Sunscast Podcast Episode 8: Can The Suns Be Fixed?
by Seth Pollack on Jan 27, 2012 9:10 AM MST
in Phoenix Suns Commentary
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PrintThis week we discuss the Suns 2-3 road trip and loss to the Raptors, the Robin Lopez situation and update on what free agents might be available this summer. We also discuss some ideas for making the Suns better now how some recent Nash comments about the lack of talent in Phoenix have been overblown.
Podcast hosted by Bryan Gibberman and Seth Pollack and presented by Arizona Sports 620 and SB Nation Arizona.
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Gentry is still having problems managing the rotation
and getting players the minutes they need to be successful?
Maybe my hairbrained idea to give mandatory days off and increase per game playing time isn’t the worst idea in the history of basketball after all.
It forces him to shorten the rotation and it forces him to give players more than 10-15 minutes on nights when their counterpart in the rotation is resting.
The Suns have depth at every position (it’s just not quality depth). This seemed like the salient answer to me from the outset. Obviously it couldn’t have hurt much, since I doubt the team could be a lot worse than 6-11…
Instead, he’s probably going to contiinue to implement the same doomed strategy for the rest of the season to no avail.
It was only called the mildly irritated house on McDowell until I showed up.
Great Idea, I wonder
if it will have any effect on the win loss ratio? If you have no talent and most of the team is under performing I don’t see that it matters much. It is very disappoining that players like Frye, Hill, Dudley, Lopez, Childress and Warrick did little in the off season to prepare themselves or to improve. At any rate, no mater how much you use or rest a player, if that player is not talented enough to help you win, it just doesn’t matter. Certainly Childress is well rested, he simply can’t play NBA basketball. No coach can make up for lack of talent. Even John Wooden could win with this team.
By the way guys, great job.
These podcasts are outstanding. You should do one every week.
The quick discussion about Beasley and Nash struck a chord.
Shouldn’t the Suns plans for the future be more independent of Nash? Shouldn’t they be implementing a plan that succeeds with or without him?
Nash has a finite and limited amount of playing time left. The plan should be to build a team that will succeed without Nash, whether or not he decides to stay another 2-3 years. The next version of the Suns shouldn’t be isn’t going to be Nash’s team.
It just seems to me like too much of the team’s planning is affected by Steve. Steve is the largest gravitational body in the Suns solar system. It seems the magnitude of the force he exerts on front office decisions may be a hindrance.
I don’t want the Suns to be focused on players that work well with Steve. I want them to get the best talent they can, even if that means incorporating a new system that Steve can’t be as effective in or a part of.
It was only called the mildly irritated house on McDowell until I showed up.
by Jim Coughenour on Jan 27, 2012 9:52 AM MST reply actions 2 recs
amen jim could not agree more
"SIR ALEX FERGUSON" Greatest Manager of all time
If Nash had such a great impact on the front office
then Nash will not make much of a general manager. I rather think Nash had no impact on front office decisions. What player wants to play with this bunch of non achievers? The team still doesn’t have a power forward or a back up point guard or a decent starting shooting guard. This is all “Failure of Management” which has been going on for longer than we all care to remember.
One quibble here...
I seldom stick up for the front office but I don’t think it’s fair to say they didn’t get us a decent backup point guard.
We had a perfectly serviceable backup with Aaron Brooks (granted he’s a different type than Nash, but he did lead us in ppm and it always takes a while for a point guard to settle into an unfamiliar system).
Unfortunate that he decided that he’d rather be paid in China than chance losing a year of his career to the lockout.
I can’t lay blame there on our front office. I see that as more of a league issue.
I'm Michael Beasley's imaginary friend.
by suns68 on Jan 27, 2012 12:15 PM MST via mobile up reply actions
I didn't suggest that Nash was pulling the strings,
but that the front office may be putting too much impetus on Nash being a Sun as far as their decision making goes in “future building” for the next era of Suns basketball.
Nash is not signed to a long term deal. His contract expires at the end of the season. Nobody knows whether he will choose to remain a Sun or not.
I am hoping that the Suns vulpine scheme is to attempt to succeed irrelevant of Nash’s decision. I don’t profess prescience relative to this observation.
The prudent approach would be to proceed with a course of action that is viable in the event that Nash leaves. If Nash stays, even better.
