The Phoenix That Will Not Rise

In ancient Greek culture, the phoenix represents the spirit of renewal and rebirth. The legendary bird immolates itself and then miraculously rises from its own ashes, to live once again, free from the constraints of mortality.

It is also said that the mighty phoenix could heal anything with a tear cried from its eye, yet while the city of Phoenix weeps for their rapidly setting Suns, it seems as if resurrection is a much a myth as the divine phoenix.

A little more than a year ago, the NBA pundits and prognosticators recognized that the writing was on the wall in Phoenix when rookie Suns GM Steve Kerr sent shockwaves through the NBA by sending cornerstone Shawn Marion to Miami for the aging phantom of Shaquille O'Neal.

Four months later, Mike D'Antoni was fired and replaced by Terry freaken Porter in an attempt to relocate a defensive focus for a team that valued defense so very little.

As the 2008-09 season approached, and it became clear that their division rivals, the Los Angeles Lakers were all growed up, Steve Kerr hit the panic button once again, this time packaging D'Antoni favorites Raja Bell and Boris Diaw for Charlotte's Jason Richardson, a decidedly offensive player with very limited defensive prowess.

And then, last week as the reports began flooding into the major news outlets that the Suns were actively shopping Apostrophe Stoudemire, it became clear that Steve Kerr was not out to simply retool the Suns, he wanted to burn them to the ground.

Yet, the unceremonious dismantling of the most beautifully unorthodox and discordant experiments in professional sports history began far before these desperate and callow transactions.

Heck, it began when Steve Kerr was still the Suns color commentator.

Joe Johnson blossomed into an All-Star in his first three seasons after being egregiously low-balled during free agency. Rudy Fernandez, the Suns 24th pick in the 2007 draft, was sold to the Portland Trailblazers and has shown flashes of star potential.

The same goes for Boston's Rajon Rondo and New York's Nate Robinson, both of whom are rising stars and were once first round choices of the Phoenix Suns, given up for next to nothing without even being given a chance in the desert.

This weekend, the NBA All-Star circus pitches its tents in the city of Phoenix for what should be a celebration of all things NBA hosted by perhaps its best franchise to not win a title (although they were jobbed in 1976, but that is another tale).

The sad and chilling reality is that this weekend is a façade. It is a sham. It is but a super-minuscule version of the 1936 Berlin Olympics. “All is well!” cries Steve Kerr as Robert Sarver lights the fuse on the powder keg.

Apostrophe Stoudemire asserts that it is 60-40 that he will be in Suns purple and orange come Feb. 18, but with the Suns front office seemingly hellbent on removing nearly every vestige of the “seven seconds or less” Suns in shocking and heartbreaking fashion, it would be foolish for Apostrophe to not start packing his bags.

The sad and sobering truth is that the Phoenix Suns lit themselves on fire long ago and we are only a few days away from witnessing their final disintegration into dust.

The legendary phoenix is destined to rise from its ashes to live once more, rejuvenated and reawakened, but in Phoenix, Ariz., it appears that this once revolutionary franchise is doomed to toil and mire in their own destruction with no resurrection in sight.

 -Andrew Rafner is the Editor of the forthcoming TheLoveofNBA.com blog. He is obsessed with Courtney Lee’s career trajectory and loves Al Harrington’s neck tattoo.