Vindication and Confusion

A few weeks ago as the Suns’ season was coming to a close I had planned on writing a nice little post about Steve Kerr and the vindication he must have felt due to the success of the season. He received all kinds of criticism after taking the general manager position on a team that was consistently winning 55-60 games every year. Now I’m a little confused after Kerr resigned earlier this week. There has to be some sort of explanation that we just aren’t hearing about.

Kerr, despite the criticism, has done an excellent job under the circumstances that he entered into. Now, without gaining any more actual information we still have better understanding of the difficulty of the job that Kerr was dealing with. Let’s run down the list of poor front office moves the Suns have had the last few years and take a closer look at who was at fault for these. All dates courtesy of Wikipedia.

Spring 2004: Robert Sarver takes over as majority owner of the Phoenix Suns.
No one really knew what this meant at the time, but anytime a well-respected basketball man and owner (Jerry Colangelo) leaves power things can get dicey.

Summer 2004: Steve Nash signs six-year, $63 million dollar contract.
Obviously this is one of the greatest offseason pickups in the history of the NBA. If you need any more enlightenment as to why this was good then you really have no business reading this blog.

2004 Draft: Suns draft Luol Deng with the seventh pick
A good pick by the Suns, as Deng has turned out to be a nice player. Unfortunately this pick started a long string of draft pick trades as Deng was promptly traded to Chicago for cash and a future-first round pick before Deng could ever put on a Suns jersey.

2005 Draft: Suns pick Nate Robinson with the twenty-first pick
For the second year in a row, the Suns trade away their first round pick as it becomes more evident that Mike D’Antoni is not willing to play any young players. Robinson was traded to the Knicks with Quinton Richardson for Kurt Thomas

Summer 2005: Suns decline match an offer sheet by Atlanta for Joe Johnson at five-years $70 million
Instead the Suns swap Johnson in a sign and trade with Atlanta bringing back Boris Diaw and two lottery-protected first round draft picks. This didn’t turn out to be too awful because D’Antoni really knew how to take advantage of Diaw’s versatility. He was especially useful in the year’s Amare Stoudemire was out with injuries. Although, even with Diaw’s success, Johnson has since turned into a superstar and would have been a great weapon on D’Antoni teams.

February 26, 2006: Bryan Colangelo resigns as General Manager leaving Mike D’Antoni to perform double duty as General Manager and Head Coach. I cannot think of a single scenario in sports where the GM/Coach combination has ever worked. And, as it turns out, it didn’t work this time either. It is difficult to say whether Colangelo left because he really thought Toronto was a better job or if he felt hamstrung working with an owner unwilling to spend or a coach that was too stubborn to play more than seven players.

2006 Draft: Suns draft Rajon Rondo with the twenty-first pick
The Suns did not have a backup point guard at this time, and for at least one second it looked as if the Suns might have found a player to help Steve Nash preserve his legs for the end of the season and playoffs. Continuing the trend, the Suns sent Rondo and Brian Grant to Boston for the Cavaliers 2007 first round draft pick. Three years down the road, Rondo is one of the best young point guards in the NBA, and the Suns had different plans for the backup point guard position.

July 20, 2006: Suns sign Marcus Banks to five-year $21.3 million contract
I won’t beat around the bush on this one. According to almost anyone you ask, this was the worst signings in franchise history, maybe even the history of the NBA. Marcus Banks couldn’t play. He didn’t play for the Suns. I guess you do have to give Mike D’Antoni some credit. He signed Banks and could have played him for fear of getting egg on his face after such a poor signing.

June 2, 2007: Steve Kerr becomes General Manager of the Phoenix Suns
Finally after only one season Mike D’Antoni get some relief as Steve Kerr is hired as general manager.

June 28, 2007: Suns Draft Rudy Fernandez 24th overall and Alando Tucker 27th overall
This draft bucked the trend slightly, in that the Suns kept Tucker long enough for him to actually play a time or two for the Suns. Fernandez, on the other hand, was traded away just like the previous three first round picks by the Suns, this time to Portland for cash. As luck may have it, Fernandez has turned out to be a much better player and fan favorite in Portland.

