| How Can The Suns Rise Again? Authored by Patrick Kaas - February 16, 2009 - 12:46 pm
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At the moment, they are still in the eighth spot in the Western Conference, meaning that a playoff berth is still a possibilty despite all the crisis in Phoenix. They are only six games above .500, which would over a full season give them a record of 46-36. That would be their worst season since Steve Nash returned to Phoenix in 2004. Phoenix has reportedly put everyone except Steve Nash on the trade block in hopes that they can shake up the roster and return to the glory days.
But what is needed for them to become a 55-win team once again?
While most fans think that the first step is getting rid of general manager Steve Kerr, I think that he actually needs to stay put for now. Sure, Kerr, who made a few questionable trades to say the least hasn't made the Suns any better, but he actually made a clear plan of where he wants this franchise to go. Before Kerr arrived, Phoenix was a run-and-gun team that reached the Conference Finals twice, but both series were lost because of insufficient defense. In an attempt to make a quick fix, Kerr traded disgruntled forward Shawn Marion to the Heat for center Shaquille O'Neal. The deal was questioned because O'Neal was on the decline and set to make $20 million in each of the next two years. While it looked bad initially, it has paid off.
O'Neal has been rejuvenated and is playing very well, while Marion was exposed in Miami and was traded to Toronto last Friday. In an attempt to shake up the roster even more, Kerr then traded role players Raja Bell and Boris Diaw for former Slam-Dunk champion Jason Richardson. In Bell they lost a good defensive player, but in the same deal they also rid themselves of Diaw, who was playing very inconsistently to say the least. They in return obtained a solid player in Richardson.
Now, three months after the trade with Charlotte, the Suns have shown some improvement on the defensive end, but there is still a lot of ground to cover. Mostly because of their slumping offense and bad chemistry, the Suns have dropped ten of their last twenty games. Amare Stoudemire has called out Nash several times for not rallying the troops, and has grown unhappy with the fact that Shaq is the top option that he so badly wants to be. Meanwhile, both O'Neal and Matt Barnes lacked respect for the head coach Terry Porter. With rumors spreading that the Suns are willing to trade anyone (aside from Nash) for expiring contracts, it looks like management has given up on this season and this team.
Kerr has already said that Nash is the star they would like to build their team around, but it's hard to think that they will rebuild completely because Nash is already 35. Therefore, I only see a few calculated moves needed for the Suns to improve right now while Nash is still effective.
Fire Terry Porter. (Done!)
The Suns have finally gathered the nerve to fire coach Terry Porter and reportedly replace him with assistant coach Alvin Gentry. Involved with coaching since 1989, Gentry definitely has the experience needed to be the coach for a veteran team like the Suns. He has even coached with a icons in his career, like Gregg Popovich and Pat Riley.
Gentry is a coach that approaches everything on-and-off the court with a positive manner. In Detroit, he managed to take a team that was falling apart to the playoffs by using his positive approach. While coaching in Miami, he was fired for that approach. The players felt as though he was effective and wanted him to stay, but Heat management decided to fire Gentry anyway.
While Porter is a decent coach, he was hugely disappointing in Phoenix. He didn't get the full potential out of players and hasn't garnered the respect a head coach needs.
Trade Amare Stoudemire.
Stoudemire wants to be the unquestioned No. 1 option on his team, and the presence of O'Neal makes him feel more like the second in command. While it's very hard to move the large contract of O'Neal, it's easier to move the talented Stoudemire.
There was reportedly a nice offer on the table which included Portland's LaMarcus Aldridge, Jerryd Bayless, Raef LaFrenz and the rights to Joel Freeland, but the Suns didn't move quick enough and now Portland is looking for an elite point guard.
This would have made perfect sense for the Suns because it would have added an up-and-coming player in Aldridge, who could potentially become better than Stoudemire while playing alongside O'Neal and Nash, and it also provided a young combo guard in Bayless. One possible reason that the Suns weren't entirely sold on trading Stoudemire to Portland is because the Blazers are a conference rival.
Another rumor links Stoudemire to the Pistons for Rasheed Wallace and several fillers. This trade would improve the Suns' defense drastically, but it would give them yet another veteran player while they so desperately need youth.
At this moment, the front runners in the race to land Stoudemire are believed to be the Cavaliers and the Bulls.
It's getting harder and harder to trade away Stoudemire now that the deadline is peeking just around the corner. Kerr needs to show that he's a general manager willing to put his own job on the line by dealing Stoudemire in order to get the Suns back on track for a good playoff run. It's evident that the current roster has chemistry issues and a young player who wants all the spotlight for himself.
I still believe in Steve Kerr. He now needs to stick to his plan more than ever, and make the moves needed to get the Suns better on defense, while keeping their win-now mentality.
If Kerr doesn't do this correctly, he probably won't be the general manager much longer. |
