SB Nation User Blog: SunsSupporter

Are the Suns Hoping for a Big Bang?

SunsSupporter — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 04:29:14 -0000

It seems that many today are hoping for a Big Bang for the Suns ... an explosion that results in something fantastic.

They think that blowing up the current team will help them to get to a better, more ordered, and hopefully more successful state. Unfortunately, I fear that like the Big Bang it is not a sure thing that order will result, and if it does it will take longer than many would like.

The common thought is that the Suns window is closed. They are too old and too expensive to compete. Last season showed that they couldn't even make the playoffs as currently constituted. Dump O'Neal, dump Stoudemire, and why not dump Nash while we are at it. The sooner we can start the rebuilding the sooner we can start competing again.

My contrarian opinion is that the Suns are still a highly talented team that is only a break or two away from competing for the big prize, and nonetheless continuing a long successful stretch of fun entertaining basketball.

The Suns are indeed getting old but seem to have the best medical staff in the league (if not all of pro sports). They have been able to provide a fountain of youth to Nash, Shaq, and O'Neal, and have kept many players from having the health issues other teams struggle with. Who thinks that Shaq will be nearly as healthy next year without the Suns medical staff watching over him?
Last year was a tumultuous season that was not a fair judge of the Suns capabilities. The season involved a new coach, a major trade (Diaw and Bell, for Richardson and Dudley), another new coach, and a season ending injury to one of best players in the league. As it was the Suns won 56% of their games, barely missed the playoffs in the ulta-competitive West (Under Gentry, even with the injury to Stat, they won at a 58% clip.). As it was they would have been the 5th seed in the East. In other words they were better than 17 teams in the NBA, and were within 8 games of finishing 2nd in the West. Additionally, some of their young players got some significant experience and seemed to be playing much better toward the end of the year (especially Dudley and Dragic). Standing pat I suspect the Suns would have finished above 50 wins and solidly in the playoffs for 2010.
Trading O'Neal means losing probably the 3rd best center in the league. He is still an offensive weapon, capable of setting up a whole teams offense, and still a huge help for his teams rebounding efforts whether he gets the board or just boxes out 2 or 3 guys.
Trading Stat means losing one of the best power fowards in the league. He had shown a tremendous drive to be great. He has even developed his shot out to the near the 3pt line. Yeah he is not a defensive master but how many stars really are? How many of the teams put their best offensive player on the other team's best player?
If you trade Shaq and Stoudemire what inside scoring threat do the Suns have? It seems like they have to go trade for a player with the same skills they are loosing.
If you trade Shaq and Stoudemire does Hill want to come play for a "rebuilding" team? Does Nash want to stay and play for a team like that?
If you trade Nash, you are trading the face and the brains of the Suns. You are trading one of the top 5 point guards in the league. Someone that still will get you 50% FG, 40% 3pt FG, and 90% FT Percentage and nearly 10 assists a game. You will have to find someone that can run the teams offense and be able to close out close games.
Blowing up a team is easy. The trick is rebuilding it quickly. How many teams have been rebuilding for years, without much success? Ask the Clippers, Bucks, Timberwolves, and Thunder/Sonics? It is easier to build gradually on success than to build from the ground up. When you are a losing team, who wants to come play for you? Conversely, when you are a winning team how much easier is it to get free agent role players to fill in for peanuts? How many players have the Suns been able to pick up for cheap (the league minimum or close to it) because they were competitive?

The one thing I can't really address is the salary issue. It is not my money and I can't fault Sarver from trying to save millions of his. The Shaq deal was done for that reason alone and may save upwards of $10 million. That will make Sarver happy, but it shouldn't make the average fan happy. I think we will miss Shaq for a lot of reasons. He certainly made it entertaining. My only hope for the trade is that it will alleviate the need to do other drastic cost cutting moves. An unexpected blessing may come if Ben Wallace decides to play, and the medical staff are able to work their magic once again of him. A rejuvenated Wallace may be a great center for the Suns. He could play next to Stat, guard the other teams best post player, grab 10 boards a game, and share some secrets with some of young frontline players (Lopez, Amundson, and Griffin).

The one player that I think the Suns could trade and get some value and/or cost savings from is Jason Richardson. I'm somewhat surpised I haven't heard anything about him (except for the fact that Kerr was the one who traded for him last year and may not be willing to admit that it didn't work out as well as was hoped). He plays the same position as Barbosa but Barbosa is a better player in my opinion. If nothing else they are fighting for the same minutes and limiting the Suns opportunity to play Tucker more.