Basically, I’m saying that the goal of a front office should be to wrestle as much control as they can over the direction of the franchise moving forward, instead of deferring to players on expiring contracts. If I was the GM, I wouldn’t want Nash having power, I would want the power.
It was only called the mildly irritated house on McDowell until I showed up.
by Jim Coughenour on Jan 27, 2012 12:34 PM MST up reply actions
.If I was the GM, I wouldn’t want Nash having power,I would want the power.
That’s all you need to say. We all want the power.
Don't trade Dudley!
I just don't subscribe to the
“Gee, I really hope Steve stays or we’re pretty screwed” plan.
Be proactive (for once). Find something that works regardless of Steve’s plan.
It was only called the mildly irritated house on McDowell until I showed up.
by Jim Coughenour on Jan 27, 2012 12:57 PM MST up reply actions
This team has been proactive on many occasions…Marion for Shaq. Diaw for JRich. JRich for Gortat. Dragic for Brooks…proactive isnt’ always good
Twitter me at: @sethpo
by Seth Pollack on Jan 27, 2012 1:20 PM MST up reply actions
I could argue that some of those moves
were very reactive, but I also understand what you’re trying to convey.
At least I think I do, I can be a little obtuse and intolerant at times.
It was only called the mildly irritated house on McDowell until I showed up.
by Jim Coughenour on Jan 27, 2012 1:31 PM MST up reply actions
Some could argue that all of those moves were reactions rather than an actual plan set in place prior to the move.
My friend once said that the Suns needed to get a star SG in the off-season of 08 and he was right. Kerr didn’t make that move until 20 games into the season when it was clear the Suns needed more offensive power on the perimeter and that Raja and Diaw had to go due to their unwillingness to accept Porter. That trade could be marked as a reaction.
J-Rich for Gortat- Reaction to Lopez’s injury.
Dragic for Brooks- I can see this as being both a proactive move and a reaction.
Marion for Shaq- Reaction. Kerr had said just a couple weeks prior that they didn’t plan to trade any of their top 7 players. Then the Gasol trade happened.
Had Kerr traded Marion for Wallace and Prince in the summer leading up to that season then that would have been a proactive move.
Don't trade Dudley!
brown/ and dudz for beasley
sota gets a SG and expiring contract in brown so if he doesnt work out they can boot him. and they get a rotation small forward SG who is under a nice cheap long-term deal.
we get a scorer in Beas and can move J. chilly to back up Ronnie price until Redd is back in ready to play.
IF Redd ends up being good than he can start
Nash Price Telfair
Redd Jchill
Hill/(back up can be a mix of beas and jchill
Beasely/Morris
Gortat/Frye.
9 guy rotation. no more brown. dudz is a sacrifice
"Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose"
Id also be willing to move lopez and Dudz and Brown, or Lopez and Dudz, or Brown and lopez
which ever nets us Beas bit In a perfect world it would be Brown and Lopez. Both expiring and both are uneeded to us now
"Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose"
Why in the world would any team want Michael Beasley?
I thIink that everyone wishes the best for him. I certainly hope he can get his life on track. Perhaps he would be better off without basketball. Thinking that he would be some sort of “magic bullet acquisition” for the Suns is pure desparation and “grasping at straws”.
Rebuilding comes through the draft first and then through free agent acquisitions and lastly through trades. The Suns have nothing to trade other than Gortat and Nash. Would you really want to trade your ONLY TWO productive players? What kind of general manager would you make?
If I was the Suns GM,
I would have worn a tie with purple and orange on it to work today.
It was only called the mildly irritated house on McDowell until I showed up.
by Jim Coughenour on Jan 27, 2012 12:35 PM MST up reply actions
You kidding me
I would have worn this-http://cf.drafthouse.com/_uploads/galleries/2202/dd1.jpeg
Don't trade Dudley!
Why would anyone wnat Beasley indeed
He is a guy who shoots a lot… and a lot of them bad shots.
He looked can’t miss in College, but in the NBA he’s looked ordinary. http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/b/beaslmi01.html shows his shooting stats plumetting – he just takes bad shots, and his rebounding, which was excellent in College, has fallen off as well.
He’s just, dare I say it, not very good. I hope he’ll one day make a fool of that statement, but so far in his NBA career, he’s just not been good, and to be willing to give up Dudley – man, that is nuts.
