Bleacher Report - Articles by Ryan Greyslak

The Phoenix Suns Are Not The Worst Defensive Team In The NBA

Ryan Greyslak — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 15:57:33 -0400

The Phoenix Suns are not the worst defensive team in the NBA.

In a recent article released by Dime Magazine they claimed the Suns were the worst defensive team in the NBA.

http://dimemag.com/2009/09/the-phoenix-suns-are-the-worst-defensive-team-in-the-nba/

It is not a fair assumption to call the Suns out as the worst defensive team in the NBA next season. They never have been known for their defensive ability as a team but have been slowly putting pieces in place that will play defense. Some of the Suns younger players might actually become strong defenders in the league over the next couple of years.

There have always been the open holes defensively on the Suns roster. One of the biggest is Steve Nash, he gets substantially worse defensively each year and every point guard in the league gets giddy at the thought of going head to head with him. He can’t stop anybody off the dribble but has always been good at getting where he needs to be on the court to take the charge. Jason Richardson should be traded so Leandro Barbosa can start. He has never been a good defender and doesn’t really show the drive to become any better. Grant Hill is not getting any younger and Channing Frye has never showed the potential to be a strong defender. Even with some of these players on their roster it is not enough for them to already be considered the worst defensive team in the NBA.

They have several young players and a few wild cards on the team this year that could put forth a strong defensive effort for the team this year.

Goran Dragic looked great in euro league play this summer. He is a quick physical defender that just needs to continue to build more confidence. Nash will need a lot of rest to stay healthy this season and Dragic could benefit greatly from that if he can step up. There is a strong chance that you will see a great improvement in Dragic this season.

(great block on Rubio http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jH4wRfkKZE )

Jared Dudley the junk yard dog is a scrappy defender and rebounder who is willing to hustle and do everything else on the court that the other players don't want to do. He is not the most athletic guy in the league but he knows where to put himself on the court to get those big rebounds and second opportunities for his team. He is committed to winning and playing defense. Grant Hill is a season older and will also need substantial rest to stay healthy this year. Dudley could see some big minutes and remind Suns fans why he was included in the trade that sent away Bell and Diaw.

Robin Lopez is going to surprise some people this year. Shaq is no longer the dominate center on the team and he wants to be that defensive presence. He has the size to be a great rebounder and shot blocker. Suns fans are going to see a huge defensive commitment this year from Lopez. He is going to fill that void left by trading Shaq and intimidate players from driving in the lane. He will be up there in the rebound and shot block averages and remind everyone why the Suns used him as their lottery pick last year.

Lou Amundson is also like Dudley, a tough nosed hustler willing to do what it takes to pull down the boards and get the blocks. Amundson quickly became a fan favorite last year for his defense and hustle. Whenever he is on the floor he is disrupting the lane, blocking shots, and pulling down boards. Depending on how much playing time Lou can get he could be a substantial defensive stopper for the Suns this year.

The Suns also have a few wild cards that could give them some defensive presence this season.

Wild Card one: Earl Clark

Clark is an athletic hybrid forward player. He is quick enough to defend smaller players on the perimeter and also strong enough to bang under the basket with the stronger power forwards. Depending on how much playing time he get's he could be one of the top rookie defenders this year. He is committed to defense and to being an all-star in the league it all depends on how many minutes he get’s to see. He can definitely be a strong defensive presence for the Suns off the bench this year.

Wild Card two: Amare Stoudemire

Now I know what you are immediately thinking, Amare Stoudemire defensive wild card? Amare Stoudemire has always been left out of the premier league player’s category because he has no commitment to anything that doesn’t involve scoring points. But keep in mind, contract year. He will be motivated for that max money to show he is worth it. He has taken a lot of heat here locally for his lazy defense. Everyone knows if he committed, he could be great. This might be the year that Amare Stoudemire turns his career around to become a better all around player. This could be the season where we see some maturity and commitment from him and drive to show he wants to be the best. Kevin Garnett wasn’t always the defender he is today. He turned his game around and one point and became one of the greatest defensive players in the league today. It just takes maturity and commitment from someone who is already a great player.

