As a result of their financial stubborness, Sarver and D'Antoni have a potential nightmare on their hands. How is D'Antoni going to back to Phoenix if things don't work out with the Bulls or Knicks? Does anyone really believe that he would make it past the All-Star Game? Every time the team loses back-to-back games the spotlight will be right back on the Steve Kerr-Sarver-D'Antoni "situation".
There is a very real chance that things could get much uglier. This is like a wife staying married because she got screwed in her pre-nup, while her husband is begging her to cheat on him so he can give her even less in a divorce.
The situation is eerily similar to the Lane Kiffin-Al Davis situation in Oakland with the Raiders. The only difference is that Kiffin would be lucky to get a job as a quarterbacks coach, and D'Antoni will have no problem landing another head coaching job.
Congratulations, Phoenix! Your basketball team is owned by the NBA's Al Davis.
I usually agree with Charles Barkley when it comes to basketball because he obviously knows more than I do.
But I rarely agree with him on anything else.
Remember when Barkley said that Augusta "Tiger-proofed" the course by increasing the distances on the course because they wanted a white golfer to win The Masters? Barkley didn't realize that such adjustments actually benefited Tiger more than they did most other golfers because of how far Woods could drive the ball.
Sir Charles has sounded off again, this time about how D'Antoni should quit holding the team hostage and just resign. If anyone is holding anyone hostage it's Sarver. If he really wants D'Antoni then let him do his job without conditions, or fire him and let him get another job.
As for the Suns' playoff performance, nobody should be surprised with the result. I pointed out many times in past NNOs that the team had only one impressive road win after the Shaq trade. Without home-court advantage they weren't going to win anything.
I disagree with those that say the Suns shouldn't have traded for Shaq because they were atop the Western Conference before the Shaq trade, and then dropped to sixth by the end of the season.
The team had a much more difficult schedule the second-half of the season and would have probably dropped anyway. Would they have dropped that far down with Shawn Marion? I don't know. Nobody foresaw the Rockets winning 22 games in a row.
By the way, the Suns played five more games this year than the Miami Heat did.
2) Speaking of the Heat...
Pat Riley quietly named Erik Spoelstra his successor in Miami. Although it came as no surprise, I'm curious how much input Dwyane Wade had in the decision. My guess is that Riley waited to get Wade's blessing before making it official.
The last time a young, long-time assistant of Riley's took over for him it was Randy Pfund with the Lakers in 1992. In only 146 games at the helm, Pfund compiled a 66-80 record.
Good luck, Erik!
3) Finally Franny?
It looks like "Fair-Weather" Fran Vazquez is finally interested in joining the Magic. Vazquez was the eleventh pick in the 2006 NBA Draft who changed his mind about wanting to play in the NBA after the Magic had wasted the pick on him.
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