Phoenix Suns All Time Greatest: Who's Your Starting 5?
by Wil Cantrell on Aug 10, 2011 9:30 PM MST
in Phoenix Suns Commentary
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Maybe we've done this before, maybe a month or or maybe two years ago, but hell man, we're in the midst of an ugly lockout. Do you have anything better to do?
So here is how how we'll play this game: You take the best 5 in Suns history-go new, go old school, whatever makes you happy. But let's just say you can revive the retired, traded, or deceased, what Suns players in their prime would give the franchise the best chance at winning a title.
Here are some ideas:
- Center: Maybe the easiest to choose from, since the Suns haven't had many or any dominant centers. Is Gortat set to average 20/10 and become an All Star? Do you harken for the small ball with Amar'e in the middle or maybe the multi-talented yet smaller Alvin Adams? (No you can't pick Shaq in his prime), or maybe you have amnesia and thought Hot Rod Williams or Jake Tsakilidis were quality big men.
- PF: Hard not to pick Amar'e Soutdemire. Or maybe not. What about Charles Barkley? Oooh tough one there. Chuck hit the glass better than Stat, yeah? What about Tommy Chambers? Remember Clifford Robinson? Nah, neither do I.
- SF: Here's where it gets fun. Shawn Marion or Grant Hill? Richard Dumas or Cedric Ceballos? Larry Nance anyone? This may be an easy one.
- SG: Memories of JRich are in the front of our minds. But what about Dan Majerle's defense? Remember Horny Hornacek hitting from beyond the arc? Remember backcourt 2000 featuring Penny at the 2? Then there was Joe Johnson, who without the orbital fracture may have led the Suns to the promised land. You want old school, how 'bout the greyhound, Walter Davis? We loved Raja Bell, and who doesn't have a soft spot for Leandro Barbosa?
- PG: Easy. Nash, right? But there were other greats: K.J., Jason Kidd, and don't forget D.J. (RIP) or Starbury (yeah maybe we want to forget him)
I've missed plenty of names, but that's what age and AZ Summers will do to you. help me out!
Here's a bonus for y'all. Who's coaching this All-Time Suns great squad-Do you go 7SOL with D'Antoni, do you go fundamentals with Cotton Fitzsimmons, or do you go Westphal or MacLeod? You know Jerry Colangelo coached a little in 1969, and went 24-20.
OK AND NOW THE BONUS: whose your 6th man? Barbosa right? or maybe you go Eddie House, why not Louis Amundson? Maybe you want an ex-starter as a 6th man. How about K.J. backing up Nash?
Screw the rules here. I hate authority anyway. Have some fun with this, get creative. What style jerseys is this squad wearing? Y'all like the early 90's black roadies right? Or maybe you like the 80's purple or white. Personally I hate the everything 80's except the Talking Heads.
Special Props go for the most obscure references around. Let's see some rec's for mentions of oddities like Kidd wearing the blonde do, or Cotton with a perm, Rich Kelly starting in the middle. Get as detailed as you like. Remember, we're in this together-Suns fans, NBA fans, David Stern haters.
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Starters
C- Alvan Adams
PF- Charles Barkley
SF- Shawn Marion
SG- Paul Westphal
PG- Steve Nash
Bench
C- Mark West
PF- Larry Nance
SF- Dick Van Arsdale
SG- Dan Majerle
PG- Kevin Johnson
by John Thomas on Aug 10, 2011 9:48 PM MST reply actions 1 recs
excellent use of the old schoolers, especially Van Arsdale
Blogging Suns Basketball. Twitter: @willcantrellphx
by Wil Cantrell on Aug 11, 2011 8:47 AM MST up reply actions
based on talent alone.. this team wouldnt mesh well imo
PG- Nash
SG – Thunder Dan
SF – Matrix
PF – Sir Charles
C – Shaq
even though shaq was not in his prime, he played very well for us his full year here, he was arguably still a top 5, maybe top 3 center that year. if i remember correctly he was a 17-8 guy, shooting something like 60% from the field. he just did not bode well with the rest of the team and its style.
