Marion: 'Time for me to move on' -AZcentral

[Mrh182]

Paul Coro
The Arizona Republic
Sept. 25, 2007 09:30 PM
Shawn Marion trade talk is one thing. A Marion trade request is quite another.

Marion is fed up with another summer of the Suns considering to trade him. Marion is irked that the team is not willing to talk about a contract extension. After eight years in Phoenix, Marion wants to leave the Suns and has let the team know in recent weeks.

"I'm tired of hearing my name in trades," Marion said by phone from his Chicago home Tuesday night. "I love my fans in Phoenix but I think it's time for me to move on."

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Marion, the highest paid Suns player, has two years remaining on his maximum-level contract - $16.4 million for this year and a $17.8 million salary if he did not opt out before the 2008-09 season. He said the Suns' unwillingness to extend his deal is "only a part of why" he wants to leave but would not confirm that he has asked for a three-year, $60 million extension, saying, "The numbers aren't important."

Suns General Manager Steve Kerr declined comment.

There are two known trade suitors in the Utah Jazz (for Andrei Kirilenko, if not others) and the Los Angeles Lakers (for Lamar Odom and a teammate), with Marion showing an interest in the latter because of a friendship with Kobe Bryant.

"Regardless of everything that went on with the extension, I'm tired of hearing my name in trade rumors," Marion said. "It's time for me to move on. I felt like they tried to force my hand to Boston with the (Kevin) Garnett stuff."

In June, there was the possibility of a three-way trade sending Garnett to Phoenix, a Boston pick package going to Minnesota and Marion to Boston with a contract extension but the Marion camp killed it.

"I haven't done anything wrong," said Marion, a four-time All-Star. "I leave it on the floor night in and night out. Sometimes, it's just time, and it's time to go. "It's been like a nightmare. It hurts me making this phone call. It's hurting me in my stomach."

Marion said he has no problem with any of his teammates but did not want to comment on the Suns staffers, saying, "It's just a bad marriage. I'm not talking about anyone. It's just time for me to go."

He said he has talked to Kerr, Coach Mike D'Antoni and Managing Partner Robert Sarver.

There is a strong possibility that no trade occurs this week and Marion is asked to come to work Monday, the mandatory reporting date, and join the quest for a championship.

"I'll do what I've got to do," Marion said, noting he would show up no sooner than required. "I'm a professional. I'm not bitter. I love the fans but I've got to take care of me."

With Boris Diaw expected to be in today, each Suns player but Marion will be in Phoenix this week for the voluntary workouts. Some, like Grant Hill, Steve Nash and Amaré Stoudemire, have been coming into the arena for weeks.

Marion, 29, pulled himself off the USA Basketball roster for a second straight summer this year. He cited the plantar fasciitis in his left foot ("I played all season with that," Marion said Tuesday) in early July, when talk of his dissatisfaction with the lack of extension talks began to surface.

In Kirilenko and Odom, the Suns are looking at versatile forwards with different skill sets and financial factors.

Kirilenko, who is even more disgruntled with Utah this summer, is a former All-Star coming off a career-worst season, but is a great defender with a knack for shot-blocking. He does not shoot well from the perimeter but is a crafty scorer inside at 6 feet 9 and can run the floor. Kirilenko, 26, is due $63 million over the next four years. That would give Phoenix some instant relief but create later payroll issues.

Odom, who is 6-10 and 27 years old, is a superb passer and good shooter who can play various positions but has been inconsistent, depending on how assertive he plays. Odom has two years remaining on his deal at $13.2 million this season and $14.1 million in 2008-09.

Hmmmm

 

[slinslin]

Thank you once again Shawn for blocking KG to Phoenix!!!

That and demanding a 3yrs/60M$ extension and not showing up for early workouts with your teammates, very surprising that Marion is isolated.

 

[pokerface]

Thank you once again Shawn for blocking KG to Phoenix!!!

That and demanding a 3yrs/60M$ extension and not showing up for early workouts with your teammates, very surprising that Marion is isolated.

Oh stop it...no one wanted to go to Boston...even KG.

 

[Captain America]

Oh stop it...no one wanted to go to Boston...even KG.

It's not their choice. If a player is under contract, they should have be able to demand a trade and then piss and moan about where to.

 

[Treesquid PhD]

I say don't trade him, if Shawn is a true professional he will suck it up.

 

[CardNots]

I had thought Odom was older than he really is. I'd take him or AK. Doesn't really matter. If Shawn is unhappy with the team then we should try to do whatever we can to help him out. He has paid his dues with the team and we should respect that.

 

[Ronin]

Too long of an article to post, but i thought this piece from True Hoop was interesting.

