Suns Win 4th in a Row, Defeat Nuggets in Denver, 109-97
by Wil Cantrell on Feb 4, 2010 1:26 AM MST
in Phoenix Suns: Game Coverage
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PrintVictory is sweet. Especially on the road against a quality Western Conference opponent. The Suns won their fourth in a row tonight, downing the Denver Nuggets, 109-97.
Tonight, the story for the Suns wasn't the performance of one individual. Instead, this was a team win in the truest, corniest sense of the phrase. Every Sun was a positive tonight in some way. You can hand out game balls to Amare Stoudemire for pulling down 17 rebounds, Jason Richardson for 8-15 shooting and 7 rebounds, Louis Amundson for his 7 rebounds off the bench, and Jared Dudley and Channing Frye who combined for 8-14 shooting. Goran Dragic chipped in 2 three pointers, 5 assists, 2 rebounds, and 0 (zero) turnovers in 16 minutes off the bench. And there was Steve Nash too. 17 points, 10 assists, and 2 blocks. Yep, blocks.
The Suns took the lead with 8.59 left in the second quarter and never trailed again. The lead swelled to 22 points in the 4th, and eventually shrunk to 12, but the Suns continued their balanced play until the end. This was a great win.
Tonight's Stats:
- FG: Suns 49%, Nuggets 43%
- Rebounds: Suns 47, Nuggets 39
- 3 Point FG: Suns 9-18 (50%), Nuggets 4-14 (28%)
- Turnovers: Nuggets 8, Suns 11
Commentary:
I'm going to keep this short and sweet. The bottom line here is that the Suns are playing with confidence. They've gone out on the road, played winning teams, put all the trade rumor talk aside and simply played the way know how to play.
There was no reason for the Suns to lose tonight, just like there was no reason for them to lose in New Orleans. Some may mention Carmelo's absence tonight as a reason for the Suns success. OK, who cares? It's a another notch in the win column regardless of who plays. I'm taking it, because every W counts and injuries are a reality in the NBA.
It would be ignorant for me to not mention the recent play of Amare Stoudemire. He's put up double digit rebounding totals in the past three games (ever since his one rebound debacle in Dallas). We know Amare can score. But when he's scoring and rebounding one has to feel like your getting an added bonus. You could say he's happy to be away from PHX, you could mention that Alvin Gentry had a brief discussion with him about his need to hit the glass more. Or perhaps Amare is playing with new motivation, for either $'s, new scenery, both, or maybe neither, You just never know with Sun Tzu/Max/TAT. But the fact is he's bringing the gorilla game and it helps the team win. I'm overjoyed to see his play elevate. Let's hope it continues.
Robin Lopez has been a huge difference maker. Lopez has scored in double figures and picked up 5 boards or more in 8 of his last 11 games. I must admit his offensive game is a little more advanced than I thought it would be. He's coordinated, aggressive, and he takes the ball hard to the rim. He hung in with the Nugget bigs just fine.
Numbers:
- Every Suns player registered a + on the +/- scale.
- Every Suns player who played, scored at least 2 points
- The Suns bench outscored the Nuggets 35-32
- The Suns are 14-2 when Jason Richardson scores at least 20 points.
- The Suns have won 3 straight road games after losing 12 of their prior 13 away games.
More (In Chris Farley Talk Show Host Voice):
- Did you see Steve Nash's 30 foot three pointer with the 24 second clock running down? That was cool.
- Remember when Amare posterized Nene on that dunk? That was awesome.
- And that time Amare came out of nowhere to block Nene's shot out of bounds? That was really cool.
Quotes
Alvin Gentry:
"As far as the class of team and quality of team, it's probably the best we've played on a stretch of road this year..."
-
Steve Nash:
"We're playing a little harder, we're a little grittier, the same characteristics I think you saw when we played well in November. We're just a little tougher, that's all. Coming up with a few more hustle plays, a few more loose balls, making a few more baskets just with determination. All together it lends to us winning some of these close games instead of losing."
