After 2 years of arguing and name-calling and long threads about Sarver, can we finally put it to rest?
Yes - we can put it to rest. This is the kind of forward thinking and compromise I have been looking for from Sarver and he has def. started to allay any worries of him being a miserly owner IMO.
This is HUGE. A great day to be a Suns fan. This will likelt necessitate the trading of Marion in the off-season (or depending on what happens this season, Amare) but this is no time to complain. All is right in Suns world. We are picked to win it all by more than justa couple national rags (kornheiser actually said there was an 82% chance we win it all on one of those PTI ranking games) . Amare is looking better by the day. And now we signed BOTH Diaw and Barbosa for very reasonable money. This is what smart franchises do. Like the Patriots in football - we get high character guys and put a premium in character. Like the Pats we sign young guys for cheap. And like the Pats we have the right coach (D'antoni) and Quarter back (Nash). Now all we need is the rings....
Just remember, the sweet is never as sweet without the sour, and WE know the sour.
You know... You know what I've noticed? Nobody panics when things go "according to plan." Introduce a little anarchy. Upset the established order, and everything becomes chaos. I'm an agent of chaos. Oh, and you know the thing about chaos? It's fair! ~ Ken Whisenhunt - Agent of Chaos
This is wonderful news. The Suns have so many excellent pieces locked up that they should be able to make sustained runs at titles for the rest of the decade, if not longer. I'm officially off Sarver's back.
__________________ 5:58 -- You know, I could watch David Stern say the name "Zarko Cabarkapa" all day. Zarko just went to the Suns. Bilas tells us, "He's been compared favorably to Nikoloz Tskitishvili." Enticing.
I think what we are seeing from D'Antoni, is that he prefers young, more polished players whether it be from college or another team. If the Suns can draft that talent fine. If not, I think D'Antoni will not hesitate to trade for the player(s) he wants. I cannot argue with this philosphy as the NBA Draft is often a crabshoot.
I enjoy watching the NBA Draft but IMO, I think Suns' fans may soon have to realize that D'Antoni seems to have little tolerance for project or unskilled players.
I heard David Griffin(VP Basketball ops?) say that the suns often look at european players because they have more rounded skill sets. Diaw is certainly an example of this as is selofosha. He opined that raw, talented players require alot of work to fit into the system. I guess the suns can take on only so many raw talents like Amare, Banks, and Barbosa.
Location: Winning Friends and Influencing the People in My Head
Posts: 4,413
Quote:
Originally Posted by Amare32
I shocked we only had to pay 45 million, I was expecting more in 50-55 reach..
a steal IMO
Agreed.
Suns offseason grade has been upgraded in my books. I was thoroughly disappointed with the some moves but extending Barbosa and Diaw has been very good for this fan.
unless I've been really confused my whole life, I think you mean "crap shoot". Shooting crabs would be a task that is probably relatively easy, though I'm not sure as I've never attempted to snipe shell fish.
Yes it was a typo, but it looked right when I wrote it.
However, if you had ever tried to shoot crabs, you might find it's hard... I mean really hard.
__________________ You have to live life like you don't know any better.
Last edited by Mainstreet; October 20th, 2006 at 09:22 AM.
I heard David Griffin(VP Basketball ops?) say that the suns often look at european players because they have more rounded skill sets. Diaw is certainly an example of this as is selofosha. He opined that raw, talented players require alot of work to fit into the system. I guess the suns can take on only so many raw talents like Amare, Banks, and Barbosa.
I know the Suns were high on Selofosha and Rodney Carney. I'm not sure why Chicago and Philadephia traded these same two players to each other in the draft. Maybe there was some consideration given or one team liked one player better than the other. I saw Carney play the other night and his talent was scary. IMO, he played like a more defensive minded Joe Johnson.
I was disappointed about how the NBA Draft played out so I tried to blank it out of my mind. It will be interesting to see how these two players develop (minus the pain of not getting one of them).
__________________ You have to live life like you don't know any better.
Last edited by Mainstreet; October 20th, 2006 at 12:04 PM.