Wild Card three: Leandro Barbosa

His defense had improved greatly last season before his injury. LB is not a lock down defender but is one of the fastest guards in the league and can move his feet to stay in front of a player. He also developed the ability last year to start reading the passing lanes and getting to the right place to get steals. He looked much better defensively last season and I think we could be surprised at what he can do this year. If it was not for having to share minutes with Jason Richardson you could see LB towards the top of the list for steals averages this year. He is a great player and needs to be taken out of the shadows in Phoenix.

The Suns certainly are not the best defensive team in the league but are far from the worst. They have a young core of players that could develop into strong defenders as well as a few other players that might surprise a few this season.

Where Does Grant Hill Fit In The Phoenix Suns Rebuilding Process?

Ryan Greyslak — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 10:25:56 -0400

Steve Kerr is in Orlando today meeting with Grant Hill hoping to sign the veteran and convince him to finish his career as a Phoenix Sun. Grant Hill has stated he is interested in returning to the Suns, but realizes this is his last chance at an NBA contract and is hoping for a two year deal. The Suns have used Hill’s services at a discounted rate the last two years, estimating at a little less than a combined $4 million.

In Phoenix, Hill has resurrected his career due to the Suns' amazing medical training staff. Hill suffered from multiple injuries before his time in Phoenix.

Last year he put up his best numbers in the past few years and was actually healthy enough to play all 82 games. Hill averaged 12.0 points, 4.9 rebounds and shot 52.3 percent from the field for the Phoenix Suns.

There are several teams interested in acquiring Grant Hill. Most of them are championship contending teams unlike the Suns, and can also offer Hill more money. Boston Celtics and Denver Nuggets are rumored to be pursuing him along with Kerr and the Suns.

Grant Hill has shown exceptional leadership qualities with the Suns over the past two years. Even through all the team turmoil he was not one of the players who gave up.

Especially last year, he played his heart out for a failing team and always tried to pull his teammates together for the win. It is obvious that his best years are behind him but he still has the ability to put up good numbers for any team.

He was arguably the most consistent player for the Suns last year. He was the best defender as he guarded multiple positions throughout the season trying to make up for the rest of the teams defensive inconsistencies.

The Phoenix Suns are obviously in change mode and have realized that as constructed, they are not a championship contending team. The best option for them is to start getting younger, more talented players and commence the rebuilding process.

With the Suns in rebuild mode you ask yourself, where does Grant Hill at 36- years- old, and at the end of his career fit into this scheme?

Grant has been a model teammate and locker room guy throughout his career. He never outs his teammates or publicly criticizes them for their on court problems. Instead, he has always been a leader on all the teams he has played for and set’s a great example for the younger players to follow.

Having Grant Hill in the locker room teaches the younger players exactly how they should act by example. He is a great leader and would be a huge benefit on any team in the league.

So now Suns fans are left wondering if Grant will be back to finish his career as a Phoenix Sun or if he will leave the team for a championship contender.

Check the Suns web blog for

Up to date news and honest opinions all news related to the Phoenix Suns

http://www.nbabasketballonline.com/phoenixsuns/weblog

Shaq To Cleveland .. Kerr You Lied To The Fans...

Ryan Greyslak — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 02:15:11 -0400

In a blockbuster deal for the Cleveland Cavaliers they have acquired future hall of fame center Shaquille O’Neal from the Phoenix Suns. The Suns have agreed to send Shaq to the Cavaliers for Ben Wallace ($14 million dollar expiring contract, potential buyout), Sasha Pavlovich ($4,950,000 non guaranteed expiring contract), the Cavs second round pick, and $500,000.

