Suns’ owner: Players helped undermine the season
Steve Nash (photo. NBA)
If you’re looking for one lap to dump all the blame for why the Suns didn’t even get a chance to get a “Gone Fishing” graphic, you’ve got options: Terry Porter for stubbornly sticking to a system that his star players never bought into; Steve Nash and Amar’e for stubbornly refusing to buy into that system; the entire roster for some inexcusably bad performances during a playoff push; whoever on the Clippers poked Amar’e in the eye and ended his season; or Steve Kerr for the personnel moves that started the domino effect. Or you can look at owner Robert Sarver, who has to green-light all of Kerr’s moves and whose alleged phobia of the luxury tax has caused the Suns to give up valuable draft picks over the years and ultimately hurt their depth.
What does the owner think? In an interview with the East Valley Tribune, Sarver talked about what went wrong with the Suns, and points a finger at his players:
Sarver was more direct in his criticism of the Suns’ veterans, saying their unwillingness to accept coach Terry Porter’s philosophy helped to undermine the season. He didn’t name names, but he didn’t have to. Steve Nash and Amar’e Stoudemire know who he’s talking about.
“Our players could have been more supportive of the coach, despite the fact they didn’t like playing for him,” Sarver said. “That could have potentially led us to win a few more games and get into the playoffs. The leadership didn’t come through as much as I would have liked it to.”
As far as his own business decisions, Sarver said he’s willing to spend the money he needs to in order to stay competitive. That won’t buy Rajon Rondo or Rudy Fernandez back, but at least it’s something Suns’ fans can hang onto:
In terms of going forward, Sarver made it clear he’s willing to pay the luxury tax next year if it’s the only way the Suns can put a playoff team on the floor. Assuming Phoenix picks up the options on Nash and Louis Amundson, it will have approximately $76.1 million committed to 10 players. That doesn’t include Grant Hill, Matt Barnes and the club’s first-round pick in the NBA draft. The luxury tax is expected to kick in at about $67.5 million.
“We’re not going to do something to save us a bunch of money if it causes us problems on the court going forward,” Sarver said. “At this stage, I’m prepared to play with what I have. I’d rather pay the luxury tax than make a bad decision. We’ve paid the tax the last two years, so I’m used to it.”
Finally, Sarver didn’t commit to a plan to sign Amar’e (who’s a free agent in 2010) to an extension. I kind of assumed that with Porter gone and the team going back to its running style, they would go back to building around Amar’e, but apparently that depends on Shaq:
As for Stoudemire, who can opt out of his contract after the 2009-10 season, Sarver said he hasn’t yet decided whether to offer the forward an extension.
“I don’t have any preconceived notions. I really don’t,” he said.
Translation: Stoudemire’s future is tied to O’Neal’s. If the Suns can trade Shaq, they’d be more willing to re-up Stoudemire and play him alongside Robin Lopez. But if O’Neal is here next year, Stoudemire might be dealt because Phoenix would need a better defender at power forward.
Who deserves the most blame for the Suns missing the playoffs? And how would you go about fixing it?
-->
April 30th, 2009 at 3:11 pm
Drink the Haterade (KB24 Chip 09) says:
“Our players could have been more supportive of the coach, despite the fact they didn’t like playing for him,” Sarver said.
Sarver could have been more supportive of the coach too.
April 30th, 2009 at 3:13 pm
Richard says:
I read that Shaq is suing his former agent Rogers, but details of the suit wasn’t printed. What’s the story?
April 30th, 2009 at 3:33 pm
Steve A says:
Kerr’s the GM he put this team together. They don’t have near the talent they used to nor are some players as effective as they once were (Nash, Steve). Had Stoudamire not gotten hurt, seems like they would have had a good chance of getting in (although they hadn’t done much with him when he was in there). But still, it’s the whole organizaton’s fault. It reminds me of the Pistons the last few years when they weren’t title contenders anymore, but because they still had the same players many thought they were still in it. Detroit hasn’t been a contender since they lost to Miami in ’06. Their max level since has been the East Finals, and at least they were acheiving that.
April 30th, 2009 at 3:35 pm
Kobeef says:
Steve Kerr is the guy to blame.
PHX has made some of the league’s worst personnel moves over the past 5 years.
1. Refusing to unload Nash and Matrix and build a younger core around STAT when it was clear that core (Nash, Matrix, Stat, Raja, Diaw) was not a contender.
2. When they finally agreed to trade Matrix it was too late and his value was depleted so much that all they could get was shaq’s ugly contract (and a shell of the player formerly known as Shaq).
3. Trading Raja Bell and Diaw – both players who fit perectly in a run and gun system – for Jason Richardson who is one of the most overpaid players in the league.
