In the Business of Winning
by PanamaSun on Jul 31, 2009 7:55 AM MDT
17 comments
I've been quiet this offseason. Really quiet. Truth is that I hate trade talks. I can't take them. It's hard for me to look at basketball like a business, maybe the fact that I played for my country for $200 bucks a month has something to do with that. Who knows?
I still believe that there's people who choose winning over money, I believe there's people who swallow their pride to play like a team and accomplish the desired goal. Call me naïve, I've heard it before. It still amazes me how good players go to awful teams just to get a big fat pay check. Where's their desire to win? How can they feel good about themselves after losing most of the games? When I ask these questions out loud, there's usually a friend who answers the following: "P-Sun, I guess it's easy to lose games when you go home driving a Ferrari and a super model wife/girlfriend is waiting for you in bed just wearing Victoria's Secret underwear". Yup, I guess he's right. When the Panama National Team lost I had to go back home in a bus in the middle of the night with two dollars in my wallet...so yeah, I guess that makes losing a little more difficult. So, on game days there was only one thing on my mind when I was bringing the ball down the court: Win. This. Game. Do whatever it takes, there's no way I'm making that ride back home harder than it already is. And this is how everyone should play the game.
You play basketball to win, period. Whoever tells you they play basketball to have "fun" is lying. Steve Nash might say it, but I don't believe him. Think about it. The guy trains as hard as anyone, is on a very strict diet, plays a style of basketball that takes a toll on his body and he's been really close of getting that elusive Larry O'Brien trophy. Do you really think he has given up? Does his decision to stay with Phoenix shows that he doesn't care about the championship? No and Hell No.
Sure, He has said on several interviews that he'll be at peace if he retires and never wins a ring but he also has mentioned that if he doesn't feel he has a shot at winning it, if he doesn't want to compete and if doesn't feel he's got that fire in him he'll just retire.
I agree that he sounded bored on the interview, he talked a lot about chemistry and having fun but maybe he's tired of talking and saying they are contenders, maybe it's time to prove it on the court instead of saying it. I'll never question Nash's desire to win. Even when he's playing badly I feel he gives everything he's got on the court and I believe he'll do the same thing when the season starts.
Everyone's down on the Suns. I get that. You look at the Mavs and Spurs and everyone getting better and it's hard to think the Suns will have a shot but I'll tell you this: As long as Steve Nash has a healthy Amar'e receiving his passes, as long as LB continues to blow by defenders, as long as Lou is blocking shots and Dudley hustling, as long as Richardson is doing 360 dunks without Lebron being near him...The Suns will continue to be a very tough team.
NBA basketball is a business but it's also a game. Games are played to win and sometimes winning starts by getting along with your team mates, Task Cohesion. Back to basics.
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I agree
I agree completely. There is still a lot of talent here and if we get enough out the younger players, Amare decides to prove his worth for free agency, and Steve & Grant stay healthy, we can do well this year. Certainly not a favorite like we were a few years back, but maybe a dark horse at the end of the season. And in the playoffs, anything (almost) can happen. (Of course, I’m an optimist at the beginning of every season. I’ll believe until you give me reason not to.)
by psknapp on Jul 31, 2009 9:36 AM MDT reply actions 0 recs
True
I just want to give this team a chance. Suns fans (including me) usually rush and panic. I felt like that when I heard Grant Hill was listening to other team’s offers. Now that we know that Hill and Nash are staying, I’ll try to keep a positive vibe. I know we are not elite anymore but I’m sure that if we are indeed going down…we’ll go down swinging.
"Basketball doesn't build character. It reveals it"
by PanamaSun on Jul 31, 2009 11:29 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs
Well said J-sun
I’m always suprised that people who should know better jump on every word an athlete says in an interview…personally I’m inclined to think that Nash is just tired of the talk so he’s giving us the spiel that will result in the least amount of follow up questions.
I think the fire is still in him and I think we’ll see that come october
by Fritzy on Jul 31, 2009 10:27 AM MDT reply actions 0 recs
Is P-Sun
But J-Sun is my pal and he can take credit for the post. I’ll take credit for the next one he writes haha. I feel the same way about Nash. Maybe he’s tired of saying the same thing every year. I can’t wait for October.
