It was quite a letdown to learn, after NBA owners and the NBPA spent full days negotiating on Sunday and Monday, that they had made almost zero real progress, and that the first two weeks of the season were officially cancelled. Now that we've all had a few days to let that digest, let's see where we go from here. More rhetoric, more charity games, a mediator will join labor negotiations, and Jared Dudley talks cold, hard cash.

Follow the jump for more....

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As a habitual antagonist, when people tell me I have to do something immediately, I usually get to it when I feel like it. Just to show 'em.

Of course when it means money,  perhaps I put aside my pride and do what it takes to fill my pockets.

This weekend the old boys and the younger boys plan to get back together in what David Stern says are vital meetings, with "enormous consequences at play here on the basis of the weekend." And perhaps it's true. Stern also recently stated, "the calendar is not our friend."  Derek Fisher adds a more believable slant on the situation:

"It points to the realities that we face with our calendar and that if we can't find a way to get some common ground really, really soon, then the time of starting the regular season at its scheduled date is going to be in jeopardy big-time."

Perhaps it was a foregone conclusion that the NBA would lose a chunk of the season, and perhaps if they are united with such reality, that this weekend is more important to Stern and the owners than it is for the players.

Nah, I don't really believe that either.

Said an anonymous owner:

"Stern's going to make a real hard push to get a deal this weekend. If the union makes a slight move, David will move....But the players have to blink first."

What does this spell for union chief Billy Hunter? Perhaps a small victory, a season, his players paid. The agents will be pissed, but who really gives a crap about what they think? They've been pining to de-certify the union all Summer.

Will the players "blink?" I don't see why not. Hunter has nowhere to go, no power in this situation. He resembles a tired, graying man, a politician whose suffered the slings and arrows of two sets of ravenous vultures. My guess is he's cashed in his 401k and purchased a small cabin in the woods where he can write poetry and swig moonshine on a porch. Any kind of peace is better than being stuck in the middle of a bunch of angry millionaires who WANT THEIR FREAKIN' MONEY.

The threats of marquee players going abroad to play didn't work. The angry discourse did little. As much as we all dislike Stern and ownership, they've won. The question is how much are they willing to give Hunter and the players so they can walk away with a modicum of success.

Lockout Links:

Delonte West Has Found employment

The Wrath of Stern: SB/Ziller

Hakim's Double Double and More from Paul Coro

It's pushing 90+ degrees here in the valley of sun stroke and skin cancer. It is early May, and there's good news and bad news. Obviously the good news for we Suns fans was watching the Spurs get dropped in the first round. The Lakers appear headed for a similar upset, meanwhile I gotta admit I've become a Grizz fan. The Bad News is that we are all on the outside looking in on the postseason. It's not much fun is it?

And to all the mothers out there, and all of you have at one point had a mother:  Happy Mother's Day to y'all from your friends at BSOTS!!

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For those of you who thought you'd just transition into MLB mode this Summer, think again. We here at BSOTS are out to provide TOTAL Suns/NBA coverage, EVEN IN THE OFFSEASON! 

That's right, y'all. Look for NBA Playoff coverage, game threads, Suns Season in Review, and special appearances from the BSOTS All-Stars you know quite well including, but not limited to:

If anyone has any specific issues or questions they'd like to see addressed, feel free to post below.

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The Suns don't play again until Monday, so here are some links to keep you in the NBA spirit. Oh and yeah I went out of my way to post a missed dunk video. Aren't we all a bit tired of watching Blake finish the dunks?

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A little warmup for tonight's Suns Vs. Nuggets matchup:

Gani Lawal Not Setting the D Leagues on Fire: From Ridiculous Upside

Gani Lawal has been on assignment from the Phoenix Suns to the Iowa Energy since the D-League season began and, while he's never looked particularly impressive in my eyes during his Development League stint, he may have had the worst game any NBA-assigned player has ever had in Friday night's game against the Tulsa 66ers.

Dragic Not Blaming Coach Gentry but Certainly Sounds Frustrated:  Paul Coro

"I didn't find the rhythm, didn't lead the team, and I was on the bench," Dragic said of Wednesday's game. "That was a coaching decision. It was the right decision, because I didn't lead the team. I just to have to focus on my game and try to do my stuff.

Suns Could Move Warrick to Starting Lineup Vs. Nuggets:  Paul Coro

The case to supplant Turkoglu has been bolstered by the play of his backup, Warrick, who logged starter's minutes (36 and 37) in the past two games and recorded his first consecutive 20-point outings since March 2008. Warrick scored 21 points in a recent win against the Denver Nuggets, who the Suns play Sunday.