4. Rajon Rondo…enough said. Nah, you know…can you imagine if the suns a)traded Nash and Matrix for Devin harris and Josh Howard..then kept Rondo? Best young team in the NBA by a 100 miles. It’s not even funny.
PG – Rondo
SG – Harris
SF – J. Howard
PF – Stat
C – Lopez
This team is screwed – and they deserve it.
April 30th, 2009 at 3:45 pm
Kudabeen says:
Kobeef:
That line up tough even with Lopez on it…
I’m with Haterade. Where was he when this “mutiny” was going down?
Suns always needed defense, but weren’t willing to endure to get there. Not that Porter is the greatest, but once they was able to do their thing again and run and gun they still missed the playoffs…
The West isn’t going to get weaker next year…Suns are going to have to make moves. They are still searching for a backup point after so many years. I like the though of a full season with Stat and J Rich on the team running the floor, but they really need a backup point and Big that can fill in the gaps when Shaq is out or off…
April 30th, 2009 at 4:00 pm
Big Island says:
I don’t get how you can trade rookies, or rights to rookies, when you are worried about the cap. I can understand that they wanted to keep the core team together to make a run, but when they decided they needed to change things up they kept the guys who break down (Nash) and got more guys who break down (Shaq). If they just blew the whole team up and started from scratch they would be better off. They are high if they think dumping Amare is a short term solution. Portland was bad for a couple of years, but now they are set for a loooong time. Oklahoma will be the same way. Detroit, Phoenix, soon Dallas, San Antonio…. They all rode out their horses from 4 years ago and now the horses are broken. Be bad for a couple of seasons, get young talent, build a good team, and then bring in a (singular) veteran.
April 30th, 2009 at 4:06 pm
k-smooth says:
man i still miss the 06-07 suns, they were fun to watch
April 30th, 2009 at 4:35 pm
SayItAintSo says:
I blame Shaq…everything is Shaq’s fault…with his beedy little eyes and his floppy little head, he’s worse than Canada.
April 30th, 2009 at 5:01 pm
Big V says:
It’s Kerr’s fault for engineering these ridiculous moves, and then Sarver’s for signing off on them.
April 30th, 2009 at 5:03 pm
AY says:
Everyone contributed to the bad situation… except for me. Everyone needs to be held accountable… except for me.
April 30th, 2009 at 5:46 pm
alimoe says:
Kerr is the problem not the players or Sarver. The coaching decisions set this team back
April 30th, 2009 at 5:54 pm
Big Shot BOB says:
I think they’re fine as is. Had Amare not been hurt they would have made the playoffs and probably gave the Lakers more trouble than the Jazz. Kerr’s assembled a good team. I think they could add some youth up front off the bench maybe a guy like Shaun Williams from New Jersey or Brandon Bass from Dallas.
Give Gentry a full season to get back to running the way the team likes, add whatever draft pick they get and bam they’re right back in the hunt. Another thing I think they could do is add another shooter. Maybe trade Grant for Kapono so when it comes playoff time and teams are doubling Shaq they can spread the floor a little more.
April 30th, 2009 at 5:59 pm
playboy says:
shit if they were in the east.. they’d be at least a 7th seed in that weak ass conference
April 30th, 2009 at 6:07 pm
Kudabeen says:
I hear you playboy, but if they were in the east teams would make changes to expose their weaknesses just like in the West.
Suns were a great show and great squad, but it was only one year in that run that they had a Championship in their sights…The lacked toughness and D…Now they have toughness they still don’t have D.
If Amare was on the squad I think they would have beat out the Mavs or Jazz though…Spurs would’ve lost to either team…
April 30th, 2009 at 6:43 pm
the cynic says:
Is it too late to re-sign Joe Johnson? Owner cut off his own teams legs years ago
April 30th, 2009 at 7:56 pm
playboy says:
ohh so THATS WHY THEY DIDN’T MAKE THE PLAYOFFS. i thought it was because they have an old team, an overrated mvp, etc.
April 30th, 2009 at 8:15 pm
rockco says:
the whole team is wack!!! they should play just a bit of defense.
April 30th, 2009 at 10:44 pm
QQ says:
Where the fuck is Shaq in the the list of people to blame?
April 30th, 2009 at 10:49 pm
QQ says:
On an unrelated note: Chicago and Boston, now on the THIRD OVERTIME. Now that I’m seeing this, I realized that Boston is soooo fucking overrated. They can’t even fucking beat the teams they are supposed to destroy. Damn. And yeah, ORLANDO, CONFERENCE FINALS!!!!! Fo sho…
April 30th, 2009 at 11:12 pm
QQ says:
Chicago WON. Fuck Boston’s delusions of grandeur. They just got owned by a team they were supposed to beat easily.
