Suns News: Week 24 4/6-4/12

[OE32]

To me, the most disappointing aspect of this season is Hornacek. I've finally come around to Robot's view. Gives the wrong players total license, gives the wrong players no slack. He got dealt a tough hand, but I think he's made it worse. You can tell the players hate playing - they just quit last night.

There's no reason for Tucker to still be playing so many minutes. None that I can imagine, anyway.

[Sunsfan4life]

Just doing their due diligence with him and Jennings incase they don't land Parker at 14 IMO. Landry is much better then Welker is at this point in there careers in the slot, so it wouldn't make much sense.

Actually I've been very happy with what the Fins have done the past 2 off-seasons...I like Hickey alot, and Tannebaum, although I thought he F'd up the Jets cap, did a nice job dealing that quitter Wallace and correcting some of irelands blunders.

EDIT:I should note this is in response to Indy, sorry I get excited about my Fins as the NFL Draft creeps closer.

[Indy]

Just doing their due diligence with him and Jennings incase they don't land Parker at 14 IMO. Landry is much better then Welker is at this point in there careers in the slot, so it wouldn't make much sense.

Actually I've been very happy with what the Fins have done the past 2 off-seasons...I like Hickey alot, and Tannebaum, although I thought he F'd up the Jets cap, did a nice job dealing that quitter Wallace and correcting some of irelands blunders.

EDIT:I should note this is in response to Indy, sorry I get excited about my Fins as the NFL Draft creeps closer.

I was really happy to see Wallace go too. He was awful for us.

[Sunsfan4life]

You post on Finsheaven Indy? I'm not as frequent there as I am here, but I its not a bad place for out of town Fins fans.

[Shabazz]

Am I the only one? BTW, I renewed my seats for next year.

Honestly, I've agreed with most of McDonough's moves other than the Thomas signing (while acknowledging it was a value contract/Bledsoe insurance) and the Knight trade. That trade looks even worse now that we look like we'll be in the West cellar a few more years and could actually really use the Lakers pick - not just as a tradeable asset. I don't understand how he fills the end of his bench (Shav, Barron), but perhaps those are favors to certain agents.

This Summer will be huge. If he brings back more or less the same roster, it may be time for me to get off his bandwagon.

[Indy]

To me, the most disappointing aspect of this season is Hornacek. I've finally come around to Robot's view. Gives the wrong players total license, gives the wrong players no slack. He got dealt a tough hand, but I think he's made it worse. You can tell the players hate playing - they just quit last night.

There's no reason for Tucker to still be playing so many minutes. None that I can imagine, anyway.

I am a big Jeff supporter, and I agree he has been disappointing this year. But with a year that has gone as awful as it has, I have a really hard time saying he was even close to the most disappointing. The most disappointing thing, by far, was our "backing the wrong horse" as Sup puts it. We drove away a top-tier talent. You can argue that we started that last summer, but that is splitting hairs. Add to that we signed the twins to long-term extensions. The guys that can't get through a single week without getting a tech, or can barely scrape together 10 boards combined, in +50 mpg! Or that our leader in the club house is PJ Tucker.

There are so many disappointing things that happened this year. It is pathetic.

[Indy]

You post on Finsheaven Indy? I'm not as frequent there as I am here, but I its not a bad place for out of town Fins fans.

I don't know about it. I honestly only post on one message board, for any topics. And that is here. I occasionally search others for info I need (how to fix something on my car), but other than that, I don't spend much time online. Honestly, I am either digging through my google news feed, on here, or checking out my stocks.

[Indy]

Am I the only one? BTW, I renewed my seats for next year.

Honestly, I've agreed with most of McDonough's moves other than the Thomas signing (while acknowledging it was a value contract/Bledsoe insurance) and the Knight trade. That trade looks even worse now that we look like we'll be in the West cellar a few more years and could actually really use the Lakers pick - not just as a tradeable asset. I don't understand how he fills the end of his bench (Shav, Barron), but perhaps those are favors to certain agents.

This Summer will be huge. If he brings back more or less the same roster, it may be time for me to get off his bandwagon.

Yeah, it is easy for me to say how unhappy I am now, but I was defending the twins contract, and to a lesser extent Bleds. I wasn't even too unhappy about Thomas. The Knight trade is one I was very vocal about. We were stupid on that.

