SB Nation User Blog: beatcal

Thank goodness Mike D is gone

beatcal — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 05:47:09 -0000

I'll admit it: I'm a hater. But come on, look at this quote from Coach Pornstache, talking about his team in New York: "If we don’t come out and we don’t play hard, and we don’t play smart and give a good show, I’m going to be bummed,” D’Antoni said. “We can do that. I know we’ve got enough talent to do that. If we don’t do that, then we need to do some soul searching, and we will. But fans can expect a good chance to win every night.”

Here's how the quote should read: "if we don't come out and we don't play hard, and we don't play smart and give a good show, then a lot of players--including starters, including veterans, and including our highest-paid personnel, if necessary--are going to be sitting on the bench. Fans pay too much for tickets, and these players and I get paid too much money, for anyone to be satisfied with a mediocre, heartless performance. So, here's the way it's going to be: you play hard, or you don't play at all. Don't like it? Ask for a trade."

But no, that's not what Coach D says. He says that if his team doesn't play hard, he'll be "bummed," and the team will "need to do some soul searching."

Does Pop ever say that sort of thing? Does Joe Paterno? Does Joe Torre? Does, I dunno, some really successful hockey coach? NO.

I've said it before, and now I'll say it again: I don't care how bad the Suns are this season, I am damn happy that Mike D is gone.

Are the Suns even relevant any more?

beatcal — Sat, 31 May 2008 05:23:02 -0000

I know we've touched on this one in various ways in various threads, but I wanted to consider it explicitly, in one place, all at once.

As we all know, the Suns were dispatched relatively easily by the Spurs in the first round. Then the Spurs were dispatched relatively easily by the Lakers in the conference finals.

Now, I know that some would dispute the "relatively easily" characterization in both cases. Many of the games in both series were very competitive. But a 4-1 series loss is a 4-1 series loss. To me, it looked like there was a decent-sized gap between the Lakers and the Spurs, and another decent-sized gap between the Spurs and the Suns. The Suns' first-round out feels about right to me, given the competition in the Western Conference.

So, what about next year? No one in their right mind will pick the Suns to win the title. But I don't think you can even call them contenders any more. Neither does Johnny Ludden. He thinks the Spurs might have another run or two left in them, but he looks to LA, Utah, Portland, and New Orleans as the future of the conference.

For the first time in years, Phoenix isn't part of the conversation.

I don't think they should be, either. If you ask me, the window is shut, and the Suns are no longer relevant when we start talking about prospective NBA champions.

Re-load or rebuild?

beatcal — Sat, 10 May 2008 21:02:08 -0000

Now that Mike D is going to the Knicks, I'm wondering if perhaps we should just start from scratch. The current team was built to beat the Spurs, and to do so primarily with offense. Unfortunately, the team STILL couldn't beat the Spurs, and the Spurs (right now, anyway) aren't looking like the team of the future in any case.

So I'm wondering...out loud; I don't have any answers...whether fans believe that the Suns with a new coach and some minor personnel changes can be a contender in the next two years...or whether it's time to start over, to start building a much younger team, stockpiling draft picks, and so on.

NOTE: I know that some will say, "Well, there's no way we're getting rid of Shaq or Nash...the former because of his contract, the latter because he's beloved, and because he's the straw that stirs the drink on this team."

Okay, but that doesn't mean you can't start rebuilding anyway. Start assembling the core of the team that you want three years from now, when both Nash and Shaq will almost certainly be gone.

[Note by Phoenix Stan, 05/15/08 8:01 AM PDT ]

Over the last few days of coaching conundrums, this is the question I keep coming back to so I am "stealing" Beatcal's post to have some more conversation on the topic.

We've heard Sarver and Kerr both claim that the Sun's window is still open and that the plan is to win now. One would assume that means Nash, Amare, Shaq, Diaw, Bell, LB and Hill are all coming back.

I am still on the fence. I can definitely see the appeal of moving our movable pieces while they are most movable. That means Nash who's trade value depreciates each year; LB who's production / salary is fantastic; and maybe Diaw who despite his higher salary and inconsistency is a very talented player. Bell would also be a movable piece. Amare is untouchable and Shaq is unmovable.

I just don't see what you can get back that's going to move the team from what will likely be a 50 win, 3 to 6 seed team next year to a top number 1 contender - unless you can pry LeBron out of Cleveland's cold dead hands.

One move I don't like is the idea of Barbosa and the Suns' 15th pick for a 3 - 7 pick. If you look at LB's current production value, there's NO WAY a rookie beyond the top 2 or 3 is going to come in and match what he brings sooner then two or three years.

I still think that LB's value alone is enough to get back a legit backup PG or a backup Center which are our two biggest needs. A move like that is big but not a "blow it up" trade.

Poll

Do you think the Sun's should "blow it up" now and start the rebuilding process?

Yes - window is closed and its time to start over

110 votes

No - this team with tweaks can still win a ring in the next two years

152 votes

262 votes | Poll has closed