Insecurity is a nightmare, and one of the reasons it is especially bothersome is that when you are feeling that people might not like you, you tend to act in an annoying fashion which can eventually make people ... not like you.
Marion seems to be stuck somewhere in that vortex. A recent ESPN The Magazine piece by Chris Palmer noted that Marion "just wants to be noticed."
And for whatever reason, you get the feeling that the Suns appreciate the skill of Shawn Marion. But I can't find a lot of evidence that they like him. And, apparently, as we learn today, Marion does not feel very liked.
Remember when the Suns lost a nail-biting (and Nash nose-smashing) Game 1 of their playoff series against the San Antonio Spurs? In the post-game press conference, Nash said his team needed to play harder, with more fire, with more hunger, needed to make extra effort, etc.
Nash never mentioned Marion specifically, but throughout McCallum's book, however, those are the complaints about Shawn Marion. In video sessions, the coaches see him playing very softly in stretches. At one point, Marion -- a very good defender -- refuses to switch off Lamar Odom because he worries that if Odom has a big scoring night, Marion will be blamed in the press (and presumably he'd rather not do what the coaches want then be singled out for criticism). Later in the book, there is a tale of Coach Mike D'Antoni meeting privately with Marion and imploring him to play with greater desire, and to hustle more.

http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-28-91/Cooked-by-the-Sun--Meet-Shawn-Marion.html

 

[elindholm]

The Suns and Lakers should make a pact: The Lakers don't read any of "Seven Seconds or Less," and the Suns don't read any of Phil Jackson's tell-all book of a few years ago.

 

[Gee!]

Shawn is really starting to piss me off at this point.. Wanting to go right before TC starts? First the KG thing, now this? Ya, dude is screwing us over.. Dude doesnt love all his PHX fans as he says.. Spoiled lil bia..

 

[Dr. Jones]

Shawn...

I now officially hate your whiny stinking guts.

If I an Kerr..... The last thing I do is trade with the Lakers. They deserve nothing.

 

[CardsFan88]

Well, considering how I feel about the front office, I think we'll get a mid level player, or manage to give away our 1st round picks in 2011 and 2013 to trade marion away.

Now, being serious, I wouldn't trade him. It could be a ploy to say, well the ball is in your court, show me the love, and I'll stay. That's the impression I'm getting.

No way do you do a trade now. Odom and kirilenko are not good options. Are you kidding me? Both for marion if the salaries fit, aren't enough.

Granted Marion hasn't been good in the playoffs, fine, but I tend to take such things with a little less weight then the average person.

You DON"T FIRE SALE HIM

$arver, is $urely gearing up the FIRE $ALE.

Don't do it.

Risk losing him, and maybe gain a championship.

Odom or kirlienko as opposed to marion and I think we wasted our championship window. (And we've wasted 7 years of that on $arver $tyle $pending..counting bad trades, poor contracts, firesale after firesale, and now being an older team with few draft picks...thus 7 years in my book...maybe 6, maybe 9, but on average i'll say 7)

Unless the name KG, Duncan, and I'm not going to go through the NBA rosters, but about 3-4 more guys who are at LEAST a BIG SF like Shawn is.

Odom and Kirilenko should NOT be options.

Don't do is $arver, or your penny pinching ways have finally $unk the $hip.

We may have 30 more years of this ahead, so give us at least a legitimate shot with this group, then be cheap, as you probably will.

Prove me wrong, and start a trend, keep Marion, risk him walking...hell that in of itself is 'showing respect'.

Yes Marion's timing is crappy, but it's obvious that all the rumors over the years have been true, and when $arver went to him on the KG thing, and then the Kirilenko, he had enough

And 3 years 20 mill is about right. Of course I want him signed for 12-15, hometown discount + the fact he's already gotten a max deal before. So I don't think asking 3 years 20 mill is so 'OFF'. If his agent didn't, or didn't suggest to, his agent should be fired. That said, what his numbers were, and what he would eventually agree to are ALWAYS 2 different things. So I wouldn't use that 3 years 20 mill to mean anything except realize the scapegoat way that tidbit was thrown out there.

Marion may whine, but I think most people would under the circumstance. If I played in the best city, the most talented team, the best fun play style, knew I had an opportunity to get a championship the last couple of years, and maybe, just maybe the next 2-3 years...most would probably complain if they had to deal with how people 'complain about his play', 'don't nationally respect him', 'try to trade him every offseason', 'won't talk extension'.