But I would hope that the guys that get paid millions to set the direction of our team, knows a ton more and makes a lot better decisions than we would here...

[Robot]

To me, the most disappointing aspect of this season is Hornacek. I've finally come around to Robot's view. Gives the wrong players total license, gives the wrong players no slack. He got dealt a tough hand, but I think he's made it worse. You can tell the players hate playing - they just quit last night.

There's no reason for Tucker to still be playing so many minutes. None that I can imagine, anyway.

I am a big Jeff supporter, and I agree he has been disappointing this year. But with a year that has gone as awful as it has, I have a really hard time saying he was even close to the most disappointing. The most disappointing thing, by far, was our "backing the wrong horse" as Sup puts it. We drove away a top-tier talent. You can argue that we started that last summer, but that is splitting hairs. Add to that we signed the twins to long-term extensions. The guys that can't get through a single week without getting a tech, or can barely scrape together 10 boards combined, in +50 mpg! Or that our leader in the club house is PJ Tucker.

There are so many disappointing things that happened this year. It is pathetic.

IMO the coach is the primary source of team ethic, attitude and drive . It is the responsibility of the coach to put his players in the best position to succeed and to make the most of their skill sets in an offensive/defensive and psychological sense.

You can respect a coach who exists on one of two levels. 1.) A strategic genius with a specific strength [ D'Antoni with certain offenses , Tibbs with Defense , Pop with discipline/system ] or 2.) A decent strategist but a person that BACKS his players and they respect him and want to play hard for him [ I thin kyou could throw Alvin Gentry in this category ]

Neither combination = wins but they = SOMETHING. Hornacek to me is a terrible people person, he comes off as arrogant, disconnected from reality, petty and outdated in his interviews. He most definitely does not have the love/respect of his team and that is partially because his rotations are absolutely ludacris. IMO he is at least partially responsible for not managing the 3 point guards specifically Dragic. It is SO SO SO SO SO SO SO CLEAR that Goran thrived as the distributer of the ball and he was totally marginalized in our offense this year both as a BBALL player and psychologically.

Even now - his rotations are so bizarre , he seems like a guy who is set in some old school way of thinking and it does not fit the way the NBA is or our team or any team with young talent. He has no nurturing component and he is not interesting, heart felt, or intelligent when it comes to basketball!

This dude is a horrible strategist. He has no offense - he can't run plays out of time outs and the team seems to be completely disconnected and disenfranchised. I think even the Mo Brothers could be handled better by a myriad of coaches .

I don't get a sense that the team respects him and it direct effects how the team functions. It exasperates the problems .

-R

[Indy]

This dude is a horrible strategist. He has no offense - he can't run plays out of time outs and the team seems to be completely disconnected and disenfranchised. I think even the Mo Brothers could be handled better by a myriad of coaches .

It came out that he has to dumb down the plays to try and get our team to understand them. I think he would be a completely different coach with a team of smart players. Of course you can say that with anyone, but I really think Jeff needs hard working, smart players to succeed. They don't have to be the most athletic, or most skilled, but they need to be hard working and smart. I don't know if we have a single guy on our team that fits that category. That is the problem.

But I certainly hear the criticism, and agree to a point.

[OE32]

I'm hoping to see trades this offseason. I can't believe I'm there, but I'm even open to a new coach - someone like Quin Snyder, who plays young players because he wants them to get the experience. I really hate Jeff's approach to young players. Just awful. If I were TJ, I'd hate the coach.

But I'd be furious if we lost McD. I have a strong belief in his ability to make savvy trades and to draft the right players. The knowledge that we'll make a good decision in the draft is a source of perpetual hope, and his tendency to pick up draft picks builds positive momentum toward success. The product this year has been less than "stellar" (ha ha), which, I hope, serves as an excuse for us to move on from these guys.

Going forward, the players I'm attached to are Brandon, TJ, Alex, and, for now, Bogdanovich. The rest are trade pieces, as far as I'm concerned.

IMO, the worst deal McD has made in terms of value is trading Isaiah for a crummy pick. But I understand why he did it - wanted to open up time for Brandon Knight.

[Indy]

I don't get a sense that the team respects him and it direct effects how the team functions. It exasperates the problems .

