Poll: Overall grade for Steve Kerr so far...
by Alex Laugan on Mar 21, 2010 10:58 AM MDT
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PrintIt's time.
Kerr's contract is up this summer, and I expect it's up to him whether he stays on as GM or not. I think Sarver would love to keep him for many reasons, not the least of which that they seem to share the same vision.
I could write a long post about what he's done right and wrong, but everyone reading this post already knows those things and has varying opinions of each move. I could write a long time about MY opinion of his tenure, but then I'd be tilting the votes and I don't see a reason to do that. I'd rather a fair vote.
So I'll just give the highlights and attempt to stay as impartial as possible:
In June, Kerr agrees to take over GM duties from Mike D'Antoni. The Suns just lost a heated second-round series to the hated Spurs, who went on to win the championship. The general consensus nationwide was that the winner of this series would win the title. Suns just can't get past the Spurs. Sure, they had untimely suspensions of Amare and Boris for game 5, but they also couldn't win Game 5 after leading for the first 46 or 47 minutes. Bruce Bowen's 3 from the corner finally put the Spurs over that hump. And then the Spurs took Game 6 easily with the Suns' full compliment of players.
Suns enter summer of 2007 with league's highest payroll (or at least top 5), as Diaw and Barbosa's extensions kick in. The top 7 players, everyone but Thomas and James Jones, are under long-long-term contracts.
Kerr's major transactions:
Summer 2007
- Trades 25th pick to Portland with James Jones for cash (25th pick becomes Rudy Fernandez))
- Drafts Alando Tucker at #29, draft DJ Strawberry in 2nd round
- Trades Kurt Thomas to Seattle along with 2 #1s for cash. Thomas later traded to Spurs, and helps beat Suns in next playoffs. 2008 pick becomes, I think, Serge Ibaka? 2010 pick still pending, projects as about 24th
- Signs Grant Hill to play small forward on a vet-minimum contract
2007-08 Season
- watches Marion demand a trade before season because he dreams of being a #1 or #2 option
- watches Suns retain first place in Western Conf, but pick up penchant for losing to other top teams in West, including Spurs. The entire team is struggling mentally, behind the expectations
- Trades Marion to Miami for Shaquille O'Neal - Suns lose 6 of 9, but then win 15 of 20 to close out the season
- watches Suns lose AGAIN to Spurs, this time in first round in only 5 games as the Spurs use the hack-a-shaq method
Summer 2008
- Mike D'Antoni quits to coach the NY Knicks after bristling over Kerr's request for altered coaching style, defense-oriented assistant
- Hires Terry Porter
- Drafts Robin Lopez at #15 (ATLs pick from JJ trade), then Goran Dragic at #45
- Signs Matt Barnes and Louis Amundson to vet-min deals
2008-2009 Season
- After Bell and Diaw rip coach and org in papers on regular basis, trades them to Charlotte for Jason Richardson and Jared Dudley
- Fires Terry Porter at all-star break (28-23 overall), hires Alvin Gentry
- Amare Stoudemire misses rest of season. Suns miss playoffs, winning only 46 games
Summer of 2009
- Gives Gentry 2-yr extension
- Resigns Steve Nash and Grant Hill to 2-yr deals
- Trades Shaq for cash
- Drafts Earl Clark at #14 in first round
- Signs Channing Frye to small 2-yr deal
2009-2010 season: No moves during season.
So lets vote! And please feel free to discuss your vote in the comments section.
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interesting
after 35 votes, its pretty much a B/C tie. So, a C+ ? sounds fair.
Twitter: @dahking
Too late to change the stupid twitter name. Did it as a joke to my teenager, but now I'm hooked on the news-feed aspect of twitter.
What about a B-?
Bright Side of the Sun, for all things Phoenix Suns. Twitter: @iamtrevorpaxton
by Trevor Paxton on Mar 23, 2010 5:40 PM MDT up reply actions
cuz theres a few more D and F grades than A grades
But that’s what I’d personally give Kerr.
We’ll see what happens with Amare this summer.
Twitter: @dahking
Too late to change the stupid twitter name. Did it as a joke to my teenager, but now I'm hooked on the news-feed aspect of twitter.
haha I'm such an idiot. Just noticed the E. Changed to F.