Amare Stoudemire:
"Just going after it. That's been the most important thing, just being aggressive...We've been playing great man on man defense. We've also been able to help out each other. That allows us to really stay scrappy, get the rebounds, force turnovers and score the ball. We can score better on defensive stops and that's what we've been doing. We were in a funk for a while. We're kind of uniting now through difficult times and it's helping. It's helping all of us."
So, have the Suns turned a corner? Are they returning to early December form? What's been the difference? Discuss.
Next up, @ the Kings, 2/5.
Paul Coro: Suns Nab Road Win in Denver
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"BOOM!"
Remember when Amare posterized Nene on that dunk? That was awesome.
I’m not going to lie – I was surprised and a little disappointed he didn’t yell “MAX CONTRACT!” or even “AND ONE!”… but instead STAT screamed “BOOM!” right into Nene’s face and loud enough to be clearly caught on the hoop mic – it was AMAZING. STAT WAS A BEAST.
They say "don't swim with the sharks", but I'm faster than sharks so it's not a big deal...
Nah
I liked what Tim Kempton said to Doug and Wolf on 620 this morning – he said Amare was sending a message to Nene and the “bully” Nuggets – that Amare will get to the rim and they can’t bully the Suns like they thought they could.
If they were to give STAT a tech for saying ‘boom’ to Nene, they would have to eject from every game guys like Kevin Garnett and Rasheed Wallace who constantly taunt and talk shiz to their man.
They say "don't swim with the sharks", but I'm faster than sharks so it's not a big deal...
Unless I'm mistaken...
after the lead got to 22 in the forth, it never got closer than 12…I don’t want to be a stickler, but we dont get to talk about maintaining leads that often, so lets enjoy it!
Not gonna lie,
I was drinking and posting. Sorry about that.
Blogging Suns Basketball. Twitter: @willcantrellphx
If you are going to drink and post at least have the courtesy of bashing Loul Deng while you do it.
That is the new rule on posting while drinking.
Chris Farley Q&A sketch is priceless
Remember when there was lapse in the suns D in the middle of the fourth that cut the lead to 14? Gadammit! So Stupid! – good times.
Good timeout call by Gentry. Confidence was there, Max was there, Nash was there, Studley, Drago, Chan-man… Overall, great win to get the groove back.
The Suns - Never fails to disappoint 53% of the time, all the time.
Also, interesting quote
from Chancey:
“…defensively they are really not that tough to be honest with you…”
Really? Chauncey I like you but how badly do we have to beat you before you admit we defended you well? even your coach had this to say:
“…I will give Phoenix credit. I think it was one of their better defensive games against us…”
which is rare to hear from an opposing coach…
Fantastic game
Makes you wonder about the future of this team… They are gelling again and I would hate to see it get blown up with trades.
What a nice win
even if Melo sat. The team looked focused and determined.
The Suns management is in a helluva spot with Amare. Games like last night you would want to sign him for a near Max deal.
Who knows what will happen. Just keep winning and keep playing with the desire like last night.
amare
how many games do the suns have left before trade deadline?
If amare has turned a corner and is gonna start going 20-10 a game im gonna furious if we have to watch him do that from golden state or new jersey.
I actually almost reckon its worth taking the gamble with amare for another 3 years, i mean if weve seen last 3 games he can pull big boards numbers so would it really be that bad of a gamble.
Key note, when jrich scores 20 or more where 14-2.
good game by jrich today but it was another once in a blue moon game for him, imagin if we got ourselves a proper consistent SG who would avg 20+ basically every game.
We can't get caught up in his recent play.
Remember that stretch of double-double games he had a few weeks ago? Yeah, that was followed by a handful of clunkers. That’s how it goes with Amare. I really hope the Suns FO realizes this and doesn’t let it affect trade talk too much. Because what’s gonna happen is they’re going to decide NOT to trade him, then he starts putting up clunkers again and maybe the Suns miss the playoffs, and then we’re not in the playoffs AND we lose Amare for nothing.
