Suns News: Week 5 1/18-1/24

[Nodack]

I loved Marion. He was great at a lot of things. Creating his own shot wasn’t one of them.

[Superbone]

Marion was what he was. He was an elite defender and rebounder. But he felt slighted to easily.

[Mori Chu]

Saw this on Twitter today too. Just look at this awfulness and be grateful for the team we have now.

$1 - Bender
$14 - who cares

My team wins.

[ShelC]

Getting kinda old hearing Marion criticize those teams. He was a high end role player getting his pts off transition and garbage baskets. Anyone ask him why he never improved his shot or his ballhandling? We know the 7SOL teams' shortcomings, MikeD's lack of adjustments, reliance on the PnR. Still had a ton of success and led the league in offense. He was traded to Miami and Toronto, didn't do anything with those teams when he had the chance so maybe he should shut up and appreciate playing in a system with a PG that made him look better than he actually was. Nevermind the max contract...

[AmareIsGod]

Lol...

[Superbone]

Lol...

That would keep Jenner away from him.

[Indy]

I can't unsee this.

[Superbone]

I can't unsee this.

Well, thanks a lot for bringing me back to the thread so I saw it AGAIN!

[Charlie Smithy!]

I'm strangely out of the loop. Is this just a photoshop of Booker?

[AmareIsGod]

I'm strangely out of the loop. Is this just a photoshop of Booker?

If you've been tuning into the games this season, it's his latest look. The Jenner and Kardashian's are getting to him and having a huge influence not just on his play but his appearance.

[AmareIsGod]

Maybe Bridges is dating the other Jenner sister? Oh man...

[Mori Chu]

Getting kinda old hearing Marion criticize those teams. He was a high end role player getting his pts off transition and garbage baskets. Anyone ask him why he never improved his shot or his ballhandling? We know the 7SOL teams' shortcomings, MikeD's lack of adjustments, reliance on the PnR. Still had a ton of success and led the league in offense. He was traded to Miami and Toronto, didn't do anything with those teams when he had the chance so maybe he should shut up and appreciate playing in a system with a PG that made him look better than he actually was. Nevermind the max contract...

Marion has always had this way of being right and wrong at the same time. He's right that he was underappreciated in Phoenix. He was in many ways the glue that held our team together. He brought defense and athleticism and ability to score and contribute so much without plays being called for him or hogging the ball. That was immensely helpful for the 7SOL Suns, the perfect complement to Nash, Amare, and all our shooters and other role players. The teams wouldn't have been what they were without him. I don't think you can say he was as important as Nash, but you can make a strong case that he was just as important to those teams as Amare, perhaps even more important.

And I can see how he was a little hurt that not everybody saw that. He was routinely snubbed in small ways. They'd put up billboards and they'd have one of Nash and one of Amare and none of him. They wouldn't talk about him on NBA shows or nominate him for various league honors. People just seemed to think of him as the third guy, and I can see why he wanted to be perceived differently. It also didn't help that he had trouble with his interpersonal skills. He just wasn't a natural communicator or leader in the way you would expect an "alpha" player to be. He struggled in interviews and was often awkward in his interactions. He seemed to want the team to focus the offense on him more, but he never really had the skillset for that. He wasn't great at creating off the dribble or operating in the post, so you wouldn't want to run your offense through him. We were much better off with Nash creating and Marion roaming, rolling to the basket, popping out for 3s, cleaning up boards and tip-ins. That was the perfect role for him, the role he was already in.

And the way we shipped him out was unpleasant to say the least. He wanted to be traded, and then we got rid of him for a past-his-prime Shaq, who immediately became a big presence in Phoenix and made the All-Star team, dancing around like an idiot and rapping. The team seemed to move on from him. I can see how he felt miffed that we let him go and didn't seem to miss him as much as he wanted.

Now that he's gone and has had years to look back on it, he seems to be bitter about the whole thing. Maybe he has some right to be. But IMO it is never a good look to crap on your past teams and teammates like that. The smart thing to do is to talk about the good times you had and the bond with your teammates like Nash and Amare. I can't help but notice that Nash has reassembled much of the old crew in Brooklyn but hasn't given a call to Marion. Hmm. And Shawn could have a nice post-career presence in Phoenix if he would just play nicer about it and talk about how great it was in the old days on the Suns, but he doesn't seem to want that.

This all reminds me in a way of the relationship Scottie Pippen had with the Bulls after leaving. Not quite the same situation, and Pippen did go back there for a year to end his career, but the whole respect/disrespect, prickly second or third banana, and revisionist history stuff seems similar.

I think the Suns should do the classy thing, put Shawn in the Ring of Honor ASAP, and tell him there's a role on the team staff here for him anytime if he wants it. That's how you treat your all-time great players.

[LazarusLong]

Marion was the longest-tenured player with the Suns at the time, then Amare and Nash came along.
I understand him being a bit miffed by their growing prestige eclipsing his.
But his continued pouting eventually did not wear well...

[bajanguy008]

man what's going on with these Book n Mikal photoshops lol

[bajanguy008]

[Indy]

But gambo repeated over and over that nobody on the suns had covid...

[bajanguy008]

But gambo repeated over and over that nobody on the suns had covid...

Lol, yea we know Gambo track record

[bajanguy008]

[ShelC]

That sucks, feel bad for the rook. Glad he's OK now.

[Mori Chu]

Just saw that news on Twitter and came here to post about it. I hope he makes a full recovery and doesn't have any lasting lung or heart issues.