Steve Kerr is Breaking Up Mike D’Antoni’s Team
Who will join Amare in PHX? (photo. Mannion)As we noted yesterday in our Draft Rumor Mill, the Suns are doing everything in their power to upgrade at the three. GM Steve Kerr has expressed interest in acquiring a veteran small forward - Richard Jefferson, Josh Howard, Tayshaun Prince and Gerald Wallace have all been mentioned. But they’ve also tried to pull the strings in the draft to jump up a number of spots to nab Russell Westbrook or Joe Alexander.
If Kerr can work his magic, he might be able to score both a vet three and one of their two coveted prospects. He’s thrown Boris Diaw and Leandro Barbosa out on a line, and it looks like the Blazers might bite.
According to the Arizona Republic’s Paul Coro…
A Portland deal would have sent 21-year-old swingman Martell Webster, next week’s No. 13 pick and another piece for Barbosa … A Diaw trade possibility involved Toronto, where talk centered on Diaw leaving for point guard T.J. Ford and the Raptors’ No. 17 pick in Thursday’s draft.
Sure Webster isn’t in the same class as the aforementioned small forwards, but he’s got a bright future. And there’s a chance that Alexander would still be around at No. 13. But even if he weren’t and the Suns were willing to pay a hefty price for Russell Westbrook, they could offer that No. 13 pick and No. 17 (presuming they also made that Diaw-for-Ford and No. 17 deal with Toronto) to any of the lottery teams looking to trade down (New York).
Plus, Ford could be a serviceable backup for Steve Nash. For years, Nash has been running wild for 40-minutes a night during the regular season - and it takes its toll on his body come playoff time. Marcus Banks was part of the Shaq trade, and without Barbosa, the Suns would be totally desperate for someone with some ball handling skills. And this change of scenery could do wonders for T.J., who would undoubtedly benefit from learning from one of the game’s best.
Early in his tenure, Kerr has proved that he’s not willing to sit around and see how things pan out. Even if this isn’t the same team that Phoenix fans have come to love in recent years, you have to appreciate a GM who is wheeling and dealing to keep the Suns young and exciting.
June 20th, 2008 at 2:51 pm
Ross says:
I’d be doing the same thing.
June 20th, 2008 at 2:57 pm
Spliff 2 My Lou says:
Are we assuming then that TJ will not complain about playing behing Nash when he complained about playing behind Calderon?
June 20th, 2008 at 2:59 pm
Spliff 2 My Lou says:
That’s all the Suns need is another defensively weak point guard in Ford.
June 20th, 2008 at 2:59 pm
Don Mega says:
steve nash will hate to have TJ on his team
June 20th, 2008 at 3:11 pm
Damon says:
getting westbrook, at least he can defend, boy can he defend.
but their team defense is the problem.
and amare defending every big that is better than erick dampier offensively.
June 20th, 2008 at 3:13 pm
Kobeef says:
Diaw is better than Webster and Barbosa is better than Ford so I don’t see how any of this makes sense for PHX.
That said, Toronto and Portland must be holding back tears of joy at the thought of these trades going down.
@DonMega
Who doesn’t hate having TJ on the team? I think Bosh likes him but for the rest of the Raptors it must be a sigh of relief to know that TJ won’t be out there jacking shots and tossing away the ball.
June 20th, 2008 at 3:16 pm
IGP says:
No way the Blazers make that trade
June 20th, 2008 at 3:21 pm
Austin Burton says:
I think T.J. would be OK playing behind Nash because he knows Nash is better than him. The problem in Toronto (I’m taking a guess based on what I’ve seen) is that T.J. feels he’s better than Calderon. Plus, in Phoenix T.J. would know Nash doesn’t have too many years left and he’d get handed the reigns soon enough.
June 20th, 2008 at 3:34 pm
Damon says:
kerr would probably trade tj when nash retires
lmao
June 20th, 2008 at 3:38 pm
Diego says:
If I’m Phoenix, I make both trades–although I really like Barbosa, so that one I’m a bit iffy on.
Diaw is very talented, but just lacks a certain motivation/light under his ass. It is a continuous issue with him that is not going to be fixed.
