Fact Checking the Suns Rebuilding Research

Players such as Shaq, Lebron, Nash, Paul, Gasol, Stoudemire, Anthony, Bosh, Garnett, Allen, and Johnson have all changed teams recently.

Ok

Shaq – Yeah ok when he changed from Orlando to Lakers 15 years ago or so

Nash – was barely a borderline allstar caliber player when he was available and changed teams kind of lucky exception

Gasol – clearly not good enough to be the #1 player on a championship team

Stoudemire – same as Gasol , plus would have never switched teams if he wasn’t damaged goods

Anthony – again not good enough to be the #1 guy really

Ray Allen – good #3 guy, clearly not franchise changer or franchise player

Garnett was 31 when he switched teams and past his prime, it was still enough for the Celtics luckily with the other stars on the team.

Bosh – yeah clearly not good enough #1 player

Johnson – again clearly not #1 more like #3 and one of the worst contracts in the NBA. When he changed teams he was merely a good young player.

Now how many of those left in free agency? Not Anthony, Not Garnett, Not Allen, Not Gasol..

Except for Gasol all of those players cost top picks or other valueable assets that a team somehow has to acquire first of all, likely through the draft.

In the last 25 years in the NBA there are probably 2 instances of true franchise players changing teams through free agency in their primes. Lebron and Shaq.

So few teams win a title, so very, very few, the question is would you rather be Sacramento, trying desperately to get lucky and draft a star, or Portland or Houston or Denver? I’d love to have Denver’s team of no-stars.

Besides which, we don’t need a superstar, we have one and his name is Steve Nash. If you surround him with quality pieces you can build a team that might not be favourite to win a title, but will win 55+ games.

If you want to win a championship, good luck, because you’ll need plenty of it. Cleveland had the NBAs best player and didn’t get one, and Minnesota had the best player and rarely made the playoffs.

If, however, you want to be very, very good, there is plenty you can do. For $35 million in FAs we could keep the good players we have (Nash, Hill, Frye, Gortat, Morris and Dudley) and add George Hill, Batum and Gerald Wallace. That’s a lineup I’d love to watch,. and one that could win 50-60 games. if you can keep the years to two or three, that is even a lineup that preserves flexibility.

YMMV, but if the goal is to win a title, 25 out or 30 teams failed in the noughties, and 4 teams succeeded in the 90s, and for virtually that entire time, I got to watch a the Suns be competitive. I’ll take that any day over teh misery of tanking and hoping against hope that the magioc of the draft turns me into OKC, and not into Sacramento or, even worse, the Clippers and their 30 years of ineptitude.

did you ever watch the Barkley/Tom Chambers and KJ Suns? They were awesome – on a par with the Marion, Nash, Amar’e Suns to watch.

I’m left wondering, maybe you don’t like basketball, and you live merely for a title. I don’t. I LOVE to watch the Suns play and play well. I want them to have a chance to win every game. A title would be nice, but as long as they play the traditional Suns running and gunning, PG lead style, from KJ to Kidd to Marbury to Nash, I’ll be happy, because this team has almost always been fun to watch.

As one grows older, and you inevitably don’t become the richest man alive, the best looking and a million other things you fail to be the best at, rather than only appreciating the best life has to offer, you learn to take pleasure in everything, and a 55 win team is one I’d love to watch.