You just can’t take the chance this year. You either have to trade him or re-sign him. What I’m sure they’ll do near the All-Star break is offer him a reasonable extension and then if he says no, they trade him before the deadline.
Plus get real about JRich
Any SG that is averaging 20+ is taking a ton of shots, JRich shoots a lot in Phoenix terms but not in SG position terms. I’d rather have a JRich who is shooting 44% from the floor taking 10 shots a game averaging 15 points than a SG who is shooting 44% from the floor taking 20 shots a game averaging 25 points. The Suns as a team shoot better than 44% night in and night out, and most nights shoot better than 44% from 3
amare you are killing me/us
it is obvious you can put this numbers any night, so why don’t you?? seeign the team playing like this past for games again raises doubt in my mind on how good this team really is… it’s have never been easy with our suns…
obviously, if he keeps up like this, we can play tough and trade only in case a) he says he will opt out and b) if we are offered deal we cannot refuse… regadring a), when can he decide to opt out, only at the end of the season?sure, he can verbally but I am referring to legally-binding document or statement, can he do it already b4?
can somene explain me sign-and-trade deal… obviously it needs two sides to agree, but shouln’t it be like “usual” between teams?
otherwise, such a nice win on one of the toughest home courts… I was hoping for 2-2 roadtrip, 4-0 was not in my dreams…
Energy Levels
From a 14-3 start where the Suns had out conditioned their opponents, to the current streak which comes just before a long rest, it looks like for the Suns to win they need to put up a level of effort which they cant/wont maintain over the season.
Good point but I wouldnt focus so much on the CAN'T maintain part (look at the old man Boston team)
so the suns CAN keep it up, but perhaps they willingly WON"T. The things KG did for a previously lazy Boston team and the way Chauncey straightened out Melo and the whole Denver team shows that it can be done with the right attitude of players…
now do we have that? I don’t know ..I’d like to see Dudley’s leadership first and foremost progress because his effort will rub off on players, Lou as well.
What A Game, What A Game!!
Just some random ramblings:
Whatever is motivating STAT, PHX needs to bottle it and dispense him a dose daily! He played like a man possessed last nite; grabbing every board with AGGRESSION like he actually wanted them! Not to mention how good he was on the offensive end dominating any and all of Denver’s big men!
J-Rich. If we could get that kind of production consistently, how much better will this team become?! His 3’s were falling. His post game was effective. Man, that’s who I’ve been expecting ever since we sent 3D & Raja to NC. I’m hoping and praying he can keep this up & stop teasing us with this type of game here and there…
DE-FENSE!! (stomp-stomp), DE-FENSE!! (stomp-stomp)!! The hustle and intensity from the bench seems to be rubbing off on the starters. They are actually playing with some tenacity on the defensive end! We’ll never be a defensive juggernaut but it seems like they’re putting forth the effort…and I’m lovin’ it!
50% from 3pt land makes this team hard to stop! Deep-Frye (I don’t know where I’ve seen this nickname but I love it) is starting to heat up on the road…that spells trouble for our opponents. His stretching of the defense should continue to give his teammates room to work.
Like Will said in his wrap-up, this was a total team effort and is reminiscent of our fast start. If they keep playing like this it will be a bitter pill to swallow to see this mob broken up if they decide to part ways w/ STAT.
I need a ring, DAMMIT!!
vs Kings
i just hope we won’t kill this momentum by underrating the Kings, the Suns always tend ti fumble when u least expect them to. If we play well enough, we break the season record of consecutive wins.
As for the trade talks, is there a way we can package a deal around JRich without Amar’e to get Iggy? i’ll love to see him play for us, as he takes away our backcourt defense problems. Also Amar’e seems to want to opt in, if he does, we pay him 17mil next year and after that, he signs for lower than that with the CBA.
Hope luck shines on the Suns…
Yep
That upcoming game makes me a smidge nervous.
