SB Nation User Blog: eagleheart

All praise Steve Kerr: Genius not Moron!

eagleheart — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 09:20:35 -0000

All praise Steve Kerr: Genius not Moron!

This fan post is where we can all eat crow, myself included, for all the Kerr-bashing we've been doing the past couple years. This will be awkward for a lot of us. When Steve Kerr traded Shawn Marion for Shaquille O’Neal, he bluntly proclaimed that history would either see him as a genius or a moron for making the deal. With the early success the Suns have had, it seems like we don't have to label him a genius or moron for that deal alone. The Terry Porter Experiment didn't work out so well, so Kerr cut his losses (and his buddy Porter).

This year Steve has got the Suns the best bench the team has had in many years. The team is also tied for the best record in the league. Yes it's early and we are probably one Steve Nash injury away from the lottery but the early returns are promising, very promising indeed for this Suns team. Now's everyone's chance to hop on the *gulp* "We Love Steve Kerr!" bandwagon!

"All aboard!!!"

Western Conference Preview

eagleheart — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 12:59:50 -0000

Western Conference Preview

"I can see the future"

It's offseason, what you going to do? Now seems as good a time as any to put on the Amazing Kreskin hat and make some predictions. I'll start with the Western Conference where our beloved Suns play. This offseason has seen significant changes throught the Western Conference. A recent poll of NBA GMs picked the Lakers to repeat this coming year as NBA Champions.

I think the final standings will be something like this:

Lakers
Spurs
Mavericks
Blazers
Nuggets
Hornets
Thunder
Clippers
Jazz
Suns
Warriors
Rockets
Kings
Grizzlies
Timberwolves

Let me explain why I made these choices.

Nothing needs to be said about the Lakers. They are the Champs and they turned Trevor Ariza in Ron Artest. They figure to have a strong season.

The Spurs got Richard Jefferson for pennies on the dollar and figure to be contenders again. Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Ginobli and Jefferson. And a decent looking rookie named Dejuan Blair.

I am expecting the Mavericks to have a resurgent year with Shawn Marion added to a very decent core with the support of an owner who isn't afraid to spend what it takes to be contend. Dallas will probably have 15 guys on their roster all year.

The Blazers should be a tough team with the great play of Brandon Roy. Greg Oden has looked good so far in preseason and is a big fricking dude who will really make a difference. Also Andre Miller could be a big piece.

The Hornets got Emeka Okafor for Tyson Chandler. The Hornets really underperformed last year. This year I look for them to turn it around. Any team with Chris Paul is going to be a good team.

The Thunder, while still very young, should probably start putting it together this year. This will be Durant's third year as a pro, he's got some nice young teammates in Westbrook, Green and Harden. They do have a hole in the middle with no quality center. As I said a young team but one solidly built.

Clippers yes they are perenial losers. I look for them to pull their heads out of the sand a bit this year with the attention garnered by #1 pick Blake Griffin causing them to raise their games a bit. I look for Baron Davis to regain some of his old mojo. I'm calling it now, the Suns will lose the Season opener to the Clippers. (Hey 50/50 shot of being right ha)

Jazz. They are very well coached and that discipline results in quality products on the court. Unfortunately, the team they have isn't spectacular as far as talent but the solid foundations they have there should result in something halfway decent. Boozer, expiring, will be playing for next season's contract .

And then we come to the Suns. Suns draft picks that have been frittered away such as Nate Robinson, Rudy Fernandez, Rajon Rondo and Macin Gortat and Dejuan Blair really will make a difference out on the court this year. The good news is that the Suns made maybe 1 million or so dollars from selling those picks, woo-hoo. What else can I say about the Suns that hasn't been said here before? They are really short with only one 7 footer on the roster as of now and who is currently out due to injury. They are either really old or really young with Barbosa and Stoudemire being the only guys in their prime. I suppose Richardson is also in his prime, he's a newcomer who is something of an X factor. There has been coaching, front office and ownership turmoil.

The Warriors are also used to controversy the latest being the Stephen Jackson soap opera. Meddling ownership and front office shenanigans and trying to load up on every 6 foot 3ish scorer they can hasn't helped. A repuation for dishonesty is also something they have earned as a result of the renegging of a trade for Stoudemire that went something like this fictional conversation between Larry Riley and Steve Kerr: "Steve you've got a deal." pause until their draft pick comes up then "Wait I changed my mind Stephen Curry is available." Despite all that nonsense the team has talent and a resourceful and inventive coach who is pretty darn long in the tooth who seems a bit jaded after his 30+ years in the game.

As for the Rockets, no Yao so don't expect a whole lot from them. Trevor Ariza is there as a replacement for Ron Artest, I wonder how that will go. Should be okayish I guess but there is no Yao so don't expect a whole lot other than McGrady to play maybe 10 games and get hurt or be traded as an expiring contract.

The Kings have a very young team. I like their "rookie" coach Paul Westphal who famously guided the Suns to the Finals in the Barkley era to lose to a team that everyone was losing to those days - Da Bulls with Jordan. I recall him (Westphal not Jordan) as having a great knack for drawing up plays that would result in easy baskets for game winning buckets.

