Carousel of the Sun
The Suns have had a long history of being a team that will "make the deal". This theoretical deal, of course, is the deal where they will make a big trade in order to get better, or to fix the team. From the deal sending Jeff Hornacek, Tim Perry and Andrew Lang to Philly for the off beat yet supremely talented Charles Barkley, to not so heralded deals like Danny Manning, Pat Garrity and two first round draft picks being thrown at Orlando for the not-quite-the-same-any-more version of Penny Hardaway. Anybody else remember Steve Nash to the Dallas Mavericks for Martin Muursepp and Bubba Wells, the draft rights to forward Pat Garrity and a 1999 first-round draft pick. (The pick eventually becoming the player who seems to be giving people in Phoenix headaches of late.)
But for much different reasons, the Suns were also more than willing to trade off Jason Kidd as soon as Jason "The" Kidd started having some legal issues, Brian Colangelo didn't hesitate to trade him off for Stephon Marbury. And as soon as the Suns felt that they had gone as far as they could with Stephon Marbury, Brian sent him right out to clear up cap space for another series of aggressive moves to get back in contention.
And after the 04-05 season, with the Suns recording a monstrous 62-20 season, taking the league by storm. After redefining the fast break game once again and injecting some energy into the league, Brian went right about dismantling it once more. Joe Johnson, gone. Quentin Richardson's tenure ended up being a one year tenure, new starters Boris Diaw and Raja Bell are brought in... and not only that, but even through the Suns losing Amare Stoudemire, they managed an impressive 54-28 record.
But now? Where have all the Colangelo's gone? (Not into new "Oreo's Colangelo's 'N Cream", to my most immediate knowledge.) They are no where to be found. Interim GM Mike D'Antoni made some minor moves, picking up bench players who he didn't seem to want to play. And now, we've got our apparent heir to Brian Colangelo, Steve Kerr...
As much of a fan of Steve Kerr's game as I am, and as much as I love his commentating style, is this really the move a team who is contending for a title *RIGHT NOW* wants to do? It's very clear that Steve knows what he's talking about and has a ton of NBA experience, but he's never served in this capacity before and, thus far, has been used for primarily for cap clearing maneuvers. (Which I didn't like... which is a bit of an understatement, but no use crying over spilled milk.) At this point, I would have been begging Jerry Colangelo to step in as interim GM for however long they could manage to keep him here, not bring in a brand new GM into a very delicate situation where he will take heat for basically anything he does, with an owner who doesn't have the money to actually splurge on the team he's investing in.
Which begs the point... will this off season be yet another carousel? With Brian Colangelo gone, will the Suns still be willing to make the big move to make the team better ... or the big move that has to be done simply because the team won't function properly without a move being made? Or will a brand new GM find himself under the gun and hoping that all of his players are on their best behavior, for fear of actually making a move to fix the problem.
The Suns have always been willing to make the big move, sign the big player, or move a key piece if it would help them to maintain their quest for a title. But with a new look in the Suns front office... will the Suns make the big move, the right move for the right now... or will they hope that the gash in the team's chemistry will heal up without a scar.
What if the cut gets infected? Remember the 04-05 Timberwolves? Sometimes, you have to make the decision on whether to amputate the foot or risk losing the entire leg.
Labels: Arizona, Brian Colangelo, General Manager, Jerry Colangelo, Los Angeles Lakers, NBA, Phoenix Suns, Shawn Marion, Steve Kerr, Trades, Utah Jazz
posted by Zei_Zao_LS @ 12:41 AM
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I'm not a big fan of Steve Kerr's moves either, but you have to remember who hired him and what he's been asked to do. This is no longer the Colangelo family's Suns. It's Sarver's Suns, and that's very different. You can't fault Kerr for doing the job he's been told to do. And as much as we would have liked to see Jerry Colangelo step back into the GM role, that simply wasn't going to happen.
Regarding the big move, what move are you proposing? You've probably mentioned it in your various postings, but remind me.
I know why Kerr was brought here. I also know that if we hadn't brought a sense of urgency to the table, we would have been able to dump cap for less. (We gave up first rounders to *give* a player to the Sonics, wow.)
The big move is regarding all the Marion hooplah. Something has to be done, it can't be quietly ignored while hoping it goes away. That's, of course, just in my opinion though.
I would agree that the Suns (Kerr and D'Antoni) have given away several first round picks for free. But keep in mind those picks were very late in the first round, and it's unlikely they would have resulted in a solid NBA player. We'll see what happens with Tucker. He was a late first round pick in a very deep draft. I don't see him being anything more than a role player. And role players can be just as easily grabbed via free agency without the risk of being a nobody (Raja Bell is a good example).