But again, I would say the national media is 40 percent of what he's pissed about, and should be directed at them and them alone

Stupid media. If he's thinking about the media, it is Marion's fault for doing so. But it's also the media's fault for making themselves a story, and help wrecking a team. Yes, Marion is at fault for himself, but the effects on the team, which are greater, go to ESPN, thanks guys. If you ask me, the media has been consistently rocking the boat for years, but in the last 5, it's become like a cancer on sports. As soon as the Suns do good, they are tearing them down by reporting all this b.s. that over a couple of years, Marion's 'had enough'. Again thanks epsn. But ya know what I could be full of smack, but guess what, it will happen more and more in the coming years, with other teams, and other sports....gotta make you sick...when ESPN's stories are more important than the stories they set out to cover...sports.

Kirilenko? I would be mad if my name was brought up in those trade talks, lol, how about Marion? A guy who cried, and was benched? Yeah.

That's like ARod for Chad Tracy woo hoo! Wouldn't ARod be mad...especially if this is like 5th-10th time they've tried or field offers to trade him like Marion?

Either way, both sides are right and wrong, neither sees the truth, and thus will probably end badly for us the fans, and those who play for the Suns.

Sad all around, all should have been prevented, but our societal thumb up our a(2 sarver $'s) prevents us from enjoying the past times some of you remember when younger, and when your parents and grandparents enjoyed it.

This situation may be about Marion, but it is actually it's a subset of a much bigger issue affecting sports, and hell the media in general.

That said, Marion, be professional, suck it up. Sarver, have some guts and risk it. Don't let the systemic problem of lack of faith going around in sports ruin it for you. Marion, you'll then be liked and respected more, Sarver...you won't be call a cheap$kate as easily, and if you win...you make money.

 

[Chaplin]

Talk about being an alarmist. Nothing like taking a trade request from Shawn Marion and turning it into an unsubstantiated attack on Sarver. I suppose we were due for it, though, considering how much this board hates him.

 

[az1965]

I liked Shawn but now pissed at him. Trade his ass.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

Shawn is really starting to piss me off at this point.. Wanting to go right before TC starts? First the KG thing, now this? Ya, dude is screwing us over.. Dude doesnt love all his PHX fans as he says.. Spoiled lil bia..

Something I actually agree with Gee on. Mark it down everyone.

 

[az1965]

I'm pissed he nixed the Garnett deal and now wants to go to his preferred place to reap benefits... screw him... trade him to a team so he suffers for years. Trade him to New York.

 

[cepstrum]

...considering how much this board hates him.

With very good reason. I don't see how anyone can be a suns fan and like the way Sarver has handled the team.

 

[Cheesebeef]

in the immortal words of Dr. Klan in The Kentucky Fried Movie... Send him to... Detroit!

Seriously, send him for Tayshaun and their first round pick next year if you can. We sure as hell wouldn't be able to run like we have, but we would have a legit big-man to defense Duncan and Dirk, as well as a guy who can post and shoot the three. Not to mention every title team has at least one huge jackass on it that everyone els ein the league hates... although I guess we have Raja for that.

 

[buttsR4rebounding]

I wonder if D'Antoni realizes that by lobbying to have Grant Hill added to the all-star ballot that Marion probably takes that as a slight. The only way that Hill gets any serious all star votes is if Marion's touches and production both take a significant hit. With Marion's current sensitivity to be appreciated on the Suns, I am sure that this is a factor in his attitude. D'Antoni should limit his efforts to things that actually help the Suns win a championship rather than extraneous distractions that send the wrong message: Individual accomplishments are important and should be focused on. You would never see Gregg Popovich waste 1 second of time on something like that. In fact, he would probably rather see none of his team make the all-star game and get the extra rest.

 

[buttsR4rebounding]

in the immortal words of Dr. Klan in The Kentucky Fried Movie... Send him to... Detroit!

Seriously, send him for Tayshaun and their first round pick next year if you can. We sure as hell wouldn't be able to run like we have, but we would have a legit big-man to defense Duncan and Dirk, as well as a guy who can post and shoot the three. Not to mention every title team has at least one huge jackass on it that everyone els ein the league hates... although I guess we have Raja for that.

You are smoking something if you think Tayshaun could guard Duncan. Duncan would abuse Prince in the post. Although he might be able to do a good job on Dirk who relies on a more perimeter oriented game.

 

[Cheesebeef]

You are smoking something if you think Tayshaun could guard Duncan. Duncan would abuse Prince in the post. Although he might be able to do a good job on Dirk who relies on a more perimeter oriented game.

you are smoking something if you think Marion can guard Tim Duncan. Getting Tay isn't about defending Duncan, it's replacing what Marion does, but probably doing it better, and for cheaper.

Seriously, bringing up Tay's defense on Duncan as a reason not to trade him for Marion is about as big a non-starter as is humanly possible in this discussion.

edit: oops... my bad, originally I put Sheed in there instead of Tay - so ignore everything above.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

With very good reason. I don't see how anyone can be a suns fan and like the way Sarver has handled the team.