Shaquille O’Neal played about a season and a half with the Suns and completely re-vitalized his career. He put up his best numbers in years and stayed healthier than he has been able to the few previous seasons. However this only looked good from the outside. He sat out most double-header games last season and in interviews referred to his lack of touches and what he could do for the team if they work the offense through him.

The first day that Shaq was introduced as a Sun he stood up and pointed to his ring finger insinuating that he was bring a title to Phoenix, but with his short stint with the Suns, it is clear that Shaq could not deliver.

Many fans were very bitter about the original trade that brought in Shaq for Shawn Marion two seasons ago. Marion was a fan favorite and crucial piece to the Suns success due to his defensive ability and athleticism. The Suns franchise hoped that the Shaq trade would bring in the missing piece and finally allow them to get past the San Antonio Spurs and compete for a title. As we all know this deal did not work out exactly the way the team had hoped, and instead put an end to an exciting style of play called the “run and gun”. It brought the offense to a stand still and did nothing but clog up the middle for Steve Nash and Amare Stoudemire. It actually made the Suns worse defensively because of Shaq’s slow speed. He is completely unable to guard the pick and roll not to mention the hack-a-Shaq routine where he would repeatedly go to the free throw line and miss his shots. This created many changes of possession for the Suns that really hurt them down the stretch.

The next question is how does this trade make Cleveland better? Sure you have a great potential story line for next playoffs with Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol. LeBron James and Shaq. Can’t you see all the commercials and media endorsements that will come from this? David Stern probably had a side deal with Sarver for this one.

What Cleveland has failed to realize is that this is not a good deal for their team. Sure it gives them a much stronger inside presence and a tough guy that can foul the @#$ out of anyone who drives to the basket. But it makes them a much less effective defensive team in guarding the pick in roll or guarding any center that can spread the floor. One of the great things the Cavaliers had working for them was their chemistry. With Zydrunas Ilgauskas the current starting center, the Cavs can spread the floor to make room for LeBron James to take his defender to the rim. Big Z could stand out about 20 feet, wait for James to hit him with the pass and drop the jump shot. Do you see Shaq hitting 20-foot jump shots for this team? I sure don’t.

He will create a dominant post up presence but do the Cavs really need that? Isn’t James a better post player than Shaq? What small forward can guard James posting up on them? There will also be the issue of whose team is it? Even with LeBron James as MVP of the league, on his team can’t you see Shaq demanding more touches if he is not getting his points? This could be a disaster deal for Cleveland and we will have to wait to see what happens.

So as a Suns fan you ask yourself, how does this trade make the Suns better? Short answer, it does not. We were told repeatedly by Suns owner Robert Sarver and Steve Kerr that the team would not trade away their assets for financial reasons. Everything included in this move points to nothing but financial freedom. Neither Wallace nor Pavlovich will help this team next year. All signs lead to a buyout with Wallace and a non-guaranteed contract for Pavlovich. What if Ben Wallace will not accept a buyout, then the Suns will be stuck with his large salary and a player that would contribute less for the team then Shaq did.

A few years ago this might have been a good trade but for the last couple years Ben Wallace has played worse each season and is steadily declining. He has also had a lot of injury issues late is his career and has struggled to stay on the court. He was nothing more then a bench warmer in Cleveland during this years playoffs. The second round pick that they are acquiring more than likely will not lead to any star player being selected. Then there is the little $500,000 bonus attached to the deal. This has financial freedom written all over it.
Unless the Suns are tracking a free agent this year, this deal makes no sense for the rebuilding Suns. They get nothing in return that they would not have expiring anyways. They were better off keeping Shaq and letting his contract expire next season in the biggest name free agent frenzy we have seen in years.

So in the first of hopefully many of the Suns rebuilding trades, Steve Kerr and Robert Sarver have lied to Suns fans and traded Shaq away for nothing more than financial relief. This trade in no way makes the Suns a better team. Hopefully the franchises next trade will actually benefit the team, not set it back.

