Dear Spurs Faithful:

Remember me from years past? We've met before. No I'm not talking about the 90's, or even early 2000's.  I'm talking about the Steve Nash era of Phoenix Suns Basketball, I'm talking about 2005, 2007, and 2008.

Now do you recognize me? I'm the longtime Suns fan who, in these three years, has bitterly left every post season feeling empty, and beaten. Only those who are true basketball fans understand the feeling. Truthfully I did not hate the Spurs before those unforgettable encounters, and I even respected Tim Duncan. After each playoff ousting my hatred grew more and more especially, because of the way the Spurs would win. With the trade of Shawn Marion I had seen such a promising era of basketball come to an abrupt end, and I knew this was in no small part a move meant to beat the Spurs. When things did not pan out I viewed the departure of Coach Mike D' Antoni and secretly welcomed it, and yes I even went so far as to root for the Los Angeles Lakers just to see the Spurs lose. I blamed the Spurs for the franchise moving back in to a rebuilding mode as did every Phoenix fan you could meet. Steve Kerr had ruined the "Seven Seconds or Less" era and became as hated as any Spur in this city, and I joined in calling for his firing.

Yet in my stupidity every thing was lining up in to place. The acquisition of Jason Richardson and Jared Dudley, drafting Robin Lopez and Goran Dragic, the re-signings of a couple of old veterans, the departure of Shaq, Channing Frye coming to town, and Amar'e Stoudemire staying. All products of Steve Kerr. In reality the Spurs did any person who is or ever was a fan of the Suns the greatest favor in this decade. They showed us how to build a franchise the right way. Forget the luxury tax type pay roll or the offense best suited for Golden Sate, defense wins championships, and the Spurs taught that better than any other team could have.

This year I made my peace with the demons of series past, and why not the Suns were not even suppose to make the postseason. I never believed that and even when all was going wrong I did what any Spurs fan would do I stayed aboard the sinking ship. Yes the Suns beat the Spurs and that is fantastic, but the way in which they did it and have been doing it these playoffs has San Antonio written all over it.  A fully equipped bench or second team as I know them is reminiscent of the Spurs of yore, and the team defense which spreads like a contagious cold at times is not unlike that of a Popovich team.

So in closing I say to all you Spurs fans keep your head up. Remember the Suns were all but dead. Nash much like Timmy was fading fast, or so they said, and with his demise the rest of the team would crumble. Tune them out because nothing cleanses like a hard earned playoff victory. Do not buy in to the "too old" ideas and remember with Coach Pop and the Spurs triumvirate it ain't ever over til' its over.

Now I don't hold much optimism for any backup PG that come to Phoenix these days but I recently learned that Dan Dickau(drafted with the 28th pick by Sacramento in the 2002 NBA draft) chose to attend the Phoenix training camp over Boston's. Now this got me to doing some research and what I found gave me a small glimpse of hope.

According to NBA statistics Mr. Dickau had himself a pretty good season 2004-2005 when he actually started the vast majority of his games and played more than 30 minutes per game for the recently relocated New Orleans Hornets. He averaged 13.2 ppg, 5.2 apg, 1.1 spg, and 2.7 rpg.

After that he was quickly traded when the Hornets acquired Chris Paul with the 4th pick in the draft and that's where his story ends, actually it does go on but there's nothing else quite notable. My point is if we can get him for cheap and something does happen either to Nash or Dragic we have a guy who has proven that when given the appropriate amount of time he can play pretty well.

But enough on my thoughts my question to you all is should the Suns sign him if they can get him at a bargain price?

The Charlotte Bobcats are looking to trade Raja Bell according to Yahoo Sports, and I was just wondering what other Suns fans are thinking of this. Of course he would probably never come back to the Suns but he'd like to return to a contender, how about San Antonio or Denver? Those two would be the most likely of places seeing as how they both have a need for a good defensive SG. Any input?