Twitter: @dahking
Too late to change the stupid twitter name. Did it as a joke to my teenager, but now I'm hooked on the news-feed aspect of twitter.
C
Really, I know Marion is pretty bad now but trading him for Shaq…no. We could have traded him for Garnett :\
"What I've achieved now is something that I always figured I would as a kid. I've had that type of determination since I was a youngster playing around the playgrounds, getting dirty after school." - Amare Stoudemire
but thats not Kerr's fault. MARION nixed that deal. Kerr had it done
Marion to Cs, Garnett to Phoenix.
Twitter: @dahking
Too late to change the stupid twitter name. Did it as a joke to my teenager, but now I'm hooked on the news-feed aspect of twitter.
Ah my bad, I remember that Marion didn't want to be a Celtic, but Kerr still have got a better deal.
"What I've achieved now is something that I always figured I would as a kid. I've had that type of determination since I was a youngster playing around the playgrounds, getting dirty after school." - Amare Stoudemire
-1 to dking's revisionist account: Marion was told he would be shopped by Kerr and then a month before he was traded,
Sarver told him and Amare that he won’t be traded.
You also sought to present dumping salary and picks as trades instead…
talk about revisionist
I wonder what % of people believe that Marion was told he’d be traded before he asked for one. He was told he wouldnt get a max deal, and was miffed at that. Can you imagine us having Marion at 20mil per yr for the next 2-3years right now? gawd I’m glad that didn’t happen.
Twitter: @dahking
Too late to change the stupid twitter name. Did it as a joke to my teenager, but now I'm hooked on the news-feed aspect of twitter.
by Alex Laugan on Mar 21, 2010 10:18 PM MDT up reply actions
dking97 is totally right
Marion was NOT told he was going to be traded. He asked for max money and the Suns said no. That’s when the trade talk began. From Marion.
Twitter: @MikeLisboa
ummm
“You also sought to present dumping salary and picks as trades instead…”
Those ARE trades. That’s what they are called, and how the league operates. There is no “dumping” section in the Collective Bargaining Agreement. “dumping” is a descriptive term used to present a one-sided view of a transaction. So, who is being more subjective then?
Twitter: @dahking
Too late to change the stupid twitter name. Did it as a joke to my teenager, but now I'm hooked on the news-feed aspect of twitter.
I'm confused
Aer you just arguing with me for the sake of argument? Who are you trying to convince?
Twitter: @dahking
Too late to change the stupid twitter name. Did it as a joke to my teenager, but now I'm hooked on the news-feed aspect of twitter.
Who's being revisionist? Read for yourself
Sarver: Suns won’t trade core
Paul Coro
The Arizona Republic
Jan. 19, 2008 11:09 PM
f you love the Suns’ stars and what they do, rest easy and keep enjoying it.
If you want a team shake-up, don’t hold your breath.
Managing Partner Robert Sarver said Saturday that the team will not make a major deal before the NBA’s Feb. 20 trade deadline and added that nothing will change his mind over the next month.
"As far as doing anything with our core players, that’s just not going to happen," Sarver said. "I feel very strongly that we are capable of winning a championship with who we have, and I’m going to let these guys go for another shot at a championship."
National reports have run rampant with rumors that the Suns have discussed significant deals that included All-NBA center Amaré Stoudemire and All-Star forward Shawn Marion.
"They are just flat-out not getting traded," Sarver said. "We are going to play the season with our core. They deserve another chance to win a championship.
"Our best chance to win a championship is with the core we have. Whether we are going to trade Shawn or Amaré and whether we have the right coach and whether our GM is making the right decisions is just a bunch of nonsense."
Marion requested a trade during the summer but has put that aside.
"I don’t even worry about all that (trade talk)," Marion said Saturday. "I’m just trying to play ball. He (Sarver) didn’t have to say that, but it’s good that he did."
Shaquille O'Neal Traded to Phoenix Suns
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
Associated Press
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,329148,00.html
…The trade, a dramatic move by first-year Phoenix general manager Steve Kerr, signals an unexpected change in philosophy for the Suns, adding a 7-foot-1, 325-pound center who has won four NBA championships but has been plagued by injuries in recent years and turns 36 next month….
and then the Suns lost yet another game to the Spurs
the same way they’ve always lost to the Spurs.