Check the Suns web blog for

Up to date news and honest opinions all news related to the Phoenix Suns

http://www.nbabasketballonline.com/phoenixsuns/weblog

With a new coach in town, what do the Phoenix Suns do now?

Ryan Greyslak — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 21:11:04 -0400

The Phoenix Suns have gone through a monumental series of changes in the last year, starting from the blockbuster trade that sent Shawn Marion to Miami for Shaquille O’Neal to the departure of long-time coach Mike D’Antoni to the New York Knicks.

There also have been years of disappointing playoff performances for the team.

When Coach D’Antoni first came to town, he adopted a style of basketball that changed the game that we see today. The years of the slow, methodical center who dominated the game disappeared. This ushered a new style of play that had point guards racing up the court, allowing only the players that could keep up to have a chance to score.

The Phoenix Suns became notorious for this style of basketball. The main philosophy depended on outscoring the opponent rather than playing strong defense and relying on stops.

The Suns became very popular around the league, but were never able to win a championship. D'Atoni started coaching the Suns in the 2003-2004 season through the end of this year. Throughout his career, the Suns lost to the San Antonio Spurs in the playoffs four out of his five seasons. The other year, they lost to the Dallas Mavericks.

Under his command, the Suns always had great regular-season records, but were repeatedly defeated in the playoffs. After this year’s first-round loss to the Spurs, D’Antoni decided to leave the Suns and now coaches for the New York Knicks.

It was always rumored in Phoenix that D’Antoni and Suns general manager Steve Kerr differed on how to coach the team, which inevitably added to his departure.

After D’Antoni left, Steve Kerr and the Suns took their time interviewing candidates for his job. They interviewed internal candidates that worked for the organization, including Eddie Johnson, Tom Chambers, and Vinny Del Negro (Vinny recently took the Chicago Bulls head coaching position).

The Suns also interviewed experienced assistant coaches that included Elston Turner, Tyrone Corbin, Brian Shaw, Jeff Hornacek, and Mike Budenholzer. They even interviewed Mark Jackson, who had no coaching experience.

Eventually, they interviewed only one candidate that had previous head coaching experience—Terry Porter.

Porter played in the NBA for 17 seasons for four teams, and retired as one of the few players to have never been traded in his entire career. He was the head coach for the Milwaukee Bucks for two years during the '03–04 and '04–05 seasons and an assistant coach for the Sacramento Kings in 2002. He has been the assistant coach for the Detroit Pistons for the last two seasons.

He also has a great relationship with the team's General Manager Steve Kerr, dating back to when they were both teammates on the Spurs for two seasons.

The Suns needed a coach that will hold their players accountable for their defensive mistakes. Terry Porter has always been known for his defensive toughness and offensive explosiveness, and the Suns hope he can bring that style of play to their team.

The Suns roster will probably have a different appearance next year. Most of the key players should be around, but Steve Kerr has stated that he is open to offers that will make his team better. The highest-paid player on the roster next year is Shaquille O'Neal, getting $20,000,000.

O'Neal seemed very motivated after the trade to win a championship. When he was introduced to the crowd at his first game after arriving in Phoenix, he stood up in the V.I.P. suites at the arena, and pointed to his finger for another championship ring.

When he came to the team, they had to completely change their style of play to adjust to him, as much as they did not want to admit it. We all witnessed a lot of great moments from Shaq and he did a great job on defense against Tim Duncan throughout the series—when he could stay out of foul trouble.

He stepped in and gave them the toughness that they needed, but definitely ran out of steam in the end. The Spurs adopted the “hack-a-Shaq” technique to completely take him out of the game offensively, and he became a burden to his team.

There is absolutely no excuse for Shaq’s inability to shoot free throw shots. He is a professional basketball player that gets paid a huge amount of money. I hope that this off-season (for the first time in his career) he learns how to shoot a free throw, so he doesn’t have a negative impact on his team in critical situations.