I understand how and why he has handled the team. He has done a much better job that he is given credit for.

 

[buttsR4rebounding]

Now that would make sense.

 

[CardsFan88]

I'm not trying to be an alarmist, It's just stupid our championship window should be messed with because of this stuff.

I just see Sarver being stupid, he could have approached situations different. He failed
I see Marion buying into the hype of how he's portrayed. He failed.
I see the Media fueling it over the years, and it is something that I'm sure happens elsewhere. They failed.

For the past couple of years, it seems like there is story after story where you say...what's the point of reporting it...to break up the Suns team? To mess with the chemistry? That sort of predatory commentary is becoming the norm, and that isn't good for us.

It takes all three to fail big time to bring this on. Any one of the three could stop this from being an issue in the first place, or quelled it along the way. None did. Each one let the other one escalate it, and each one then built off the other. Took many escalations from all sides to bring this about.

I'd rather have the history of the world to go without such actions and statements, as we wouldn't be here if that was the case. How much did we as sports fans benefit from those few articles or reports on ESPN and talk radio? Not at all, a few seconds of distraction, a problem with Marion for those few seconds. Not a good trade, and one the media seems happy to make.

We lose because of it.

We lose because Sarver is penny wise pound foolish. We lose because Marion takes it too personally, we lose because the media wants to make money by creating controversy, mostly likely by individual's needing to do their job, and those sorts of stories further that individual's career, and ESPN and other sports media, or media in general...don't stop it, or don't discourage it.

We need to be teaching our kids to realize this stuff, so when they grow up, they don't act like the above, and stuff like this occurs as a result of each side constantly screwing up and progressing us down this road. Because we haven't, we see this stuff now, and we end up with people like Maruice Clarrett's as our players, we get people that should be doing investigative reporting on important matters rather than the sports world, and although owners are owners, they should realize the impact of the media more.

But that ripple effect will take 10-20 years to make it way through, and if we don't realize some of these things ARE problems, and don't take steps to fix it, that 10-20 year window will be put off until we do, and get worse until we do. Not just us, but any fan of any professional sport.

We can have people that love the game playing, a reporter loving to report, and owners that are smart enough to see big picture instead of quarterly reports and can factor outside influences having a bigger impact on their team, and their bottom line.



I think we can all agree that this whole situation should be nothing, and does not benefit ANY SIDE INVOLVED. Not even Marion. So why are we here? Because those three didn't realize their symbiotic relationship, and each side felt it better to be predatory for their own sakes. Not a good excuse.

So why are we here? What can we do to elevate the discussion to get at the problem and fix these symptoms like this Marion situation. It's not the problem, it's the symptom.

Not trying to be an alarmist again, but if action isn't taken, and maybe it's unrealistic to expect it would, so I won't, but if these things aren't fixed, I think it's very realistic to see these types of problems continuing, increasing in frequency, and overall getting worse.

Why would anyone want that as a whole? So if people don't want to take action, there is no reason to blame Marion, no reason to blame the media, and no reason to blame Sarver....unless people like spitting into the wind. We can blame ourselves instead.

I personally want it righted, don't want to be part of the blame, and generally see that fixing the problem that this Marion situation is a microcosm, would benefit all of us, the complete opposite of now, and maybe infect other areas of society by redeclaring the defined roles we used to have. A reporter reports, a player plays, an owner owns. This situation is ONLY here because those defined roles have been muddied and we have lost our way on that, and I do firmly believe that forgetting some of these basic things are a reason that we as a society are well, not functioning on all cylinders.

Although this is a message board where we talk, I'm pretty sure we'd all be fine with not having these stupid stories to talk about, and could still find many things to talk about. I would rather have a team not broken up by such things, than again having something some of us might choose to talk about.

Either way, whatever happens, I'm still a Suns fan, etc, etc. But sometimes you have to make a stand and say you know what, if we allow this to continue, we deserve it ourselves. None of us are winning with this stuff, so why do we just sit here and take it? I'm not for the self defeatist mentality. If you see a problem, you fix it. Not doing something about it, makes it your fault.

 

[elindholm]

edit: oops... my bad, originally I put Sheed in there instead of Tay - so ignore everything above.

So wait, I'm confused. Do you want to trade Marion for Wallace, or for Prince? Not that Detroit would do either...

 

[Chaplin]

With very good reason. I don't see how anyone can be a suns fan and like the way Sarver has handled the team.

There is very little ammunition to support this statement. Sure, he's made some mistakes, ALL GMs DO. But we still are consistently contenders, no matter how much people think Sarver is destroying the team. That just isn't true.