Heat Hold Players Only Meeting:  Yahoo News

Having apparently tired of their mediocrity, the Heat held a lengthy players-only meeting following a disheartening 106-98 loss to the Dallas Mavericks. The Heat are now 9-8, far below their expectations for a season that began with LeBron James(notes), Dwyane Wade(notes) and Chris Bosh(notes) vowing to chase history.

Bedge Media Row Report: Blazersesdge.com

It was a pathetic non-effort, 12 minutes of occasional excitement followed by 36 excruciating minutes of some of the worst basketball this team has played at home over the last three seasons. A sluggish 15 point second quarter, followed by a stalled 17 point third quarter, followed by a hopeless 13 point fourth quarter.

Making Another Point The Case to Sit Chauncey Billups: Denverstiffs.com

As much as it pains me to write this, the time may be at hand to bench Chauncey Billups. Or at the very least drastically cut his minutes. Over the course of this season, Chauncey's shooting percentage is 34.4%, including a very bad 31.6% at the three point arc and a paltry 4.7 assists a game.

Terence Williams was Demoted to the D-Leagues bu Avery Johnson: Ball Don't Lie

...A few months later, he was upsetting the new-New Jersey coaching staff during the summer leagues by gunning during exhibition play. And in the month of November, repeated tardy violations earned Williams a two game suspension. Further violations, following the suspension, upset Nets coach Avery Johnson so much that he sent the second-year forward to the D-League as punishment.

Yup, leave it to me to rain on the rain parade, but I simply can't take too much from that win. Sure, it was fun. A lot of fun to beat the Lakers, but let's not delusionally assume that somehow the Suns have catapulted themselves into the top-tier in the West.

We know that the Suns have a lot of shooters and we know that there are some nights when those shooters will kill teams, but taking 40 three-point shots is not how you win a playoff series. Great win, but just like it's a mistake to overreact to some losses, it would be a mistake to take too much from this one.

We know the Suns are going to put up points and there will be fun nights like yesterday, but you better believe that Gentry and the rest of that team understands they are going to have to rebound the ball better to really win games that matter. As in four-out-of-seven games against the same team in spring time.

Link time

Phoenix Suns With Guns Blazing Down Los Angeles Lakers, 121-116 - SB Nation Arizona
It was a great win for the Phoenix Suns over the Los Angeles Lakers. Any win for Phoenix over the Lakers is a great win. But when it takes a franchise-high, 22 three-point shots, you don't exactly have a recipe for success. It was just one of those games where the guys made shots and the Lakers, for whatever reason, refused to defend the three-point line until it was too late. The vast majority of the Suns threes were wide open attempts.

Video: Phoenix Suns Drop 22 Threes On The Los Angeles Lakers - Desert Dirt - SB Nation Arizona
Reading through the post game quotes from both sides, you get a mixed bag of reaction. The Suns certain credit "hot shooting," but also seemed to say the style of play and fast pace created the opportunities. The Lakers, or at least some of them, basically are saying, "Whatever, they got lucky.

But to really answer the burning question, "Great (lucky) Suns shooting or poor (lazy) Lakers defense?", we need to check the tape and fortunately YouTube provides a video of each one of the Suns' 22 three-point shots. Watch and learn.

Remember when these guys called the Suns a "speed bump"? Oops..

Lakers 116, Suns 121: An Amber Alert Is Out on the Lakers' Defense - Silver Screen and Roll
The problem was that the concept of guarding outside shooters seems to have been eliminated from the Laker game plan. Every Phoenix possession seemed to start with Steve Nash penetrating past Derek Fisher and forcing another defender to collapse. That set in motion a series of quick passes that ended with a shooter catching the ball outside the arc with no Laker within a city block and five seconds to line up a shot. Goran Dragic buried three triples, and typically that would be a game-high total. Tonight it was only good for fourth-highest on his own team. Channing Frye hit four, Hedo Turkoglu hit five (WTF?! TRADE EVERYONE!!!) and Jason Richardson was unacceptably allowed to hit seven. There were plenty of open looks that just rimmed out, too. All credit to the Suns for generating those shots and knocking so many of them down, but the Laker D was just an epically fucked-up disaster.

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Welcome to my first Daily Links post.  

I went searching for some reports on the Suns' GM search and found nothing. This is surprising to me, but Childress and Turkoglu dropped out of thin air so I guess the Suns' GM announcement will do the same.  The only reason Demps hit the rumor mill was a source close to him, not the Suns.  Sarver does not seem to suffer leakers in his new front office.

But I did find some good nuggets of info, anyway.  

Will the Suns really miss the playoffs?  Update on Suns PF options, and is there one more really good PF option out there for the Suns?  What's left the FA market?

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