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Phoenix Suns Practice Report: Where Steve Kerr Talks...
by Seth Pollack on Feb 9, 2010 1:07 PM MST
in Suns News
61 comments
Well, it's not like he said nothing.
He did tell some fun stories about being in the three-point contest (four times), he talked about how well the Suns are playing, he said that this time of year there's lots of phone calls between GMs where nothing gets offered and then, when asked about Amare's situation, he said, "I'm not going to talk about any contract situation or financial situation as it relates to our players."
Then he was asked if he was meeting with Amare's agent this week, to which he said, "I'm not going to talk about that either, but good try."
Then a few minutes later, Phoenix sport broadcasting icon Bruce Cooper gave Steve one more chance to which Kerr said with a chuckle, "Do I want that chance? You're doing me a favor? I think you want the chance. No, I'm not going to talk about that stuff."
If you are looking to read some tea leaves, he did say this, "It is a lot easier to make a move when things are not going well. When things are going well you are much more likely to go down that path but you always have to weigh everything going forward - in the future. Where does it leave you at the end of the year? Where does it leave you next year? We've got lots to consider, but we're really, really happy with the way the team's playing."
Kerr made it clear that things are going well right now and called the recent four-game stretch the best of Amare's season, "When he's really good, we're tough to beat." He felt that Amare's engagement and intensity were the key differences.
Of course, then he turned around and said this about the impact of the CBA on the Suns' thinking, "We're willing to spend money; we always have been. We've had one of the top payrolls in the league the last few years. I think it's more related to where the collective bargaining agreement is going, kind of league-wide. I think all the teams are hesitant to do much going too far forward because they don't know what the rules are going to look like. But as it relates to us, we are willing to spend to get our team better if that's what it takes."
Kerr also mentioned that this year is interesting because there are a select few teams that are buyers and then a lot of teams that are sellers so there is the potential for some big moves but you never know if they will happen or not.
Clear now?
Here's what he was willing to say...in all its bullet-pointed, paraphrased glory:
61 comments | 0 recs |
Welcome Trevor Paxton!
by Seth Pollack on Feb 9, 2010 8:18 AM MST
in Commentary
28 comments
Join me in welcoming Trevor Paxton (aka iamtrevorpaxton) to our merry band of writers!
Trevor has been a consistent reader and contributor to Bright Side of the Sun since 2008 and has proven his chops on numerous occasions.
28 comments | 0 recs
Two New Interesting Trade Scenarios For The Suns
by Seth Pollack on Feb 8, 2010 8:44 PM MST
in Commentary
165 comments
Here's the thing about trade rumors this time of year: There are a lot of them and they come from all sorts of places and they are floated for a variety of reasons. That's why the reporting source of the rumor is so important.
Is it someone with a track record of credibility and enough knowledge to provide the proper context and filter to the information that's being passed? Or is it someone that has a tendency to simply publish or report on the radio whatever whispers of smoke drift by?
That's why when Paul Coro published these latest updates, you know they are worth paying extra close attention to. Credibility and context.
Here's what he's got regarding what he describes as the two most recent frequently mentioned trade partners, Cleveland and Philadelphia:
165 comments | 0 recs |
Phoenix Suns Daily Links: Channing Does Good. Amare Situation More Convoluted Than Ever
by Seth Pollack on Feb 8, 2010 3:43 PM MST
in Daily Links
37 comments
Good for Channing
Help for Haiti " Channing Frye's Blog
I'm not one for jumping on the donation bandwagon, but people, I'm asking you if you could to donate to the Haiti fund. That is just a ridiculously sad situation and anything you can do to help, would be greatly appreciated.
Now, back to topics 1, 2 and 4: Amare Stoudemire, where clarity is still weeks away.
Extension agreement? Trade deal? Nothing and repeat the process all over again in June/July?
A few weeks ago I was fairly certain that Amare would be gone this time. Now, I am not so sure. There's no doubt that there's a lot smoke but most of it isn't from fire but from a giant smoke machine being used to disguise the real intentions of the various parties involved.
It's an old Army tactic used to hide your movements from the enemy. That's what this all feels like right now.
The good news is that Chris Kaman will be an all-star! I feel better living in a world where Kaman is an all-star.
37 comments | 0 recs
Maybe Hilton and Earl have some connections and this was just a little silly joke. Or maybe Hilton Armstrong is just goofy - you know like Gilbert Arenas.
But on the surface stealing the ball with 1 second to go in a game that's over certainly looks like a lame and classless move. But who knows what goes through the mind of a guy in that situation.
Forgot to h/t Sactown Royalty for posting Hilton's big steal.
1 day ago
Seth Pollack
8 comments
0 recs
Phoenix Suns Player Representative Louis Amundson Responds To Labor Dispute Issues
by Seth Pollack on Feb 7, 2010 9:56 PM MST
18 comments
The Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) that governs the relationship between the NBA's owners and players is set to expire in July 2011. That's a long time from now and yet the owners have taken the bold step of already making their first proposal so that initial talks can begin during next week's all-star festivities in Dallas.