Blogging Suns Basketball. Twitter: @willcantrellphx
+1
Me, too! It seems like this team always lays an egg against an inferior opponent after making a good run like this! The last game of a road trip is always dangerous but hopefully this team doesn’t believe that they can just show up in Sac-town and be granted a “w”.
I need a ring, DAMMIT!!
exactly
we have lost to GS, NY, NO wo paul, okc, mia and cha at home (as good as they are, still…) while we won over spurs, lakers, dallas, denver, orlando, boston… totally unlike suns from previous years… is it a good sign for playoffs? :-)
i’d think so…. since you won’t be playing bad teams in the playoffs it is good to have the ability to beat the better teams on any given night…. the Suns are just one of those teams that is talented but not consistent… if they can get focused for a 7 game series I could see them pulling the upset over some teams given their streaky nature…. in the same boat I could see them coming out flat and uninspired and losing in 5 games
It helps in a 7 game series
that there is substantial rest between games. That ‘rest’ factor massively affects our team.
They say "don't swim with the sharks", but I'm faster than sharks so it's not a big deal...
Agree
I dont mind loosing to inferior opponents we always play to the competition and I have never seen a Suns team with a lack of enthusiasm in the playoffs, barring we don’t get the 8th seed and have to play LA I could see the Suns win a series against any of the other teams.
I don’t think the dunk was so great. I watched it from both angles and wasn’t even sure it was a dunk. It hardly beats Kevin Johnson’s dunk over Hakeem Olajuwon in 1994.
What dunk does beat that?
Don’t compare apples to oranges, KJ was 6’1’’ Dunking on Hakeem at 7’0’’
They say "don't swim with the sharks", but I'm faster than sharks so it's not a big deal...
Answer: NO dunk beats that.
Bright Side of the Sun, where Suns basketball never looked so good.
by Trevor Paxton on Feb 4, 2010 3:56 PM MST up reply actions
It is obvious what we have to do....
Sign Stat, Lou, Dragic, and Lou to max deals….
In all seriousness it is nice to see the team really focusing on the glass and defensive end…. this team reminds me more of the team that we saw earlier in the season than the team of the last 30 games or so… keep this up guys
Lol you must be really high on Lou
to want to give him 2 max deals. I’d have thought 1 was enough.
The thing about this team...
is that we really only have to be average on defense and the glass and we have a shot to be pretty good because of the explosive capabilities of our offense
Jason Richardson
obviously getting this guy going is so important for the Suns…there’s no reason he shouldn’t be scoring 15 or so per night. It takes pressure off everyone else and helps the defense as well (trust me it does…somehow)
Blogging Suns Basketball . twitter: @sethpo
agreed...
J-Rich does seem to have the greatest value when he is posting up or moving without the ball… maybe this makes the other team work harder on the defensive end which translates to less energy for offense
I tossed out
Some nmbers a couple months back about JRich’s production in relation to wins….Let’s just say, when he’s good, the Suns are good as well.
Blogging Suns Basketball. Twitter: @willcantrellphx
+1 Superelkman
when he is playing with energy he does a lot of the little things loose balls, hands in the lane defensively, he can bang around and body up with the best of the SG’s in the league too.
But shooting contested 3’s make me want to cry…
Wow, everyone's got a short memory.
Unfortunately, I think this winning streak was the worst thing that could have happened to the Suns right now.
how so?
why can’t we be happy about them taking care of business…
i still stand by my stance that Amare doesn’t deserve a max deal and my opinion of the team is unchanged… they are still the streaky, play defense and rebound in spurts, good on offense suns that can be annoying and awesome to watch at the same time…
we just have to enjoy the ups because the downs will inevitably come again
Debbie Downer alert
They say "don't swim with the sharks", but I'm faster than sharks so it's not a big deal...
I just don't understand how
a winning streak after playing bad can be “the worst thing that could have happened to the Suns right now.”
Enlighten me.
They say "don't swim with the sharks", but I'm faster than sharks so it's not a big deal...
