OT: Deja vu all over again?

[Nikolokolus]

Are the Suns becoming the new "old Blazers?"

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_y...?slug=jy-sarversuns021309&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

Excerpts:

“I’m trying to figure out what the focus is,” Stoudemire said. “I thought I was the future of the franchise, we were trying to win a championship here. It doesn’t seem that way anymore.

“… I’m not sure if the ultimate goal is to win a championship or just to save money.”

Flighty? Erratic? Impulsive?

For the Suns, that starts at the top. Suns owner Robert Sarver has put away his foam finger these days, which saves the locals from kindly suggesting another location for him to stick it. On a weekend that should have been used to celebrate the long, proud tradition of one of the NBA’s great franchises, Sarver instead has sent his team embarrassingly careening toward mediocrity.

“I’m not sure,” Stoudemire said, “if he’s totally familiar with the sport of basketball.”

Sarver increasingly has considered himself an expert on NBA matters, and that’s why the Suns find themselves in the mess they do today, one game out of the playoffs, pondering whether to fire their coach eight months after hiring him, exploring trade offers for everyone on the roster but Steve Nash. There’s no shortage of people to share the blame for the Suns’ predicament: Sarver’s hand-picked GM, Steve Kerr; Porter; Stoudemire; even D’Antoni. But the list starts with the franchise’s meddlesome owner.

...

Unlike Jerry Colangelo, the Suns’ beloved previous owner, Sarver doesn’t have a basketball background. He’s a banker, and ever since he bought the team, he has craved the spotlight. He sat at center court. He danced with the cheerleaders. Once, he interrupted a D’Antoni timeout to borrow a player’s headband, then ran onto the court and dunked off a trampoline. When Gregg Popovich brought his San Antonio Spurs to town and decided to rest Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili, Sarver flapped his arms and shouted, “Chickens!” The Spurs laughed at Sarver, nearly won the game with their subs and have punished the Suns ever since.

At a home game against the Los Angeles Lakers this season, Sarver complained to security guards that actor Michael Clarke Duncan, a noted Lakers fan, was too close to the players when he stood up to cheer. Duncan moved back and then mocked Sarver for the remainder of the game. When the NBA implemented a sideline code of conduct for its owners a couple of years ago, the so-called “Mark Cuban Rule,” Sarver, who has since toned down his antics, become the first owner fined.

...

For all his efforts, Sarver never has been able to win over his rank-and-file employees the way Colangelo did. During his first season as owner, he fired a longtime security guard at the US Airways Center for daring to tell him he couldn’t stand in a restricted area. These days, Sarver’s visits to the Suns offices are usually met with a roll of the eyes.

Midway through the 2005-06 season, Sarver allowed Colangelo’s son, Bryan, who had helped build the Suns into a contender, to leave for Toronto. Kerr, whom Sarver always had looked to for advice, formally took over as GM prior to last season. D’Antoni never warmed to his new boss, and Sarver somehow couldn’t broker a peace treaty between two of the nicest men in the league.

...

And Sarver?

He needs to take his own bow. This weekend still is his stage, his moment. After five long years, he finally has become the face of the Phoenix Suns.

God. Reading this article really brought back the bad memories circa 2001-2005. I feel badly for Phoenix fans; it looks like they are enduring their version of Bob Whitsitt.

 

[Karl Malone's Elbows]

If Bayless is traded there, you've got to feel bad for him.

 

[Driew]

If Bayless is traded there, you've got to feel bad for him.

Why? Bayless would be home and getting playing time.

 

[barfo]

I feel badly for Phoenix fans; it looks like they are enduring their version of Bob Whitsitt.

Seems like John Nash is a closer analogy. Whitsitt actually built a contender. Sarver and Kerr have destroyed one.

barfo

 

[julius]

That does sound like the...well...every year under Nash and Patterson.

 

[barfo]

Why? Bayless would be home and getting playing time.