Twitter: @dahking
Too late to change the stupid twitter name. Did it as a joke to my teenager, but now I'm hooked on the news-feed aspect of twitter.
Kerr's first move was to trade Rudy Fernandez to the Blazers for cash considerations.
Then his Kurt Thomas trade and two future first round picks to the Seattle Supersonics in a straight salary dump.
Hardly trade moves as presented by dking
Dude they ARE trades in the NBA
What don’t you understand?
Twitter: @dahking
Too late to change the stupid twitter name. Did it as a joke to my teenager, but now I'm hooked on the news-feed aspect of twitter.
Ｇｒｅａｔ ｐｏｓｔ ｆｒｏｍ Ｈａｒｄｗｏｏｄ ｏｎ Ｓｕｎｓ＇ｍａｎａｇｅｍｅｎｔ＇ｓ ｓｈｉｔ ｆｏｒ ｂｒａｉｎｓ
The Suns wobble-wobble on moves like this and pull the trigger immediately on ditching picks for cash, when they should do the opposite. And the Cavs had to ask themselves, “Are the Suns going to get themselves together before 3PM tomorrow or the Wizards pull Jamison off the table, or before someone else comes in and crashes the party and grabs Jamison?” And the answer was probably not. The Suns felt they were in the bargaining chair. They put Amar’e out on the block, have undermined his position with the team for two seasons, and then when people said “Well, if he’s available, yeah we can talk…” the Suns jumped up from the table, stormed out of the room saying “You want him, so OBVIOUSLY he’s worth way more than what you’re offering!” even though the only reason teams were talking to them is because they lowered his value. If I’m Danny Ferry I’m looking at the Suns and saying, “No way these geniuses figure out what they want in 24 hours. Pull the trigger, let’s get Jamison and call it a day.” And that looks to me like what they did. They got the guy they knew they could get, for less. No Hickson gone, Z’s probably back in 30 days, and the pick was useless anyway. Meanwhile, the Cavs now have Lebon James and Antawn Jamison running the pick and roll with Shaq cleaning up the mess.
More evidence of shit for brains running our team i.e. Kerr and Sarver
Kerr, Sarver and company sold draft picks with the notion that late first round draft picks couldn’t help win a championship in the present. They had tunnel vision and failed to look ahead and consider how those young, inexpensive players could help to build the foundation of the future.
Fast forward to February of 2008. The Suns are in first place in the west and look to be on their way to challenging for the title once again. One problem though: Shawn Marion was upset with his role and wasn’t afraid to vocalize it. Instead of finding a way to pacify the all-star forward, the relatively inexperienced Kerr panicked. He overreacted and blew things up in favor of Shaquille O’Neal. No longer did “Seven Seconds or Less” apply to the Suns offense but rather to how long it took for Shaq to get up the court.
Do you think a more seasoned general manager would make such a reactionary move with a first place team? Not unless that general manager was Mike Dunleavy and the name of the team was the Los Angeles Clippers.
Why such hatred?
I’m reading this and imagining if people I’ve never met were picking apart every move I’ve made in the workplace.
OK, so PHX has the deepest team (hands down) since Nash returned. The only reason they’re not considered title contenders is cause of how top-heavy the Western Conference is.
Maybe Kerr has gotten lucky with the rapid development of the team’s youngsters, or maybe he has an eye for young talent and heart.
Signing Gentry was definitely a good decision.
The major players he has cast away haven’t been missed. Marion is mediocre, Raja is always hurt, Kurt Thomas can’t do much besides raise his arms at this point, Boris Diaw is still out of shape and underachieving, meanwhile Richardson and Dudley are gelling great with the rest of the team and have bought in to the system.
This is a better team and a better orginazation than the one Kerr inherited.
Some people aren’t happy unless they have reasons to be critical.
+100000000000
Twitter: @dahking
Too late to change the stupid twitter name. Did it as a joke to my teenager, but now I'm hooked on the news-feed aspect of twitter.
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