At the risk of being bashed, what are all the problems with TJ (besides his health)?
If I’m Portland, I don’t make the trade–Martell has too much potential.
June 20th, 2008 at 3:52 pm
Kobeef says:
@Diego
The problem with TJ is that he thinks he is the best player on the team in Toronto. As a result he often forgets about his team in crunch time or at other times when he feels he wants to be the man. It is a lot like what Mo Williams does in Milwaukee (which is ironic)
@Austin
…which leads to Austin’s comment that TJ might improve in PHX because he will be on a team where it is abundantly clear that he is not best player.
June 20th, 2008 at 3:58 pm
AY says:
Why would the suns be trading FOR 1st round picks? They traded kurt thomas and two 1st round picks for cap relief just last year. And two 1st round picks for cap relief before that, and you have yourself the situation you’re in now. This hell hole was a long time coming; they traded the 7th pick in the 2004 draft for other picks that they ended up selling for ~4 mil. Instead of looking at Andre Iguodala, they’re moving guys around to get richard my ankle jefferson. Don’t trade for 1st round picks you’re going to sell for cap space later; if you’re going to blow it up, do it right. Instead of dancing around with your 6th and 7th man, trade nash and shaq and hill and bell, keep amare and tank 2 years. Right now you’re wasting the suns fans’ time, you’re wasting nash’s remaining trade value, and you’re wasting amare’s prime.
June 20th, 2008 at 4:16 pm
Celts Fan says:
Problem with TJ is that he has Rajon Rondo’s jumper but fires away like he’s got Steve Nash’s.
btw, Martell Webster AND the #13? Terrible idea. Don’t do it Portland. Barbosa’s got some skill, but he’s too small to be a 2 and not a true 1. Put him in a traditional offense and he’s just another really quick guy. Don’t overthink it Portland. Just collect young talent and wait. You’re in great shape. Don’t screw it up w/ a stupid trade like that! Why not just draft Joe Alexander, DJ Augustine, Donte Green, or DeAndre Jordan? (1 of whom is almost sure to be there.)
June 20th, 2008 at 4:22 pm
ripcity says:
Barbosa doesn’t fit with the Blazers. No way they do that trade. As for the Toronto trade, I’m sure TJ Ford would be real happy backing up Nash for a couple years and picking up Diaw might be the only conceivable way the Raptors could get any softer. Great move for both teams!
June 20th, 2008 at 4:23 pm
Celts Fan says:
and yes AY, you’re right. They should already have a ring, but Sarver is cheap as hell. It’s completely disgraceful. I don’t know why the fans keep showing up and/or why Nash and Amare haven’t made a big deal about it. I’d be raising hell to get outta there since it’s clear Sarver wants to be the Arizona version of Donald Sterling.
June 20th, 2008 at 5:11 pm
Big Freeze says:
The Suns had thier chance last year and blew it. They are done.
June 20th, 2008 at 5:18 pm
Spliff 2 My Lou says:
Of all the players mentioned for the Suns I think Gerald Wallace is the best fit. He doesn’t care about being a star and can do multiple things including score, rebound and defend. Plus he has a toughness that the Suns are lacking. I know he has some downsides like age and health but if they’re going to drop money might as well drop it on him.
June 20th, 2008 at 5:50 pm
daquest?on says:
tj “ill take every shot i see” ford backing up nash!?!?!! that makes no sense at all.. i still think the suns have a great team that could contend for the title, they have all summer to figure out how to mash together with shaq
June 20th, 2008 at 6:22 pm
Big Freeze says:
If Shaq lost 20-30 lbs, he could be so much more effective now that his hops are almost gone. The Suns trainers ned to get his fat ass on nutrisystem or something.
June 20th, 2008 at 9:06 pm
doc says:
Portland better not give up on Martell for them scrubs.
June 20th, 2008 at 9:24 pm
nick says:
tj for diaw is not the best deal that they could get. diaw is a player who can play mulitple positions but he is not the 2nd scorer or rugged rebounder and defender which the raptors desire.
tj for magette is a much better deal, yes the health of both players is an issue.