Truth be told I'm a Suns fan but I want, the Bucks Fan's input, as I looked over other trades that would possibly make the Suns a better team I realized that Jason Richardson's contract paired with the partially guaranteed contract of Sasha Pavlovic would be a trade commodity that would allow us to get someone of a high caliber someone like Michael Redd. Why Redd? Because I hear that there might just as there is in Phoenix be a rebuilding in Milwaukee.

If the Suns want to invest in their future or want to try to compete as Dallas, San Antonio, and Los Angeles have done they could also add in a piece they've missed since they traded him for almost literally nothing Mr. Kurt Thomas. This also makes financial sense for the Bucks.

Now the first thing to remember is that the Bucks are looking to lower their payroll and what a perfect way to do it allow me to explain.

Suns get-

Michael Redd- 2yr- $17,040,000

Kurt Thomas- 1yr- $3,800,000

Bucks get-

Jason Richardson- 2-yr $13,333,334

Sasha Pavlovic- 1-yr $4,946,250

Alando Tucker- 1-yr $1,071,720

Now in order for the Bucks to consider this they would have to save a substantial amount, this deal would help them do just that, their payroll stands at $71M and change if this deal were to go through there payroll would drop to about $66M assuming they buyout Pavlovic. Not to mention the additional $4M the Bucks would save on the last year of Redd's contract.

This deal couldn't happen until mid August when both Pavlovic and Thomas will be allowed to be traded with other players but a nice thought in my mind.

As I looked over other trades that would possibly make the Suns a better team I realized that Jason Richardson's contract paired with the partially guaranteed contract of Sasha Pavlovic would be a trade commodity that would allow us to get someone of a high caliber someone like Michael Redd.

No he's not a great defensive presence but neither is Richardson and we get in return a consistent scorer and gain a player who gives us a big three again. Save for last year he has been quite healthy playing no less than 53 games every year not including his rookie season. If the Suns want to invest in their future or want to try to compete as Dallas, San Antonio, and Los Angeles have done they could also add in a piece they've missed since they traded him for almost literally nothing Mr. Kurt Thomas.

Now the first thing to remember is that the Bucks are looking to lower their payroll and what a perfect way to do it allow me to explain.

Suns get-

Michael Redd- 2yr- $17,040,000

Kurt Thomas- 1yr- $3,800,000

Bucks get-

Jason Richardson- 2-yr $13,333,334

Sasha Pavlovic- 1-yr $4,946,250

Alando Tucker- 1-yr $1,071,720

Now in order for the Bucks to take the bait they would have to save a substantial amount, this deal would help them do just that, their payroll stands at $71M and change if this deal were to go through there payroll would drop to about $66M assuming they buyout Pavlovic. The Suns have a payroll of roughly $71M if this deal is done they would have a payroll of $73M and change raising the payroll up from what could have been $69M with the buyout of Pavlovic. I think it would be quite worth it for this to happen they could start either Frye or Thomas at the C position and designate Thomas as the defensive big man. This deal couldn't happen until mid August when both Pavlovic and Thomas will be allowed to be traded with other players but a nice thought in my mind.

This actually is a possible trade seeing as how the Jazz want to keep Millsap badly, this is mainly why other deals were rejected, they want to clear up cap space.

In this deal you would simply trade Barbosa, Pavlovic who can then be waived, and Alando Tucker. Here are the numbers:

Barbosa- $6,600,000

Pavlovic- $4,946,250 non- guaranteed salary.

Tucker- 1,071,720

for

Boozer- $12,657,233

This deal would save the Jazz at the very least $3.45M with Pavlovic contract alone and if you leave Tucker out that an extra million is the Sunsare willing, as for the Jazz they would save a substantial amount to be able to pickup Millsap and have a nice piece in Barbosa to start or even come off the bench.

This actually is a possible trade seeing as how the Jazz want to keep Millsap, and clear up some cap space and this would be a way to contend right away while rebuilding.

In this deal you would simply trade Barbosa, Pavlovic who can then be waived, and Alando Tucker. Here are the numbers:

Barbosa- $6,600,000

Pavlovic- $4,946,250 non- guaranteed salary.