July 11, 2007: Suns sign Grant Hill
This has turned out to be a spectacular signing for the Suns. There was very little risk involved, and much of the credit needs to be given to the ballyhooed training staff for helping Hill stay on the court and able to contribute.

February 6, 2008: Suns trade Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks for Shaquille O’Neal
I actually screamed out loud in terror when I read this in a computer club in Ukraine. Shaq was past his prime in 2006 when Dwyane Wade won him a championship in 2006. This trade was inexcusable. I don’t care if you got rid of Marcus Banks’ awful contract, or if Shawn Marion was pouting like a three year-old. There is however, some leeway for Steve Kerr. Kerr did not want to make this trade. He did his job in that he looked around the league to see what the options were seeing as how Shawn Marion no longer wanted to play in Phoenix and was starting to wear on the locker room. Mike D’Antoni is the one who really pushed for the trade. I know, Kerr is still responsible for the trades that happen and he will be the first one to say that it was his mistake, but D’Antoni needs his share of the blame too.

June 2008: Mike D’Antoni leaves Phoenix to Coach the Knicks and the Suns hire Terry Porter as his replacement.
This was Steve Kerr’s biggest mistake. Something rubbed D’Antoni the wrong way and he decided his days were numbered if he stayed. Bringing Terry Porter was a huge oversight. Alvin Gentry was the lead assistant under D’Antoni and the players all wanted Gentry to take over. It made perfect sense. He coached under D’Antoni and knew the players and how to coach a fast-paced system with Steve Nash, and most importantly, he was much more willing to bend than D’Antoni was. He had previous head coaching experience and understood the importance of developing young talent , playing a bench and have some sort of defensive focus.

2008 Draft: Suns pick Robin Lopez with the 15th pick and Goran Dragic with the 45th pick
If you watched any of last season, especially the playoffs, you would understand how good these two picks have been. These two players brought exactly what the Suns needed. Defensive toughness from Lopez and anyone who could play consistently at the backup point guard spot to give Steve Nash some rest. These two brought that and more for the Suns.
December 10, 2008: Suns trade Boris Diaw and Raja Bell for Jared Dudley and Jason Richardson
This was another excellent trade for the Suns and Steve Kerr. Not only did he get rid of Raja Bell who seemed to think that the Suns were still playing “seven seconds or less” style of offense, but he also traded Diaw’s bad contract that D’Antoni signed him to after only one season. What the Suns got in return, was an explosive third option in Jason Richardson, who thrived once he didn’t have the burden of being the team’s leading scorer, and a scrappy, hard-nosed fan favorite in Jared Dudley. Once again…excellent trade.

February 16, 2009: Suns fire Terry Porter and make Alvin Gentry interim head coach
Steve Kerr sucks up his pride and makes amends on his worst decision by getting rid of Terry Porter who was sucking the life out of a fast paced style team, not to mention a coach who was nailing a promising Dragic to the bench and stripping him of whatever confidence he had entering the league. Gentry was exactly what the Suns needed.

Now, to sum up everything that we just read: Robert Sarver and Mike D’Antoni are much more to blame for recent Suns bumbling than Steve Kerr is. That’s what makes this recent resigning so perplexing. It begs the question. How hard is it to work with Robert Sarver? Reports are out that Steve Kerr’s contract negations were slowed by low-ball offers from Sarver. David Griffin, Senior Assistant General Manager, reportedly also had issues with Sarver. Robert Sarver’s frugality and Mike D’Antoni’s stubbornness are really what held this team back. Now don’t get me wrong. I also, don’t think the Suns could have accomplished half of what they did without D’Antoni. That’s the irony of it all. The guiding light behind the success was too bright and too hot to move and guide to where the team needed to go.

Now there are more questions than answers. What is the philosophy heading into the draft? Steve Kerr and David Griffin are still going to handle the draft. What is the status of the Amare Stoudemire contract negotiations? I was 50-50 since the end of the season that Amare would stay, but now I don’t see any way that he can stay. This situation is a mess, and high profile, star athletes do not sign with muddled, disjointed teams. This is what makes me wonder what is really happening behind the scenes. Did Sarver low-ball Stoudemire? Did Kerr see the writing on the wall with a Stoudemire-less team? Again, there are too many questions and not enough answers. I just hope someone knows what they are doing.