But more importantly, I think the Marion situation can be ignored. Let's not forget who has the upper hand here. Shawn in under contract (a very nice one at that) and needs to play well to earn his next contract. If that means the Suns get one more (or possibly two) years out of him, isn't it worth it. Making a trade just because Shawn went public would be giving into the sense of urgency you referred to. More importantly, any trades that are made must make the team better. So while it's easy to say the Suns have to do something, determining what that something is is not so easy. And I would suggest the best course of action is to keep Marion and let him play for the contract he feels he deserves. Shawn does not have the type of personality that will destroy a locker room. He may not be as fun loving as he usually is, but he's not going to poison the team.
The only trades Kerr should consider would be those in which the Suns get a top starting center in return. Because that's what the Suns need to get better. And getting better is the only way the Suns will win a championship. As I see it, there aren't to many top starting centers that are being shopped. So I think the Suns will ultimately stick with what they've got and give it another try.
Good article.
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http://boederbucks.blogspot.com/
Please add mine to yours if you like what you see.
Brian Colangelo's job is wildly overrated and D'antoni was AWFUL as a GM. Kerr's problem is that he's having to deal with the mistakes the past GMs did.
I don't have much problem with the Kurt Thomas move, but I didnt like the JJ+pick move because there were some pretty good players available there, which is unusual. Both Splitter and Rudy would fit perfectly in phoenix and would be rotation players when they got in the team.
I agree. Giving away the #24 pick killed me, Tiago Splitter would be perfect in Phoenix.
Also: I don't mean "Make a trade right now at all costs!" so much as that the Suns shouldn't be ignoring the situation and saying "Yeah... we're just gonna go ahead and keep him." They should be looking into acquiring a high level big man who wants out (Jermaine O'Neal, Pau Gasol) or someone who can do similar things to what Shawn does and add a little depth to the roster. (Like Kirilenko + Millsap)
That's just my opinion on the subject though. I do know if that Marion seriously effects chemistry, they will then have to get rid of him and will also have to sell him off for much less than they can get right now.
I listened to Kerr's interviews about the KT trade and I think it's evident from the stuff I've written most of the summer- this is team has to work to get better. Sarver doesn't want to give Marion $60 million because he wants the guy to help bring home a ring. He's a banker. You don't pay on potential, you pay based on performance. He's not attached to draft picks for this very reason.
The Suns have never won a title and all their moves have produced wins and revenue but never ultimate success. The key aspect is always chemistry and Marion seems willing to destroy it on this team.
I think Marion is being a big baby. He's caught up in NBA Live mode where you put players on any team you like and see what happens. The guy has everything any player would want and yet he's willing to leave a title contender. If he's serious about this, I think they should move him but even more I think you make the guy earn the money he's being paid. Every guy this off season who has bitched about being traded is the team's highest paid player. All the Suns stars have been working hard all off season and all we've heard from Marion is he feels disrespected about almost being traded for Kevin Garnett. Give me a break.
Agreed on pretty much all the points, though I don't necessarily agree with Sarver's opinions on potential and all that jazz. You can't win if you don't produce franchise level players through the draft, or you have to get *really* lucky on trading for a superstar/signing one through free agency. I know that a ton of late-1st to early-2nd round picks end up being great, franchise level or semi-franchise level players. (Gilbert Arenas, Michael Redd, Carlos Boozer. We've got a big name late-round player of our own, one Leandro Barbosa. Anybody else heard of Josh Howard?)
I should also note that I fully expect Alando Tucker (Late round pick!) to be a legit NBA player, a starter-caliber player at the very least. He's got all the tools down, he just has to get his mid range and long range jump shot consistent enough to keep defenses honest, as he's a beast finishing around the basket.
On that note: Why aren't you ever on AIM, Hersey? I feel abandoned! =]
I said the same thing about Marion, Hersey: he's a baby. Actually, you said not that he's a baby but that he's being a baby, if that makes a difference.
My, oh my, oh my...Marion is getting politely ripped to shreds in public opinion for his behavior. I have no idea if he cares, but everywhere from the Arizona Republic to Yahoo Sports, all the columnists are saying the same things we're saying here about him.
I don't know anything about Tucker except what Zei says, but once Marion leaves, Tucker could suddenly become very valuable. Because frankly, he sounds somewhat similar to Marion: athletic, great rebounder, good defender, good finisher, not a good shooter, not particularly tall.