Because it might convince Suns brass
That trading Amare isn’t the way to go, and that it’s best to “keep this group together and see how it goes.”
Hold on...
Isn’t the current disenchantment with Amare more heavily based on the fact that he wants more money? Regardless of what happens off the court with either an extension or a trade involving Amare – getting 20-17 and 2 blocks from your PF is a gem.
I just don’t see how the team coming away with wins is a bad thing in any scenario…
Maybe you meant to say “Amare averaging 20-10 is the worst thing that could happen to the Suns right now” - but even in that case, is it really? Wouldn’t that improve his trade value if indeed we need to trade him?
Besides – If Amare were to accept a reasonable extension that fits the Suns budget – WHY WOULDN’T WE KEEP HIM? Correct me if I’m mistaken but I’m pretty sure the current disenchantment with Amare and the feeling of trade inevitability is because he is demanding 2-3 more million a year – if he were to accept a deal closer to what he’s making now, you’re telling me you don’t want to ride that Gorilla Game train?
They say "don't swim with the sharks", but I'm faster than sharks so it's not a big deal...
My comment works on the assumption
That Amare will NOT accept a reasonable extension from the Suns and his ultimate future is not with the Suns. So basically, I don’t want the Suns brass to just delay the inevitable again by “seeing what this team can do.” They already blew it once last year, by seeing if they could make the playoffs instead of doing the hard, and right, thing by trading Amare. So what happened instead was they gave Amare more leverage by being able to threaten an opt out this year (which wouldn’t have mattered much last year), and, while there’s no way they could have prevented it or predicted it, he got his eye injured, giving potential trade partners even more caution.
I would be fine if Amare wanted to sign a reasonable extension ($12-14m/year in my opinion). But, if Amare were willing to accept a reasonable extension, the Suns wouldn’t be in this mess in the first place. So, again my comments take into consideration that that option is basically off the table, and we’re looking at trading Amare or signing him to the max.
It sounds like you just don't want Amare period.
How is $12-14M reasonable for guy who makes 16+ Mil this year and is slated to make 17 Mil next year? Has his production dropped this year to warrant such a pay cut? (the answer is no)
???
They say "don't swim with the sharks", but I'm faster than sharks so it's not a big deal...
We're obviously going to have to agree to disagree.
Ok, maybe I’d be okay with his contract if it started at his current salary and decreased over time.
Your comment assumes I think he’s paid properly right now, which I don’t. Hindsight is 20-20 … back when he first got the contract, it seemed like he was, but two major injuries and a lack of leadership and defense later, it appears — to me, at least — that he’s not worth his salary.
I agree with this.
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."
Amare playing so well COULD enhance his trade value.
That’s what I’m hoping. But I’m also afraid Kerr and Sarver will pussy out again and say “Hmm maybe trading Amare is not what we want to do” and either just not trade him again, or sign him to a contract he’s not worth.
Why not see what they can do?
Last year they didn’t have Lopez, Dragic, Dudley playing well and improving daily (it seems). If Lopez can continue his development in the post/pick and roll why couldn’t that duo be a force in the frontcourt?
If Lopez can give me an honest 12-14 points a game (matching Bynum), which isn’t unreasonable considering his improvements as a starter and give me a solid defensive effort we can match LA’s frontcourt. Amare vs Pau is basically a wash, even though Amare will put up more points against Pau in 9/10 games against each other, and both kind of suck at D.
I’m not saying we will beat LA this year but if Robin can continue to improve (he has the potential to put up Brooke’s numbers since they are genetically the same) that would be the best duo of bigs in the game hands down.
It made way more sense to trade Amare last year because the future was bleak, but looking forward now there is a bright side to this story
Because I seriously don't see them re-signing Amare.
Maybe STAT will surprise us and decide to sign for a reasonable contract, but I personally really doubt that he’s gonna do that, or that the Suns will give him a max contract. Which means he’s not going to be with the Suns long-term. If that’s the case, they just need to trade him while they can and not shoot themselves in the foot again just to make it in the first round o the playoffs.