The proposal from the owners is reported to include a radical change in the current structure which allows for the players to receive about 57% of the Basketball Related Income (BRI) generated by the league. If you think of the BRI as the giant pie of money (lots and lots of tasty money) than the percentage split dictates how the pie is shared between those young men who lace up their shoes and throw down the dunks and those older men who slip on their loafers and put up the capital investment to make it all happen.
Of course, it's more complicated than just sharing some pie. The two other big issues at stake are the length of contracts that players can sign and the portion of those contracts that are guaranteed. Guaranteed simply means that if the owner wants to waive a player they still owe them the remaining value of the contract which is unlike the NFL where players sign non-guaranteed contracts.
This first salvo fired by the owners has already elicited a sharp response from this anonymous agent as originally published at ESPN.com by Chris Sheridan, "The league has to be careful. If the top players are united against David (Sterm), that's going to make for a tough fight. It could get very ugly."
18 comments | 1 recs |
...senior vice president of basketball operations David Griffin – to New Orleans on Friday night to watch the Sixers play the Hornets in person.
There's not much new here other than Griff going to see Iguodala in New Orleans.
Why would Griff need to see Iggy in person when there's oodles of film and high-tech advanced stats available on him?
The Suns are being awfully public about their interest in this deal. Makes you wonder if they aren't playing a game of Chicken w/ Amare and his agent - making it clear that Amare doesn't have them over a barrel in hopes of him taking a smaller extension offer.
Btw - I still don't see how this deal makes sense for Philly unless they want Amare to opt out which they've clearly said they don't want to do. What are they going to do with the long term contracts of Amare, Brand and then they've also got Speights coming up and showing promise?
It only makes sense for Philly if they view Amare as an expiring contract but of course Amare's threatened to opt in this season.
What a convoluted mess this is turning into...
2 days ago
Seth Pollack
48 comments
0 recs
Phoenix Suns Practice Report: Birthday Boy Steve Nash Talks Trades
by Seth Pollack on Feb 7, 2010 1:37 PM MST
in Suns News
6 comments
Last season and early this season Steve Nash - 36 as of today - talked often about the need for consistency and expressed his frustration at the frequency of trades that the Suns have made.
With all the current trade talk going on, I asked Nash how he felt about the potential of another big mid-season deal. He initially responded by saying that it was out of their control and the team just needed to remained focused but he did go on to talk about his desire to see the current group finish out the season.
"I think we've shown that we're a good team and I think we've shown glimpses that we can be a really good team and it would be nice to continue to work at it together," said Nash.
Steve clearly understands the potential for any trade to be disruptive with the results being far from guaranteed, "Every time a team makes a trade it's a leap of faith."
The team presented Nash a birthday cake (hazelnut from Tammie Coe - who I can personally recommend quite highly). Nash of course, was having no cake but said that plenty of his teammates would be willing to break their diets to help out. His twin girls were at practice as well and Steve said he would in fact be a hypocrite and let his kids eat cake.
The entire team sang happy birthday to him with no dog pile followed by wrapping the birthday boy in tape as happened to Antoine Wright recently in Toronto. Somehow, I just can't imagine the Suns tackling Steve Nash and binding his arms and legs in tape.
More Ball Movement => Less Wear on Nash => Fewer Turnovers => Better Defense => More Winning
Coach Gentry talked about installing more ball movement in the offense which has helped the "standing around" and has also both reduced turnovers and taken some of the pressure off of Nash to create everything.
"Our ball movement has gotten better and that's cut down on our turnovers some," said Gentry who went on to say, "We just felt like we were wearing Steve down. He had the ball all the time and he was making all the plays and we had to do something to try to relieve the pressure from Steve a little bit. One of the things we looked at was having more ball movement and more people movement but making sure he had the ball at the end of the shot clock and still making plays. It's really worked out good for us."
The Suns have averaged 13.6 turnovers over the last five games which is down from 15 per game for the season.
Gentry gave credit to Assistant Coach Igor Kokoskov for recommending some of the new offensive sets which he said is borrowed from his time with the Clippers. See, not everything that comes from the Clippers is bad.
The movement has also helped Jason, Grant and Jared get the ball in better position to slash and score and yet is still designed to end up back in Nash's hands once the shot clock gets under 10 sec if nothing opens up. That leaves Nash "fresher" to make a play if needed.
Gentry also credited Nash for attacking more decisively when teams switch pick and rolls. The bigs are rolling quickly to the post to take advantage of the mismatch and/or Nash is shooting quickly.
6 comments | 1 recs |
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Wed 02/17 | 7:00 PM MST |
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Fri 02/05 | W 114 - 102 |
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Pacific Standings
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Los Angeles Lakers
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40 | 13 | .754 | 0 | Won 2 |
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21 | 30 | .411 | 18 | Lost 3 |
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Sacramento
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17 | 34 | .333 | 22 | Won 1 |
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Golden State
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13 | 37 | .260 | 25.5 | Lost 9 |
(updated 2.10.2010 at 5:02 AM MST)
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