Tucker- 1,071,720

for

Boozer- $12,657,233

This deal would save the Jazz at the very least $3.45M with Pavlovic contract alone and makes the Suns into a title contender i my opinion.

We already know that Philly is looking to move Brand but would they be willing to take Richardson in return.

If the Suns had winning on their mind they would have realized that they could have traded the Wallace contract for Brand's who both would have made about the same amount this year. Instead they pay $10M to buy out Wallace and get nothing in return.

Another thought is trading away Barbosa, recently acquired Pavlovic, and possibly Alando Tucker to Philly for Brand which would probably still put them over the cap. Here are the figures if your wondering.

Richardson- $13,333,334
Tucker- $1,071,720

for

Brand- $14,858,472

or

Barbosa- $6,600,000

Pavlovic- $4,946,250

Tucker- 1,071,720

This deal if Aaron Nelson can get Brand healthy would be an amazing deal and my guess is Phoenix would again be a contender.

In what can only be called a stunning move Lakers owner Jerry Buss has taken the three-year $27M contract offered to Lakers F Lamar Odom off the table in an act of frustration as reported by the L.A. Times.

Another source with ESPN.com says that in actuality there is no deadline for this deal but also follows the reports that Odom while in accord with the $9M per year seeks a contract that would span more than three years.

The most likely of places for Odom to sign with are Dallas and Miami, the latter of which Odom would clearly favor, but no matter where Odom signs his subtraction may prove to be costly for the Lakers even with newly acquired F Ron Artest in the lineup.

It has been reported by ESPN the magazine's Chris Broussard that Houston F Ron Artest is set to join the Los Angeles Lakers.

Ron Artest confirmed this rumor in a text message to ESPN.com, he will reportedly receive an estimated $18 Million contract over three years, this after meeting with owner Jerry Buss and coach Phil Jackson.

This may now strongly rule out the possibility that Lakers free agent F Trevor Ariza will rejoin the team after reportedly being unsatisfied with the Lakers offer of the $5.6 million mid-level exception. Ariza is now speaking with other suitors including Cleveland as well as Houston.

It has been reported by ESPN the magazine's Chris Broussard that Houston F Ron Artest is set to join the Los Angeles Lakers.

Ron Artest confirmed this rumor in a text message to ESPN.com, he will reportedly receive an estimated $18 Million contract over three years, this after meeting with owner Jerry Buss and coach Phil Jackson.

This may now strongly rule out the possibility that Lakers free agent F Trevor Ariza will rejoin the team after reportedly being unsatisfied with the Lakers offer of the $5.6 million mid-level exception. Ariza is now speaking with other suitors including Cleveland as well as Houston.

Steve Kerr remains the one responsible for the O'neal trade and yet new rumors have surfaced that it was Nash who asked that the trade be made in the first place.

Nash in an article written by Tim Povtak, apparently implied that if O'neal was still in a Suns uniform by next season Nash's future with the team would be in question. Nash said to be unhappy with O'neal's inability to keep up with the fast pace offense and his frequest request to big a larger part of the offense wanted O'neal out.

This seems somewhat easy to believe since Nash and O'neal did not have a great relationship, and even more evident in the two games which Nash did not play O'neal scored forty points in both.

I'll admit that yes I'm a Suns fan and yes I have a certain hatred for what the Spurs have done and even for one or two of their players, but that doesn't mean I don't respect what they have done.

As a Suns fan my sole obligation is to hate the entire Spurs franchise and I have in the past but as time passes and the wound heals I've come to respect one part in of the franchise in particular, Tim Duncan. No one since the Jordan era has influenced the game (with the exception of Shaquille O'neal) more than Tim Duncan and has done it in such a calm, quite, and graceful demeanor. A franchise player made of dreams made without any sense of an ego and as consistent as they come.

