Game Day (Exhibition): Suns @ Rockets, Mon 10/13/14

[da_suns_fan]

Except us.

Sniff. That was beautiful.

I told my wife back in 05 when she loved Joe Johnson and Barbosa (her first Suns season):

Dont get too attached. They ALL get traded eventually.

[Indy]

So true. And I was a huge Joe fan when he was here. I was at the game where Stackhouse broke his face. I loved the attitude of getting up with a face that needed a dozen screws to hold it together, calmly took his foul shots (although he only made 1 of 2), then proceeded to walk off the court. The next game was the first game of his career that he missed.

[ShelC]

I remember some fans complaining that he was taking too long to come back when we were playing the Spurs. Dude literally broke his face. Came back with a mask on for Game 4 i think and had Bowen on skates with a stepback jumper. That's when he sold me as a guy we needed to keep and build around. Sarver had other thoughts...

[Indy]

There was an article just last month that said Sarver still regrets that decision...

[INFORMER]

The title of that article was misleading. Sarver never indicated exactly what he regretted. It is a complex situation. Is the regret in not extending him or in not matching Atlanta's offer?

I still feel he made the right call not to match Atlanta's offer.

[LazarusLong]

I was a major fan of Joe Johnson. But in the long run, it wasn't losing him that hurt the Suns so much as the constant peddling of first-round draft choices for empty assets.

[SwingMan]

I was a major fan of Joe Johnson. But in the long run, it wasn't losing him that hurt the Suns so much as the constant peddling of first-round draft choices for empty assets.

Like the classic "We didn't think Iguodala would be there at #7, so we dealt it" 2004 debacle.

Or trading Rondo (#21, 2006) to get out from under Brian Grant's OUTRAGEOUS 1 year left/$1.5 million deal.

Or trading Serge Ibaka to get rid of a still serviceable Kurt Thomas in 2007.

Starting to get a sour tummy.....

[Indy]

I didn't at the time, but I blame a lot of that on Mike. And I am not bashing on him. I think he was very good for us as a coach for "winning now". Unfortunately, you can't afford to mortgage your future very often and have it pay off (like Colangelo did to win a World Series). It will catch up with you...

[Superbone]

The title of that article was misleading. Sarver never indicated exactly what he regretted. It is a complex situation. Is the regret in not extending him or in not matching Atlanta's offer?

I still feel he made the right call not to match Atlanta's offer.

It was the former that he regretted.

[SwingMan]

I didn't at the time, but I blame a lot of that on Mike. And I am not bashing on him. I think he was very good for us as a coach for "winning now". Unfortunately, you can't afford to mortgage your future very often and have it pay off (like Colangelo did to win a World Series). It will catch up with you...

Alot of it *was* D'Antoni's fault in that he had no time for rookies unless they were forced on him (Barbosa in the 2nd half of 2003-2004), so I guess i can see some of Sarver's mindset - problem is, it was short-sighted to a million faults.

"7 starters".....

[JCSunsfan]

I didn't at the time, but I blame a lot of that on Mike. And I am not bashing on him. I think he was very good for us as a coach for "winning now". Unfortunately, you can't afford to mortgage your future very often and have it pay off (like Colangelo did to win a World Series). It will catch up with you...

Alot of it *was* D'Antoni's fault in that he had no time for rookies unless they were forced on him (Barbosa in the 2nd half of 2003-2004), so I guess i can see some of Sarver's mindset - problem is, it was short-sighted to a million faults.

"7 starters".....

Yes. Basically, MikeD told Sarver, "You can draft them, but I am not going to play them." So Sarver got cash instead. If you tell me wife, "You can make dinner, but I won't eat it" she is heading out for sushi without me.

Sarver was not saavy enough as an owner yet to see how stupid his coach was acting.

[Indy]

Agreed guys. And there either wasn't a GM that could teach Sarver, or one that he trusted to teach him.

[Dan H]

It was good times though, while it lasted.

I had to watch this (http://espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=270514024) game in complete silence in the hospital room while my wife slept after this little guy came along:

And now he's this big guy:



Hopefully this is the year the Suns are interesting enough that he pays attention.

[Shabazz]

I didn't at the time, but I blame a lot of that on Mike. And I am not bashing on him. I think he was very good for us as a coach for "winning now". Unfortunately, you can't afford to mortgage your future very often and have it pay off (like Colangelo did to win a World Series). It will catch up with you...

Alot of it *was* D'Antoni's fault in that he had no time for rookies unless they were forced on him (Barbosa in the 2nd half of 2003-2004), so I guess i can see some of Sarver's mindset - problem is, it was short-sighted to a million faults.

"7 starters".....

Yes. Basically, MikeD told Sarver, "You can draft them, but I am not going to play them." So Sarver got cash instead. If you tell me wife, "You can make dinner, but I won't eat it" she is heading out for sushi without me.