Amare Stoudemire had the best season of his career last year. The potential that he has is immeasurable at this point, but he still needs to work much harder on his defense and rebounding this off-season. You can see his flashes of defensive greatness throughout the year—but then he gets lazy at times and makes foolish fouls.

He has shown that he is virtually unstoppable on the offensive side, and has the athletic potential to be an All-NBA first-team defender. Next year, he needs to establish offensively that this is his team and he is offensive option number one.

He performs a nearly perfect pick-and-roll with Steve Nash and should get more passes down in the post against the slower power forwards.

Steve Nash obviously lost a step last season. It really showed in the playoffs when he became a defensive liability while on the court against Tony Parker. He was sloppy with the ball and had many turnovers in critical situations.

He attempted to change his style of play to adjust to O’Neal throughout the season, but it inevitably led to his poor production in the playoffs. He had absolutely no chance of keeping up with Tony Parker defensively. He needs to be in better shape next year and be held accountable defensively.

The Suns also need a dependable backup point guard to relieve Nash of his heavy minutes. It is becoming more and more important to have a strong point guard in this league, and Steve Nash needs to prove his best days are not behind him.

Boris Diaw and Leandro Barbosa are both under contract for next year. These players both have great potential but are very inconsistent and could not be counted on in critical situations.

Barbosa is a lightning-quick player that can take anyone off of the dribble. This year, he changed his style, settling for jump shots and three pointers.

Barbosa is at his best when he drives to the basket off the dribble and creates offense for himself. He needs to develop strong confidence in what he does best and become the NBA star that he can be.

Raja Bell has always been known as a great defender, but struggled to guard Manu Ginobili in the playoffs this season. He suffered several injuries which negatively impacted his offensive numbers as well.

Grant Hill displayed he still had some game left in him, but suffered injuries that kept him out of the playoffs. Hill has been plagued by injuries his entire career, and needs to see less minutes in the regular season so he is still healthy come playoff time.

The only other players under contract next season are rookies DJ Strawberry and Alando Tucker. Nobody really knows what to expect from these guys because D’Antoni never utilized them in his rotation. Instead, he rotated them back and forth from the D-League.

The Suns have the 15th-overall pick in the draft, and have shown interest in players like Brandon Rush, Robin Lopez, JaVale McGee, and Donte Green. They could use this pick to add young talent to their franchise or trade the pick to improve their roster.

The only player that should be not be considered to trade is Amare Stoudemire. He is the future of their franchise and a soon-to-be MVP. Everyone else should be considered in order to improve the team.

They have an expensive, aging roster that needs to be adjusted. Whichever players are around at the start of next season need to be held accountable on defense and continue the offensive production of the previous years.

The Western Conference is very deep now, with a lot of young, athletic, and talented teams, and it will be extremely difficult to make the playoffs next season.

This team is full of limitless potential—but is in desperate need of a change. Hopefully, Porter will bring the attitude and toughness these guys need to get it together.

Phoenix Suns Coaching Search Continues: Who Can Live up to the Expectations?

Ryan Greyslak — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 09:22:51 -0400

The Phoenix Suns have finally stated that they have narrowed the coaching search down to four top candidates.

“Our interview process is probably completed. There may be a few more phone conversations, but…we’ve whittled down the list and we’re zeroing in on our goal,” stated Steve Kerr.

Those four candidates are Tyrone Corbin, assistant coach for the Utah Jazz, Elston Turner, assistant coach for the Houston Rockets, Mike Budenholzer, assistant coach for the San Antonio Spurs, and Terry Porter, assistant coach for the Detroit Pistons.

The first coach on the list is the assistant coach for the Utah Jazz, Tyrone Corbin.

He played in the NBA from 1985 to 2000 for nine different teams. He has been the assistant coach for the Jazz under Jerry Sloan for the past four years. Tyrone currently works on skills development with front-line players like Carlos Boozer and Mehmet Okur. He has coached the team’s summer league for the last three years.

The second candidate for the position is Elston Turner.