It appears to me that the Suns, the local sports writers, and some fans are hoping for a Big Bang this year with the Purple and Orange.

I for one, would rather not see them go supernova.

I would rather they try to keep the core (Stat, Nash, Hill, Barbosa) together, possibly trading Richardson if a good opportunity presents itself, and see what we can do with our young guys from last year and with the rookies we drafted. Clark sounds like an intriguing prospect who might be able to come in and contribute. Griffin and Preldzic are complete unknowns. Who knows? Maybe we will get lucky and someone will emerge as a legitimate star or at least a solid starter.

I would rather look forward to another run and gun in the sun year that would likely end in a playoff berth, than seeing a lottery bound team struggle through a year or ... ten years.

Poll

How long of a rebuilding effort (i.e. less than 50% winning and no playoffs) would you tolerate, if it meant you gave up a winning season this year with a playoff berth?

1 year

23 votes

2 years

36 votes

3 years

20 votes

4 years or more

6 votes

No thanks. I will take a successful year instead.

52 votes

137 votes | Poll has closed

What can the Suns do today?

SunsSupporter — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 19:40:49 -0000

It doesn't look good on Planet Orange as of now. The Suns are a longshot to make the playoffs, yet still have almost a quarter of the season to go.

What can they do today to get better, win more games, and figure out what works and what doesn't?

The Suns are on the outside looking in for the playoffs in the uber-competitive Western Conference. They are without their All-Star power forward, Amare Stoudemire. It is past the trade deadline.

What can they do today to improve?

In my opinion, they need to tweak their rotations.

This will put our best foot forward in the outside chance that the Mavs or one of the other Western Conference teams do have a serious slide at the end of the season.

It will also help the Suns to assess what they really have. The reality is that the Suns have undergone at least 4 major changes this season:

Hiring of Porter and complete change of team identity
Trading Bell and Diaw for Richardson and Dudley
Firing Porter and promoting Gentry, and re-establishing their old identity
Losing Stat for the season

The Laker game that we won showed what this team is capable of ... even without Nash and Stat. The subsequent games have shown that the team has not figured out how to bottle that effort every night.

If nothing else, if the Suns can build the chemistry and firm up some things and go on a run they will know if minor tweaks and waiting for Stat to return will be enough to keep them competitive.

I don't believe judging the Suns without Stat is fair. If he had not been lost the Suns almost assuredly would be in a better position than they are now, probably firmly in the playoff hunt. I also don't think it is fair to judge Gentry yet. I am a firm believer that had we started the season with Gentry we would be in a lot better place today than we are.

If the Suns do go on a run, it will be difficult for Sarver and Kerr to fire Gentry and go with a whole sale change in the roster, because the potential will remain.

If the Suns fail to go on a run, and finish poorly they will probably have enough reason to continue to shake up the team. I'm not a fan of that yet. I think the Suns have endured way too much turmoil this season to be given a fair grade, especially Gentry.

So what am I proposing they do?

I propose the following rotation:

1st/2nd/3rd/4th Quarter

12-8 minutes left:

Nash, Richardson, Hill, Amundson*, Shaq

8-4 minutes left:

LB, Richardson, Barnes, Dudley**, Shaq

4-0 minutes left:

Nash, LB, Hill, Barnes, Swift*

* Is a placeholder for Amundson, Swift, Dudley, or Lopez. Basically a "big".

** May be a "big" or may be Tucker or Dragic with Barnes shifting to the 4

What this does:

Gives our top 6 players (Nash, LB, Richardson, Hill, Barnes, Shaq) 32 minutes a game (not too much and not too little, in my opinion)
No player plays more than 8 minutes in a row
It makes sure that 4 out of those 6 guys are on the court at the same time
When Shaq is out, Nash is in, and vice versa
Our better free throw shooting players are in toward the end of the quarter when the teams often end up in the penalty
Developing a more consistent rotation would undoubtedly help their efficiency playing together (e.g. cutting down on turnovers, helping anticipation between players, improving help defense)
It frees up the 5th spot for our bench guys.
- Allows them to develop playing with starter quality players
- Allows 1 guy to not be a needy offensive player but to focus on defense and rebounding
- Potentially the minutes can be split among 6 bench players (Amundson, Dudley, Lopez, Swift, Dragic, Tucker)
- Can be rotated based on who is hot and contributing on a given night

In the last 2-4 minutes of the 4th quarter you could go with a different line-up if deemed necessary.