Sarver was not saavy enough as an owner yet to see how stupid his coach was acting.

I've gone into this in more detail before and don't care to again, but while you can assign blame to D'Antoni for the Rondo pick trade, the Iguodala pick trade took place after he had been coach for less than half a season and didn't have Nash, Q-Rich or any track record of NBA success (and by extension clout to say he "wouldn't play rookies"). That one was a miscalculation by Bryan Colangelo. And I don't see how trading Kurt Thomas and two 1st round picks can be pinned on D'Antoni. Awful Sarver mandated salary dump that saw Kerr get bent over by OKC.

[Indy]

I didn't at the time, but I blame a lot of that on Mike. And I am not bashing on him. I think he was very good for us as a coach for "winning now". Unfortunately, you can't afford to mortgage your future very often and have it pay off (like Colangelo did to win a World Series). It will catch up with you...

Alot of it *was* D'Antoni's fault in that he had no time for rookies unless they were forced on him (Barbosa in the 2nd half of 2003-2004), so I guess i can see some of Sarver's mindset - problem is, it was short-sighted to a million faults.

"7 starters".....

Yes. Basically, MikeD told Sarver, "You can draft them, but I am not going to play them." So Sarver got cash instead. If you tell me wife, "You can make dinner, but I won't eat it" she is heading out for sushi without me.

Sarver was not saavy enough as an owner yet to see how stupid his coach was acting.

I've gone into this in more detail before and don't care to again, but while you can assign blame to D'Antoni for the Rondo pick trade, the Iguodala pick trade took place after he had been coach for less than half a season and didn't have Nash, Q-Rich or any track record of NBA success (and by extension clout to say he "wouldn't play rookies"). That one was a miscalculation by Bryan Colangelo. And I don't see how trading Kurt Thomas and two 1st round picks can be pinned on D'Antoni. Awful Sarver mandated salary dump that saw Kerr get bent over by OKC.

I don't disagree with any of that.

[Superbone]

Agreed guys. And there either wasn't a GM that could teach Sarver, or one that he trusted to teach him.

Colangelo, Sr. could have set him straight had Sarver let him. That's on Sarver.

[SwingMan]

I didn't at the time, but I blame a lot of that on Mike. And I am not bashing on him. I think he was very good for us as a coach for "winning now". Unfortunately, you can't afford to mortgage your future very often and have it pay off (like Colangelo did to win a World Series). It will catch up with you...

Alot of it *was* D'Antoni's fault in that he had no time for rookies unless they were forced on him (Barbosa in the 2nd half of 2003-2004), so I guess i can see some of Sarver's mindset - problem is, it was short-sighted to a million faults.

"7 starters".....

Yes. Basically, MikeD told Sarver, "You can draft them, but I am not going to play them." So Sarver got cash instead. If you tell me wife, "You can make dinner, but I won't eat it" she is heading out for sushi without me.

Sarver was not saavy enough as an owner yet to see how stupid his coach was acting.

I've gone into this in more detail before and don't care to again, but while you can assign blame to D'Antoni for the Rondo pick trade, the Iguodala pick trade took place after he had been coach for less than half a season and didn't have Nash, Q-Rich or any track record of NBA success (and by extension clout to say he "wouldn't play rookies"). That one was a miscalculation by Bryan Colangelo. And I don't see how trading Kurt Thomas and two 1st round picks can be pinned on D'Antoni. Awful Sarver mandated salary dump that saw Kerr get bent over by OKC.

I don't think I ever claimed the #7 pick trade in 2004 was D'Antoni's fault - matter of fact, I outlined that the reason was because they "figured" that Iguodala wouldn't be around at #7, meaning that, at least, some form of intention to use the pick was implicated. Just a plain dumbfuck move, is all that was.

And, the Thomas/Grant trades were idiotic salary dumps right smack in the middle of a run, but the picks were all the more available to throw in, in big part because, again, D'Antoni had no time for rookies.

Matter of fact, in 2006, it can feasibly ALL be pinned on D'Antoni because that was during his disasterous off-season stretch as coach/GM right after BC skipped.

[SwingMan]

Agreed guys. And there either wasn't a GM that could teach Sarver, or one that he trusted to teach him.

Colangelo could have set him straight had Sarver let him. That's on Sarver.

That was, unfortunately, during Sarver's chicken wing/foam finger/security personnel axing due to butt-hurt era.....

[Superbone]

Matter of fact, in 2006, it can feasibly ALL be pinned on D'Antoni because that was during his disasterous off-season stretch as coach/GM right after BC skipped.

However, Sarver is responsible for giving him that position and power in the first place.

[Indy]

Matter of fact, in 2006, it can feasibly ALL be pinned on D'Antoni because that was during his disasterous off-season stretch as coach/GM right after BC skipped.

However, Sarver is responsible for giving him that position and power in the first place.

Right. Huge mistake.