Suns Marginalize Boris Diaw, Begin Playing Right Into D'Antoni's Hands

Somehow I missed the news that new Sun Matt Barnes will start next season. Okay, that's cool, if a little backward; Barnes's wacky, chaotic approach to basketball seems the exact opposite of where Phoenix is headed. But Upside and Motor sees something more sinister in this announcement: Boris Diaw, quietly being kicked to the curb.

Maybe "quietly" isn't the right word. More that Barnes' starting slot sets off a chain reaction that could very well push Diaw out of the rotation:

Diaw played most of his minutes last season as a power forward, but with Shaq now very much a part of the picture in the PHX, I'm not sure of how real a possibility that is. Amare will command a vast majority of minutes at the 4, meaning Diaw will have to scrounge for minutes at the 3 and the 5 ... The idea of Diaw playing more center should make anyone who likes defense cringe. And on top of that, Robin Lopez, in addition to being the Suns' number one draft target this off-season, has been turning some heads with his play in the team's voluntary workouts.

And let's not forget that Hill is still around, and useful in spurts. Just getting old and, because of his medical history, not to be counted on.

Maybe I'm reading too much into this, but it does kind of feel like Kerr/Porter are going out of their way to marginalize Diaw, one of those signature D'Antoni players. He's got undeniable skills; it's just a matter of thinking outside of the box and figuring out how to use them, something the Suns now can't -- or won't -- make a priority of. Before long, he might be the same dust-gathering curiosity he was in Atlanta, before Mike D rescued him. And then at some point, people will stupidly start wondering if Diaw's actually a lazy, snooty bum who can only thrive in a system tailor-made for him.

Which, hopefully, is when the Knicks will swoop in, take Diaw off the Suns' hands for an expiring contract, and just maybe, contradict everything I wrote earlier about the Knicks getting ahead of themselves.

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