Even when beas plays bad
Hes 10x better thans duds. Thats saying something. I love duds for his heart but beas has everything else. That offense in sota isnt built for him to succeed and he broke his finger.
if he came here itd be the first time he went somewhere of his own chosing. Hed have an offese where hes a playmaker not just a roleplayer
"Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose"
by phxpurple on Jan 27, 2012 7:58 PM MST via Android app up reply actions
I think Dudz is very good
And Beasley hasn’t been, and if he can’t be a playmaker for a team like Minny, when he was the primary option, I don’t think he has much chance anywhere.
I think Beasley has a LOT of talent, but he hasn’t put it together yet, despite lots of chances, and he is a character question mark and a great risk. I;d pass myself, unless the price was very, very low.
I don’t know if we could make a decent offer to the wolves involving lopez, they already have pekovic,miller and milicic and the way robin’s been playing lately even they might be hesitant to accept a trade for him.
We could just wait for free agency and try to make a strong offer to beasley then. This team needs talent and beasley is still a tremendous talent. I just don’t know if he’s matured enough to take a flyer on.
Then again, we do have some very high character guys on our team with nash,hill and gortat. Hopefully he’d view this as a fresh start for a perrennial playoff team. He’d finally have the chance to have an offense built around him, no wade or love to take his spotlight.
Plan A should be eric gordon, Plan B can be offering a max contract to both beasley and batum. Offering a max contract to those two may sound crazy, but assuming for whatever reason gordon re-signs with the hornets(still a possibility) We could do much worse than throwing everything we have at those two young exceptional talents.
If we were successful in signing beasley and batum and then came away with a very good draft(due to our potential high lottery pick and a possible lopez trade that nets us another pick) i’d consider it a very good and productive offseason for our suns.
I could see maxing beas
But gordon isnt helping his case by all his health issues. Id offer him between max and what NOLA offered him. Hes played 2 games but wants a payday. To bad the nba doesnt have franchise tagging. But yea anyways I think it goes beas, gordon,mayo, wallace, batum.
"Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose"
by phxpurple on Jan 27, 2012 2:21 PM MST via Android app up reply actions
I don’t think Beasley or Batum are worth max deals and I’m not sure about Gordon either.
Twitter me at: @sethpo
by Seth Pollack on Jan 27, 2012 2:50 PM MST up reply actions
Of none of them are worth max deaks
But this is what we r left with when most UFA/RFA’s left this off season are crap and and you have a team no one wants to come to. You must overpay and hope they outdo or play up to their contracs
"Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose"
by phxpurple on Jan 27, 2012 5:01 PM MST via Android app up reply actions
Awesome podcast btw
Moar moarrrr
"Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose"
by phxpurple on Jan 27, 2012 5:01 PM MST via Android app up reply actions
Beasley?
Eeek – he’s be atrocious in the NBA.
We should mend fences with Robin Lopez ...
and sign Brook Lopez.
And then we should trade Nash to the Colts for a Peyton Manning trading card. Because why not?
Great podcast
The BEST thing you guys do is not over do it, and keep it short. You say meaningful things and don’t waffle. Really well done.
Good as usual
I am just so interested to see what happens to Stoudemire in the future though! Will he be traded? Will he stay?
"If Gortat pulls off a real Dream Shake in-game this year I will shave my head.
Mark my words." Piotr Szczesniak 12/12/11 2:12 PM
Cardinals, Suns, D-backs for life!
I understand what your trying to say seth, are beasley,gordon,mayo or batum at this point in their careers worth the max? No, of course not. But i also have to agree with phxpurple. We have all this money to spend and those four guys(depite their problems) may be the best options we have.
I just don’t want to see the suns come away with nothing this summer after so much planning and saving.
Seth, what are your thoughts on finding a way to aquire diaw and then trading him later on to possibly try and obtain another lottery pick?
Phxpurple mentioned that it could be done in a three way trade scenario, but would diaw’s expiring contract give us a chance to net another lottery pick?
Assuming there’s at least one lottery team that’s concerned about re-signing their star that could use that money?
Why do we HAVE to spend our cap flexibility next season though?
I don’t see the harm in being careful who you sign to deals.
"If Gortat pulls off a real Dream Shake in-game this year I will shave my head.
Mark my words." Piotr Szczesniak 12/12/11 2:12 PM
Cardinals, Suns, D-backs for life!
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