One possibility is to play all 6 bench guys for 4 minutes each in the first half, then select the top 2-3 to get the minutes in the second half based on performance.

Why do I think this will help?

I have been disappointment in the inconsistent rotations of Gentry. At times they have 5 bench guys playing together with the predictable poor results. At other times we have played all kinds of different combinations that don't seem to be gelling, possibly because they are not getting enough time together.

I also think having a role player of the court at all times helps the team focus. You have at least 1 guy focused on doing the dirty work of playing defense and rebounding. How many great teams have we seen that has role players that play significant minutes who are not asked to be scorers?

So, this is what I think the Suns can do today. How about you?

An Answer for the Suns?

SunsSupporter — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 01:52:20 -0000

A trade seems almost destined to occur before the deadline.

What if the unimaginable happens ... no trade goes down?

What could the Suns do to salvage the season and make a run for a championship ... with the players they already have?

What if we look at the current Suns, strictly from a basketball point-of-view? Let's put aside the financial considerations for the moment, and the positioning for the future.

What could the Suns change with the existing team to improve the remainder of the season and give them a chance to make a deep run into the play-offs?

In my opinion, they should set up the following rotation (or one like it):

1st/3rd Quarter:

12-8 minutes left: Nash, JRich, Hill, Stat, and Shaq (Team All-Star)

8-4 minutes left: Barbosa, JRich, Hill, Amundson, Shaq (Team Shaq)

4-0 minutes left: Nash, Barbosa, Barnes, Stat, Dudley/Lopez (Team Nash)

2nd/4th Quarter:

12-8 minutes left: Dragic/Tucker, JRich, Hill, Amundson, Shaq (Team Shaq P2)

8-4 minutes left: Nash, Barbosa, Barnes, Stat, Dudley/Lopez (Team Nash)

4-0 minutes left: Nash?, Barbosa/JRich?, Hill/Barnes?, Stat?, Amundson / Dudley / Shaq (Team ?)

With this plan the players would get the following amount of minutes: Nash and Stat (32 min), JRich / Barbosa / Hill / Shaq (24-32 min), Barnes / Dudley / Amundson (or Lopez) (16-24 min), and Dragic / Tucker (8 min).

The advantages with this rotation plan are:

You recognize the former All-Stars by starting them at the beginning of each half. They get that recognition that seems so important to players.
You give the former MVP's there own "team" to run when the other is not on the floor.
Shaq will bring his team, Team Shaq, (adapted to his style of play) earlier in the quarter. This way Shaq will know he will get his "looks" early in the quarter and can batter the other team in the paint and hopefully help his team get to the penalty situation. His team will differ between the 1st/3rd and 2nd/4th to allow Barbosa to play more minutes. Shaq's team's offense will be run through him, but he does have the ball handling and decision making of Hill to help in open court situations.
Nash will bring his team, Team Nash, (adapted to his and Stat's more up and down pace) later in the quarter when fatigue / substitutes and foul shooting may make them even more effective.
Finally, the final 4 minutes of the 2nd and 4th quarter are for the coach to adjust as needed to the game situation and provide a bonus to players who are playing well (i.e. keep the hot players on the court).
The 4 minute rotation period should keep the Suns players fresh but not cold, and help them know when they will be entering the game. It also keeps any one player from playing more than 8 minutes consecutively.
This should allow Suns to spread their talent throughout the whole game, and hopefully satisfy all of the scorers they have. Having happy players should result in better performances on both sides of the ball ... and ultimately happy fans.
It also allows the bench to develop with consistent minutes and consistent roles.

As I mentioned in my previous post, it is my opinion that Shaq and Nash, and Shaq and Stat do not play well together. Shaq takes up room that Nash and Stat are use to working in. They also seem to thrive at a different game pace. This split team approach insures that each has at least 16 minutes a game geared to their style of play when they can perhaps be the most effective.

Some of the Suns players are more interchangeable than others in my opinion. For example, Barbosa and JRich, Hill and Barnes, as well as Amundson and Dudley could be switched and may yield "teams" with better chemistry.

The Sun's Achilles heel this season has been turnovers and rebounding. They have been very efficient offensively, more so than their opponents but they have given their opponents too many extra possessions to score to make up or even exceed the difference. They have shown that they have the players to rebound well (at least they did last season after Shaq joined the team). I think that playing role players (like Amundson and Dudley) who can focus on rebounding more will help them in this category as well. Reducing turnovers will hopefully come when they settle on a consistent style of play and what players will be playing together.

