Around the L (*Terry Porter notes at bottom)

Been a while since I've written anything. Much like the Suns my offseason began a little early...

Yeah, so I'm not watching the Finals. Not due to any sort of personal boycott, I'm in Switzerland and I'd much rather sleep than stay up til 3 am to watch Lakers vs Celtics. The history aspect is cool but let's not kid ourselves. The battles of the 50's and 60's are ancient history. The 80's matchups were so loaded that we'll never see the likes of them again. In the 1987 Finals both teams brought All-Time greats off the bench in addition to arguably having the best starting fives EVER. The hype in this series is all about the jersey rather than the talent. Kobe is a monster and the new Big Three are interesting but it doesn't mean much to me personally. I started watching hoops in 1988. That Pistons/Lakers epic is still the best I've ever watched. Plus being here for the Euro Cup will dwarf anything late night hoops can provide...

So this coaching search is dragging on a bit. I'm kinda glad because some candidates Kerr is looking at were on playoff teams. I think Terry Porter is the guy. He got an ok team to overachieve and make the playoffs and got a raw deal when the Bucks fired him to move to Terry Stotts (um, yeah). The other finalists Elston Turner, Tyrone Corbin and Mike Budenholzer are all solid. Of that group Budenhozer is the wild card having been in San Antonio during all their title years. Kerr said of him, "He had a great vision for our future and our team, and it didn't surprise me. It's the reason we brought him in."

I think we'll have a new coach next week and from there the rest of the staff should take shape...

As far as the draft goes, I think we should pick up a wing player. I alluded to that in the previous post and I still think that way. The team is bringing in lottery-caliber guys as they are looking to move up similar to last year (to no avail). New York, Memphis and Seattlependinglawsuits are reportedly listening to offers and this may be the chance to move a vet like Diaw or Barbosa to a young team who isn't interested in prolonged rebuilding. If we stay in the 15 spot: Brandon Rush looks like an athletic Shane Battier, Joe Alexander is an athletic freak with upside and Chris Douglas-Roberts is a steal regardless of what the mock drafts say...

Have you listened to the Joe Dumars' press conference where he announces the firing of Flip Saunders? Wow. He puts his whole team on blast and the Pistons will not be the same. The best part is where a reporter mentions rebuilding. Dumars is like "as long as I'm in this seat, I expect us to always be good." I bring this up because I'm sick of fans saying this team needs to dump Nash or Amare now and save money for LeBron of Dwyane Wade. Give me a break. You don't build a culture of success by tanking and rebuilding. Dumars refers to Boston as a fluke because they got a former MVP without giving up any depth. Which is strangely true despite the 7 for 1 trade...

I think these Finals are a testament to shrewd front office moves continuing a trend since the 2006 Miami Heat. That team was a playoff surprise in '04, traded for Shaq and blew Game 7 of the ECF in '05, then overhauled the roster and Pat Riley coached them to a title in '06. Riley surrounded his stars with role players who flamed out as stars elsewhere and got a ring with his last great motivational job. Mitch Kupchak and Danny Ainge made good trades, drafted well and have the perfect role players for their stars. Additionally Ainge got the perfect assistant for Doc Rivers in Tom Thibodeau, the best defensive coach in the NBA. The Suns will make a good coaching hire but the details are in the draft, trades and free agency as they attempt to put a team on the floor built to win a title. The team's recent success has shown they have the talent but they've lacked the depth and approach to beat championship level teams. It's time to develop that approach now and when Nash and Shaq are ready to retire, the Suns can continue to compete at the elite level by adding another superstar in 2010...

A thought about football, proper football. The Euro Cup hasn't even started but I haven't seen the type of passion for a sport that I've seen here for the Euro Cup. There are flags flying everywhere. Heated debates over teams. My in-laws are Portuguese and the satellite television coverage of the national team is amazing. The rallies, the 'man on the street' interviews, the coverage of the teams departure, practices and coaching strategy. Cristiano Renaldo has had an awesome year with his clubs winning the English Premier League and the Champions League (why don't basketball teams do this). All eyes will be on him for the next few weeks as the Portuguese have a legit shot to avenge their flameout in 2004.

UPDATE: After reading Bill Simmons' preview of the Finals, I'm thinking twice about watching it. The games will be re-aired on tape delay here.

UPDATE 2: Terry Porter is the new coach of the Suns. There will be more news later as his staff comes together. A few thoughts...

There are concerns about Porter and Steve Kerr being tight but I think the positives outweigh the negative. Kerr knows Porter's strengths firsthand from playing with him and analyzing him on TV. It doesn't stink of the Michael Jordan nepotism and doesn't feel like a retread hire. Kerr trusts Porter to guide his team.

The Suns signed Porter before he even interviewed in Detroit. They gave him decent money, $7 million for three years. D'Antoni made more but got a raise in 2005 after the Suns exploded and another when GM duties were added. Detroit is an interesting situation because they are in many ways what Kerr wants the Suns want to be. Detroit was a one dimensional team (a championship level one) that has added more balance to their attack and managed to stay elite while developing younger players. This is what Porter has been selected to do. Alando Tucker and DJ Strawberry can contribute meaningful minutes to this team. Amare Stoudemire and Steve Nash can be better team defenders. I think it's kinda absurd that PRACTICING is going to be something new for this team. Porter has a challenging job in a brutally competitive conference but he's been successful through hard work so I think it bodes well for the team.

Here's a link to a Porter interview that provides some insight as to his coaching experiences with the Pistons.