PS: Also, fuck ‘the best player in the world’ Paul Pierce. Getting posterized and fouling out in the SAME PLAY ain’t what the best players do.
May 1st, 2009 at 12:18 am
POPPI GEE says:
HOUSTON UP!
ALL OVA HATERS!
This is the championship for many Rocket fans this year.
Haters gonna be all ova how they did it without Tracy and all but he still part of the team baby and on or off the court The Rockets, not every player except McGrady, THE ROCKETS GO TO THE 2ND ROUND!
It’s party time all day tomorrow, shooot the whole weekend!
May 1st, 2009 at 12:36 am
QQ says:
GEE…
I respect you opinion cause I think yall a real fan, not a bandwagon hopper. Yall keeping it real.
But what I don’t understand is why are you still rooting for TMac. Why are you still hyping him up?
The Rockets FINALLY made the 2nd round, and they were playing WITHOUT TMac. All the years that he was playing, they were stuck in the first round. Isn’t it simple logic that states that they don’t need TMac anymore and that in one way or another, he was one of the reasons that they can’t advance in the first place.
Congrats on the win, bruh. I’ve enjoyed your team’s run. About TMac, though, I think it’s time to let go.
May 1st, 2009 at 1:11 am
Austin Burton says:
@QQ — As a fellow T-Mac apologist, I’ll ask you this: What about T-Mac’s game PREVENTED the Rockets/Magic from advancing in the past? You can say Houston doesn’t need him, because obviously they advanced without him, but to say he was one of the reasons they’d lost in the past, explain that one. That’s like saying Orlando won tonight because they didn’t have Dwight Howard, instead of them winning despite not having Howard.
May 1st, 2009 at 3:16 am
Dave says:
The Suns were never a true championship contender. People liked their style of play and are overrating them because of it.
Speaking of overrated, Nash has two undeserved MVP and gets way too much credit for the team’s past successes.
The window has closed for this team, if it ever existed, and they’ll need to completely rebuilt from the ground up.
May 1st, 2009 at 7:19 am
QQ says:
@ Austin: His heartless jacking, his lack of drive, his tendency to put the blame on others when they where losing instead of carrying his teammates and take all the blame, his frail leadership skills, his unwillingness to defend, and his lack of heart.
Damn. That was TOO easy.
May 1st, 2009 at 8:28 am
SJ says:
The coach always gets the blame. Should they? Sometimes. In the case of Phoenix, everyone shares some blame.
May 1st, 2009 at 8:29 am
iain. says:
R.I.P Most entertaining team in the league. The ’05 Suns are what made me start to watch the NBA.
May 1st, 2009 at 9:22 am
Ian says:
Austin lol that howard thing is just one game now the tmac situation lol its been the same his whole career they won because he wasnt there and thwy dont need him. Qq explained why easy. Now remind me again how hes better than manu ??? Tmac never wins a series goes down team wins manu never losses in the first round goes down and team doesnt advance. Need more proof??
May 1st, 2009 at 9:59 am
doc says:
Its the owners fault.He sold draft picks.
May 1st, 2009 at 10:41 am
Michorizo says:
Shaq blames Kobe
May 1st, 2009 at 4:04 pm
pitball says:
I don’t hate Shaq, and usually find myself going to bat for him as why he’s one of the best centers to ever play….but REALLY SARVER? If this plays out that Stat doesn’t get re-upped because Diesel is still around for ONE MORE YEAR, then I’m puking all over all of the Suns gear that I own and burning it. Someone would have probably slapped you if 3 years ago you told them that Portland, Denver, and Seattle (who in the course of this would move to OKC and become the Thunder) would ALL be in better position for the future.
I love Phoenix, but I’m from Pittsburgh. I’ve been watching the Pirates get rid of talent year in and year out so they didn’t have to pay up, and it is disgustingly depressing. If you own a professional sports team? OWN IT BECAUSE YOU WANT TO WIN. OWN IT BECAUSE YOU WANT TO BE BETTER THAN EVERYONE ELSE. DO NOT PURCHASE A PROFESSIONAL SPORTS TEAM TO MAKE MONEY.
Sarver’s a dick.
May 1st, 2009 at 4:15 pm
Michorizo says:
Then I’m gonna change my handle to MiSarver.
May 2nd, 2009 at 10:37 am
Stu says:
the suns used to be awesome back in the day but had no defense, and defense wins championships thats why they would always lose to the old ass spurs
im not sure the suns should keep any of their players maybe keep STAT
Shaq was a bad move way way past his prime, I think he was when he won a championship with the heat
and they shouldnt trade their draft picks they already traded Nate Robinson and Rajon Rondo what idiots