I had to leave STAT out because he cant compete with charles, and i dont like him at Center
Im not old enough to see some of the older guys myself, but I would imagine one of them had to be better than 37 year old shaq, right?
My Dream Team
Starters
C- Shaq
PF- Charles Barkley
SF- Shawn Marion
SG- Raja Bell
PG- Steve Nash
Bench
C- Gortat
PF- Amare Stoudmire
SF- Dick Van Arsdale
SG- Dan Majerle
PG- Kevin Johnson ( just because of that dunk they always show on NBA TV )
Do not let Steve Nash and Grant Hill go away, please.
Otherwhise im not buying any tickets from you Saver.
We should try this Bench edition , no stars allowed.
Do not let Steve Nash and Grant Hill go away, please.
Otherwhise im not buying any tickets from you Saver.
by Lino Canaan on Aug 10, 2011 10:20 PM MST reply actions 1 recs
Great idea!
Starters
PG Steve Nash
SG Raja Bell
SF Shawn Marion
PF Charles Barkley
C Amar’e Stoudemire
Bench
PG Dragic
SG Barbosa
SF Dudley
PF Lou
C Frye
Reasons for Starters
Nash is the best PG we ever had. Bell compliments him well and is tough. Marion is there for defense, running the floor and to be on the receiving end of an alleyoop. Barkley is there because he’s the other best player we’ve ever had and we could use his added toughness and leadership. He also has a lot of respect for Nash. They’d both be the team captains and Barkley would be my go to guy in isolation. If fat Diaw could run, then so should the athletic Barkley. If not, I’m making him. Amar’e is there to dunk on peoples heads.
Reasons for the Bench
Why not go with something that we already know works?
Don't trade Dudley!
Starters
Nash
Chapman
Marion
Stoudemire
K Thomas
Bench
Barbosa
Hardaway
Ceballos
R Rogers
C Robinson
Might not be the best but damn I’d pay to see this show every night.
Hard to leave guys like Manning and Tony Delk off the bench but Penny playmaking with Leandro and Ced on the wings would be a show in itself.
by nevetsov on Aug 11, 2011 1:37 AM MST reply actions 1 recs
i always liked Delk. when he got hot, he was fun to watch. Rec for use of Rexdog.
Blogging Suns Basketball. Twitter: @willcantrellphx
by Wil Cantrell on Aug 11, 2011 8:48 AM MST up reply actions
C – Amare Stoudemire
PF – Charles Barkley
SF – Shawn Marion
SG – Dan Majerle
PG – Jason Kidd
6th Man – Kurt Thomas
Coach – Mike D’Antoni
"We're just playing basketball. It's not like we're going out to have unprotected sex with Magic." - Charles Barkley
Oops
I misunderstood, I thought we could pick players that have played for the suns but on this roster they are in their prime (I picked Jason Kidd from his prime years in New Jersey).
I’ll swap him for Nash
"We're just playing basketball. It's not like we're going out to have unprotected sex with Magic." - Charles Barkley
by Sunny Side Up on Aug 11, 2011 3:31 AM MST up reply actions
Starters
K.Johnson (Do-it-all point guard)
W.Davis (Offence, offence and more offence)
L.Nance (Very underrated, first nba slam dunk champion)
C.Barkley (The reason i watched basketball and follow the Suns)
T.Chambers (White men can jump, at least over Mark Jackson)
Bench
S.Marbury (He was Starbury as a Sun)
J.Hornacek (2nd round picks can work out if you keep them long enough)
G.Heard (Just in case i need to force a 3rd overtime)
C.Hawkins (So close to being my starting SF)
A..Stoudemire (I still can’t believe he is a Knick)
Since i’ve gone small ball coach D’Antonio gets the nod just past Fitzsimmons. The team wears the inaugural 68 Home jersey.
by Sunderstruck on Aug 11, 2011 3:27 AM MST reply actions 1 recs
awesome use of G Heard
Blogging Suns Basketball. Twitter: @willcantrellphx
by Wil Cantrell on Aug 11, 2011 8:49 AM MST up reply actions
lol, you'd rather have Marbury on your squad than Nash?
