I liberally borrowed a lot of this from Bill Simmons.
The idiocy of the front office (2004-2008) is staggering to you devoted fans.
HOW NOT TO BE A GM 101:
2004 - The Suns traded away the #7 overall pick (Luol Deng) to avoid a luxury tax hit for future considerations being the #21 pick in 2006 plus cash of 4.7 mill. cheapness
2004 - The Suns then signed Q Richardson for a 48 million dollar deal roughly twice the cost of Luol Deng. overspending
2005 - The Suns trade Q-Rich & #21 Pick (NATE WASHINGTON) to New York for Kurt Thomas to avoid luxury tax hits. cheapness
2005 - They refuse to match Atlanta's offer for a 24 year old Joe Johnson RESTRICTED FA allstar. They get Diaw and picks. cheapness
2005 - They sell the #27 pick to Portland for cash. (Sergio Rodriguez). cheapness
2006 - They trade the #21 pick to Boston (Rajon Rondo) and Brian Grant for Cleveland's 2007 pick. cheapness
2006 - They sign FA Marcus Banks to a 5 yr 25 million dollar deal to back-up Nash. frivoulous overspending
2006 - They sign back-up Boris Diaw to a very generous extension a full 2 years before he was a free agent to be. frivoulous overspending
2006- They sign back-up Barbosa to a 7 year overly generous extension. somewhat overspending
2007 - Bad Luck makes the one Atlanta pick invalid at #3.
2007 - They sold the #24 (RUDY FERNANDEZ) pick to Portland for 3 million in cash. He is projected to be a top 5 rookie in 2008. Playing in Europe, he would not have caused a luxury tax hit. Indefensable Cheapness
2007 - They trade Kurt Thomas & 2 first round picks to seattle to avoid tax hits. cheapness
2008- They trade popular Marion to Miami for 3 years of 20 million per of Shaq. overspending
..............
I DON'T LIKE THE SUNS, BUT I WAS STAGGGERED AT HOW BAD THE MOVES WERE WHEN YOU STEP BACK.
I FEEL BAD FOR THE FANS WHO PAY GOOD MONEY.
Scrooge-like cheapness, followed by questionable overspending, and insanity drive trade after trade....
Wasnt that a magnificent article. It just makes me sick to see what couldv'e been.
Lets see what happens next year. Well atleast we know one thing for certain, the season tickets are alot more expensive next year and forget the parking break for paying early.
They said after they traded away that pick in 2004 that if they knew Iguodala was going to be there they would have kept it. I think they were full of it and that they would have been virtually unstoppable by adding him and holding onto Johnson. Imagine what would have happened with a core of Nash, Johnson, Iguodala, Marion and Stoudemire.
If the Suns had done absolutely nothing, they might be a group of 20-somethings winning 70 games a year from 2006-2010. The talent/resources they squandered is staggering considering they could have added it to a 50-60 win core of Nash/STAT/ Marion.
My Spurs tend to be a bit cheap also because they are a tiny market with limited revenues. But, they don't just sell off picks to save cash...they draft euro-players and stash them overseas to avoid luxury tax payments. When/If the picks develop then they replace higher paid old guys with the young guys. I am not sure why the Suns don't at least try this method if cash is so tight.
But then again, if they are so cash-poor, some of the Suns contracts (Diaw, Barbosa, Banks, and ONeil) don't make any sense even for wealthy teams.
But with a nice downtown arena, high ticket prices/sellouts, and 5 million local fans PLUS a big national following....I don't see why the Suns have no money....
The Suns have money, Sarver is just stuck in his banker's mentality and that just makes the fake emotion he shows on the sideline even more disgusting to watch. Note to Sarver: Mark Cuban unloads his wallet for the Mavs. It's okay for him to go on the sidelines and be excited. You're a cheap owner who should hide his face in an owner's box. At least for your own safety as your follies are coming to attention.
I read that Bill Simmions article as well, and it truly was eye opening. I grew up watching KJ and Thunder Dan, saw Barkley get us close. Loved the Suns then. Then they drafted my favorite college player, Steve Nash, only to trade him away. I also watched them get rid of other favorites like Finley, and bring in busts like Marbury. When the Suns brought back Nash in his prime and the the 7 seconds or less philosophy I once again found a place for the Suns in my heart.
This article was almost like finding out my girlfriend had been cheating on me. All the signs were there that something fishy was going on, and if I hadn't been blinded by wishful thinking I may have caught it in the moment. Bill Simmons was like the good friend who sat me down and gave it to me straight. I'm going to find it real hard to keep paying good money to see a cheating girlfriend, likewise for the Suns. If you see me at a game next year don't be suprised if I'm wearing the other teams jersey (hopefully with Nash written on the back of it).
