Will The Suns Destroy and Rebuild?

A LayupDrill.com Exclusive

The Phoenix Suns season will end tonight. After the players have their exit interviews and clean out their lockers, Suns GM Steve Kerr will be left with some very big decisions. The Arizona Republic reported late last night that both Kerr and injured forward Amar'e Stoudemire had much to say about the Suns season and future.

First, there was Amar'e, whom received his first All-Star start this year, but then suffered a season ending injury that put a black eye on his 2008-09 campaign. Stoudemire and former Suns coach Terry Porter never really meshed, with Porter demanding defense first, something Amare may be not familiar with.

Stoudemire voiced his view on the Suns season stating, “We can adjust and play to any style. I think it was more of a personality fit. . . .You bring in Terry Porter, a guy who was a little more bold as far as his way or the highway. (He) wasn’t really accepting what we thought would work or trying to implement what we thought would work.”

If you believe Amar'e, then Porter may have to re-evaluate some things if and when he gets another shot to lead a team in the league. But there are always three sides to a story, and what Stoudemire forgets is that Mike D’Antoni’s style of play wasn’t hanging banners in Phoenix either.

While his run-n-gun style was exciting, and put Stoudemire on the map nationally, it wasn’t built to stand the test of playoff basketball.

More interesting to me, though, were the comments made by Steve Kerr.

The GM focused on the future of the team, and diffused any rumors of moving Steve Nash, however, not putting to rest moving Shaq and Amare. “We can be very competitive,” Kerr said. “I don’t know that this team, as constituted, can be a championship team. I don’t think so, actually. We’re not good enough in certain areas.”

Kerr continued, indirectly nailing the coffin in Shaq’s run in Phoenix. “You have to have active big guys,” Kerr said. “You look at the best teams in the league, and there’s a reason Boston was so good defensively. Kevin Garnett. Kendrick Perkins. Those guys jump out on pick-and-rolls. They trap. They recover. They protect the rim. You’ve got to be able to have versatility. That’s why we drafted Robin (Lopez). That’s why we signed Lou. We’re trying to get more mobile on the interior.”

With a team that clearly needs to make changes, where do you start?

The Suns have stated they will not be major players in the free agent market this season, and that they want to retain Steve Nash. Nash has one season left on his current contract, though he has stated he would like to play at least three to four more seasons.

If you are Kerr, do you keep Nash, try to extend Stoudemire's contract, and bring in complimentary players for more offense first basketball?

Moving Shaq may be tougher now then it looked at the All-Star break, though there are sure to be teams willing to take a gamble on O’Neal. Then you have veteran Grant Hill, who has been the Suns most consistent player this year, but may see his days in Phoenix end tonight as well.

Perhaps more pressing than the questions regarding the roster is who will be leading the charge next fall.

Interim coach Alvin Gentry still has the title of interim on his door. If Kerr believes Gentry is the right guy for the job, it may be a good thing. However, if Kerr believes that a players coach like Sam Mitchell, or a tough-minded coach like Avery Johnson could work, he better make his move fast.

With a record number of teams with either interim coaches or the potential to be looking for head coaches this summer, the odds the big names will stay out there much longer is slim.