June 20th, 2008 at 9:37 pm
Scott says:
I still don’t get why the Raptors would move Ford AND a first for Diaw, how exactly does he make the Raps any better??? He’s unmotivated, soft, can’t shoot outside of 17 feet, and he’s best when he’s passing out of the block… where on the Raps Bosh happens to have a secure lock on that block, and where does Diaw play??? SF? I’d prefer a Moon/Kapono defense/offense platoon any day of the week compared to Diaw at the SF.
If Ford would get his mind right he could be a 6th man of the year contender. He’s perfect for the 2nd unit, he can create his own shot, shots for others and his own shot (ya I know I said that already, but he likes his own shots, lol). But on the starting unit, his aformentioned (sp?) liking of his own shot hurts the team, where as Calderon plays within the starting unit, getting his shots in the flow of the game, calling his own number when its appropriate. But Ford disrupts the flow, and kills any ball movement they get going.
It’d be great if Ford could stop being a bitch, and play the Ben Gordon role for the Raps.
June 20th, 2008 at 11:36 pm
Don Mega says:
basically , what everyone is saying . ..
. . is that TJ Ford is a dud . guy shouldn’t be in the league .. selfish , health-hazard , lockeroom hazard , and overall degenerate . the only thing that could save an otherwise decent career would be a huge wake-up call care of a coach and/or jesus christ .
i’m pretty sure the raptors would take scott pollard for TJ if they could . Colangelo knows he has to get rid of him . hell , send him to spain with Garbo and Navarro . they’ll eat him alive !
June 21st, 2008 at 7:38 am
Dave says:
TJ Ford is one of the top dozen PGs in the league right now. He is not a backup point guard and he’s right to ask to leave, it’s for the good of his career. Just like Calderon should have this season once he established himself as a top 12 PG.
It’s like asking Al Jefferson to come out and be David West’s backup. It just makes no sense. Why should Al only play 23.5mpg when he’s as good as he is? Why shouldn’t he want to play more?
Of course TJ Ford should leave and should want to leave.
Ford is a very good point guard who should be starting on whatever team he is on. It’s not like he’s robbing Toronto, they have holes all over their roster that can be fixed by moving either him or Jose (it will be him). Players should want to play and they should find situations where they’ll get time and play in systems that suits them … that’s what they should do. TJ is doing exactly that.
TJ Ford isn’t selfish at all. It’s a bad label. He’s one of the purest point guards in the league who looks to get his teammates involved. It’s not his fault Toronto has no scorers after Bosh. Only 5 teams in the league have second scorers below 15ppg, Toronto is one of them and they have the lowest with Anthony Parker at 12.5ppg. It’s not like Parker creates his own shot, neither does Delfino, neither does Kapono, neither does Nesterovic, neither does Bargnani, neither does Humphries, neither does Moon … developing a picture here. No other team in the league has a lack of go-to scoring like this that was outside of the 5 worst teams in the league (Cleveland’s close but Big Z is better than any second option Bosh has plus LBJ is better than Bosh).
TJ shot the ball 11 times a game in 28 minutes as a starter this season. He shot the ball 12 times in 30 minutes last season while averaging 14ppg to be their second leading scorer. That’s not unreasonable shot attempts for a team devoid of scorers. You put him on a team with more scoring options and he’ll shoot less … it’s that simple. TJ puts up 6 dimes in 23.5mpg this season, Calderon 8 in 30 minutes which is almost identical when you even out the minutes. TJ is a very good point guard who gets his teammates involved.
TJ Ford is a top 12 point guard in this league who’ll do very good things for whatever team acquires him (assuming you know he stays healthy …)
I think the overwhelming majority the criticism/dislike/hate TJ gets is because fans alike just prefer Calderon. That’s fine. No reason to run the man into the ground. Just say Calderon is better and state the reasons why. TJ is a quality point guard and the hate he gets is out of control and in no way representative of the player he is. He’s a very good point who gets his teammates involved and is a pure point who runs his teams very well.
June 21st, 2008 at 2:17 pm
Lee says:
Would lyposucktion (sp?) help shaq ??