Doubt it
Maybe some of us around here, but I dont think 4 games is going to change Kerr and Co.‘s mind. It’s kind of irrational for men in such high ranking positions to change their thinking so quickly.
I still think Kerr wants to sign Amare to a reasonable deal. I don’t think he wants the guy gone.
I think it’s all up to Amare at this point whether he accepts reality and wants to stay in PHX
Blogging Suns Basketball. Twitter: @willcantrellphx
by Wil Cantrell on Feb 4, 2010 12:21 PM MST up reply actions
I'll ask you the same question
What is a reasonable deal?
jburning says 12-14… what say ye?
They say "don't swim with the sharks", but I'm faster than sharks so it's not a big deal...
I say a "reasonable deal" for Amare is around
A 5 year deal worth about $80mil.
However you want to break that up (whether starting at a lower number and having a yearly increase of around a million, a la Jason Richardson, or just giving the guy $16mil per year, with added bonuses like making the All-Star team, making an All-NBA team, etc.).
But, that’s if he’s playing like he is right now, or just slightly under what he’s been averaging for this road trip. If he puts up 21/9 per night, with a a 1.8 steals-plus-blocks average, I’ll be just fine. Chip in a couple assists? Even better.
If he can consistently play at the level he has this road trip (27 PPG, 13.3 RPG, 1 APG, 53.6% FG, 87.5% FT, 1.7 BPG, 4.3 TO), I say we lock him up for the max. But that’s the thing…it would be INSANE to believe that he (or anyone not named LeBron James) could average those numbers for an entire season.
Bright Side of the Sun, where Suns basketball never looked so good.
by Trevor Paxton on Feb 4, 2010 4:08 PM MST up reply actions
You think so?
That’s not much more than he’s making now. I think max contract to Amare is around 5-6 years for ~$100mil.
Bright Side of the Sun, where Suns basketball never looked so good.
by Trevor Paxton on Feb 5, 2010 2:33 AM MST up reply actions
I don't even think Bosh will get that.
I just can’t see him walking away from 85 million over 5 years that 17 a year. And I dont see any team paying that, but at 17-18 M a year I think he’d go for it.
I'd do 5 years 80
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."
Has anyone else read our favorite ESPN writer Chad Ford's
column this morning? It states that the Suns are still trying to sign Amare to an extension (at less than the max,) and will make him an offer in the next few days, and that Amare wants assurances from Sarver that he is willing to do what’s necessary $ wise to get the Suns back in contention before agreeing to any new deal..if Stat is willing to sign for less than the max, get it done. We are better of with him than getting 50 cents on the dollar for our most talented big man since Big Butt Barkley.
Any of us could have
Written that: negotiations ongoing…Amare probably wants to hear from Sarver what his plans are….Less than max contract offer….etc. I wouldn’t believe Kerr is simply sitting on his hands and not trying to negotiate.
Blogging Suns Basketball. Twitter: @willcantrellphx
I wonder if Ford is trying to repair relations there.
By saying the things us fans here in Phoenix want to hear.
“Amare is expected to get an offer from Phoenix in the next few days, and if Sarver and Kerr are willing to build a contender, he’ll consider it.”
That’s basically what I get from it. He didn’t say that exact same thing, but it sounds like Ford is trying to mend whatever bridges he may have burned when he leaked that there may have been locker room issues during the Suns’ losing streak.
Bright Side of the Sun, where Suns basketball never looked so good.
by Trevor Paxton on Feb 5, 2010 2:28 AM MST up reply actions
He also mentions that they are definitely pursuing a 76ers trade
Amare for Iguodala/Dalembert and that it’s the 76ers that are holding up the deal. He says the Suns might be willing to throw in Barbosa to sweeten the deal.
How is it the worst thing to sign Amare to a large contract?