I liberally borrowed a lot of this from Bill Simmons.
The idiocy of the front office (2004-2008) is staggering to you devoted fans.
HOW NOT TO BE A GM 101:
2004 - The Suns traded away the #7 overall pick (Luol Deng) to avoid a luxury tax hit for future considerations being the #21 pick in 2006 plus cash of 4.7 mill. cheapness
2004 - The Suns then signed Q Richardson for a 48 million dollar deal roughly twice the cost of Luol Deng. overspending
2005 - The Suns trade Q-Rich & #21 Pick (NATE WASHINGTON) to New York for Kurt Thomas to avoid luxury tax hits. cheapness
2005 - They refuse to match Atlanta's offer for a 24 year old Joe Johnson RESTRICTED FA allstar. They get Diaw and picks. cheapness
2005 - They sell the #27 pick to Portland for cash. (Sergio Rodriguez). cheapness
2006 - They trade the #21 pick to Boston (Rajon Rondo) and Brian Grant for Cleveland's 2007 pick. cheapness
2006 - They sign FA Marcus Banks to a 5 yr 25 million dollar deal to back-up Nash. frivoulous overspending
2006 - They sign back-up Boris Diaw to a very generous extension a full 2 years before he was a free agent to be. frivoulous overspending
2006- They sign back-up Barbosa to a 7 year overly generous extension. somewhat overspending
2007 - Bad Luck makes the one Atlanta pick invalid at #3.
2007 - They sold the #24 (RUDY FERNANDEZ) pick to Portland for 3 million in cash. He is projected to be a top 5 rookie in 2008. Playing in Europe, he would not have caused a luxury tax hit. Indefensable Cheapness
2007 - They trade Kurt Thomas & 2 first round picks to seattle to avoid tax hits. cheapness
2008- They trade popular Marion to Miami for 3 years of 20 million per of Shaq. overspending
A guy that works with me printed up this article after the Spurs took out the Suns. I read the first couple lines then threw it in the trash. I as a Suns fan already knew what kind of horrible moves Sarver and D'Antoni have made since Brain Colangelo left and all it did was bring up bad memories. The guy that works with me is a Spurs fan, so i was kind of insulted....
its people like u hornsstampede who do not understand basketball. Many of those r true and r stupid mistakes. But saying the Shaquille O'neal trade is a mistake is ridiculous!!!
Shaq helped the Suns win their first season series against the Spurs since 2002-03 season.
In anyone who has any clue about basketball could realize that the Shaq trade was a good move.
But if u don't think so i'll lay it out for you.
1. Marion didn't want to be a sun any longer. He once was quoted saying he cares more about how many pts he has rather than if they win or not.
2. Shaq wanted to win and provided a quick fix to a gutless suns team who was one of the worst reb, blk teams in the league.
so in a nut shell they got rid of an attitude problem for a proven winner and a great inside presence.
The more I look at it the smarter the Shaw trade was. Say they keep Marion and either get his $17 million off the books this season or next. Either way the Suns would have been likely to spend some money on a replacement. The addition of Shaq not only has an influence in the way the Suns can now play, but also bumps the total the Suns will take off their books in the summer of 2010 to $37 million. That will make them a player in the James, Wade and Bosh sweepstakes. I'd much rather pay big over the next season and cash in big when it counts rather than lose the money sooner and score an overpaid free agent.
Figures that a UofA fan would be in favor of a horrible trade with a huge financial burden. The Suns wouldve still been playing had they no traded away Marion and his 17m would be off the books this year.
Now because of the Kerr we lost Dantoni, Marion, our core way of playing and 2 years and 40m worth of Shaq.
With the Shaq trade the Suns cut their payroll by $328,000 in 2007-08 and $1,356,000 in 2008-09. Had they kept Marion, his $17,180,000 would have gone off the books in the summer of 2009. Considering that they are currently about $16 million over the cap and that all the other eight players that could potentially be gone from the roster by that point make less than $2 million each and would either be replaced or resigned at a similar number, that would leave the Suns with no financial flexibility to sign a free agent. And Marion wasn't coming back to the team. The Suns would have to sign a midlevel player which would then take away from their ability to offer a max contract when Nash and Bell's contract comes off the books the following year.
Not only did the trade allow the Suns to do something different on the court, which in turn allowed Stoudemire to play the best basketball of his career, but it put the team in a much better position to rebuild at a time when the League's best players are becoming free agents. The Suns wouldve still been playing had they no traded away Marion and his 17m would be off the books this year.Really? Because it worked so well in the past? The Spurs have had the Suns number. Wake up.