"I'm a nobody." - Steve Nash in 1997
by PHXSunsRunNGun on Aug 12, 2011 1:26 PM MST up reply actions
Yep.
I love Nash and what he done for the Suns over the years but i did always like Marbury and was excited when i heard we traded for him. Lossing Kidd did suck though. Marbury matured as a person and a player while in the valley of the sun. He played defence, ran the offence, shared the ball and could score in bunches when the team needed him too. I know Nash and Kidd were here longer and will most likely be remembered as better PGs but for those two and a half years Marbury was a Sun he put up some great numbers and i just loved watching him play.
by Sunderstruck on Aug 12, 2011 7:19 PM MST up reply actions
meh.
marbury was a ballhog. nash is one of the greatest offensive players of the generation, and a top 5 pg all time IMO. nash all day
Well, all this lockout means is that Steve Nash can rest up, so I'm fine with it. It better not cut into the season though.
I think Suns fans dislike Marbury
because some aren’t familiar with him. The Suns fanbase got larger in 04-05 and the Suns had gotten an international following. A lot of fans on this site admit Nash is the reason they became fans. I think people think Marbury sucks because of his attitude or time w/ the Knicks.
"I don't lift weights because they are heavy, and I don't run because it makes me tired." - Charles Barkley
I think your right
What i like about this blog is that for the first time i’ve started to look at the history of Suns players and i had no idea that Gail Goodrich and Paul Silas played a few seasons in Phoenix.
by Sunderstruck on Aug 14, 2011 4:15 AM MST up reply actions
He averaged over 8apg for us and over 20 points.
He was a great short-term PG to have during the rebuilding process. He kind of went downhill after the 04-05 season though. Age got to him too fast.
Don't trade Dudley!
Can I have 5 Boris Diaws?
Think of the versatility.
Carter having a glazed-eyes contest with Boris Diaw. Carter's winning, but Diaw might respond by eating his eyes.
Mmmmm... pastries
Carter having a glazed-eyes contest with Boris Diaw. Carter's winning, but Diaw might respond by eating his eyes.
yes and think of the laziness.
Blogging Suns Basketball. Twitter: @willcantrellphx
by Wil Cantrell on Aug 11, 2011 8:49 AM MST up reply actions
Mmmmm.... lazy pastries
"We're just playing basketball. It's not like we're going out to have unprotected sex with Magic." - Charles Barkley
by Sunny Side Up on Aug 11, 2011 8:49 AM MST up reply actions 2 recs
The Seven Swingin' Johnsons
PG – Kevin Johnson
SG – Joe Johnson
PF – Gus “Honeycomb” Johnson
SF – Eddie Johnson
C – Neil Johnson
Sixth man – Dennis Johnson
Coach – Frank Johnson
I'm Michael Beasley's imaginary friend.
by suns68 on Aug 11, 2011 8:34 AM MST reply actions 5 recs
ha….dude you got me with Neil Johnson. Never heard of him.
Im kicking myself for not adding EJ.
Blogging Suns Basketball. Twitter: @willcantrellphx
by Wil Cantrell on Aug 11, 2011 8:50 AM MST up reply actions
Neil Johnson was the Suns enforcer.
Probably the only time you’ll ever see the words Suns and enforcer in the same sentence.
He was more known as an ABA guy but he was tough as a truckstop porkchop.
I'm Michael Beasley's imaginary friend.
by suns68 on Aug 11, 2011 11:30 AM MST via mobile up reply actions
Here are mine. They have a certain "Ring" to them.
- PG – Steve Nash: No explanation needed.
- SG – Walter Davis: Franchise all-time leader scorer must be included.
- SF – Shawn Marion: Forget the ugly way he left. Amazing, versatile player when he was here.
- PF – Charles Barkley: Rebounding gives him the edge over Amare
- C – Alvan Adams: Undersized, but who cares? This is the Suns we’re talking about.
- Sixth man – Eddie Johnson: There are better players I’m leaving off, but EJ was a pure sixth man. Great scorer off the bench.