Grizzlies. Meh. Iverson is there and who knows what that means. There probably aren't enough shots to go around for everyone on that team who likes to jack up shots.

Timberwolves are in rebuilding mode and are trying to find their post-McHale identity. They've got big Al. He's a great player to have.

So that's what I think about all the Western Conference teams. Thanks for reading my season preview. Go Suns!

Size Matters: Suns to be killed on the glass?

eagleheart — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 13:38:18 -0000

The Suns are undersized at the 4 and 5

The team, as currently constructed, is going to get killed next year on the boards. I'm not sure what our lineup is to be but at best (height wise) it will be Lopez and Stoudemire at the 4 and 5. The lineup might possibly be Stouemire and Frye at 4 and 5 which isn't a great thing since Stoudemire and Frye are known for being slightly below par on rebounding.

Here's a list of our guys 6'10" and taller according to offiical Suns Roster:

Stoudemire 6'10" Lopez 7', and Frye 6'11". That's it. 3 guys. Clark and Amundsun are 6'9".

We do not match up well with some of the top teams... Consider:

LA Lakers - 5 guys

Andrew Bynum 7', Pau Gasol 7', Mbenga 7', Odom 6'10" (FA), Elonu (unsigned draft pick) 6'10"

Spurs - 5 guys

Duncan 6'11", Matt Boner 6'10", Gooden 6'10" (FA), Haislip 6'10", Mahinmi 6'11"

Dallas - 4 guys

Dampier 6'11", Ryan Hollins 7' (FA), Jawai 6'10", Nowitzski 7'

Besides Lopez, we got no one over 7 foot on the roster. Lopez didn't really play a lot last year, so he's pretty much an unknown factor. Will he get in foul trouble as he adjusts to more playing time. You bet he will, he's shown those tendencies already.

Kerr? What's up? Small ball is cool and all but come on, we need some size.

Dampier - Jrich Trade Good for us?

eagleheart — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 11:53:15 -0000

Dampier - Jrich Trade Good for us?

Hoopsworld mentions that the Mavericks have basically traded away their two guards in their bid to get Shawn Marion. As part of the trade the mavs send Devean George and Antoine Wright, two primary rotation players at the two. They signed Greg Buckner, a great defender, but a non-factor on the offensive end. They also got back Nathan Jawai from the Raptors, a center prospect. The Mavericks are likely to land Marcin Gortat as a restricted free agent Topping off their centers are Ryan Hollins and good old Erick Dampier. (or Erica Dampier as Shaq fondly refers to him).

Erick Dampier's incentive based contract will end this season if he doesn't average 28 minutes per game (he averaged 23 last season). That's a $12 million ending deal.

Phoenix could gain a center to play ahead of Robin Lopez and dump JRich's contract and driving abilities.

It's speculation at this point but it might work....

Source: Wife Will Sway Grant Hill to Sign With Knicks

eagleheart — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 20:55:43 -0000

Source: Wife Will Sway Grant Hill to Sign With Knicks

Hill, the 36-year-old small forward, is leaning toward accepting an offer from the Knicks instead of the Boston Celtics or Phoenix Suns on Thursday, and a major reason is his wife Tamia, a national recording artist who would benefit greatly from him playing in New York.

Although the Celtics would give him a much greater chance at winning a championship, they are offering considerably less money and playing time. The Suns don't have the kind of money he wants, either, but they do have the playing time and the reward of playing alongside point guard

Sarver's Carvering of the Suns: A Retrospective

eagleheart — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 11:13:07 -0000

Sarver's Carvering of the Suns: A Retrospective

The Banker's Influence on our Beloved Suns

It's easy to second guess decisions after their results have played out. At the time you believe people make decisions for reasons that seem reasonable at the time. This post is mostly a recap of comments made on AZcentral by brmarin.

Decisions by Sarver have become all too easy to second guess with the benefit of hindsight. The truth be told, even as Steve Kerr or Brian Colangelo were forced to make these decisions they didn't exactly seem that great at the time. Of course neither you or I were actually there while these decisions were being made but it seems that Sarver's fingerprints are all over this mess.

The list of missteps includes draft issues, bogus trades, GM issues, and coaching changes.

1. Suns draft Lou Deng, then trade his rights away for Jackson Vroman and future first round pick. Lou Deng (or Andre Igoudala) would have been a nice player to have during some of our playoff runs from 05 - 07.

2. Joe Johnson wants extension in the summer of 2004 for a reasonable price. Sarver refuses even when advised by his GM.

3. Joe goes onto to have a fabulous 04-05 season and his contract value rises from his original extension request. Joe leaves because of soured relations with Sarver.

4. 2005 draft suns select Gortat and Nate Robinson. Nate is traded with Q. Richardson to obtain Kurt Thomas because Amare is hurt. Nate would have been a nice scoring punch from the PG position. Gortat is traded for cash to the Magic.

5. Colangelo resigns as GM because Saver lets him know he will not pay him more money and apparently didn't value his work very much. Kerr comes aboard. Colangelo was probably also mad about interference such as Sarver trading picks for money and not signing Joe Johnson like he advised him to do.

