az1965

I don't usually like Boivin articles, but completely agree with this one...



Trade Marion? You must be kidding

Paola Boivin
The Arizona Republic
Jun. 13, 2007 12:00 AM
"This is not a team that needs an overhaul. It's a team on the verge."

- Steve Kerr, June 6, 2007


• "We have to be careful with tinkering with this too much. I don't want to think we have to go crazy. We're not that far away."
OAS_AD('ArticleFlex_1')

- Mike D'Antoni, May 18, 2007


• "How do you get better by trading Shawn?"

- D'Antoni, May 20, 2007

Astute statements. Let's hope Suns management takes its own advice.

Trade Shawn Marion? Are you kidding me?

Trade Marion, and an anxious Suns fan base will spend the next five years wondering, "What if?" What if a team that had its mojo messed with in the postseason by the NBA office stayed together and made a title run in 2007-08?

Aren't you dying to see what Amaré Stoudemire, Steve Nash and Marion can do with another year together? Remember, last season was their first as a unit.

It sounds smarter than removing Marion and adding Boston's Theo Ratliff, Delonte West and a fifth overall pick to the mix, as one trade scenario making the rounds suggests.

Even the thought of trading Marion, 29, for Detroit's Rasheed Wallace doesn't sit right.

Sure, Wallace is a talent. A 6-foot-11 player who can run the floor and defend the post well would be a nice fit.

Yet, too often Wallace, 32, becomes a distraction. At the heart of D'Antoni's system is trust. Trust that a teammate will be in the right position. Trust that a player will put the needs of his team first.

How do you trust a guy who frequently loses control of his emotions, who is thrown out of a game and screams profanities at the referees and opposing players as Wallace did in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals against Cleveland?

There's no room for meltdowns in a game run at breakneck pace. It's great that teammates respect Wallace, but distractions come at too steep a price. This is the guy who set an NBA record for technical fouls in Portland, right?

No thanks.

No one is blaming the Suns for fielding calls and exploring trades scenarios. But not one I've heard sounds like an improvement.

Forget a sweeping change. The Suns would benefit from sharpening their personnel-evaluation skills.

Consider the Spurs. They are great because of Tim Duncan, but they're also great because they secured Manu Ginobili with a second-round pick in 1999 and Tony Parker with the 28th pick in 2001. And they've never exceeded the luxury-tax threshold by more than $1 million.

The Suns, meanwhile, are paying the price this off-season because of that five-year, $21 million contract they gave Marcus Banks.

Their focus should be on improving the bench. Granted, that luxury-tax issue is a tricky one. The Suns are $8 million over the cap now, and although owner Robert Sarver said he is not opposed to paying it, like any good businessman he wants to minimize that figure as much as possible.

The possibility of adding Grant Hill is intriguing. Questions remain if the free agent is interested, but for a guy who has never played on a team that experienced playoff success, Hill must find the Suns awfully enticing.

The right free agent can make a difference. The Spurs helped their cause in recent years by adding talented veterans in search of a title such as Robert Horry and Michael Finley.

If Hill is willing to come at a cheap rate, the Suns should bite. They're handcuffed by salary limitations, which means a heavier reliance on veteran minimum contracts and the midlevel exception.

This off-season is going to demand a lot of creativity from new General Manager Steve Kerr, and the thought of losing Marion's two-year, $34.25 million contract may sound enticing.

All Kerr needs to do is think of all the things Marion does - the rebounding, the defense, the ability to play at power forward and make the team faster - to realize unloading him would be dismantling a big part of the Suns.

Not everyone can play in D'Antoni's system. Marion is tailor-made for it.

Let's hope the Suns follow their own advice.

__________________
2008 - 2009 NFC CHAMPIONS!!
2008, 2009 NFC West Champions!

dodie53

ok..
don't trade anyone,
add rookies that will help,
play the bench,
pay the LT
and
win the championship next season..
easy..

