The case for keeping this team together.

by Pliny the Elder on Jun 18, 2009 11:23 AM MDT Comment 8 comments

There's been a lot of talk about trading various players, and there's a meme surrounding the Shaq to Cleveland trade rumors that Shaq didn't really do anything playing with Steve Nash.

But people have short memories, and if anything is true it's that the Gentry era started with a bang. As Hollinger's article in March points out, this teams' offense during the time before Barbosa got injured was *historically good*, even without Amare. Shaq shot 68.4% during that time, and it was the kind of offense some of us expected to see all year.

Going forward to the upcoming season, we have to put away what happened this year, with the trades and changes in the head coach, and just forget it as an aberration. Those early games under Alvin showed what this team is capable of doing, and I'd love to see what level they can reach with a pre-season under their belts.

That's not to suggest that the team doesn't have some serious issues, particularly surrounding it's defense, but it's not clear to me that those defensive woes weren't caused mostly by bad coaching by Terry Porter. Certainly the inability of the defense to communicate on the court has less to do with individuals, and more to do with making sure everyone on the floor is on the same page. Team defense is vastly more important than man defense.

IMHO, if Kerr and Sarver decide to trade Shaq, then they should just go ahead and start the rebuilding.

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You got it.
Everyone forgets that the suns would have made the playoffs most years with their points total.
Dial up the Porter fiasco; a bench that had not been in the league for more one year and the injuries you can see why they didn’t make the playoffs. A coaching change along with the other two occurances mean big problems.
Ya gotta take a deep breathe, don’t do anything stupid and take a long/short term view (2-4 yrs).
Every suns player is probably worth more than all the talking heads nationally think. If the knicks had our bench the word would be up and coming.
It has to be an exceptional offer to get anyone that was on the floor at the end of the season.

by overthere on Jun 18, 2009 12:38 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

I'm not entirely opposed to the idea.

But it’s abundantly clear that this team isn’t going to succeed if we can’t play any defense, and our lineup as currently constructed has three ATROCIOUS defenders in it(Nash,Richardson,Amare), one below average to average defender(Shaq), and Grant Hill trying to cover 5 guys at once.

One thing I AM in favor of is not making any stupid hasty trades this summer; let Amare come back and we’ll see how he’s doing. If he’s doing well and SSOS is working, then let’s just keep what we have. If he’s not doing well, look into getting some value for him. Same goes for Shaq.

One guy that I’m pretty sure we don’t need though is Jason Richardson. Barbosa does everything he does better except dunking at half the price. If you can move Richardson for a guy like Kirelenko then I say you have to do it.

If you can move an aging Shaq for a young piece like Luol Deng or Tyson Chandler, then I say you have to do it.

But all of these trades(Amare to Washington for crap, Shaq to Cleveland for crap) are pretty terrible, and it ticks me off that management continues to put money before wins.

Steve Nash, the league's MVP, is a longhaired Canadian who spoke out against the war in Iraq and reads The Communist Manifesto. Quentin Richardson declared after a game-winning shot that it "was like Hamlet. It was a suspense thriller, and I killed them at the end." Amare Stoudemire, when asked to comment on a 22-point third quarter against the Kings, said, "I've got a tendency to jump over some guys' heads and throw it down."

by rsavaj on Jun 18, 2009 1:34 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

A couple of things…..
I’ll agree that Richardson is the least needed piece but Shaq for those guys who did not have a good season last year and have health issues. I’d rather have the continuity of Shaq and the seemingly positive effect he had on Lopez. Take a deep breathe there is still time, let it play out.

by overthere on Jun 18, 2009 1:50 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Have they put money before wins?

These trades weren’t made so far and in fact we could argue strongly that they resisted several money saving trades at the deadline.

Blogging Suns Basketball

by Phoenix Stan on Jun 19, 2009 9:20 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

I would guess

the real worry about keeping things together here is that the season will start poorly, Amare will be vocal and about his desire to leave and thus his trade value will plummet since everyone will know that he’s going to walk next summer.

That to me is the greatest danger: Amare is by far our most valuable chip, and if we knew for sure we could keep him great. But since that’s pretty far from sure, we have to protect against getting 10 cents on the dollar for him in Feb. or worse yet nothing next summer, when the whole league will have cap space.

Purchasing my Dragic jersey

by rosewood on Jun 18, 2009 9:56 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

That may happen but it is a chance worth taking.
All the positives suggest waiting…..Amares back and healthy, Gentry from the start of the year, bench is improved over the course of last year and you have 3 draft choices ( ones gotta be a help). But if they do start of the season poorly and Amare starts talking about leaving you then consider a complete rebuild mid-season rather than going about it piecemeal now.

by overthere on Jun 18, 2009 11:56 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Amare will be playing for a max contract (in a contract year) therefore, his game is likely to be exeptional this year.
The best we can hope for is at the end of the season (2010) we either re-sign him because he’s worth it, or, do a sign & trade for someone (which would guarantee his Max contract).
Worst case is that in 2010 Amare walks, and we get nothing for him, but after all the Suns have done for Amare, i doubt he will leave the franchise high and dry like that.

by Chucko667 on Jun 19, 2009 1:01 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

I have been watching all of this for a while I think keeping it together (minus maybe Rich) is the best option. We have got to get some consistency in our lineup if we ever expect to succeed. As to the Amare thing, I think if we do well, get to the playoffs and he has a stellar season I dont see Amare leaving for anything. We extend him and he stays. the only reason we havent done it now is because he is in poor shape medically.

Go read a book!

by N8lol on Jun 19, 2009 8:53 AM MDT reply actions 0 recs