6. Suns draft Rondo in 2006 draft and trade him away for a 2007 draft pick of Cleveland. The Suns could have had Nash, Nate Robinson, Rondo. Suns also draft PG Serigo Rogriguez and trade for cash considerations.

7. 2007 draft Suns take Rudy Fernandez and trade him and James Jones for some more cash again. Fernandez is just beginning his NBA career but looked impressive against the US "Redeem Team" in the Gold Medal Game. The Suns take Alando tucker with the 27th pick. Aaron Brooks, Arron Aflfalo, Carl landry, Marc Gasol, Ramon Sessions are still on the draft board when the Suns take Tucker and Fernandez. Suns could of used the services Afflalo because he is a wing defender/ 3point shooter. Gasol or Landry would give the Suns a big man they need.

7. Feb. 2007 Suns trade Marion for Shaq. Marion was worth much more than an injured Shaq in 2007. He was a dream teamer that had many amazing seasons. During the 2006-07 season, Marion was one of two players (the other Kevin Garnett) to rank in the top 40 in points per game, rebounds per game, field goal percentage, blocks per game, steals per game, and minutes per game and he was named to his fourth NBA All-Star Team. We get Shaq and of course this leads to chemistry problems because the Suns were a running team forced to play half court. Shaq was a also a ball hog and paint clogger. Big mistake!!! I can remember when Minnesota was willing to trade Garnett for Marion and Barbs. Can you say champs with Garnett.

8. Sarver/Kerr alienate D'antoni who signs with the Knicks and get Porter. Porter tries and fails to change a team built to run into a defensive half court team ala San Antonio Spurs and is fired a little over midseason.

9. 2008 Draft we take Lopez and trade & pay dearly for Dragic. I don't know why. Marreese Speights, Courtney Lee, Kosta Koufas, Nicolas Batum, PG's George Hill, and Mario Chalmers were all available but Sarver/Kerr wanted Lopez and Dragic. All the alternative picks would have been better. Suns also trade 2nd round pick for Dragic and Spurs draft Duejuan Blair with the pick this year.   We can remember that as we see him beating up our bigs in the future.

10. 2009 Shaq is traded away for almost nothing (financial considerations again).   The Suns do not get anyone back who is likely to play at all for the team.     Kerr can not even get a first round pick for the aging center coming off of an all star year.

11. What's coming next??? Suns lose Grant Hill, Amar'e Stoudemire, and Steve Nash?   There are signs that some of these are coming.

Add more if you want and enjoy.

JRich received a jail sentence

eagleheart — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 05:54:28 -0000

Richardson received a 1-day jail sentence

5 commentsby Paul Coro - Jul. 6, 2009 07:58 PM
The Arizona Republic

Suns guard Jason Richardson received a one-day jail sentence last month when his two cases for separate driving incidents were adjudicated, according to court documents.

For a Dec. 21 case in which he was stopped on Loop 101 at Thomas Road, Richardson pleaded guilty a DUI charge and was sentenced to a day in jail, three years of summary probation, $1,680 in fines, alcohol-education class and community service.

For a Feb. 15 case in Scottsdale, Richardson pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor speeding charges and endangerment for $1,195 in fines. A reckless-driving charge and a child-passenger-restraint violation were dismissed.

The Suns suspended him for a game after the second case, costing him about $110,000 in salary.

---------------

Get your JRich bashing in below....

Ben Wallace: What's up?

eagleheart — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 10:15:38 -0000

Ben Wallace: Phoenix Sun?

It's been dead silent quiet on the Ben Wallace front since he was traded to the Suns. I haven't seen anything about him even coming by the valley.

Was there a press conference introducing him? Yes, we've heard the rumors that he may retire even prior to the trade (this is what probably led the Banker to trade for him to begin with). But since he's become a Phoenix Sun, at least in name, we haven't heard a peep from him or his camp.

Usually in these situations, they say "yeah it's great to be here" speech B.S. even if you know he's going to be gone. Steve Kerr said anything about this? Has he said what the heck he's planning on doing?

Basically, has any real indications been given by the Suns or the Wallace camp on what the heck he's going to be doing next year?

Future Phoenix Suns Draft Picks

eagleheart — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 10:13:45 -0000

Future Phoenix Suns Draft Picks

Assuming the Banker and Kerr don't sell our draft picks, our drafts picks have been planned for the next 5 years.

Check the link...

Suns Bobcats New Trade Rumor

eagleheart — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 12:20:49 -0000

New Trade Rumors??

I'm creating a new trade rumor. This trade works according to ESPN.com's trade machine with the two principal teams involved being Phoenix and Charlotte:

PHX sends PF: Amaré Stoudemire to Charlotte for: Boris Diaw and C Nazr Mohammed.

Boris Diaw immediately steps in as the teams starting PF and Nazr can man the middle now that Shaq's gone.

Great idea huh? Discuss (lol)... I'm surprised if this trade hasn't occured to Steve Kerr of the famour firestevekerr.com website.