- Honorable mention – Nick Vanos: Was set to replace Alvan Adams as starter before tragedy cut his life short. The greatest Santa Clara player for the Suns before Nash came along.
- Coach – Cotton Fitzsimmons: 341-208 record as Suns head coach in three different stints.
- Owner – Jerry Colangelo: Brought Phoenix its first major pro team.
Blogging Suns basketball for Bright Side of the Sun from California wine country.
Twitter: @EastBayRaymundo
And...
They’re wearing these uniforms, and Al McCoy does play-by-play.
Blogging Suns basketball for Bright Side of the Sun from California wine country.
Twitter: @EastBayRaymundo
by East Bay Ray on Aug 11, 2011 9:16 AM MST up reply actions 1 recs
I also agree with this uniform.
Amar’e would love those short shorts.
Founder of the Coalition to Light Vince Carter On Fire (CTLVCOF)
RIP Seasons of Discontent
by Scott Howard on Aug 11, 2011 9:27 AM MST up reply actions
Agreed. Amare would probably love the nuthuggers.
Blogging Suns basketball for Bright Side of the Sun from California wine country.
Twitter: @EastBayRaymundo
by East Bay Ray on Aug 11, 2011 9:38 AM MST up reply actions
rec for Al McCoy
"Maybe I’m old school," Nash said, "but I signed a contract to play here and I want to honor it. I feel like I owe it to my teammates and the city and everybody to keep battling until they tell me it’s time to go." STEVE (God of Basketball) NASH
You're not fooling anyone.
We know you rec’d because of the nuthuggers.
Blogging Suns basketball for Bright Side of the Sun from California wine country.
Twitter: @EastBayRaymundo
by East Bay Ray on Aug 11, 2011 11:24 AM MST up reply actions
I told you Ray
stop goin through my drawers
"Maybe I’m old school," Nash said, "but I signed a contract to play here and I want to honor it. I feel like I owe it to my teammates and the city and everybody to keep battling until they tell me it’s time to go." STEVE (God of Basketball) NASH
With shorts like that
Ray’s not the only thing going through your drawers
Hey... I was there first.
"A fool knows the price of everything and the value of nothing." - Jared Franklin
I mostly agree with this.
I’d swap Stoudemire for Adams. So….(with their backups following)
PG- Nash / Kidd (I hate to do this to KJ but I needs Kidd’s versatility)
SG – Davis / Westphal
SF – Marion / Majerle
PF – Barkley / Hawkins
C – Stoudemire / Adams
11th and 12th men for amusement purposes: Oliver Miller and Taylor Griffin. They’d be required to perform regular comedy shows.
Coach: Butch Van Breda Kolff. Because the guy who only got 7 games as Suns coach could probably even win big with this roster.
Mascot: Original Gorilla when he was still funny instead of just a lame ass pizza shill.
Arena: Veterans Memorial on the outside and US Airways Center on the inside. Make sense?
Fan Blogger: Phoenix Stan.
Founder of the Coalition to Light Vince Carter On Fire (CTLVCOF)
RIP Seasons of Discontent
by Scott Howard on Aug 11, 2011 9:26 AM MST up reply actions
Well, I followed Wil's rules because he asked us not to (mmm, paradox), and only went with one player at each position.
But I agree with your second team choices. I’d rec you except for the gratuitous bumlicking of Seth.
Blogging Suns basketball for Bright Side of the Sun from California wine country.
Twitter: @EastBayRaymundo
by East Bay Ray on Aug 11, 2011 9:33 AM MST up reply actions
Who the hell is Seth?
I’m a hardline Phoenix Stan guy.
Founder of the Coalition to Light Vince Carter On Fire (CTLVCOF)
RIP Seasons of Discontent
by Scott Howard on Aug 11, 2011 9:33 AM MST up reply actions 1 recs
Can you imagine how well a Nash/Adams lineup would pass?
Lordy.
Walter Davis would average 30 a game without trying.
