Phoenix Suns Ring of Dishonor - Inaugural Member

On the weekly Solar Panel podcast this weekend, the guys and I broached the subject of the Suns Ring of Honor, and then momentarily delved into the possibility of a Suns Ring of DIShonor.

Let’s put it to a vote!

The Solar Panel’s Greg Esposito was the OG of this idea and we’ve agreed that Bright Side would host the voting. Greg will hopefully be making an appearance on here later in the week to voice his own opinions on who should be in the Ring of Dishonor.

First, let’s remind ourselves of who has been put in the Suns Ring of Honor - a distinction noted by a placard in the arena and a lifetime of pride for the recipient and the franchise.

*credit to Kenneth Koss of deviantart.com

Most recently, Al McCoy was inducted in the Ring last March, and Steve Nash was inducted last year.

Who would actually make a Suns Ring of Dishonor?

Who would you say most sullied the Suns name during their stay in the Valley?

I’d like to use the following rules:

• Had to commit at least the biggest, if not all, transgressions while on the Suns roster or in the Suns organization
• Cannot currently be a part of the Suns organization in any capacity

So let’s not drag someone through the mud of the Suns Ring of Dishonor if everything they did wrong happened after being traded away or before being acquired (i.e. Stephon Marbury really didn’t sink to ugly depths until after his Suns stay).

And let’s not bring current players/employees/front office/owners into it.

This is “FORMER players and staff only” Ring of Dishonor.

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I present the following candidates for the Suns Ring of Dishonor.

Vince Carter

Remember the Coalition To Light Vince Carter On Fire (CTLVCOF)?

In Carter’s half season with the Suns, he managed to periodically inspire and frustrate Suns fans to heights and depths rarely see among the more rabid.

Those were the great plays. Unfortunately, Carter came up short way too often during the Suns post-Amare hangover season where they tried to replace Amare and J-Rich with the Polish Hammer and... well, Vince.

Even Carter appears to have an ongoing disdain for the Suns since “playing” for them during the 2010-11 season after coming over from Orlando with Marcin Gortat and Mikael Pietrus. Just this past year, he blatantly disavowed any membership to the Book Club.

Robert Horry

Ah yes, Mr. Horry killed the Suns. He's killed the Suns before, during AND after his short stint in 1996. Many times over. Like the others on this list, he seems to have an axe to grind with the Suns.

Before coming and after leaving Phoenix, he hit big shots to win games.

While in Phoenix for three short months, Horry was best known for hitting coach Danny Ainge in the face with a towel.

Read this wonderful piece Rollin J. Mason wrote for Bright Side in 2014 on “Towelgate”. I could spend days putting together an article and wouldn’t come up with something half as good. We miss you around here Rollin!

Love this Jerry Colangelo quote on Horry after the incident, where Horry was suspended the maximum number of two paltry games per the CBA in place at the time.

``I'm of the old school, so I would have taken much sterner action if we weren't limited by the bargaining agreement,'' Colangelo said, comparing Horry to an unruly child and calling him ``a shadow of his former self'' as a player.

``My belief is that it was really frustration with his own play because his play has been sporadic at best and is very disappointing, from my point of view,'' Colangelo said.

Horry was traded before playing another game for the Suns.

I love Rollin’s conclusion to his TBT piece.

Here's To You, Cheap Shot Rob

So Mr. Horry, on this Throwback Thursday we salute you for reminding us that no matter how classless or immature a Suns player might be, you've set the bar so insanely high on the jackass meter that every night when we lay down our heads, we do so secure in the notion that every player on our team is a better human being than you.

You arrived to the desert bearing the weight of being traded for the iconic Charles Barkley, surely a tall order for any grown man, and you responded by pissing the bed and publicly humiliating your coach.

I can only wish for a more fair and just universe in which that would be the last memory Suns fans have of your existence in the world of professional basketball. Despite all your achievements, when the book is closed and all is said and done, this is how I will choose to remember you.

Good day, sir.

Of course, this TBT was published before the Morrii melted down.

The Morrii

They don’t deserve to be mentioned separately because they spent their entire Suns careers being each other’s best friend. And dragging the Suns franchise through the muck.

Speaking of Towelgates, it was Markieff Morris that threw a towel at coach Hornacek, a feat never caught on video but recounted by several fans and discounted by both Hornacek and Morris as “heat of the moment”.

And it was Marcus Morris who yelled vociferously at Hornacek during a timeout after Hornacek reportedly made less-than-inspiring comments about Marcus’ attitude.

Here’s Marcus.

And here’s Markieff.

There’s more. So, so much more.

Read this for Part 1 of the chronicling. Now read Part 2. You really should read these articles to get the full brunt of what they did to tear down a franchise in just over a year.

Neither of the Morrii were suspended or disciplined for their derogatory actions against the franchise, coach, teammates, referees and fans. They were eventually traded away for a grand total of a pair of draft picks that were included, among other assets, in the Marquese Chriss deal.

Sigh.

Lance Blanks

On a recommendation from the Spurs brain trust, the Suns new POBO Lon Babby hired Assistant GM with the Cavaliers, Lance Blanks to be his new “basketball genius”.

Blanks lasted from August 2010 to April 2013. His Suns resume includes, but is not limited to:

• Proudly claiming ignorance of the Suns roster his first offseason being hired, and declining to make any roster decisions. HE WAS THE GM.
• Taking Kawhi Leonard off his draft board after Leonard sweated through his suit during a pre-draft interview
• Trading Goran Dragic AND a first round pick for two months of Aaron Brooks, who might still get added to the Ring of Dishonor
• Acquiring three of the four most embarrassing players ever to wear Suns uniforms (listed above)
• And that doesn’t even include #1 free agent target of 2011: Michael Beasley
• Drafting Kendall Marshall as the future at point guard
• Actually wanting the Suns core to be Raymond Felton/KMarsh, Eric Gordon, Michael Beasley, and Markieff Morris
• Being so bad at his job that Robert Sarver looked like a savior for surreptitiously agreeing to a free agent deal with Goran Dragic in the parking lot while Blanks hosted Ray Felton a few feet away
• Calling Luke Zeller “the best shooter outside of games” in the NBA
• Replacing the beloved Alvin Gentry with #*@%%@ Lindsey Hunter, and otherwise chasing out some of the nicest, most genuine and most loyal Suns employees and players in his three short years. The list is too long to fully recount here, but it goes from guys like Rick Welts, Todd Quinter and Amin Elhassan to Steve Nash and Grant Hill.

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Let’s have the vote. Who would you pick as the FIRST member of the Ring of Dishonor?

We will be posting a new poll every day to put together the Suns Ring of Dishonor in order of least honorable to just-a-little-better-than least honorable.

Did I miss anyone that needs to be at the top of the list? If so, mention them in the comments section along with your argument and we will consider adding them to the vote!

September, Schmeptember! Who says we’re bored?

Let’s have some fun!