I’m going to be writing this post during the ESPY’s, so this could be a little disjointed and it could include references that don’t make any sense at all unless you watched the ESPY’s. So with that said, funny opening monologue by Seth Meyers. A few too many off color jokes for Brett Favre’s wife, and a few too much humor for Danica Patrick. I don’t think she’s smiled since 1987.
Okay, the real reason for this post is to rate the Suns’ most recent offseason moves. The Suns picked up Josh Childress and Hedo Turkoglu giving up a future second-round draft pick and Leandro Barbosa to get them.
Let’s start with the Childress deal. Childress is a long, talented player and a good on ball defender, and the Suns only gave up a second round pick and part of the trade exception from the Amare deal. In most regards, this would be a great pickup and a great addition to any team. The only problem is, the Suns already have three players in this spot, Grant Hill, Jared Dudley and Earl Clark. I don’t know if the front office has plans to move either of the previous three or if Dudley or Childress will just spend more time backing up Jason Richardson and guarding opponents’ twos. As long as the latter is the case, the move is a good one, especially for the price, but Hill and Dudley were far too valuable to the chemistry of the team to risk replacing them. (Holy smokes, Danica Patrick just smiled! Because an octopus hinted that he wanted to hook up...I’m not going any further with that one).
As far as the Turkoglu trade goes, I have mixed feelings. Initially, when it looked like Amare was going to leave after the season ended I wanted the Suns to use the freed up cap space to go after Nash’s old buddy Dirk Nowitzki. I even wrote about the necessary scenario that would make it most likely. But that was before we realized that the 2010 Free Agency Extravaganza that at least five teams had been gearing up for since 2006 was actually settled two years ago in China. Well, Hedo Turkoglu is a poor man’s Dirk Nowitzki. It should be a decent replacement given that we almost ended up with nothing, right? Well, maybe not. Chemistry is what made this team surprise so many last season. Had Dirk joined the team, the chemistry wouldn’t have been affected due to his relationship with Steve Nash. Turkoglu on the other hand is a different story. First of all, he looks like Rocky Balboa after he fought Apollo. Can that really be a good locker room guy? Probably not. Second, it’s well known that his time in Toronto was a disaster. Only months after signing a five-year, $53 million contract, he wanted out.
Athletically, he could end up as a solid addition. If he replaces Amare Stoudemire in the starting lineup, he will get pushed around defensively be bigger, longer forwards, and his rebounding isn’t spectacular. But his size and outside shooting will be a great in the pick and roll with Nash. Think Channing Frye’s pick and pop with more versatility towards the basket. As long as nobody tells him where Scottsdale is, he might be able to stay focused on basketball. I’m counting on the rest of the team to clean up whatever issues might be on this team.
I’m also a little skeptical about the Lon Babby fellow. First of all, think about his name on an alphabetical list (Babby, Lon). You’ve got to be skeptical already with a name like that. Second, he’s Turkoglu’s agent, and Childress’s former agent. Is it just me, or does something seem a little shady here? Now don’t get me wrong, if it got the Suns a good deal, then I shouldn’t complain, but there definitely seems like there is some potential backlash on this one. But hey, do you really need to be a member of the American Bar Association to be an NBA General Manager? Besides, this is the NBA or in other words the Notoriously Dubious Association. Remember? The league where frozen envelopes happen, Miami collusion happens, and of course where referees arrested for gambling happens. This is nothing to David Stern.
(Brett Favre wins ESPY for best play. Weaksauce! It should have been the minor leaguer. David Stern is watching this proud. Remember, Favre’s play came on Monday Night Football. On what channel? Oh yeah, ESPN. What are these awards again? Oh yeah, the ESPY’s.)
One last thing about Lon Babby: reports say that he is actually going to have the title, "Director of Basketball Operations." The plan is to hire a General Manager who will work under Babby and handle more of the personnel decisions. Babby's expertise will be focused more on the salary cap, collective bargaining agreement and contract negotiations. Um...doesn't this seem a little backwards to you? Shouldn't the guy making the final decisions be the personnel guy, while being advised by the contract/salary cap guy? Again, this entire front office situation just confuses me day after day. Was Babby already making moves for the Suns before he officially joined the team? Were Babby and Turkoglu a package deal? I guess this front office structure shows what Robert Sarver's priorities really are. The financial guy works above the personnel guy.
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