Amare Tears Terry Porter Apart
What would have happened this season if Steve Kerr and the Suns never hired Terry Porter? For one, Amar’e Stoudemire thinks that Phoenix would be a playoff team right now. STAT has no qualms about blaming Porter for the Suns struggles this season.
He also adds that Porter’s style of coaching took the fun out of the game, especially when the squad went 3-7 to end the month of January: “It wasn’t great. It didn’t feel good. It wasn’t fun to play.”
Amar’e isn’t saying that the problem was in bringing in a defensive-minded coach. Instead, he says that it was Porter’s personality that was the real issue.
“We can adjust and play to any style. I think it was more of a personality fit. . . . You bring in Terry Porter, a guy who was a little more bold as far as his way or the highway. (He) wasn’t really accepting what we thought would work or trying to implement what we thought would work.”
I remember Charles Barkley talking about the situation on TNT shortly after Porter was fired, saying that he felt sorry for Porter and he hoped that he’d get another coaching gig someday. However, this doesn’t bode well for Terry. Even if Amar’e can be a knucklehead sometimes, owners don’t want to jeopardize the happiness of their key players. Look what the Wizards are doing by going after Flip Saunders. Instead of going after a guy like Avery Johnson who earned the nickname “The Little General” not just because he’s short, Washington is going for a “player’s coach”.
“Stay tuned,” Amar’e continued. “I’ve worked on so many aspects this last summer until, when I came back this year, Terry Porter wouldn’t allow me to do it. Hopefully I can work on some more things this summer, and then wherever I am and whoever the coach may be – I hope it’s (interim coach) Alvin (Gentry) – then I’ll be able to implement that for next season. I was working on everything. Offensive stuff. Defensively. It wasn’t quite what I envisioned, but I made do.”
Source: Arizona Republic
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April 15th, 2009 at 12:44 pm
Scoob says:
Amare needs to pull his pull his skirt down and play ball…smh
April 15th, 2009 at 12:48 pm
hahns says:
i think theres got to be something said about “players coaches.” everyone usually uses the term in a dergatory way- but if youve got a great player, do you really NEED a great x’s and o’s coach? i mean of course it helps (jerry sloan) but look at mike brown this year. we all know hes not a rocket scientist w/ his white board, but hes got lebron james. all you really need is to ride him to the top.
in washington’s case- i think a player’s coach is what they needed. they got great veterans who reel in the young guys and 3 stars to fill up the stat sheet in gil, jamison, caron. yes- i agree they need to beef up their defense, but they dont need a dictator to enforce his will on the team
April 15th, 2009 at 12:59 pm
dmitry of jersey says:
really amare, you can adjust to any style? didn’t seem that way when your squad got cracked for 140 by Dallas a few ago in a must-win. (probably would have been 150 if amare was on the court with his defensive skills).
that said, steve kerr screwed up plain and simple. he should not have hired a drill sergeant after a coach like D’antoni. the change was too severe, and suns players could not handle it.
April 15th, 2009 at 1:02 pm
Taj says:
I’ve said it before.. This was all Steve Kerr/Robert Sarvers doing… They put Terry in a lose-lose situation…
April 15th, 2009 at 1:05 pm
hucklebuck says:
I agree with Taj
April 15th, 2009 at 1:07 pm
everybodyisslow says:
well this is what happens when players piss out a coachs salary in one night.. they have no respect for a former player and coach.. problem is porter was defensive minded and the team that was built around a horrible european style dantoni, didnt work well. amare aka STAT is funny to me cause in the early and mid 90′s wit a hand check and defense this is a dude who goes from 24 and 9 a game to 13 and 7, be real he doesnt have a post move at all, he feeds off nash.. with the attention shaq still gets you would think STAT would average 30… Can you say Mcdyess
April 15th, 2009 at 1:13 pm
everybodyisslow says:
@2
now a days with 1 and dones and all the former str8 to the league player i think u need a x’s and o’s coach, i mean shit labron still doesnt know how to come off a screen or use a pick correctly yet.
but at the same time players have to respect there coach or all the x’s and o’s mean nothin when there falling onto dead ears.
