| Suns Shine When The Bell Tolls In Phoenix Authored by J.T. Magee - July 3, 2005 - 4:40 am
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The initial trade was supposed to be just shooting guard Quentin Richardson and a future first round pick being dealt to the Knicks for Kurt Thomas. Due to Richardson reportedly telling the Suns he wouldn’t come back, they upped the ante to the Knicks, saying they’d throw in this year’s first round pick.
Isiah Thomas, enamored with small guards, got the most electrifying man in sports entertainment (The Rock has been out for too long). Robinson could’ve been a first round pick in the NFL, but elected for basketball after his freshman year. Smart choice considering the NFL doesn’t guarantee contracts.
The Suns, to some giving away the better of the deal, ended up with getting the better end of the deal because they added depth to their core without taking anything away from their offensive capabilities next season. There were four players who ended making out like bandits in this deal: Thomas, Bell, Barbosa and Joe Johnson. The deal got done and the Suns were left getting a very hard-nosed, hardworking power forward/center in Kurt Thomas, a defensive-minded player in Raja Bell and they were able to get enough room to re-sign Joe Johnson. I’ll start things off with Thomas. I only add the slash center in there because Thomas has had to play center for the Knicks for almost a year and a half out of two years for the Knicks.
After the Nazr Mohammed trade, the Knicks had to go to Thomas, who had to play out of position yet again and who saw his numbers dip a little bit from 11.59 points before the Mohammed trade to 10.34 in 26 games after the deal.
His rebounding went up a little bit, from 10.16 boards to 10.38, so the Knicks did get a little more production out of him, even though it was for a shorter period of time. Any type of increase when he had to step into the center position is better than no increase. This can only mean that he’ll see these same type of numbers with Phoenix, who has STAT and the Matrix, who are vast improvements regarding offense and rebounding over Mike Sweetney and Tim Thomas. Phoenix ended coming out on top of the deal by shedding a little cap room in order to re-sign Joe Johnson. While the Suns lost their three point specialist in Richardson, they balance it out by getting a tall shooting guard/ small forward in Dijon Thompson, who would be more than willing to create his own shot in transition. Unfortunately, he won’t help with their defensive deficiencies, and that’s where Raja Bell comes in.
Bell, who would be playing for his fourth NBA team in 6 years, adds a very significant factor for the Suns if they want to become a better defensive team: perimeter defense. Bell has been known as the guy who has to guard the higher profile players, like the Kobe Bryants and the Vince Carters of the league, a la Bruce Bowen. Even though he hasn’t gotten the recognition like Bowen has, he quietly became this free agent class’ best kept secret because the team that ended up signing the best steal in the class was able to add more defense to their unstoppable offense. But it wasn’t just due to his defense, either.
Bell became the Jazz’ most consistent player last season when both Andrei Kirilenko and Carlos Boozer went down with injuries. He was originally coming off the bench for the Jazz as their 6th Man, but due to Gordon Giricek’s inconsistency and Kirilenko’s injury, Bell slid into the starting lineup and produced very well. Before he himself went down with a knee injury, he was shooting 45% from the floor and 40% from 3, as well as averaging .7 steals a game. The ways that he helps the team don’t normally get put on the stat line, and that’s what Phoenix needs most: a defense-first guard. This only takes pressure off Joe Johnson on the defensive side of the ball as well as by being able to knock down that jump shot of his and his ever improving 3-point shot, Bell will stretch the defense a little more, like Richardson. While he won’t make as many three’s as Richardson did (226), he won’t shoot as many either (631, 35%). He also can run, something that gets overlooked when you are on a team who likes to slow it down and run sets. In Phoenix, everyone will get to see how he has become the most complete player and the biggest steal in the FA class, not only because he’s a team player, but because it won’t make the Suns go into Luxury-Tax Land. Bell isn’t the most talented guard in this class, so why is he the best overall? Because he will help the Suns become an even better overall team. But Bell and Thomas aren’t the only players getting the good end of the deal and the signing. With the signing of Bell, it means that Phoenix won’t have the money to go after someone like Gary Payton. That only means that this coming year will be Leandrinho Barbosa’s make-or-break year.
