Phx-Suns.Net

https://www.basketball-reference.com/pl ... ske02.html

Just the year before, at 30, it seemed like (statistically anyway) he was still in his prime. 50% FG, 44% on his threes (granted with the shortened distance I believe), and 85% from the line. Along with these numbers, he averaged 20 points and 9 assists.

One year later, he plays in 50 games (only starting 12) and averages some pretty pedestrian numbers. Cue first retirement.

I'm guessing it was injury-related?

Was that Jason Kidd's first season in Phoenix?

Yup, Kidd was traded here December 27, 1996.

Objectively, I know Kidd was overall the better basketball player, but I would have loved to have kept Finley nonetheless.

He also suffered a knee injury in late November missing a couple of months and limiting his minutes the rest of the year - he averaged 34 minutes before the injury, 23 after.

Didn't he retire and then un-retire? Or am I getting the chronology messed up?

Marty [Mori Chu] wrote:Didn't he retire and then un-retire? Or am I getting the chronology messed up?

He said that his intention throughout his career was to play ten seasons. After that, he intended to retire, but was talked into sticking around for an 11th season. After that, he retired, but made a brief comeback two years later when Kidd was injured.

He briefly retired in June of 1997 but returned in time for the 1997-98 opener (as Cap mentioned above). Then he retired in October, 1998 and missed the entire 1998-99 season but was lured back by Jerry Colangelo in April, 2000 when when Jason Kidd was injured. He played the final 6 games of the season and the playoffs (as Randy Livingston's backup) before retiring for good in August, 2000.

I remember KJ and Santiago running the pick and roll and it being the only offensive play we had that looked decent. Except on Basketball Reference it says Santiago didn't start playing with us until the 2000-2001 season while it shows KJ last playing with us in 99-00.

Is my memory that jacked?

EDC wrote:I remember KJ and Santiago running the pick and roll and it being the only offensive play we had that looked decent. Except on Basketball Reference it says Santiago didn't start playing with us until the 2000-2001 season while it shows KJ last playing with us in 99-00.

Is my memory that jacked?

Yeah, and Santiago averaged about 3 points a game with the Suns!

Eddie Johnson is usually charitable to the lesser talented Suns players, but he had few positive comments about Santiago.
That was a season when the Suns had a center by committe approach with Santiago, Tsakalidis, Chris Dudley, Corie Blount, Ruben Garces and sometimes even Cliff Robinson.

That was year they moved 3 point shot in and I remember he started taking more of those too.