I'm not saying that some late first round picks don't turn into gold. But the list of late first round picks that only last a few years in the league is much, much longer than the list of players that turn out to be great. For every Arenas, Redd, Boozer, Barbosa, etc., there's multiple Zoran Planinic's, Ndudi Ebi's, Qyntel Woods', Chris Jefferies', Brandon Armstrong's, Jeryl Sasser's, and on and on and on. It's a lot like going to Vegas. Sometimes you win big. But usually you go home a loser.
My point is this - Trading away a first round pick is not as big a deal when you know the pick will be late in the first round. Especially when you're in the position that the Suns are in right now. They need to add complimentary pieces, not Vegas gambles.
I was primarily the most upset about giving away the #24 pick because Tiago Splitter is a proven player in Europe, and considered one of the top defensive players over seas. Aside from that, he's very tall, very athletic, very agile for his size, runs the floor well, and does everything the Suns would need him to do except shoot the long ball consistently.
Once again, we saved some money on JJ's contract, but is it *really* worth giving up first rounders to get rid of contracts? Not when the first rounder you're giving away could be a player who could be a great system player and you wouldn't even have to pay immediately. (Tiago is staying overseas another year, as I understand it.)
And let me observe again that the Spurs immediately grabbed Splitter, almost certainly on purpose a la Melvin Ely.
Sorry Zei, I'll fire up iChat more often. ;-)
I agree with Russell not many franchise players are drafted in the late 20s. That's a guaranteed deal for an iffy player most drafts. Don't forget a lot of those late 1st, early 2nd round studs dropped because teams were obessed with drafting high school players. Hopefully next year's ATL pick makes up for all these ones that were sold off like fake Jordans on eBay.
I think Suns are well run. They've got a great core and they try to fill in around their core without overspending like the Mavs. I think fiscal responsibility is a good thing in the NBA. Keeping the team competitive in the long run will require some cap flexibility- look at the Sp*rs. Calling Sarver cheap is getting old to me because he didn't give Marion that huge contract and he's forced to work with it.
I don't like that they have to make some of their cost cutting moves but Kerr inherited Colangelo's success and mistakes as well as D'Antoni's. Ultimately we won't know until June how this all works out. In the mean time, I'll whole heartedly root for the roster they put on the floor.
Hell they are going televise ALL their games in HD locally. That's impressive (and disappointing because I live in Texas). This team is really good and hopefully everyone comes in focused and D'Antoni uses his bench better than last year. I would gladly trade wins for a bench that is ready to play and fresh starters at playoff time.
Being still jaded, I say the Suns will *probably* be exactly as good as they were last year, no better. A boneheaded step backward (giving away James Jones and Kurt Thomas for nothing) was balanced by the addition of Grant Hill and two good rookies. The team will probably be "thugged" out of the playoffs again by the embarrassment of the NBA, San Antonio. Thomas couldn't make any difference in that, anyway.
Zei - I'll agree with that. I would have liked it if the Suns took Splitter at 24 this year. I wish more than anything the Suns would follow the Spurs gameplan by starting a competent center (Oberto) and moving their stud (Duncan) to the PF spot. That protects Duncan when necessary by putting Oberto on the opposing teams best offensive post player. My biggest on court fear this year is keeping Amare out of foul trouble.
Joshua - It's OK to dislike the Spurs. But they are by no means the embarrassment of the NBA. I think we would all agree that they are well run, extremely talented, and overall pretty classy. Ginobili pisses me off every once in a while, but Raja Bell would do the same if I wasn't a Suns fan. I doubt if you really meant embarrassment, but I had to disagree.
If you guys haven't already read this, it's a great article:
sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=aw-marion092807&prov=yhoo&type=lgns
I couldn't agree more.
Nope, I did mean that. Partly because several of their role players are thugs (although Tim Duncan and Tony Parker have the class you speak of), and partly because they're so boring that, according to the ratings, very few people bothered to watch this finals series.
Thanks for the link Russell. Dude is right on. This team is good enough to win the title and they still have their core intact. Marion is going to have to earn his next contract by earning what he's being paid now. He's being paid to do a lot for this team whether he's getting props or not. Guess that concept is lost on guys earning millions.
Let's give him a chance first, he hasn't even made a single trade yet (the offseason moves weren't trades, they were just moves to dump salary)
I still will hold my opinion on him until he makes afew trades first.
By the way check out this new video I just made as a preview for the upcoming season:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWKvP4ZsaDw
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