The coaches need to understand that they do not have a team full of excellent defenders. Trying to make them something they are not will only cause frustration, which I think we have already seen. Instead, they need to recognize that they have a team full of offense talent that can score at a high percentage. Given an equal number of possessions they will beat any team in the league on an average night.

I believe that the Suns have the talent to make a deep run into the playoffs. It seems to be a matter of figuring out how to get the most out of what they have.

They have been struggling with that question all season and it will remain (and probably get harder) even with a trade.

To Trade or Stand Pat?

SunsSupporter — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 02:27:10 -0000

Trade rumors abound once again for the Phoenix Suns. The latest rumors have the Suns looking to trade Amare, and possibly Shaq, even though GM Kerr has said no one is untouchable.

Does it make sense to trade or stand pat?

As I recounted in my last post, it is my opinion that the Suns have the best starting 5 in the NBA on paper, a solid 6th man in LB, and at least 2 other reserves that can play some significant minutes off the bench.

Still, it is obvious that the Suns continue to struggle this year. At times, they have looked downright pathetic, turning over the ball in record numbers, and getting out hustled on both sides of the ball.

Does it make sense to trade one or more of the Suns in hopes of salvaging this season, or to start rebuilding?

Lets look at the roster:

Shaq - As I mentioned last time, Shaq is playing great ball. He is a bona fide All-Star center not just someone that won a popularity contest. His talent lies in his post up skills, ability to pass the ball (allowing a whole offense to be built around him), and to rebound the ball. If you were going to trade Shaq, you would want to get another quality center in return. Almost assuredly, you would be losing value at the center position. Even more, you would need to bring someone else in that an offense could be built around when Nash is not on the floor. It would also be ironic to trade the "big man" that for so long everyone said was necessary to win a title.

Stat - Amare is the one in the center of the trade discussions. His attitude, dissatisfaction with his role in the offense, his number touches, and his lapses in rebounding and defense seem to be the things that people point to. What Stat brings to the table is tremendous scoring ability from anywhere inside the 3pt line. He is a "go-to" player. He is the kind of player you give the ball to, over and over as a center piece of an offense. He is easily a 30-10 player if given enough chances. He also has the drive to be that guy. If you trade Stat, you would again have to find someone to play at the PF position. Almost anyone you bring would also be a downgrade at that position. The ironic thing about trading Amare is that he is one of the young and promising players that the Suns can build around for the next 5+ years. It seems that as long as Shaq stays with the Suns and continues to play at the current level, the Suns would probably be able to get by without Amare. But they would be thin inside if Shaq is out.

Hill - Hill said he would retire if he is traded, so unless someone can change his mind, I don't see this happening. Hill also is a great gap filler that is playing great ball right now, and is probably the teams best defender. I don't even think a trade here is possible.

J. Rich. - He just got here! J. Rich is a tremendous SG in this league, certainly in the upper echelon at that position. He has not been with the team long enough to know if he will or will not be a good fit. He is a good 3 pt shooter, very athletic, and a great leaper. If you do trade J. Rich. you could move LB into the starting role, which might actually be a good thing given how well LB plays when he starts. Still you would need to get some solid backup at the 1 or 2 guard position or risk being even thinner at those positions than you are already. This might actually make the most sense, but it seems highly unlikely considering the fact he just joined the team and no one is pointing to him as being a problem.

Nash - Nash is still one of the top point guards in the league. He led the league in assists for the month of January and is currently 3rd in the league in that category. He is also one of the most popular players in the NBA. Even with all of the struggles trying to feed all of the scorers on the team, and adjusting to feeding Shaq, Nash still makes the Suns go. As it is, the Suns don't have a great substitute for Nash at the PG position. If they were to trade him, they would definitely need to get another PG in return. Any likely trade would be a downgrade at that position, unless you are looking very long term.

LB - Leandro Barbosa is a great talent and solid 6th man for the Suns. As mentioned above, he might even be the best SG on the team. He has picked up his game over the last couple of weeks and reminds us what a tremendous player he is. He bring instant offense, energy, and pace to the team. He also is a great team player with a wonderful attitude that makes for great team chemistry. If the Suns were to trade him, they would also be sacrificing a player that they could continue to build around for years to come. Again, if they trade him they would be needing a PG or SG in return.