Behind Nash and Barbosa?

barfo

 

[Minstrel]

Sarver sounds more like Al Davis. After Al Davis lost his mental edge, sometime in the 1980s.

 

[MickZagger]

If Bayless is traded there, you've got to feel bad for him.

What makes you think Bayless is heading to Phoenix, or that were even going to trade him?

 

[B-Roy]

What makes you think Bayless is heading to Phoenix, or that were even going to trade him?

There's an "if" for a reason.

 

[Karl Malone's Elbows]

Why? Bayless would be home and getting playing time.

Being home would be good for him, but that organization is going downhill fast. And without Amare they don't have any sort of bright future in sight. I'm not sure how much time Bayless would get until next year though.

 

[Karl Malone's Elbows]

What makes you think Bayless is heading to Phoenix, or that were even going to trade him?

Because he's been mentioned in every trade rumor involving Portland and Phoenix reported by the media. It makes sense since it's his home town and he went to school there. The Suns are going to need somebody to bring in the fans after Nash leaves, especially if Amare isn't there.

 

[MickZagger]

When dealing with players of the star caliber of Amare, I don't think the Suns could give to shits about whether Bayless is from Phoenix as much as they care about his talent.

 

[Karl Malone's Elbows]

When dealing with players of the star caliber of Amare, I don't think the Suns could give to shits about whether Bayless is from Phoenix as much as they care about his talent.

Then you miss the main point to this trade. MONEY$$$

The reason Nash is untouchable, even over Amare is because he puts paying fans in the seats during one of the worst economies ever. Bayless would make up for the tickets that would otherwise be lost once Nash leaves. And to top off the home town hero thing he also happens to be a very good prospect. It doesn't have to be one or the other, but I assure you money plays as much a factor in the Amare rumors as anything.

 

[MickZagger]

Then you miss the main point to this trade. MONEY$$$

The reason Nash is untouchable, even over Amare is because he puts paying fans in the seats during one of the worst economies ever. Bayless would make up for the tickets that would otherwise be lost once Nash leaves. And to top off the home town hero thing he also happens to be a very good prospect. It doesn't have to be one or the other, but I assure you money plays as much a factor in the Amare rumors as anything.

I understand that its a trade about money. I'm also the first to realize that Bayless has extreme potential.

You just keep bantering about the fact that Bayless is a hometown guy like its some kind of deal breaker. If Bayless wasn't from Phoenix he'd be just as enticing of a player. The fact that he's from the area really has no bearing as to why they would go after him. NBA GM's don't think that way, if a player is going to help their team in the future that is reason enough to go after him. It might be a nice little story line to fans, but front offices think more about winning games than winning the hearts of fans by going after hometown guys.

 

[KingSpeed]

I understand that its a trade about money. I'm also the first to realize that Bayless has extreme potential.

You just keep bantering about the fact that Bayless is a hometown guy like its some kind of deal breaker. If Bayless wasn't from Phoenix he'd be just as enticing of a player. The fact that he's from the area really has no bearing as to why they would go after him. NBA GM's don't think that way, if a player is going to help their team in the future that is reason enough to go after him. It might be a nice little story line to fans, but front offices think more about winning games than winning the hearts of fans by going after hometown guys.

I believe that they think of both.

 

[Rastapopoulos]

Are the Suns becoming the new "old Blazers?"
--snip--
God. Reading this article really brought back the bad memories circa 2001-2005. I feel badly for Phoenix fans; it looks like they are enduring their version of Bob Whitsitt.

I don't see the analogy at all. Whitsitt was GM, not owner, and Whitsitt was a total recluse, and Whitsitt assembled a dominant team.

The closest analogy I can come up with is the Lakers of the very near future. I've never liked Jerry Buss (sleazeball) but he was always pretty hands off when it came to basketball. However, this is not true of his son who is apparently all set to take over. The fact that he was right about Andrew Bynum is only going to encourage him.