Barbosa is the youngest player on the Suns’ roster, with the exception of newly drafted Dijon Thompson, but has been with the team for two full seasons. Barbosa has been the name rumored to get dealt for either a veteran point guard or for size, maybe someone like Nene. The one problem I have with this is that Barbosa hasn’t gotten the chance to prove that he’s good enough to get Nash the rest he needs and become his future successor. He didn’t play in the Eastern Conference Finals because Head Coach Mike D’Antoni wanted to go with experience over an unproved point guard. This coming season, if Barbosa were to remain with the Suns, will become one of the best point guards off the bench. He is a very long point guard and very quick defensively. He has the size at 6-3 to defend some of the bigger guards both in half court sets as well as in the break, and the agility to defend some of the quicker guards in the league. He also has the offensive talent to be able to play when Nash is on the court and is getting the tools from Nash to help the Suns keep pushing the ball after each miss or make.
Some people feel that Barbosa’s time should’ve already been last season, but in basketball, the magic number is 3. If that player doesn’t show enough to a team to garnish enough playing time he needs to be effective, he won’t pan out in the NBA. It’s taken guys like Dirk Nowitzki, Peja Stojakovic and Yao Ming three years to become the player everyone expected them to be, but not yet in their prime. Good enough to get the playing time to develop into that player. All Barbosa needs is that playing time because he already has the tools that Phoenix needs in their backup point guard: speed, a shot and good decision making. By this time next year, I feel that we’re going to be talking about how Barbosa became one of the most sought after restricted free agents, not only because he’s a very underrated and talented point guard, but because he’s due to become the next Antonio Daniels: a long defender with a good shot and improving decision making. He’ll also help the Suns defensively, the one are that got exploited in the Western Conference Finals.
Phoenix was getting all the glory the whole season because of their high-powered offense, while the more “boring” teams like San Antonio and Detroit, got overlooked. Turns out that defense, as well as a little offense sprinkled in there, wins championships. Phoenix was able get fans off their seats with the constant running and running and running and pushing and pushing and pushing. There was a problem in all this, something that got exposed against the Spurs: their defense. They were tentative in committing fouls because they wanted the game to go faster. Against a team like the Spurs, that didn’t work too well. The Suns were an average defensive team: they could play defense when they wanted to, but when they felt comfortable, they didn’t. This aspect of their style alone hurt them against the Spurs because every time they took a break, the Spurs would make them pay for it.
Phoenix needed to address this problem immediately without having to lose any of their core in the process. Phoenix can once again improve their win total from last season, because no one has improved their team. The ones that have did so in the draft, and those are the teams that won’t be competing for a ring next year. Phoenix did what they needed to do: get bigger, get deeper and get tougher on D. They did so with all three players.
Everyone I see talking about the Suns and their recent moves are blasting the deal because they feel that the Suns got older and they won’t be able to run like they did last year. Yes they did, but only in an area where they needed the most help, and considering that they got a player who averaged a double-double over the season in return for a shooting guard who shot and shot with no end result and no help on the defensive side of the court.
Thomas gives the Suns a chance to let Amir move back to his natural position of power forward and it still doesn’t hurt their offense. Thomas will contribute on offense, but he’s be an even bigger addition to the defensive part of the frontcourt. The signing of Bell makes them an even tougher defensive team without taking anything away from their offense. Richardson was mainly used for standing behind the 3-point line on the wing. Bell can do the same thing, even hit a few inside of the line. But he’s an even bigger acquisition on defense because he’s a better one-on-one defender than Richardson. Not only that they bolstered their defense, but they still have Jim Jackson for a full season and they got what they wanted to do with the
deal: re-sign Joe Johnson.
The Suns’ main goal is free agency was to re-sign Johnson. Thanks to a shrewd move by the GM staff to move a bigger contract for a little size, as well as adding the steal in Raja “Ring My” Bell, Johnson becomes their official future shooting guard. Johnson was their best threat on offense, becoming the most versatile while Stoudemire and Nash were getting the limelight. He averaged career highs of 17.1 points per, 5.1 rebounds and a ridiculous 47.8% from 3, only because of today’s standard for being a good shooter is around 43-44%. Johnson now gets the chance to prove why he was worth keeping over Richardson and why the Suns made the right move.
With free agency kicking off on July 1st, the Suns landed the first free agent and the one that will make the team better than it was: Bell. They also made a nice trade and were able to get some size and depth as well. Now with the Suns eager to sign Bell on July 22nd, when the moratorium end, Phoenix will toll the Bell in Phoenix and every Suns fan will have something to cheer for when the season start: the chance at another championship with more defense and rising stars Amir Stoudemire and Johnson. It also helps getting the MVP back at full health. |