If the CBA — which is frequently talked about is going to cut players salaries then Sarver would essentially have to bite the bullet on Amare but be sitting pretty for years to come. Looking at the big picture, If that’s what it takes to keep Amare here and knowing that down the road everyone else is going to be cheap why not do it?
Spend a little now save a lot later…
Uh ... because if we sign Amare for $18-20m/year
And there’s a hard cap, that means two of our players are taking up likely over half our cap. Say Amare gets injured again and his new contract is not insurable (which is a legit worry), then the Suns are accountable for that salary AND its cap implications. The worst thing in this league is to be stuck with a long, expensive contract for a player that isn’t producing enough to warrant it.
And that’s a problem in the CURRENT CBA. Can you imagine the pain a max contract drafted under the old CBA would cause under a new CBA, with a hard cap that’s shrunken even more from what is today?
You have to think they will adjust that
They would have no choice but to give a hard cap over time because teams that are already over the hard cap would what have to buyout their players??? Or teams gearing up under the old CBA signing crazy rich deals would no longer be able to be competitive in the league, they wouldn’t want that.
The way I look at it is if there is a hard cap you think that it would take several years for it to be fully implemented…
Any thoughts?
I suppose that's true.
They will have to figure out some way to grandfather it all in, rather than just say “Sorry suckers, you’re trapped all of the sudden!”
I didn't say Max though...
Why not give him a legitimate deal none of this 12-14 crap give him a 15-17 contract.
You are absolutely lying to all of us if you think he deserves only 12-14 a year, look at what moderately talented big men make in the nba… Kenyon 16+ mil, Zac Randolph 16-17 mil, Elton Brand 16-19 mil, Tyson Chandler (he sucks) 12 mil.
Amare produces more than any of those players, give him an identical deal to Pau… at least, its not max but Amare argue with it I guarantee it
I'm talking about averages so you can straight line it or 5-10% appreciate his salary.
But bottom line is those guys did get their contracts so that is the market, so lets not bicker about it.
If you look at the entire selection of big men who do you give those large contracts to? 3 or 4? Duncan, Howard, Garnett, Yao … so after that you expect the less fortunate teams who couldn’t draft one of these guys to just give up?
I think its crazy to pay some guys what they make, Ray Allen, Reshard Lewis, Kevin Martin, etc… shooters are replaceable but a big man is not.
So you wouldn't be a GM who is focused on winning
Look man I’m a business man just like you are, but unfortunately those types of owners don’t have much success in professional sports.
Look at my Tampa Bay Rays, they have 4 ex Goldman Sachs owners, so what did they do? Trade their Ace in Scott Kazmir who got us to the World Series to cut his 7M dollar salary…
Oh I'd want to win.
But the Suns, as constituted are not winning a championship with Stoudemire as their focal point.
I didn't say he's the best option for winning a championship
But he may be the best the Suns get to lead this team. I didn’t say he was the ideal player.
I read somewhere, I can't remember now, that there is supposedly going to be an adjustment period for teams
With the hard cap, the Lakers are a team that would be screwed royally. There is no way they could afford Bynum and Gasol under the proposed new CBA at their current salaries.
It’s really pissing me off that I can’t find the article, if I find it I’ll post it here.
Found it.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/ian_thomsen/01/29/countdown.trade.deadline/index.html
Not really an article, just some info Ian Thomsen has heard from GMs.
should have checked
the Daily Links…I had that one a few days ago
Blogging Suns Basketball . twitter: @sethpo
by Seth Pollack on Feb 4, 2010 11:29 AM MST up reply actions
I hope in the new CBA contracts are not fully guaranteed...
I wouldn’t mind giving Stat a little more money than I am comfortable with as long as all of it wasn’t guaranteed…. i think he is overall a very valuable asset but has a lack of motivation at times and a fully guaranteed ginormous contract would not help that at all
Or have the contract insured.
Where, if a player that has health issues (a la Cuttino Mobley, etc.) gets injured, he can be bought out (or something) for less than his total amount?
I’m still a newbie when it comes to the monetary aspect of the game. I’m learning, though.
