Ryan McDonough Appreciation Thread

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Superbone
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Ryan McDonough Appreciation Thread

Post by Superbone »

I know many were not happy with his performance but at the end of the day, he's still a human being who was here five years and lost his job. He also got married while he was in Phoenix. He started out with a bang with the Hornacek hiring and some key trades for a 23 win turnaround his first year. All of which we missed here at phx-suns.net due to a regime change (Thanks Marty for resurrecting us!)

After that first year, things got dicey. But at the end of the day, we still have Devin Booker, Deandre Ayton, and Igor Kokoskov on his watch. His biggest downfall turned out to be communication, temperament, and team building. (Maybe there was a little luck in that regard the first year?) Anyway, hats off to Ryan McDonough for doing the best he could as a young GM under what are probably not very good circumstances under Robert Sarver.

I wish him the best in future endeavors. I wonder if he'll go back to working with Ainge or if he'll get another shot as a NBA GM?
"Be Legendary."

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Shabazz
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Re: Ryan McDonough Appreciation Thread

Post by Shabazz »

I've said it before. A few different bounces of the lottery balls and we're going into last season with Booker/Simmons/Tatum instead of Booker/Bender/Jackson. McDonough would "look" a lot smarter had he been a little luckier.

The Brandon Knight trade was still terrible.

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Superbone
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Re: Ryan McDonough Appreciation Thread

Post by Superbone »

Shabazz wrote:
Tue Oct 09, 2018 3:31 pm
The Brandon Knight trade was still terrible.
One of his biggest downfalls. That and being too heavily invested in Bledsoe. Never should have given either of them those 70 mil contracts.
"Be Legendary."

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SDC
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Re: Ryan McDonough Appreciation Thread

Post by SDC »

once IT was signed, mcdo should have told klutch/bledsoe the suns arent interested in him anymore. dragic should have been his priority, not bledsoe.

and i was more for his demotion (to head scout, his best position) than getting him fired.

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SDC
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Re: Ryan McDonough Appreciation Thread

Post by SDC »

the worst thing that could have happened to mcdo was drafting ayton. He was only retained because why not... the suns are already in year 4, 5 of rebuilding, and tanking (telling players to stay home) isnt that hard. :lol:

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Charlie Smithy!
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Re: Ryan McDonough Appreciation Thread

Post by Charlie Smithy! »

[youtube][/youtube]

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SDC
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Re: Ryan McDonough Appreciation Thread

Post by SDC »

getting rid of mcdo is good news for josh jackson and bender. Now it's up to them.

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JeremyG
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Re: Ryan McDonough Appreciation Thread

Post by JeremyG »

Charles Barkley says McDonough had one of the best offseasons ever: https://omny.fm/shows/bickley-marotta/c ... nd-analyst
"I'm a Deandre Ayton guy."--Al McCoy, September 21, 2022.

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JCSunsfan
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Re: Ryan McDonough Appreciation Thread

Post by JCSunsfan »

It is hard to imagine a GM finally getting the number one pick and then getting canned. The only reason that makes sense is that it wasn't the draft, but free agency that bothered Sarver.

Ariza for $15 million for one year makes a difference now, but not long term. Free agency was not a win by any means. It is hard to believe that next summer would be any better.

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The Bobster
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Re: Ryan McDonough Appreciation Thread

Post by The Bobster »

I think lack of success signing big name free agents may have played a part, but to me you can lay that more on the state of the team as a whole.

McDonough had done a decent job in accumulating young players (granted, it could have been better but no team has a spotless draft resume), and appeared close to turning the corner.

It's hard to say how good McDonough would have been without Sarver's interference, but what we hear now about Sarver's continued involvement in daily decision-making is worrisome. I don't see how any GM is going to flourish under those circumstances.

basically, Sarver was handed a franchise with Amare Stoudemire, Shawn Marion, Joe Johnson, and freshly-signed Steve Nash and Quentin Richardson and has slowly chipped away at that foundation.

Since buying the team in 2004, Sarver has employed 7 General Managers (Bryan Colangelo, Mike D'Antoni, Steve Kerr , Lance Blanks, Lon Babby, Ryan McDonough & James Jones) and 8 head coaches (Mike D'Antoni, Terry Porter, Alvin Gentry, Lindsey Hunter, Jeff Hornacek, Earl Watson, Jay Triano & Igor Kokoskov). A ludicrous amount of turnover.

So I don't hold McDonough entirely responsible for the roster mess, he wasn't given much to work with when he took the job (Goran Dragic, Marcin Gortat, P.J. Tucker, Jared Dudley, Markieff Morris, Luis Scola, Michael Beasley, Shannon Brown, Jermaine O'Neal, Wesley Johnson, Kendall Marshall), and he has had his hands tied by meddlesome ownership.
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Cap
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Re: Ryan McDonough Appreciation Thread

Post by Cap »

The Bobster wrote:
Wed Oct 10, 2018 6:54 am
McDonough had done a decent job in accumulating young players (granted, it could have been better but no team has a spotless draft resume), and appeared close to turning the corner.
You look at our draft resume for about 15-20 years pre-Sarver, and it’s pretty close to spotless.

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The Bobster
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Re: Ryan McDonough Appreciation Thread

Post by The Bobster »

Cap wrote:
Wed Oct 10, 2018 7:09 am
The Bobster wrote:
Wed Oct 10, 2018 6:54 am
McDonough had done a decent job in accumulating young players (granted, it could have been better but no team has a spotless draft resume), and appeared close to turning the corner.
You look at our draft resume for about 15-20 years pre-Sarver, and it’s pretty close to spotless.

