David Griffin

by styks on Aug 28, 2010 4:45 PM MDT

So I've been reviewing the post about D'Antoni and Kerr. I spoke with Kerr personally twice and found him to be very insightful and knowledgable in both instances. I also really liked him as an individual. He came across as very competent. Same with the time I met Mitch Kupchak. Though everything I've seen about Kupchak since I met him, has not been nearly as positive about his competence. It all seems to say Jerry Buss is the one that actually runs that team.

But this post is about David Griffin. I truly believe that he is the greatest loss for the Suns this season. He championed the trade for Dudley and Richardson, for Goran Dragic, and the drafting of Robin Lopez. Kerr relied heavily on his analysis of talent (which to me shows the making of a great GM, to rely on the 'underlings') and suggestions for trades and drafts.

So my question is as follows:

Does anyone else know much about David Griffin? Do you think that his departure is going to be a large hole that will be difficult to fill?

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not sure on Griffin

I read a long story once about how Todd Quinter was the guy who found Dragic and sold him to the Suns staff. Quinter is still with the Suns.

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by Alex Laugan on Aug 28, 2010 5:53 PM MDT reply actions

hmmm

hadn’t heard that, but if it’s true, that would be some really good news!

by styks on Aug 28, 2010 5:59 PM MDT up reply actions

here's this post I read a few years ago

http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/olybb/columns/story?columnist=sheridan_chris&page=EuroScoutingReport

Quinter was the original Suns scout who caught Dragic at a Eurobasket tourney in 2007. Loved him.

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by Alex Laugan on Aug 28, 2010 10:47 PM MDT up reply actions

there was a followup article I believe

a year later when Dragic was drafted, referring back to this one.

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by Alex Laugan on Aug 28, 2010 10:49 PM MDT up reply actions

Quinter liked "the Slovenian kid?"

Yeah, and now we all love “the Slovenian kid”.

by East Bay Ray on Aug 28, 2010 11:52 PM MDT up reply actions

And isn’t Quinter something more than a scout now? If he discovered Dragic, he probably got promoted for it.

by 8472species on Aug 28, 2010 7:31 PM MDT up reply actions

how did you manage to get to talk to kerr?

"Remember this sh*t at christmas!"-Terry Crews, The Expendables

by Bkj on Aug 28, 2010 10:42 PM MDT reply actions

seats by the suns tunnel

my in laws used to have season tickets that were 3 rows up, two seats in from the Suns tunnel. The people in the two seats next to the tunnel always leave early. So we would always slide over to slap hands with players and such. Twice while I was there, Kerr was leaning against the wall right there so I struck up a conversation with him. My father in law spoke with him multiple times via email too.

by styks on Aug 29, 2010 11:14 AM MDT up reply actions

The funny thing about front office execs

Is that theirs is the only position that is mostly critiqued based on hindsight. For instance, David Kahn is probably the most-maligned NBA exec right now, but people don’t realize that the rebuilding project in Minny is really just starting. Kevin McHale delayed it for years, and wasted KG’s prime in the process. It should have been done directly following the Joe Smith debacle. For all the jokes being made about Kahn, he is the one that finally did what needed to be done for that franchise.

So I try not to fall too hard for front office people, is my point. They are very often misunderstood.

"We didn’t go for coffee and this kind of stuff."
-El Dragon on his relationship with Sasha Vujacic

by RMason on Aug 29, 2010 8:19 PM MDT via mobile reply actions

Kahn's no idiot, but...

his rebuilding project should not have called for 4 point guards in the last 2 seasons. Particularly not with the Triangle offense installed, which requires no real point guard – just heady play from the wings. That is valid criticism.

Now, the trade-down of Beasley for Love in the draft looks like genius now, in retrospect. And he ends up with Super-Cool-Beas anyway on a salary dump, which is a nice pickup.

And, I even like the (re)signing of Darko. I am the only one, I’m sure.

by jc79 on Aug 29, 2010 10:05 PM MDT up reply actions

I have no impulse control.

by waxmonkey on Aug 29, 2010 10:11 PM MDT up reply actions

+1

Banzai!

by Suns' Sensei on Aug 29, 2010 11:47 PM MDT up reply actions

Good point about the triangle.

However the point guard thing has been overblown. Unless I’m forgetting someone, they have Ridnour and Flynn and when Rubio decides to come to the NBA he will either be a future star for them or a very nice trading chip.

"We didn’t go for coffee and this kind of stuff."
-El Dragon on his relationship with Sasha Vujacic

by RMason on Aug 29, 2010 10:13 PM MDT via mobile up reply actions

They did use their 5th and 6th overall pics on redundant pieces. They had Ramon Sessions too until recently.

by waxmonkey on Aug 29, 2010 10:24 PM MDT up reply actions

actually, it was Love for Mayo

not Beasley.

this summer they acquired supercool Beas when no one else would

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by Alex Laugan on Aug 29, 2010 11:11 PM MDT up reply actions

Right place at the right time.

They had 5 million free when Miami needed to dump 5 million in salary. Win-win.

Except for Beasley.

by waxmonkey on Aug 29, 2010 11:18 PM MDT up reply actions

well, and except for the TWolves

I think that was subtraction by addition

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by Alex Laugan on Aug 30, 2010 8:34 AM MDT up reply actions

You think Beasley will fit that bad for him?

by waxmonkey on Aug 30, 2010 9:35 AM MDT up reply actions

Beasley just seems like a bad fit for anybody

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by Alex Laugan on Aug 30, 2010 9:47 AM MDT up reply actions

How much trouble can he get into in Minnesota?

It’s the perfect location for him. South Beach was not.

by jc79 on Aug 30, 2010 1:18 PM MDT up reply actions

its not trouble per se

though drugs can be had anywhere.

its ruining the chemistry on your team with a non-team attitude. Think Kevin Love will enjoy playing with him?

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by Alex Laugan on Aug 30, 2010 2:40 PM MDT up reply actions

Actually it might work.

I’m assuming that Minny’s starting frontline will be Darko, Love and either Marty Webster or Wes Johnson, which would put Super Cool Beas on the bench.

He may find a niche as a 6th or 7th man that just provides scoring off the bench, since scoring is really the only thing he’s good at. He’s too one-dimensional to be a starting frontliner for any team, but I wouldn’t mind him coming off the bench. To be fair, I think it’s been over a year now since he produced any negative headlines, unless I missed something.

"We didn’t go for coffee and this kind of stuff."
-El Dragon on his relationship with Sasha Vujacic

by RMason on Aug 30, 2010 5:05 PM MDT up reply actions

yet the HEAT never really wanted him

Riley didn’t even want to draft the guy but “had” to because Super Cool Beas was the second-best college player that year.

Some of my bias is personal opinion. The dude looks stoned all the time. Even Earl Clark looks attentive compared to that guy.

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by Alex Laugan on Aug 30, 2010 5:21 PM MDT up reply actions

Basically, we agree.

I don’t have a high opinion of him either, but he might have a solid career in the league as a scoring-off-the-bench guy if he can stay out of trouble.

With the benefit of hindsight, it’s interesting that Riles didn’t go for KLove or Russell Westbrook with the no. 2 pick that year. You know, since he’s such a genius and all.

"We didn’t go for coffee and this kind of stuff."
-El Dragon on his relationship with Sasha Vujacic

by RMason on Aug 30, 2010 5:35 PM MDT up reply actions