__________________
“You can’t worry about things you have no control over.”

"Above and Beyond"

-- Steve Nash

"I don't even care how much I score.
I just want to win."
-- Ron Artest

AsUdUdE

Yeah, and then have Marion opt out next year, the ATL pick in the mid teens, have no cap rom to improve, Steve will be 35, essentially we will be the heat... and lock ourselves into medeocrity for the next 10 years.... great plan....


because if anyone thinks we are going to sign Marion to a max contract, they are insane, and if you think Marion is going to sign with the suns for a reasonable amount, that is even more unlikely...

Its sooo frustrating when we seem to be the only ones who sees the writing on the wall... if we don't trade Marion for something we will lose him for absolutly nothing....

Atleast with the boston trade we can get an absolute stud to replace marion (Brewer) and improve our depth, we still have KT to guard Duncan, and seriously when you think about which team is better equipt to beat SA,

PG: Nash
SG: Bell/Barbosa
SF: JR/Diaw
PF: Marion
C: Amare

or

PG: Nash/West
SG: Bell/Barbosa
SF: Brewer/JR
PF: Amare/Diaw
C: KT/Splitter

The second team is deeper, bigger, younger, and more defensively sound then the 1st team.... Because you know we would have to trade #24 to get someone to take the salery of banks/KT, and then we would probably end up selling the other pick for cash, and once again we are an old team gearing up for one run at a championship..... And even then, its not a guarantee we beat SA anyway, then we lose Marion for nothing, and our window will officially be closed....

Trade Marion, get younger, and gear up for a run at the finals for the next decade instead of putting all your eggs into next years basket...

DarenG

PG: Nash/West
SG: Bell/Barbosa
SF: Brewer/JR
PF: Amare/Diaw
C: KT/Splitter


Sorry but that is assuming Brewer and Splitter even work out. Then assuming that you can rely on JR at all to back up anybody. How is having 2 unproven rookies on your roster (1 starting in your scenario) make this better then this years team? I will give you younger and bigger. However, that doesn't mean better. Even the most talented rookies usually don't come into their own right away and you expect Brewer and Splitter to make up for Marion's numbers?? No thanks.

To me if you make this trade your giving up another shot at a title for the future IMO. The writing might be on the wall but at least it's not washed off yet.

__________________

AsUdUdE

Brewer has been the leading scorer for back to back national championship teams, he is a great kid, who is a lock down defender.... Splitter could work out, could not work out, but the reality is he would only play about 10 minutes a game anyway, so its not a fair assessment to say our chances hinge on him panning out..

With the trade we would have extra cash to go sign Grant Hill to a 2-3 year deal so if they really don't like JR, he doesn't even have to play...and if by chance Brewer isn't ready to start from day 1, start hill, and your bench of Barbosa, Diaw, Brewer, West, (Splitter?), JR, is as deep of a bench as there is in the league.... and we still have the ATL pick next year

The bottom line is, if you would be happy to be the the Miami Heat predictament, and trade 10 years of mediocrity for one year of a CHANCE to hopefully beat Dallas/SA, WITHOUT KT, then thats your opinion...

Mine is I would rather try and build a dynasty, rather than HOPE for one championship...

Nasser22

I'll take a few years of mediocrity(won't last too long with Amare here and we'll have cap space soon enough) for a championship over being good and never winning a championship. They just need to make some small adjustments and D'Antoni needs to use his bench and then we can win a championship.

DarenG

No but if it doesn't then it hinges on you having Grant Hill who we not only have not signed but someone who is more then likely not going to go an entire season without injury. Not to mention he is not the most mobile guy in the world anymore.

Last time I checked the Heat still have 1 more title then the Suns. I would take that. Build a dynasty? You mean HOPE to build a dynasty. In your scenario your still banking on what you hope to get versus knowing what we have now and adding to it. Sorry but I will take my chances with what we have and adding to it.

Besides when it comes to looking to the future or taking your shot now I will always take my shot now. You only get so many shots at a title. A perfect example is the D-Backs. I wouldn't trade the D-Backs Title even if I knew a head of time they would have to rebuild for years to come to recover from it (which is what happened).