This team wouldn't respect anyone.

[Indy]

Going forward, the players I'm attached to are Brandon, TJ, Alex, and, for now, Bogdanovich. The rest are trade pieces, as far as I'm concerned.

For me it is just TJ and Alex. Brandon hasn't shown anything worth 12-14 million a year, and that is what he is going to get.

[ShelC]

Brandon hasn't shown anything worth 12-14 million a year

He may not have had a chance to show it here but he was playing awfully well in Milwaukee.

[Indy]

Brandon hasn't shown anything worth 12-14 million a year

He may not have had a chance to show it here but he was playing awfully well in Milwaukee.

Only if you consider "awfully well" to be how Eric has played here all year. I know stats don't tell the whole thing, and honestly I didn't watch much of him on the Bucks, but they are eerily similar. The only significant difference is in 3%,

Code: Select all

Season	MP	 FG%	   3P%	   2P%	FT%	  TRB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	PTS
14-15	32.5	0.435	0.409	0.448	0.881	4.3	5.4	1.6	0.2	3.2	17.8
14-15	34.5	0.448	0.333	0.488	0.801	5.3	6.0	1.6	0.6	3.4	17.1

[TOO]

Brandon hasn't shown anything worth 12-14 million a year

He may not have had a chance to show it here but he was playing awfully well in Milwaukee.

Only if you consider "awfully well" to be how Eric has played here all year. I know stats don't tell the whole thing, and honestly I didn't watch much of him on the Bucks, but they are eerily similar. The only significant difference is in 3%,

Code: Select all

Season	MP	 FG%	   3P%	   2P%	FT%	  TRB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	PTS
14-15	32.5	0.435	0.409	0.448	0.881	4.3	5.4	1.6	0.2	3.2	17.8
14-15	34.5	0.448	0.333	0.488	0.801	5.3	6.0	1.6	0.6	3.4	17.1

Knight played the best ball of his career this year in Milwaukee, by a longshot. So well in fact, he was almost an all-star Problem here is, I think he's redundant to Bledsoe, and I dont wanna pay 25m+ for 2 guards that cant run an offense.

[djy2j]

I don't know who's going to pay Brandon Knight 12-14 mil a year after this season...and that's a good thing. The only way I see this happening is Phoenix in ANOTHER panic move (but I doubt it) or Miami in a panic move if Dragic bolts. There is just way too many decent point guards in the league right now with more coming in this draft.

[Indy]

I don't know who's going to pay Brandon Knight 12-14 mil a year after this season...and that's a good thing. The only way I see this happening is Phoenix in ANOTHER panic move (but I doubt it) or Miami in a panic move if Dragic bolts. There is just way too many decent point guards in the league right now with more coming in this draft.

Available this summer?

[Superbone]

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/phoenix-su ... --nba.html

Phoenix Suns' Morris twins accused of beating former mentor

...

Phoenix police say they are seeking aggravated assault charges against the Morris twins and three others in the alleged January attack.

According to police documents made available Wednesday, Eric Hood was leaving a basketball game Jan. 24 at a Phoenix sports complex when he was approached by one of the five people.

Hood told police that five people, including the Morris brothers, repeatedly kicked and hit him.

Police say Hood suffered a fractured nose, abrasions and a large bump on his head.

...

[EDC]

I just don't see the need for anything besides an average point guard for the next few years. We just need someone to actually play point and not scoring point.

I don't know if Knight will be worth 12-14 but we are now is a shitty situation. It was a bad knee jerk reaction from McD. What is the best scenario? Getting him for 12 a year? Some how convincing another team to do a sign and trade? Can we really let him and that Lakers pick go for nothing?

I guess the best situation is getting him for 12 a year or so and trading Bledsoe. I haven't seen enough of Knight to really have much of an opinion. Unlike Bledsoe who I'm pretty much done with. The guy just doesn't really care.

I think the biggest problem is the culture of the team. The leaders of the team are set in their view of how things should be done and as long as they stand together they are going to make it hard on whoever is coaching. I think we have to move Bledsoe, Tucker, and the Morrii.

The problem is in all the interviews I've seen the front office has made it pretty clear those are the guys they consider the core of the team.

We had so much hope after last season. It is amazing how quickly that has gone away.