Founder of the Coalition to Light Vince Carter On Fire (CTLVCOF)
RIP Seasons of Discontent
by Scott Howard on Aug 11, 2011 11:12 AM MST up reply actions
I'll field this one for you:
why not Louis Amundson?
Because he’s bad at basketball.
Founder of the Coalition to Light Vince Carter On Fire (CTLVCOF)
RIP Seasons of Discontent
by Scott Howard on Aug 11, 2011 9:16 AM MST reply actions 4 recs
Starting:
PG – Steve Nash
SG – Jason Richardson
SF – Charles Barkley
PF – Amare Stoudemire
C – Marcin Gortat
Bench:
PG – Goran Dragic
SG – Dan Majerle
SF – Grant Hill
PF – Danny Manning
C – Channing Frye
Consistency baby consistency.
Think about it…Steve Nash would have like 40 assists a night.
Check out my blog:
http://walkingonthesuns.blog.com/
by Keith Owen Martin on Aug 11, 2011 9:26 AM MST reply actions
Starters:
PG – Steve Nash
SG – Dan Majerle
SF – Shawn Marion
PF – Charles Barkley
C – Amare Stoudemire
*Nash is a no brainer. Majerle provides 3pt shooting and the D to pick up for Nash in the backcourt. Matrix and the RMoR control the boards while Amare scores just a couple buckets.
2nd Unit:
PG – Kevin Johnson
SG – Paul Westphal
SF – Larry Nance
PF – Connie Hawkins
C – Alvan Adams
Re-sign BAMF.
Starters
PG Stephon Marbury
SG Vince Carter
SF Boris Diaw
PF Robert Horry
C Shaq
Bench
PG Marcus Banks
SG DJ Strawberry
SF Taylor Griffen
PF Hakim Warrick
C Jake Voskuhl
Coach: Terry Porter
Don't trade Dudley!
Oh, Owner would be Robert Sarver.
I have faith he could put a team like that together.
Don't trade Dudley!
No room for Earl Clark?
I'm Michael Beasley's imaginary friend.
by suns68 on Aug 11, 2011 12:17 PM MST via mobile up reply actions
if it's an Earl you want
I recommend Earl Barron
"Maybe I’m old school," Nash said, "but I signed a contract to play here and I want to honor it. I feel like I owe it to my teammates and the city and everybody to keep battling until they tell me it’s time to go." STEVE (God of Basketball) NASH
oh i see what you did there beavis.
i think you spent taylor’s last name wrong though.
Blogging Suns Basketball. Twitter: @willcantrellphx
by Wil Cantrell on Aug 11, 2011 1:40 PM MST up reply actions
Bizarro Suns needs to be its own post
Founder of the Coalition to Light Vince Carter On Fire (CTLVCOF)
RIP Seasons of Discontent
by Scott Howard on Aug 11, 2011 2:42 PM MST up reply actions
My All Time Suns team
PG Nash/KJ
SG Davis/Joe Johnson
SF Marion/ Van Arsdale
PF Barkley/Gortat
C Stoudemire/Adams
11th and 12th men: Jason Kidd & Jason Richardson
Btw, did you know that if Atlanta’s pick wasn’t top three in 2005, we could’ve had Chris Paul and Deron Williams? Also, we might’ve had Luol Deng and Rajon Rondo if we kept some draft picks. *Drools
Well, all this lockout means is that Steve Nash can rest up, so I'm fine with it. It better not cut into the season though.
also we could have had marcin gortat instead of selling our pick, and later being forced to pay the corpse of Vince Carter 20 million dollars to stand around and throw the ball at the hoop from a minimum of 30 feet. And the Luol Deng pick could have been either Deng or Rudy Gay. We sold our draft pick of Rudy Fernandez to Portland, which could have been Aaron Brooks, and we wouldn’t have had to give up a first rounder and Goran Dragic. And we could have drafted Roy Hibbert with the fourteenth pick in the 2008 Draft instead of sideshow bob.