He played eight years in the NBA for three different teams. He also played five seasons in the CBA and three years in Europe after his NBA career. Turner was always noted for his defensive ability. He has been an assistant coach under Rick Adelman for the past 11 years with Portland, Sacramento, and Houston.

The third coach on the list is Mike Budenholzer.

He has never played professionally in the NBA. He has been an assistant coach under Gregg Popovich for 12 seasons. He also served as an advance scout for the USA in the 2004 Olympics. He played professionally in Denmark for the Vejle Basketball Klub, averaging a team high 27.5 points per game.

The last candidate (and rumored front runner for the position) is Terry Porter.

He played in the NBA for 17 seasons for four teams and retired as being one of the few players to have never been traded in his entire career. He is the only candidate with head coaching experience, as he coached the Milwaukee Bucks for two years.

He was an assistant coach for the Sacramento Kings in the 2002–2003. He has been the assistant coach for the Detroit Pistons since the 2006–2007 season and is not expected to take over for the recently fired Flip Saunders.

Steve Kerr stated “Terry was great … I think very highly of Terry going back to when we were teammates together in San Antonio. He got a chance to come in and kind of share some more thoughts and views of our team and a vision for our future, so it was a good meeting.”

Now that the Suns have narrowed down the pack to four contenders it is rumored that their will be a decision made by the end of the weekend.

All four candidates have assistant coaching experience and Terry Porter has been a head coach for two years. Three of the four coaches have had NBA careers. They all come with great qualifications and are looking to make a name for themselves in the league as a head coach.

Whoever does fill the position has a lot of expectations hanging over their head.

Flip Saunders Could Be Best Candidate for the Phoenix Suns Head Coach

Ryan Greyslak — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 04:48:53 -0400

The Phoenix Suns endless search for a new coach continues. There have been a number of assistant coaches that have interviewed with Steve Kerr, but none with the head coaching experience he wants.

Terry Porter, the assistant coach in Detroit, is rumored to be the leading candidate at this point. But, who is still left over in the pool with head coaching experience? As of today there is a new candidate that has recently become available. The newly departed Detroit Pistons coach Flip Saunders.

Steve Kerr has stated that the Phoenix Suns would like to hire someone that brings head coaching experience to the team. It is well known that they need to hire a coach that can create a relationship with their franchise player Amare Stoudemire and push him to his full potential both offensively and defensively.

The coach also needs to know how to deal with the veteran player personalities of Nash, Hill, and O’Neal and gain their respect. They have young talent in Diaw, Barbosa, Bell, and even Tucker and Strawberry.

The Phoenix Suns also have the 15th overall pick in the draft. There is a lot of potential still left with this team and they just need a new coach to get them to the promise land.

This could be the situation Flip Saunders needs to turn his coaching career around. Flip has coached the last 13 seasons with two teams. He started his career in Minnesota with the Timberwolves and coached the team to eight consecutive playoff appearances.

He worked very closely with NBA superstar Kevin Garnett and helped him develop into one of the most dominant forward/centers in the league.

He then took over the Detroit Pistons for his last three years. He led the team to an overall regular season record of 176–70 and a playoff record of 30-21. He led the Pistons to the Eastern Conference Finals for the last three years, but was unable to get past that round.

He coaches with the style and tradition of tough Detroit defense that the Phoenix Suns organization desperately needs.

However, even with that impressive record in Detroit, things do not always go well. There were many rumors that the Detroit Pistons players did not respect Saunders as a coach. The owner became very unhappy with the team not being able to get out of the conference finals under his direction. The team fell apart in the playoffs against Boston much like Phoenix did against San Antonio.

He has more experience than any other candidate available. According to his qualifications, he is the coach that Steve Kerr has been looking for. He is a great defensive minded coach that could bring the change that the Phoenix Suns need.

Could he finally be the coach to get the Phoenix Suns to win the championship or is he just another candidate on the list?