Bright Side of the Sun, where Suns basketball never looked so good.
by Trevor Paxton on Feb 4, 2010 4:21 PM MST up reply actions
Contracts are generally insured.
I believe it’s something like, if the injury causes the player to miss 40 or more games, his contract because like 80% paid for by insurance. i don’t remember the exact numbers.
Of course, some conditions are not insurable (because insurance companies are bastards who only insure events that are not likely to occur and actually require them to spend money), which is part of why teams are hesistant to trade for Amare. They’re not sure if they can get his new contract insured because of the microfracture and eye injuries.
Well, the eye injury was a freak accident.
And while it seems to have affected his ball handling (rather, ball catching) skills, it seems like he’s bounced back from that one decently.
And Amare came back from the microfracture surgery an entire new (and better rounded…albeit on the offensive end) player. I’m constantly impressed with his ability to rebound and bounce back from major injuries.
I just wish he could go 3-4 years without having some sort of injury. I sincerely hope there’s not some injury in a year or two that will completely take him out of the game. Even if he’s not with the Suns at that point, as long as he’s not on the Spurs, beating the living bejesus out of us, he’s still one of my standing favorite players.
(This is me knocking on wood.)
Bright Side of the Sun, where Suns basketball never looked so good.
by Trevor Paxton on Feb 5, 2010 2:32 AM MST up reply actions
Ive said this time and time again,
Western medicine has progressed considerably in pro sports. Remember when an ACL injury ended your career, now you are rehabbed and back playing in a few months. Kobe had micro fracture surgery and came back to have the best seasons of his career….
+1
Where is this evidence of Kobe going under the knife?
Bright Side of the Sun, where Suns basketball never looked so good.
by Trevor Paxton on Feb 6, 2010 3:03 AM MST up reply actions
Google it
You guys are like old women, just nitpick parts of a post and slap each other with some +1’s.
I think you completely missed the point of my post, there really is no injury these days that cant be fixed and rehabbed, as you can see micro-fracture on both knees has not slowed Amare down not even one step.
With the amount of minutes players play each season at some point in most every players career there are going to be knee issues, that’s part of the game.
I'm sorry, but how bad is a team
that let’s Amare pull 17 boards, and let’s Steve get 2 blocks.
If you put that on a headline, and “Loch Ness Monster is Real” on another, I’d choosy Nessy as more realistic.
Nuggets may need to go D-League.
The main reason Stou(no d)emire is playing so well
lately — besides trying to improve his bargaining leverage — is young Robin Lopez. Playing next to a mobile big man who actually plays D has helped free up Stat to do what he does best, which is to score. He doesn’t have to worry about the other team’s big so much when Robin’s got his back. Best thing for Stou-emire’s career since Nash.
I have a feeling that everyone
Will be eating a huge amount of crow in a couple of years, regarding Robin Lopez. Me included — I thought he was a big goof who would have nothing resembling an offensive game and would have trouble staying under 6 personal fouls. But ever since he’s become a starter, he’s shown he actually has quite a good offensive touch around the basket, and that’ll only improve. He does need to bounce up his rebounding numbers, but I could easily see the guy averaging 16/10 a year or two down the line.
Even if they don't start running plays through him...
He’s still shown a very good ability to time himself for offensive rebounds, putbacks, and dunks. I’ve been very impressed with the way Robin has been playing since moving into the starting lineup.
At this point, we don’t need him to be an offensive threat. Any offense we get through him is a treat. If we trade Amare, we might have to resort to Nash running the PnR with Lopez. It’ll be a little scary at first (even though he has good footwork, it’ll still be a MAJOR step backward from the Nash/Amare pick and roll), but I think it could wind up being a good thing. Just think what Chris Paul did for Tyson Chandler. Basically landed him the contract he has now.
Bright Side of the Sun, where Suns basketball never looked so good.
by Trevor Paxton on Feb 5, 2010 2:37 AM MST up reply actions
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