As for the rest of the Suns, any of the remaining players are expendable and could be used to package with another player or players in a trade deal. They all have some potential to help the team this year or in the future, but they have had their ups and downs.

It is odd to look down the whole starting roster and come to the conclusion that they are all excellent players at their position, and that any likely trade would require a replacement at that position that would probably be a downgrade. It is not like in years past, when we were looking for a true center and were willing trade extra depth at other positions to get a true center. Right now "on paper" we have a solid team. Any tinkering would likely be a short term downgrade in talent in hopes of a short term increase in chemistry and cohesion, or long term benefit (financial or talent), or both.

In some ways, I think the possibility of trading JRich is the most intriguing to me. LB has better stats than JRich anyway. He has show the potential to score on his own and even get others involved to some degree. JRich still hasn't shown that to me apart from fast breaks. I have yet to see him take anyone off the dribble. He has tried posting up smaller guards, and I have yet to see him actually make the shot. I would like to see LB get more playing time and a trade would open that up.

I wish that if we were going to trade Amare, that we would have done that before we traded Boris Diaw. I think the problem Diaw had is that when Amare returned from his knee surgery, he was no longer the go-to guy and like Amare is finding out, it is hard to operate in the same space that another big name player is operating in. Diaw gave you scoring, and he also gave you the ability to get the whole offense going like Nash. If he was asked to be the man, he would step up and do the same job he did for the team that he did during the '05-'06 season. Diaw would have fit in better with this team if he had Stat's place. We could have kept Bell and used the Stat trade to bring in 2 or 3 solid backups. Imagine a line up of: Shaq, Diaw, Hill, LB, Nash, Bell, plus 1-3 of the players that a likely Stat trade would bring in. Oh well ... what might have been.

Still, I think that the Suns have the right players. They just need to get on the same page, and find a way to make it work. They have shown glimpses of that this year. I think Terry Porter would do well to realize what players play well together, and what players don't. Shaq and Stat do not play well together as they take up a lot of the same space ... and Shaq takes up more of it. Similarly, Shaq and Nash don't play well together. Again Shaq takes up space that Nash likes to use to operate in. To me, that means, the Suns should make sure that when Nash is taking a break, that Shaq is on the floor. They can run the offense through Shaq, get him the touches he wants, and we get high percentage post ups, open 3's, or easy shots on cuts to the basket. When Shaq is taking a rest, it is the tried and true Nash and Stat type of offense. Since you probably don't want them only playing 24 minutes a game, they would need to overlap some, but if they had a good 16 minutes a game running things the way they want I suspect they would be happier than they are now.

In my mind, it is the coaches job to do the best with what he has. Terry Porter does not have players with the defensive skills of the Detroit Pistons, but he does have a rich set of offensive players who can score at a high percentage. If he can get them to reduce their turnovers and rebound like they are capable, they will win a lot of games and do well in the play-offs.

It is the GM's job to get the coach players that will help fit in and improve the whole. The question then is what Steve Kerr thinks that looks like for the Suns, and whether or not he is right.

Poll

I am getting the feeling that fans are getting cold feet about trading Amare. What should the Suns do?

Stand pat - addition by subtraction is math fail

122 votes

Do it. Do it now. The window is shut. Start the remodel now while our guys have the most value

125 votes

247 votes | Poll has closed

Panic or Patience?

SunsSupporter — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 04:07:20 -0000

As is often the case with sports, those who are the most dedicated fans are the most given to extreme highs and lows. Of late, I hear the cries of panic. It is time to blow up the Suns, fire the coach, and run the GM out of town. Is it time for panic or patience?

I realize the Suns have disappointed many this season, myself included.

On paper they should have an awesome team. The have 2 MVP and long time All-Star players in Nash and Shaq. They have 3 other players who are currently or previously All-Stars in Stat, Hill, and J Rich. They also have a former best 6th man award winner in LB.

The detractors at the beginning of the season, said the Suns were too old. Shaq is washed up, and Nash's best basketball is behind him.

The positive is that Shaq has proven everyone wrong ... again.

(As an aside, it has also proven that the Suns have the best medical staff, probably in all of sports. I have seen it repeatedly over the years how they have kept the time lost to injury to an extreme low. Broken down players come here and get an extension on their career. Healthy players leave and run into health trouble [e.g. Marion].)

