one, pick-and-roll tedium or power ball as if it were the Pittsburgh Steelers on hardwood.

These were the fun-'n'-gun Suns, striving to the conference finals, winning 55-60 games a year and coming within a suspension or an injury of competing for their first NBA le.

And then they weren't.

Midway through last season Kerr — presumably at the behest of owner Robert Sarver — unloaded the whining of multi-talented Shawn Marion and throw-in guard Marcus Banks to the Miami Heat for former superstar center Shaquille O'Neal. O'Neal had not only thrown in the towel less than 18 months after helping the Heat win the 2006 NBA le, he had managed to hide his 330-pound body beneath it — quitting on the fans and entire organization despite his $20 million-a-year contract.

The deal seemed preposterous, despite Kerr's assertion that even an aged O'Neal was necessary to get by Tim Duncan and the Spurs and Yao Ming and the Rockets.

Through gritted teeth, D'Antoni said he was on board with the trade and the addition of the "Big Malingerer," despite how the move obviously flew in the face of D'Antoni's full-speed game and how the loss of Marion would hurt their already terrible defense and rebounding. Still, they hung in there and appeared to be on the brink of winning Game 1 in their first-round playoff game with those defending champion Spurs.

Then they blew the game — twice — in overtime.

And they were done for the series and maybe for this decade.

D'Antoni bolted out of town as quickly as possible, apparently bound for the Chicago Bulls until the New York Knicks came up with a more concrete offer to help clean up their mess with new president Donnie Walsh.

That brought Porter to the table, he of 17 years experience as a tough-minded point guard, competing against Kerr and then joining him as teammate at San Antonio. Presumably, this will bring the old-school, traditional power game back to the Suns — built around O'Neal in the middle and Stoudemire at power forward. But remember, Porter has just two years of head-coaching experience (71-93, .433) at Milwaukee, with one year at Sacramento and last year at Detroit wrapped around that less-than-stellar performance.

More likely, we'll find out which guy between O'Neal and Stoudemire is more immature about needing — make that demanding — the ball. O'Neal claimed last season he was ready and willing to give it up for Stoudemire and vice versa. But you have to keep in mind that O'Neal has become more cartoon character than basketball star. It's more about amusement for himself, fans, friends and the media than actually contributing his $20 million worth of team dedication as he approaches his 37th birthday with a broken-down body and perhaps an even more tenuous will to compete.

Stoudemire — a.k.a. Stat — will always be about numbers and being able to do his thing above all else. His mindset had plenty to do with putting off Marion.

And as for Nash, with shoulder and back issues and facing his 35th birthday in February, using him in the halfcourt will minimize the amazing elevation that took place in his game with D'Antoni. He's as classic a team guy as you'll ever see, but we have seen the best of Nash and the additions of Robin Lopez, Goran Dragic and Matt Barnes won't change that. We know there is little left in the emptying tank of Grant Hill.

Put traditional, halfcourt basketball on the table for Barbosa and Diaw as was forced down D'Antoni's throat, and you'll see them better suited for a magic show — vanishing act — as they displayed down the stretch of last season. Shooting guard Raja Bell best suits the Suns new 'do. Yeah, he'll win you a lot of les.

That's not to say the Suns won't compete with the Lakers in the Pacific Division. They will, and they'll very likely make the playoffs, too. But the days of them being discussed as le contenders are history.

The roadrunner has left town, leaving only the coyote empty-handed, falling fast into the Grand Canyon without a net.

[century]

Outstanding article! The Suns are gonna be sucking major this season.

[JMarkJohns]

They weren't winning a le last season without a trade. Marion was unhappy and playing very uninspired basketball. They didn't have a quality backup PG to speak of, they were still terribly undersized and thanks to another offseason of selling off players and picks, their depth was nonexistent.

They needed to make a trade.

Whether this trade was the right trade, or if it ever turns out is very debatable, but I'm as big a Suns fan as there is and I was sick to death of what they had pre-trade.

I'm no better with what they currently have, but Porter is a solid coach, and someone capable of teaching, instructing and guiding, not just clapping hands, stomping up and down the sidelines yelling, "Cmon! C'mon! C'mon! Let's Go! Let's Go! Let's Go!!!"

I don't expect better than a fifth-place finish, but if Dragic can develop, or Singletary can contribute, and Tucker develops and Lopez fits in, then there's still enough talent on the Suns to make a run of things. It's unlikely they net that perfect storm of luck, but stranger things have happened.

[Brutalis]

I will enjoy their fall.

[JMarkJohns]

I will enjoy their fall.

I probably should too, as such could mean Sarver selling the team to an owner who'll want a le as much as profit.

I can dream, can't I?!

[Matchman]

how sad it is to see the franchise was sunk by only a 3-pointer, yet again...