Dear Steve Kerr…
They say the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Well, so is the road to the unemployment office.
From all reports, your job as team president of the Phoenix Suns is secure for now, but after less than one full year on the job you’re skating on ice that’s thinner than Donald Trump’s comb-over.
In a desperate attempt to shake things up and bring championship glory to the Valley of the Sun, you traded away Shawn Marion, your disgruntled young all-star and most versatile defender for the legendary Shaquille O’Neal, an aging, behemoth with a big contract and an even bigger waistline.
The move was certainly controversial and I, for one, thought it was doomed to fail. Think about it…
Why would you bring a stationary giant to a team whose offense is predicated on movement and spacing?
Why would you risk upsetting the chemistry of your then first place team?
Why would you put an unnecessary burden on the Phoenix area Krispy Kremes who could never possibly keep up with Shaq’s demand for their delightful donuts?
Well, Mr. Kerr, you reasoned that the Diesel’s physical presence in the paint was going to solidify Phoenix’s defense and make it more difficult for Western Conference big men to have their way with the Suns under the basket. This in turn would make you guys true championship contenders.
Of course, it didn’t quite work out like you had hoped. Not even close.
Phoenix was just eliminated in the first round of the playoffs in a mere five games by your archrivals the San Antonio Spurs. And Tim Duncan, their all-everything big man, did just about anything he wanted to against the Big Mistake to the tune of 25 points and 14 rebounds a game during the series.
Additionally, the absence of Marion’s defensive flexibility exposed Steve Nash’s absolute inability to stop young, quick point guards as Tony Parker-Longoria ran circles around him and scored at will. This could certainly prove problematic in the future considering the abundance of young, quick point guards in the Western Conference.
The sad truth was you weren’t nearly as far away from hoisting the Larry O’Brien trophy over your heads as you thought. If not for Robert Horry forearm shivering Nash and the subsequent suspensions of Stoudemire and Diaw (that Stern should’ve overruled in the interest of fairness, but that’s another story) the Suns and their up-tempo style could’ve easily won last season’s NBA title. And they could’ve contended this season, too.
But instead, you took the team with the best record in the west (at the time of the trade) and made them sixth best. You took a run-and-gun team that fans loved to watch and you made them slow down. You took a team with a relatively small window with which to win an NBA Championship and you made that window disappear faster than Amy Winehouse’s career.
Let’s face it. You screwed up. Big time.
And because of the Suns’ age and salary cap situation there is little you can do to salvage this franchise’s championship aspirations for the near future. That is, unless you can find someone naïve enough to trade an all-star for Shaq and the $40 million left on his contract. Someone like…
Oh. Sorry.
Best Wishes,
Dave
comments (18) write a comment »
write a new comment
2 months ago
Great article Dave. I agree with everything you say here. I didn't think the Shaq trade was anything resembling a good move for the Suns franchise. Maybe a full year with the Suns will bring better forture. Then again, maybe not.
If you have a Corvette, why trade it in for a '57 Chevy in bad shape?
2 months ago
Good read, I hated the Shaq trade and still do. Check out an article I just did previewing what the Suns might do this off season and a player by player analysis I did for the entire team.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/20868-NBA-What-s-Next-For-The-Phoenix-Suns--010508
2 months ago
"Why would you risk upsetting the chemistry of your then first place team?"
Wasn't Shawn Marion upsetting the chemistry of their then first-place team?
from 2 months ago
Obviously it wasn't that bad if they were in first place. The chemistry definitely messed up when they finished with the 6th seed instead of a likely 1-3 spot.
from 2 months ago
The Suns also had the easiest schedule of the first half in terms of winning percentage, one very major reason for their first half success.
2 months ago
I don't think trading Marion was necessarily a bad idea but they could've got something a lot better for him then Shaq.
from 2 months ago
Amen. The Suns knew Marion wanted out over the summer. They should've gone after someone who better fit their system. Basically, any center who isn't 370 lbs.
2 months ago
And any Center that isn't 68-years-old.
2 months ago
I think your anger should really be directed at Sarver and Colangelo. Selling four number one draft picks (including one that could have been Andre Igoudala or Luol Deng), letting Joe Johnson walk and signing Marcus Banks. The writing has been on the wall for a while and D'Antoni has just been keeping the boat afloat.
from 2 months ago
you would have given Joe Johnson max money? The Hawks made an unreasonable offer IMO
2 months ago
Suns management has been questionable at best. The fact they were able to be this competitive boggles my mind.
2 months ago
Did they really think Shaq and Amare's styles would mesh. They just clogged up the middle because they didn't have enough time to form any kind of chemistry.
2 months ago
This article is obviously written by somebody who watches too much ESPN and doesn't actually watch the situation unfold over the years....
Read this article by Bill Simmons
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/080501
It goes over what the Suns have screwed up in the past four years... THREE of which Steve Kerr was not there for. He simply made a desperation attempt at salvaging a team that wasn't capable of winning the championship this year with Marion...
Don't forget that the Suns also gave away Kurt Thomas from last years team. He was undoubtedly the difference maker last year in the Suns Spurs series....
Also, people need to realize this Suns team was a couple miracle shots in Game 1, one horrific third quarter in Game 2, and some horrible execution in Game 5 from making this the series it was supposed to be... this team like the previous Suns team, lacked execution down the stretch against the Spurs and that can be partially blamed for making such a drastic change in the middle of the season.
This trade will have to be evaluated after next year...
from 2 months ago
I've read Simmons article and he made great points about a legacy of front office awfulness with the Suns. But, as far as I'm concerned, that doesn't let Kerr off the hook for making a horrible trade. Desperate of not, the Shaq deal was the nail in the Suns coffin.
2 months ago
Well Said Dave...trading Shaquille O’Neal was always a foolish move..I mean seriously it's Shaq!!
2 months ago
I posted that Joe Johnson was a max out deal. I really thought it was. Turns out it was less then I thought but was still more then anyone else was willing to give up for Joe Johnson at the time of the signing
2 months ago
Great article Dave, and you initial analysis after the trade was even better.
For me, the Shaq trade was the ultimate slap in the face. Not only has he long been my most loathed player in the league but as a Diehard Lifelong Suns fan, it was about so much more than winning a championship. I
t was about a giant middle finger to the critics and detractors who said the Suns couldn't win a championship playing their up-tempo style of small ball.
It was about fisting David Stern (there is underlying beef with the Colangelo's and Stern that doesn't get talked about and a big reason why Jerry sold this team to Sarver) and making the NBA fun again.
It was about outrunning and outgunning every team in the league and making Phoenix the one place, every player in the league wanted to play.
In half a season, Kerr managed to destroy what the Colangelos spent years building and Sarver has done his best to compromise over the last several years.
RIP Phoenix Suns. We deserved better than this.
2 months ago
Steve Kerr is getting a huge pass. In his first year with the Suns he made 3 moves worth mentoning:
He signed Grant Hill.... good move but Hill offered his services for chicken feed b/c he wanted to play in phx- no brainer
He traded Kurt Thomas and 2 first round draft picks for nothing. WOW!! What??? hmmm........... I'm confused.
He traded Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks for Shaq and in doing so actually added salary his cap as Shaq had more time left on his contract. WTF!!
The window on the Phx Suns was closing and Steve Kerr slammed that shit shut
write a new comment