Shaq is a huge bright side for the Suns. He is still one of the best centers in the game. He is able to get good shots for himself and others, like Nash. He is the answer to who will run the offense when Nash is sitting, though it is not always clear the Suns understand that.

Stat has had his ups and downs. He has had some monster games early in the season, enough to get an All-Star spot. Since then he has lost his fear factor. He has turned the ball over at an alarming rate and seems to disappear for whole quarters. Besides that there is the rumor of his ego spoiling the chemistry. Still I know that he is one of the best and most fearsome power forwards in the game, when he is given the ball in opportunities to be successful. He has a drive to be the best that I would not feel comfortable betting against.

Nash is still one of the top point guards in the lead. He is a great shooter from anywhere on the floor. He is one of the best assist men of all time. He is a master at getting guys the balls for high percentage shots. He may be losing some steps, but he will probably have to be using a walker before he is not worth having on the court.

Hill has also been a pleasant surprise. With the departure of Marion, he has taken the mantle as best one-on-one defender for the Suns. He regularly forces tough shots and draws charges as well as anyone. He also has to have the sweetest mid-range jumper in the game. Besides that he has tons of basketball smarts and is able to help his team even when he doesn't have the ball.

On paper J Rich is also a huge talent. He has been one of the best 3pt shooters in the league this season. His ability to run, rebound, and jump has been great at times. He is a proven NBA star that could be huge if he given time to acclimate to the team.

LB has had an inconsistent year as it seems he also is trying to adjust (as all the Suns are) to playing under a different coach with a different offensive scheme. He has had enough games to show that he is still an awesome offensive weapon, capable of going off at any time. He is still a young developing player so there is hope that he will continue to get better as the season progresses.

The rest of the bench has also had their ups and downs. Barnes has oscillated between great (hitting big 3pt shots and grabbing rebounds) and poor (throwing the ball away too many times), but has shown his potential. Lightning Lou has shown a great spark off the bench, bringing the hustle that is often lacking. Dudley, Lopez, Dragic, and Tucker all could step up down the stretch given the right opportunity.

Again, on paper, there is no better starting 5 in all of basketball. They have a solid 6th man in Barbosa, and enough talent on the bench to go at least 8 deep (Barnes and Lou).

Their biggest obstacle is mental and psychological. Mental in that the Suns players and coaches have to mentally adjust to one another and figure out how to get on the same page. Psychological in that the Suns have to regain their confidence and swagger. They have to expect tough matches, but also expect that they will overcome. They will overcome hot shooting teams, poor officiating, and old nemesis'. The have to get motivated to play playoff caliber ball every night. They have to continue to improve. They have the potential to be the best team in basketball but they are not there yet.

Is it time to panic? Fire the coach? Blow up the team and look to the future?

Are you crazy?! The Suns are in the middle of the playoff hunt (solidly over 50%). If they continue to jell as the season progresses they (like the Cardinals) could do great things in the playoffs. Do you remember what it is like to have a consistently losing team (like the Cardinals before this year)? How many teams are in the rebuilding phase? Everyone that is outside of the playoffs! Ask them how much fun that is, and whether they would trade places with the Suns.

I was not a big fan of the previous trade that sent Bell and Diaw to Charlotte for J Rich. (BTW, I was also not a fan of Kerr interfering with D'Antoni encouraging him to leave). I knew that Bell and Diaw were quality players who just had not been worked into the system. I thought and still think that Diaw is one of the most talented players in basketball, and perhaps my favorite player to watch ... period. Bell was the heart of the Suns, their passion, their fire. I don't think J Rich gives you much more than Bell does, and so I think the trade reduced the depth of the Suns. In one sense, it was a good trade because it didn't seem like the Suns knew how to use Diaw effectively anyway so then they may have upgraded the talent at the 2 slightly. Either way it is water under the bridge. J Rich may still surprise me. I suspect that Diaw will continue to surprise everyone else (especially some Suns fan that love to diss him). J Rich is a Suns player now, so I'm still rooting for him.

So let's keep some perspective, people. There are still a lot of games to play. Once we are in the playoffs, record doesn't matter. Anyone can win. Ultimately, it is not about winning a championship. It is about entertainment. If the Suns don't bring you entertainment, then find something else to do.

Only one team will win the championship ... then that will be quickly forgotten 4 months later as a new season starts. The sport dilemma is that there is always next year, for the champion as well as for all the rest. The end is not nearly as enjoyable as how you got there.

Go Suns!