Or we could stop caring about a league that pushes so hard for championships by the two teams that have already done it 33 out of 62 times. The Lakers and Celtics have been in 38 out of 62 Championships and won 33. People wonder why the NFL does so much better than anyone else, it’s becuase the top team has 6 super bowls in 45 years. The NBA and MLB aren’t even enjoyable when all you see are the same few teams at the top and 75% of markets have never had a reasonable shot at it.
good to get that off ur chest?
Well, all this lockout means is that Steve Nash can rest up, so I'm fine with it. It better not cut into the season though.
I see a pro000000oo-blem
Since when was Marion a SF AS A SUN?
He’s a PF, fools!
Voted most likely to say "I told you so"
in SSOL
that’s true
"Maybe I’m old school," Nash said, "but I signed a contract to play here and I want to honor it. I feel like I owe it to my teammates and the city and everybody to keep battling until they tell me it’s time to go." STEVE (God of Basketball) NASH
Give me the 7SOL system with
PG: Nash
SG: Majerle
SF: Walter Davis
PF: Marion
C: Stoudemire
PG: KJ
SG: Eddie Johnson
SF: Connie Hawkins
PF: Tom Chambers
C: Alvin Adams
Since I’m allowed, I also want EJ calling the game. I’ll take Jerry Colangelo as the coach, cuz he was the coach twice back in the day. And keep those short shorts away from my guys. I’ll take the Orange Crush uni’s that I like, even though nobody else seems to.
Voted most likely to say "I told you so"
reply fail
"Maybe I’m old school," Nash said, "but I signed a contract to play here and I want to honor it. I feel like I owe it to my teammates and the city and everybody to keep battling until they tell me it’s time to go." STEVE (God of Basketball) NASH
That's a good lineup for 7SOL.
However, I’d replace Eddie with Bell to add in some more defense and replace Adams with Gortat; that way you’ve got a unit that can slow it down and play half court if needed, but can still run.
I like the orange jerseys, but hate the new collars.
Don't trade Dudley!
Thanks man
I tried to make it so that there were shooters at every position coming off the bench.
Voted most likely to say "I told you so"
EJ, Al McCoy and TC
should be the only one’s allowed to call suns games.
"Maybe I’m old school," Nash said, "but I signed a contract to play here and I want to honor it. I feel like I owe it to my teammates and the city and everybody to keep battling until they tell me it’s time to go." STEVE (God of Basketball) NASH
here my full 12 man roster
pg: nash, kj , kidd
sg:johnson, chapman
sf: marion, hill, thunder dan
pf: barkley, hawkins
center: amare, gortat
wearing the risng suns jerseys from the mid 90s
coaching staff: Head: Cotton w/ assts: D’antoni, Westphal
owner and gm: the colangelos
Defensive Team
Since someone already did a 7SOL team, I wanted to do a Suns DEFENSIVE team (suns? Defense? What?)
PG: Kidd
SG: Thunder Dan
SF: Marion
PF: Barkley
C: Gortat
BENCH: Westphal, Bell, Kurt Thomas, Adams
Coach: Cotton
I know Barkely was a bad defender, but his insane offensive rebounding numbers meshes well with this squad. Not only could they still rub, but they would be FILLED with swagger. Nobody on this team is taking crap from anyone
by UASun on Aug 13, 2011 6:02 PM MST via mobile reply actions 1 recs
barkley? he of the backpedal and hope his opponent loses balance down on the block? Barkley illustrates the difference between defense and rebounding.
Blogging Suns Basketball. Twitter: @willcantrellphx
by Wil Cantrell on Aug 14, 2011 9:40 AM MST up reply actions
Even Rex Chapman is surprised he's made it on anyone's rosters.
Founder of the Coalition to Light Vince Carter On Fire (CTLVCOF)
RIP Seasons of Discontent
are you really awake at 5 AM on a Sunday, Scott? Tell me you never went to bed.
Blogging Suns Basketball. Twitter: @willcantrellphx
by Wil Cantrell on Aug 14, 2011 9:41 AM MST up reply actions
I never went to bed.
Founder of the Coalition to Light Vince Carter On Fire (CTLVCOF)
RIP Seasons of Discontent
by Scott Howard on Aug 14, 2011 11:33 AM MST up reply actions
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