"Basketball doesn't build character. It reveals it"
by PanamaSun on Jul 31, 2009 1:37 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs
And thanks for sticking up for JSun Richardsun
He got screwed on that no-call
Mmmmm ... Guinness
by JSun on Aug 3, 2009 12:48 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs
Good to hear another optimist...
Look, Nash is as competitive as anyone. That is why he is one of the best in crunch time. Nash, Amare, Hill, JRich all have one goal – win the title. Just because nobody believes they can means exactly nothing. Last year the AZ Cardinals were 200 – 1 odds to win the Super Bowl and they came within 2 minutes of doing just that (just thougt I’d remind everyone who might have forgot)! Last season was supposed to be LeBron’s year in the East and the Magic just dominated them in the ECF. My point is, we have talent, we have a philosophy, we have a bench, we have a good mixture of youth and experience and we play in a league where anything can happen. Yes, I wish they would have gotten a PG in the draft, others wish they would have axed Amare and others still would have them trade Nash for a bag of magic beans. The fact is that the Suns didn’t do those things but lets not start the doomsday prophecies just yet…we can at least wait until preseason, right? After all, it could be worse…we could root for the Grizzlies.
by watdogg10 on Jul 31, 2009 10:42 AM MDT reply actions 0 recs
And here I thought you were dead or something, Panama.
I still plan on taking the wait and see approach before I get too excited. This team could go places, but I don’t want them breaking my heart again.
"Fun fact: Larry Hughes, who couldn’t stay healthy if all his human parts were replaced with bionic implants, is out for the next four weeks with a bruised leg. Do you think that Willis Reed ever reads about all these players missing time with bruises and sprained fingers and throws up in his mouth a little?"
by Diosnomeama on Jul 31, 2009 2:21 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs
You missed me
didn’t ya? Well, I feel the same way but there’s something about Shaq leaving that makes me feel confident that the team will start playing well. I’m just crossing my fingers that Amar’e is ready to play. He’s the key to everything.
"Basketball doesn't build character. It reveals it"
by PanamaSun on Jul 31, 2009 2:38 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs
Of course. Without you around, I had to fall back on boring old English :)
"Fun fact: Larry Hughes, who couldn’t stay healthy if all his human parts were replaced with bionic implants, is out for the next four weeks with a bruised leg. Do you think that Willis Reed ever reads about all these players missing time with bruises and sprained fingers and throws up in his mouth a little?"
by Diosnomeama on Jul 31, 2009 3:15 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs
Yes!
Nice post, Panama. I agree wholeheartedly. Winning and having fun aren’t mutually exclusive and it’s a bit of chicken and egg. Does winning make things more fun? Sure. Can you have fun without winning? Yes, but it’s more rare. Can having fun lead to winning more games? I think so. And having less pressure and lowered expectations about winning it all can ironically, possibly, maybe make it a bit more likely that you could actually win. One game at a time.
by AllanGentry on Jul 31, 2009 4:22 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs
Yeah…the 2004-05 Suns did not get high expectations, and the 1992-93 Suns were sneered at before and during the season.
by lonesomepoint on Jul 31, 2009 9:40 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs
And the 1993-94, 1994-95 and 2006-07 Suns teams had enormous expectations but flopped. The 1993-94 and 2006-07 teams just had bad luck. The 1994-95 team was different. It had expectations so high that they make the 2006-07 team look disrespected; people thought it would be the first team to win 70 games.
It started out devastating, but something went seriously wrong with the team in the second half of the season. It finished with only 59 wins, and got embarrassed by the Rockets again. (Before there were the Spurs, there were the Houston Rocks. But they didn’t have a Bruce Bowen or a Nanu Ginobili.)
by lonesomepoint on Jul 31, 2009 9:50 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs
If you like it, rec it! =D
Who are these guys again?
by ZonaFlash on Aug 1, 2009 3:38 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs
Nash ROCKS
That is what I love about Nash. Win or lose he leaves everything on the court EVERY game. Even when he doesn’t play well you can see he does his best to win and how can you not like that. Great post Panama!
by jvvenez on Aug 3, 2009 2:25 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs
Great post. P-Sun.
I like the simplistic view of being an athlete. There are winners and there are the rest. Winners may not always win, but they always go balls out, and they always need a chance to win. And that is what Nash has. Win what? I don’t know, but you’ve got to believe he has too much pride to walk into or stay in a situation where he isn’t surrounded by guys with talent and pride.
by Wil Cantrell on Aug 3, 2009 9:41 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs
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