They got almost all the high #1 choices right and were hit and miss with the late #1's, but that's pretty much to be expected. To many misses and traded picks since 2005 though.
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Mori Chu
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Re: Ryan McDonough Appreciation Thread

Post by Mori Chu »

I will miss Ryan McDonough. He whiffed on several transactions and drafts, but honestly, no GM/FO hits on 100% of their moves. None. You can choose to focus on what McDo got wrong, but you can also look at how he has drafted Booker, TJ Warren, Josh Jackson, and now Ayton for us. He also got us substantial assets and picks in several trades, such as the Dragic trade that netted us two first-rounders, as well as other player dumps like the Markieff Morris trade.

McDo had flaws, and he didn't manage to build a balanced team or a playoff team during his time here. But it takes time to bottom out and bounce back. I think it's lame to fire him just after drafting a possible franchise player at #1 who looks amazing in every game. What was the problem that got him fired? The lack of a PG? You have to take your time with this stuff, not just toss away assets to make your team good right now. There will be good PGs available at the trade deadline or next offseason. If teams were trying to fleece us, McDo did the right thing by being patient. No PG is going to make us a contender this year.

I do think one of McDo's biggest flaws is overstuffing too many mediocre/flawed players at the same position, leading to frustrating logjams that are hard for the players and coaching staff to resolve. The classic example is the 3 PGs we used to have in Dragic, Bledsoe, and IT. More recent examples including drafting both Bender and Chriss to play PF, and the current SF mess with all of Jackson, Warren, Ariza, Bridges, and others hoping to get minutes at that position. This is not smart roster-building. Pick a primary guy for each spot, and also get a backup or young guy to play the bench minutes at that spot. Don't just throw 4-5 guys in with no clear pecking order who can't all get minutes. And certainly don't give up assets to overstuff a position, like McDo did to get IT in the past, like he did to get Chriss a few years ago, or like he did to get Bridges this past draft. We blew picks and players on each of those deals.

One thing I'll praise McDo for is that in general he has avoided the mistake of signing crappy FAs to too-large or too-long contracts. He hasn't been 100% perfect, but I'm glad he has mostly not gone out and tried to "make a splash" in free agency by just throwing long-term money around. I'm not that upset about the Ariza or Anderson contracts because they are short-term. He got Warren on a reasonable contract. He didn't overpay to keep Len when we don't need him. Etc. He's been mostly wise in that regard, and that is one way a lot of teams wreck their cap. An underrated part of McDo's tenure here IMO.

This firing reminds me a lot of Hinkie's firing in Philly. I think our team is going to improve a lot in the coming 1-2 years. And I think McDo will (rightfully) be credited after the fact for putting most of this team together. We'll sign some PG who will help push us over the top, but folks will remember that McDo drafted our young core and put the pieces in place / managed our cap to give us the ability to do the rest. As long as McDo doesn't pen a ridiculous 8-page letter in an online publication defending himself, I think he'll come out of his time here looking good. :-)

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Re: Ryan McDonough Appreciation Thread

Post by BlaCkAdDa »

I'll thank him for not being blanks or babby and for tanking to get us a decent pick. The rest is a wash.

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carey
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Re: Ryan McDonough Appreciation Thread

Post by carey »

Marty [Mori Chu] wrote:
Wed Oct 10, 2018 12:26 pm
One thing I'll praise McDo for is that in general he has avoided the mistake of signing crappy FAs to too-large or too-long contracts. He hasn't been 100% perfect, but I'm glad he has mostly not gone out and tried to "make a splash" in free agency by just throwing long-term money around. I'm not that upset about the Ariza or Anderson contracts because they are short-term. He got Warren on a reasonable contract. He didn't overpay to keep Len when we don't need him. Etc. He's been mostly wise in that regard, and that is one way a lot of teams wreck their cap. An underrated part of McDo's tenure here IMO.
While I agree with this he still probably shouldn't have given Knight his current contract and to a lesser extent Chandler his.
This firing reminds me a lot of Hinkie's firing in Philly.
GMs rarely survive tanking. It's why so few advocate for it.
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SDC
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Re: Ryan McDonough Appreciation Thread

Post by SDC »

Cap wrote:
Wed Oct 10, 2018 7:09 am
The Bobster wrote:
Wed Oct 10, 2018 6:54 am
McDonough had done a decent job in accumulating young players (granted, it could have been better but no team has a spotless draft resume), and appeared close to turning the corner.
You look at our draft resume for about 15-20 years pre-Sarver, and it’s pretty close to spotless.
armen gilliam was traded for kurt rambis after two and a half years. tim perry's a bust too.

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Ring_Wanted
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Re: Ryan McDonough Appreciation Thread

Post by Ring_Wanted »

Ha! Can't belive I am seeing a McD appreciation thread on here.

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Cap
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Re: Ryan McDonough Appreciation Thread

Post by Cap »

There is a good probability that McD will someday look back on getting fired by Sarver as one of the best things that has happened to him.

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SDC
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Re: Ryan McDonough Appreciation Thread

Post by SDC »

he can always go back to being danny ainges boy...

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Re: Ryan McDonough Appreciation Thread

Post by Indy »

Cap wrote:
Thu Oct 11, 2018 9:31 am
There is a good probability that McD will someday look back on getting fired by Sarver as one of the best things that has happened to him.
Hard to complain about getting paid for the next 18 months to do nothing. How much was his contract again?

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