He along with the rest of the team changed what was popular, and they did it by keeping to themselves, other teams namely my Suns built off of what other teams did instead of looking on the inside and fixing the small problems. The trade for O'neal was jus that, a fix to the Lakers Gasol and the Spurs Duncan, the Suns could have changed the game even more had they won a title, they could have changed the idea of defense wins championships.

Instead the Suns changed based on how they thought they could beat the Spurs and in doing so doomed themselves, the Spurs again changed nothing not realizing they would end an entire era of another franchise. So for now I say congratulations, well done, kudos, until we meet again.

May our next meeting be in the playoffs.

Recently there has been talk of Suns F Amare Stoudemirebeing traded to various places including Houston and Golden State but one rumor he himself was content to start was him going to Los Angeles, and so with that some have brought up the idea of Stoudemire being traded to the Lakers with Lakers C Andrew Bynum as the center piece of the deal and of course others would be added to offset salaries.

Of course this all seems quite far fetched but so did Pau Gasolfor next to nothing and yet that still happened, and knowing Steve Kerr all he needs is a little nudge from Kupchak and this deal would be as good as done.

This deal would be beneficial to both sides seeing as how the Suns want to start new with young talent that won't be quite so overpaid and the Lakers would get a monster of a player who would no doubt submit to Bryant, the question is does this deal seem good enough to possibly include a sign and trade involving either Lakers F Trevor Ariza or F Lamar Odom? 

If Bryant can lead Stoudemire the way he's done for Gasol this might be a dynasty in the making, here's to hoping Kerr's moron meter tilts to red. 

After reading parts of Jack McCallum's book Seven Seconds or Less I realized something, we as fans were witnesses to something that was almost as powerful as the rivalries of old.

What the two have to do with each other maybe closer that you think, given that SSOL system brought about a major change in the NBA and created a phenomena that only Jordan, Magic, and Bird could have brought about, after my quick scanning I began to appreciate more and more what I had witnessed.

The idea of getting down the court in transition as fast as possible is not solely the invention of Mike D'antoni, it was around long before he ever grabbed a clip board or even laced up his shoes, basketball icons have been preaching it ever since the Celtics were established, well maybe not that long but close to it. In fact the idea of the whole run and gun originated in Rhode Island and was called Run-and-Shoot, but that's a different post, it was none other than Red Auerbach who perfected it with HOFer Bob Cousy running the show.

Since then there have been very few great teams that have not in some way incorporated this style into their way of playing, yes they scored less points then today but that has more to do with the invention of the shot clock and three point line than anything else, the Celtics teams of old, the Showtime Gang run by Magic Johnson, and even the Bulls to some extent. All had this in common they were unstoppable in transition, fast and, pleasing to the eye, it's no coincidence that the climax of the NBA's long storyline has been during those era's dominated by those teams, fact was they were entertaining to watch and they won two great combinations.

The revolution that was so innovative was actually a renaissance of basketball genius it had been done before but we now dedicated fans had never seen it before and up until that point were less than casual, not until a borderline all-star point guard who's expiration date seemed to be well in site and a coach who had already been once fired, did we become more than just passers-by we became real fans. 

It was D'antoni like Auerbach and Nash like Cousy who orchestrated this style to perfection and gave us a glimpse of real basketball, the question in my mind at least is not whether the style is successful but whether the players can or are available to make it successful.

It seemed Phoenix had added all the right pieces with a young core and a veteran leader, they were going to take this league by storm, and for three seasons they did. While playing the ultimate game of what ifs we might be talking about a small dynasty in which during the 2005-2006 conference semi-finals against the Mavericks the Suns had won or how the Suns beat the Spurs at home in game four of the 2006-2007 playoffs something this Suns group had never done, and how that was the turning point on their way to winning the series and facing the Cavaliers who they almost certainly would have beaten.

Instead we face the reality that Amare Stoudemire had season ending surgery keeping him from the Dallas series and the gut wrenching suspension of none other than Stoudemire and maybe much worse Boris Diaw.