Maybe right now I just don't have the dynasty mentality but I think we have to win the 1st one before we can even start down the path of becoming a dynasty.

__________________

az1965

You dynasty will start by wining the first championship... Its hilarious to see people talk about Suns dynasty without winning anything yet.

And our window IS small... it is as long as Nash can carry this team which will be another couple of years.

If you trade Marion for rookies and junk then you pretty much are gone into another good-enough-but-not-ready-to-win team. I don't want that. I want to win now and worry about contracts later.

__________________
2008 - 2009 NFC CHAMPIONS!!
2008, 2009 NFC West Champions!

AsUdUdE

So the real question is which would you rather have:

Shawn Marion

or

Grant Hill, Corey Brewer, Delonte West, Kurt Thomas

each brings their own style and traits to the team

Grant Hill- Veteran leadership and a solid player on the court
Corey Brewer- A star in the making, a humble kid, who is a lock down defender, and a deadly shooter when his feet are set
Delonte West- A great back up PG, who can actually let Nash rest and run a team, evrage 12 PPG, and 4 APG while shooting 37% from 3.
Kurt Thomas- Played his best basketball of the season against Duncan... letting everyone stay at home with their men... He was so important to the suns and their gameplan against Duncan, without him, the Suns may have lost in 5.

So when someone takes a step back instead of looking at it strictly from a "We CAN'T lose our all star" to a lets see which scernio makes our team better...

I completely disagree with the assessment that we would be a much weaker team....

az1965

Exactly!

__________________
2008 - 2009 NFC CHAMPIONS!!
2008, 2009 NFC West Champions!

DarenG

That's a loaded question because your assumption is that Brewer and/or Grant Hill could replace Marion. What if they couldn't. Then what? Now you have Delonte West who would be a decent backup, a huge hole at the SF position and possibly less rebounding and defense then with Marion. Again, we know what we have with Marion on this team.

I would much rather they use the other picks to either move up in the draft or move out salary and add to the team. If your going to take chances with unproven rookies or iffy vets then do it without gutting your rebounding and defense.

__________________

AsUdUdE

and does no one remember Shawn interview???

when asked if he would rather stay on the suns and win a championship or go a a sucky team and be the best player he didn't say anything, other than "thats a GREAT question, hmm.. I don't know, but if I was on that team we would defenitly make the playoffs"

He doesn't want to be here, he doesn't care about winning with the Phoenix Suns, he wants to be the man, and he can't be in Phoenix...

What makes you think with the chemstry issues so prevalently reported, will just go away and suns win a championship? without the pieces they had in place this year??

azirish

1. There is no franchise player at #5. Good prospects, but none ready to be starters let alone a replacement for an all star.

2. Marion is not opting out next summer unless he has a prior agreement with the Suns to participate in a sign and trade. Best guess is that even after two years, he still needs a sign and trade to get anything over $10 million per year.

3. The Suns style is heavily dependent on Marion's ability to play PF in the small ball lineup. Losting Marion not only kills the small ball approach, but does not give the team a starting level small ball PF.

DarenG

Come on. Shawn is a pro despite his mouth. I have never seen Shawn go out in a game and dog it. That guy plays hefty minutes and does what is asked of him. There is no indication that Shawn doesn't give it his all in games. Shawn just wants to win period.

However, if your an All-Star and in some fantasy scenario someone basically asks you would you like to be a go to guy on your own team? What should he say? No? I would question a All-Star's heart if he ever said no..."Nah....I don't want to be the man".

__________________

Treesquid

Once Nash retires or gets old the Suns have to rebuild, might as well go for the title now. Trading Marion this year is IMO essentially conceding and the rebuilding begins now.

What do you want a title shot in 2007/08 or ensuring you have a core for the next 5 years? I don't see the Suns having both just by signing Grant Hill and drafting Corey Brewer.

__________________
Treesquid