June 21st, 2008 at 3:41 pm
Don Mega says:
dear Dave :
numbers aren’t everything . you’d need to watch every raptors game to truly understand the label he’s created for himself . how many times does Bosh get touches when TJ is playing ? next to none . but sure , you might have a point with the rest of the squad not being able to create for themselves — but it hasn’t been a problem for Jose ( let alone Darrick Martin , Juan Dixon , and whoever else was pushed into the 1 spot ).
it will be interesting to see if he can turn it around next year … outside of toronto . his attitude is the worst part , the bark with no bite , the swagger with no substance .. and him playing behind steve nash wouldn’t solve it ( remember , TJ stated that he will refuse to come off the bench , in his mind he’s a bonafide starter anywhere ) . he needs to mature to become what you say he is .
June 21st, 2008 at 4:45 pm
Homeless J says:
I would be heartbroken if Pritchard makes that trade. I don’t really like Barbosa at all, and I watched Martell get drafted and have invested time in watching him grow as a player. This last year was the first year he started to show signs of consistency, and if we trade him now, especially while giving up a lottery pick, it would be looked at down the line as a horrible decision and one of the few smudges on Kevin’s resume.
I wouldn’t give up Martell for Barbosa straight-up, let alone Martell and the 13th pick. I know Barbosa can score like crazy but he’ll just take the ball out of Brandon Roy and possibly also Rudy Fernandez’ hands.
June 21st, 2008 at 6:00 pm
Dave says:
Don Mega,
Bosh gets just as many touches with TJ in the game as he does with Calderon. The numbers between last season and this season back this up as he took an almost identical number of shot attempts. Ditto for Parker and Bargnani. Garbajosa and Mo Pete’s shot attempts change over to Delfino and Moon, again almost identical. Dixon hoisted up jumper after jumper last season, he calmed down this season and the difference is exactly Jason Kapono’s shot attempts with Kapono and Dixon 07-08 adding up to Dixon 06-07. The only difference in shot attempts was an extra shot each for Nesterovic and Humphries (which is development - Humphries). I’ve just mentioned the top 10 players for Toronto and there’s no significant difference in shot attempts and this is despite Jose Calderon taking less shots than TJ so there should be more shots to go around …. the best players like Bosh should be shooting more with Calderon. They’re not. That’s because TJ Ford runs his team very well.
This problem doesn’t exist. There’s no change despite TJ playing only 51 games and only 23.5mpg (while TJ playing below par basketball while coming off the bench which accounts for about 40% of those minutes this season). Ford played about half as much basketball for the Raptors this season as the previous year and there was no significant change in the shot attempts for the top 10 Raptors.
None of this strikes anyone as strange?
How exactly does it happen that a selfish shoot first point guard gets his teammates involved just as well as the pure pass first shoot last point guard?
Maybe they shoot the same number of shots but make a lower percentage. That must be it. Wait no …. again almost identical for Bosh (1% TS% bump this season but lower from the field, the bump came from shooting 6% better at the FT line which has nothing to do with the point guard), Parker, Nesterovic, Humphries. Kapono is pretty much in line with Mo Pete’s averages from the year before despite being a much better shooter. Oddly enough Kapono got less minutes when TJ went down with injury and started to get less three point shots. Think about that for moment and figure out the reason why, it’s an obvious one. Okay let’s get back to it. There’s a bump from Garbajosa to Delfino of about 3% which is because Delfino is a better three point shooter. Bargnani’s shooting dipped but that isn’t the point guards’ fault.
The biggest change in the Raptors offense efficiency wise? Both TJ and Jose shot a better percentage this season. Not the teammates that the point guards are involving but the point guards themselves. Both shot about 3% better from the floor than they did the previous season and combining for a significant number of attempts.
No, so no substantial difference in shot attempts or efficiency for the Raptors players. But one is selfish shoot first pass last point guard who doesn’t involve his teammates and plays like Allen Iverson (I don’t say nice things about Iverson in case you’re wondering) and the other is the pass first shoot last pure point? Nothing about this strikes anyone as weird?