With that ended an small entire era of life changing basketball that changed the game itself, brought fame to the unknowns and greatness to the formerly mediocre. It brought about new fans who relished the opportunity to see their team play the Run' n Gun' Suns, until 2007-2008 season when the first piece of the power supply was bartered by an outsider who's idea of success was watching others achieve it and riding their coattails, and never again would we see the great style played in this transcendent way again.

So lets say one last good-bye to our era of Run' n Gun' as it goes away back into the vault, what we now may know is that it was bigger than the Suns and we may not see it again for a long time.

After reading parts of Jack McCallum's book Seven Seconds or Less I realized something, we as fans were witnesses to something that was almost as powerful as the rivalries of old.

What the two have to do with each other maybe closer that you think, given that SSOL system brought about a major change in the NBA and created a phenomena that only Jordan, Magic, and Bird could have brought about, after my quick scanning I began to appreciate more and more what I had witnessed.

Continue reading this post »

Editor's Note: I am going to co-opt this well-written post which leads into exactly what I need to cover this morning. I'll add my thoughts and additional information at the end.

By now most everyone has heard the rumors involving Phoenix Suns F Amar'e Stoudemire going to the Golden State Warriors in return for C Andris Biedrins, F Brandan Wright and/or SG Marco Belinelli, the tipping point on either side is the seventh pick in the draft, Davidson PG Stephen Curry. He of course will make or break the deal, in part because the Warriors did not necessarily expect him to be on the board and would have been much more willing to deal if this had been Arizona F Jordan Hill, and after seeing the potential of Curry they may want to hold on to him.

While the general consensus is that this deal will be made with Curry headed to the desert both general managers have denied this deal even being in consideration that in fact Steve Kerr went so far as to call the rumor "totally false," and Larry Riley said he drafted Curry with no intentions to trade him.

That, however, does not mean this is not still in the works. It was reported by a local newspaper that the Suns draft room cheered in excitement when Curry was taken off the board which may be considered a sign coinciding with the fact that trade talks began before the draft and even before the Amar'e to Houston rumors surfaced.

There is not a single NBA analyst who has not already said that Steve Kerr has single-handedly removed an entire era of NBA changing basketball in the Seven Seconds or Less Suns and should he not push this deal many may wonder if he has any sense at all.

Considering the potential of Curry and Wright paired with the substantially lesser contract of Andris Biedrins in comparison to Stoudemire's hefty contract  this deal may be the next step into the rebuilding process that Kerr himself initiated, it would be questionable if he decided to not go forward into the future with new talent and rather rebuild around the maximum contract of Stoudemire.

Everyone from Chad Ford and Chris Mannix to local sports writers Paul Coro and Dan Bickley have said they believe this deal will be done, most pointing out that if this deal was not discussed then it would have made much more sense for the Warriors to have drafted a "true" point guard instead of a player similar to Monta Ellis, or even a much needed PF in Jordan Hill, all talks at this point are unkowns.  What is known is that because of Biedrins base year compensation the deal won't be completed until at least Wednesday if indeed this deal is actually in the works and unless the Suns are willing to add another marquee player this may be the best option going into the future.

Continue reading this post »

The latest rumor from the mill is that the Rockets are looking to trade star SG Tracy McGrady for Suns F Amar'e Stoudemire involving three other players, the deal would include McGrady's expiring $22M contract, F Carl Landry, and breakout G Aaron Brooks for Amar'e Stoudemire and former sixth man of the year Leandro Barbosa. This is a move that is said to be a financially motivated move as was the Shaq trade made early today, the thought is clearing up significant cap space while also getting new young talent before Stoudemire who is pushing for an extension before the 2010 off-season, can opt out and become a free agent via his escape clause.

An even greater issue is what becomes of PG Steve Nash seeing as how he stated he would first take a look at the direction of the team and player acquisitions before extending his contract, now it seems Nash who also has a player option for 2010 will opt out and decide to play for a contender. This also leads to a doubtful return for veteran Suns F Grant Hill who despite playing all 82 games last season might decide to spend what may be his last year with a title contender as well.