Reason: dublication
Add me to this list... This would be quite an outspoken group we'd have going there. Could be fun.
we gotta do this. but it should really be a later season game so that we'd hopefully have amare at full, or close to full, or just plain fuller strength and really beat the snot outta the lakes/clips.
way to go suns! awesome to get everyone in the fold and have this wrecking crew dominate the nba this year and for years to come!
__________________ I no longer have any idea whether Mojorizen CARES!
"Standing mens bathroom troughs sucked rear nevermind the smell." - OmeneX (This just had to be quoted)
I was checking the Suns site to see if the 1 p.m. press conference would be on webcast and found this article, from about one year ago and just after we traded for him. Who would have thought we'd be happy to sign Diaw for $9 million per year back then?
When you wear a size-16 shoe, sometimes finding the right fit can take time. And after two years with Atlanta, Boris Diaw’s NBA experience was a lot like a bothersome pebble in his hitops: Uncomfortable and unwelcome.
One night, Diaw would play 20 minutes for the Hawks. The next, he’d never move from the bench. So when he was dealt to the Suns over the summer, Diaw was as ready for a change as the Hawks were to move him.
But after just a few weeks in Arizona, the affable Frenchman and the hands-down surprise of Suns training camp has found a perfect fit on a team loaded with interchangeable parts.
At 6-foot-8 and a sturdy 225 pounds, Diaw combines the ball-handling and passing skills of a point guard with the girth to guard many power forwards and even centers. As a result, Diaw logged more than 23 minutes a night in preseason, scoring seven points and adding more than four assists a night while shooting more free throws (27) than another Sun.
"I love the role I have right now, it’s been great here right from the beginning,’’ said Diaw, who warmed up for this season by helping France to its first medal in 50 years (a bronze) at this summer’s European Championships. "I don’t have a preference where I play, and here I think I’ll do a little bit of everything. Handling the ball and finding guys with passes, it’s been great right from the start.’’
Diaw is the only current, tangible return from this summer’s Suns soap opera — the on-again, off-again, on-again saga that ultimately shipped the popular Joe Johnson to Atlanta. No one in the organization will say Diaw is equal value for someone who filled as many roles as Johnson for two years in Phoenix, but there are those who feel their end of the deal will look pretty bright if Diaw’s potential pays off.
Already, Diaw will be off the bench early when Phoenix opens the regular season against the Dallas Mavericks Tuesday at America West Arena. And with Amaré Stoudemire gone with a knee injury and big men Brian Grant and Pat Burke struggling through injuries in training camp, Diaw’s play has earned him the first call to spell inside starters Kurt Thomas and Shawn Marion.
"Boris is a lot better than I thought," said Phoenix coach Mike D’Antoni, who originally envisioned Diaw fighting for time as a backup to point guard Steve Nash. "He creates a lot by giving us a playmaker from a different position on the floor.
"I wasn’t thinking he could play the four (power forward) or five (center) at the beginning, but I was hoping he could. He’s proved that he can, and that he can give us another weapon."
During the summer, Stoudemire worked on his ball handling and joked that he could play "point center’’ to take advantage of his improved skills. But Diaw might become a true incarnation of that spot, as the Suns will use Diaw’s skills to funnel the offense through him when Nash is resting.
"It helps Leandro Barbosa and Eddie House to have Boris on the floor as the point forward or center or whatever you want to call it," D’Antoni said. "They can get open and shoot.
"At this level, Boris can be . . . not just a little role player, but a major player."
With Diaw and Nash on the floor, the Suns have two playmaking options. "With Raja (Bell) and James (Jones) and Boris, we have a lot of guys who can move the ball. That allows Steve to just be a basketball player, and he’s a pretty good player," D’Antoni said.
Diaw has weaknesses. A career 20 percent shooter from 3-point range, Diaw made only 1 of 7 attempts in preseason and his 24 turnovers tied Nash for the team high. But from inside the arc, when Diaw wasn’t scoring baskets (16 of 31 attempts) he was drawing fouls and getting to the line.
"Without Amaré, we need people who get to the line,’’ D’Antoni said.
EDIT: and isn't it remarkable to think it took D'Antoni two weeks to figure out what Boris could do, and Atlanta management and coaches couldn't figure it out after two years?
Last edited by Kolo; October 20th, 2006 at 10:21 AM.
Linear Mode