The problem doesn’t exist.
June 21st, 2008 at 7:43 pm
word says:
I don’t give a rats ass what players they trade as long as stat don’t go anywhere. They need serious reconstruction, but at least their coaching team looks proper, thank god for that. Suns in the finals next year, thats what I want to see
June 21st, 2008 at 8:33 pm
Don Mega says:
dear Dave ,
again … sooo manyyy numbers . it’s as simple as this : watch raptors games from last year , and honestly tell me (or anyone) that TJ Ford takes good shots . bringing the ball up the court , waiting for the shotclock to reach 5 , then jacking up a low-percentage jumper — does NOT constitute a good possession .. in any league . what it does constitute however , is a substitution .. and subsequent trade .
again , your numbers all make sense i guess … but it’s a matter of watching the game . TJ’s play is erradic , wild , and generally selfish .
June 21st, 2008 at 10:29 pm
kris says:
Fine, take TJ out and see how the Raps fare next year. Who’s gonna be the scapegoat next? Bosh?
June 22nd, 2008 at 12:01 am
Dave says:
Hey Don Mega,
I do watch Raptors games. I watched about 75 games last season and 60 games this season. More than enough to judge TJ and the Raps situation. The TJ criticisms are baseless.
Raptors are one of my favourite teams to watch perform mainly because of Bosh and the two point guards. Nice offense and great execution.
Calderon and TJ to do the same thing in a different style of play. Prefer Calderon’s style? Fair enough. Calderon gives more room for players like Delfino to perform while TJ tries to create for Delfino because he knows they’re not good at creating their own shot. But TJ does the same thing, he just does it in a different way. He’s not this selfish character that many make him out to be.
An example of the player who fits in many of TJ’s criticisms is Mo Williams. They played together in Milwaukee. TJ ran that team and got them to the playoffs twice in three years (injured year in between). The minute he leaves Mo ruins the team and they win only 20-30 games a season (including the season in between in Milwaukee where TJ was injured). TJ is winner and a very good floor general. He knows how to use his teammates to their strengths and he does that very well. That’s the difference of a point guard who knows what he is doing versus a point guard who doesn’t know what he is doing.
Luckily Raps fans won’t miss TJ like Milwaukee ended up doing because they have Calderon.
Anyway, it’ll be fun to see where Ford lands next season and how well Ford does there. Hopefully the Raps pick up a scorer to help out Bosh and Calderon by trading TJ, it’d be nice to see them make that next leap.
June 22nd, 2008 at 12:47 am
Don Mega says:
TJ criticisms are baseless ?
come on .. i understand you sticking up for him ( for some unknown reason ) , but a line has to be drawn . when the raptors broadcasters ( who are getting paid to be subjectively pro-raps ) started to say how bad TJ had gotten .. . it becomes obvious . look at TJ’s body language - whining , frowning , unprofessionalism - this can’t be anything but detrimental to the team . when that happens , there’s no doubt that he’s being selfish . selfish and immature ; which he is both of . sure , every once in a while we’d see a flash of potential , a nice pass , or a steal .. but more often than not , he did not help the team . no wonder people cheered when Horford took him out .
if you play basketball yourself , you can see right away how the other players were feeling .. running up the floor every offensive possession , only to not even touch the ball but to also be left in a poor position to rebound or to get second-chance points . .. this gets tiresome . all the raptors knew it . Colangelo knew it . Mitchell knew it .
the only reason TJ got as much postseason burn as he did was to raise his trade value . and i hope this was achieved .
June 22nd, 2008 at 9:45 am
kobeef says:
Dave’s real name is TJ Ford
June 22nd, 2008 at 11:01 pm
O'shea Jackson says:
no, TJ can’t spell that well . let alone use a computer . although the way Dave tries to hog the spotlight does remind me of someone…
June 23rd, 2008 at 8:57 pm
Shazam says:
Yo, the real shit go down in DC…Katz you need to cover this shit. DeShaun reads this shit
June 25th, 2008 at 9:06 am
MSkittle says:
Kerr is keeping them young and exciting? Isn’t he the same guy that traded for Shaq?