April 15th, 2009 at 1:22 pm
AB_40 says:
wow amare damn this guy said he should be in the mvp conversation and if he really is as good and smart as he thinks he is he would’ve shut up played his ass of go for 25 and 12 and 2 blocks and work hard on D guess that don’t work in phoenix
April 15th, 2009 at 1:29 pm
E$ says:
so far Terry Porter has the better career out of the two. You playing in the NBA and it wasn’t fun? poor baby. I’ll have plenty of fun if I had the job, even if my coach was Danny Ainge
April 15th, 2009 at 1:37 pm
Taj says:
You need to match your teams personality with the coaches… I remember when the Raptors hired Sam Mitchell – A great hire at the time (Coach of the Year, playoff berths etc) to a team that needed toughness, he brought that but then he had locker room fights with guys and the franchise player shut it down. It was then the downward spiral began. Now they have a great X’s and O’s coach in Jay Triano that’s not so tough on the player’s. All they need now is a full training camp with the guys they have now and they’ll be OK! Keep Marion, Bosh & Calderon. Get Kapono more looks, and keep your hustle and energy guys like Mensah Bonsu, Douby and Graham. And hope that Bargs continues his development!
April 15th, 2009 at 1:42 pm
Michorizo says:
This has guy has just as many excuses as the Kings…
April 15th, 2009 at 1:44 pm
Michorizo says:
Whatever happened to Ruben Studder…
April 15th, 2009 at 1:57 pm
George W Kush Sr says:
I’m not the biggest Amare fan but he’s right about the personality effect. Nash dont like him, Bell didn’t like him, Diaw didn’t like him, only dude that liked him was probably Shaq.
Grant Hill is the only one who was quiet, but I’ll bet you anything that he didn’t enjoy the experiment either.
Steve Kerr has proved he doesn’t know what he’s doing, or he’s just horrible at this job. Either way it’s all his fault.
Porter was in a bad situation, he was setup to lose. It was obvious that Porter wasn’t using his player’s offensive skills to their full potential. But after talking all this shit, he better put up 25-12-2 minimum next year.
April 15th, 2009 at 2:16 pm
KnicksFan84 says:
Last time I checked, Terry Porter was a quality player in the league and coached his teams to decent records. 90% of the time in this league, the player and not the coach is the problem. I’m not buying the garbage coming out of Amare’s mouth anytime soon. Man up and play some D b4 you start talking. Marion got exposed without Nash and so shall you once Nash is gone.
Gosh, take some responsibility for your squad missing the playoffs. If you wore goggles, you wouldn’t have gotten hurt in the first place clown.
April 15th, 2009 at 2:29 pm
haslem says:
Amare wants to take 3′s
April 15th, 2009 at 2:46 pm
Notorious says:
@Haslem, LOL!!! That is exactly what crossed my mind when I read that quote from Stat.
April 15th, 2009 at 2:48 pm
alimoe says:
Amare is only telling the truth. the team was built to win now, isnt it obvious Porter was an idiot by the way the team played? or are you guys just ripping Amare without watching any of the early season Suns games.
April 15th, 2009 at 2:49 pm
George W Kush Sr says:
But Amare did put up 40 point averages against the Spurs in the Playoffs before D’Antoni and Nash.
Amare can score, much better than Marion.
The big mistake he’s making now is throwing somebody under the bus, because if he doesn’t have a spectacular season now without Porter than he’s proved he’s a problem child.
April 15th, 2009 at 4:34 pm
Big Freeze says:
LMAO at #1
April 15th, 2009 at 5:28 pm
Baby Huey says:
Of course it wasn’t fun. Playing defense isn’t fun, it’s hard work, but that’s what it takes to be a champion. Sure with Gentry, Amare can get his numbers and have his fun, but he will never win a title.
April 15th, 2009 at 10:58 pm
OB says:
Amare is the Kanye West of the NBA…pure b@tch!
April 16th, 2009 at 5:02 am
QQ says:
And people are saying that team can win with this fool. The problems with players like this jackass (players who are called ‘superstars’ but have no heart or leadership whatsoever; players like Melo, TMac, VC, and Iverson, also known as ‘Dime’s Favorite Players’) is that they can’t EVER win anything because of who they are. They have no heart. They will not make an effort to be great. They will NEVER win. And because they can’t ever win, they will ALWAYS put the blame on whoever is within their 5 degree radius.
PS: ANd speaking of Dime’s favorite players (which are usually assholes who don’t ever win), that VC to Orlando trade article was the biggest piece of shitfaced journalism I ever heard. Austin, we don’t want your wife VC in Orlando. Apparently, we don’t have the same fetish for losers like you do.
April 16th, 2009 at 6:12 am
qwerty says:
QQ, hoe are you call Iverson without leadership and heart. Dude, see the scouting reports before you comment.
April 16th, 2009 at 6:52 am
QQ says:
@ qwerty:
I was gonna offer thoughtful insight about my comment regarding Mr. Iverson to you, then I read your comment ‘hoe ARE YOU CALL Iverson without leadership and heart.’
And to that I will say: Shut up, you fucking dipshit.