Not ready to give up on Banks just yet...

[SactownSunsFan]

Marcus Banks had an absolutely dreadful 1st year in a Phoenix uniform. Part of it was his fault, but I think part of the blame lies with Mike D'Antoni as well. D'Antoni gave up on him way too early. He began the season with a horrendous November, his first month in a brand new system, and our Head Coach pulled the plug. He only saw sporadic minutes after, and found it difficult to impress in such limited court time.

With one year under his belt now, I'm hoping he has a better concept of our system, and that he can showcase in training camp and preseason that he's capable of being our back-up PG, rather than being a $4 million bench decoration. If not, I hope his play at least raises his trade value to the point that someone will take him off our hands.

 

[Covert Rain]

I am ready to give up. I have zero faith in Marcus Banks. My hope is like you said that someone notices him over the summer and takes him off our hands.

 

[asudevil83]

the thing is though, banks is not a TERRIBLE player. he has skill, and it just seems like EVERYONE gave up on him after a month.

but, yeah....he does not fit in our system. he's a shooter first passer second.

 

[scoutmasterdave]

he's a bad shooter first passer second.

Fixed that for you.

 

[Chaz]

I am not ready to give up on Banks either.

He may just need to be de-programmed. Then again maybe he doesn't have the decision making ability required from a guard in the Suns system.
The biggest problem I saw with Banks last year was he would pass when he should probably just shoot shoot and he would force a shot when he should drive or pass.

In this system every player has to have the confidence to shoot when they are open for a makeable shot. If they hesitate the offense grinds to a halt, the defense recovers, and turnovers are too often the result.

 

[Covert Rain]

I am not ready to give up on Banks either.

He may just need to be de-programmed. Then again maybe he doesn't have the decision making ability required from a guard in the Suns system.
The biggest problem I saw with Banks last year was he would pass when he should probably just shoot shoot and he would force a shot when he should drive or pass.

In this system every player has to have the confidence to shoot when they are open for a makeable shot. If they hesitate the offense grinds to a halt, the defense recovers, and turnovers are too often the result.

Part of shooting is the decision making process. You either have the ability to make good decisions or you don't. He doesn't. He couldn't shoot and he couldn't pass. He was also suppose to bring shutdown defense. I just didn't know that "shut down" was code for stupid fouls.

 

[MigratingOsprey]

this guy was pretty bad in MN as well - i was shocked he was able to get what he did when he was a poor performer on a worse team

in MN the excuse was he didn't have the players around him when he was on the court and he couldn't get on the court anytime meaningful because of all the politics in MN

i think the truth is he's simply not that good

 

[Errntknght]

Banks actually played reasonably well when Nash missed some games and Mike D'Antoni rewarded him with 15 DNPCD's in the next 18 games. With ridiculous coaching like that I'm far from convinced that Banks' big problem is his ability to play the game.

 

[Bufalay]

wasn't this same thread created about 10 times during the regular season?

 

[Chaz]

You either have the ability to make good decisions or you don't.

So nobody can rise above what they currently are or learn any new skills or habits?
I guess I just have a less fatalistic view.

I am just not ready to say that Banks has had every opportunity to prove himself or develop as a PG in the Suns system.

We can agree that Banks has not shown very good decision making ability and that (especially in the Suns system) this is of paramount importance.

 

[hafey]

Banks actually playerd well in Minnesota. He averaged 12 ppg on 48% shooting with a 2:1 ast/TO ratio in 30 minutes a game.

I agree with above. Marcus Banks failure last year was as much Mike D'Antoni's as it was Marcus Banks.

 

[SO91]

He was horrendous last year, but he can't do much worse, so I'm still hopeful he'll bring something of use to the team. If the team starts out strong, then he'll get a chance to play and contribute.

 

[asudevil83]

Banks actually playerd well in Minnesota. He averaged 12 ppg on 48% shooting with a 2:1 ast/TO ratio in 30 minutes a game.

I agree with above. Marcus Banks failure last year was as much Mike D'Antoni's as it was Marcus Banks.

not to be a stickler or anything.....but Minny may have been a complete fluke. hell, last year with the suns he put up the same numbers as he did when he played for Boston. same points, same %'s from the field, same AST/TURN, same everything.

 

[SactownSunsFan]

Banks actually played reasonably well when Nash missed some games and Mike D'Antoni rewarded him with 15 DNPCD's in the next 18 games. With ridiculous coaching like that I'm far from convinced that Banks' big problem is his ability to play the game.

Agreed. His play when Nash went out is one of the reasons I hold out hope that he can prove to coach D in training camp and preseason that he deserves some minutes spelling Nash.

 

[Griffin]

I agree Banks is poor at decision making. He has very limited court awareness. Most of the time he shoots when he ought to drive, and drives when he ought to pass. And his contract is just ridiculous. He makes nearly as much as Bell and won't be a free agent until 2011.

 

[JCSunsfan]

We are Banks' 3rd team. The Celtics hitched alot of hopes on him and then chose to let him walk as a FA. The Wolves also chose to sign Mike James (a player who was moving to his 11th professional basketball team) when they could have had a younger, more athletic Banks and less cost.

The issue with Banks seems to be that he does not respond to coaching well. He either doesn't get what is being said, or he just plays so instinctively (and selfishly) on the court that he is unable to adjust to a team system.

It looks like we are going to have him on the roster anyway. So we might as well keep working with him. Maybe something will click. But I can never imagine him being a player that will be on the court in the 4th quarter. He will never be an heir to Nash, and so we might as well give Barbosa those minutes.

 

[Covert Rain]

So nobody can rise above what they currently are or learn any new skills or habits?
I guess I just have a less fatalistic view.

I am just not ready to say that Banks has had every opportunity to prove himself or develop as a PG in the Suns system.

We can agree that Banks has not shown very good decision making ability and that (especially in the Suns system) this is of paramount importance.

I didn't say nobody. I said Banks. Maybe Banks could slightly improve but not on this team. He is a horrible fit.

 

[Errntknght]

When Barbs was first designated the primary backup to Nash he played terribly - in fact when Nash had to sit six games, Leandro did a worse job filling in than Marcus did last year when Nash had to recuperate from an injury.

What turned things around for Barbosa was being moved to SG and getting his own personal coach. House took over the thankless job of backing up Nash and under D'Antoni's guidance he deteriorated as the year went on.

Over the past two years Leandro has gradually improved at running the team but the main reason he's successful is that he's become a tremendous scorer. He certainly has not become an assist machine - he gets assists at the rate of 4.8 per 40 minutes compared to Banks' 4.7 per 40.

I'm not a big Banks fan but I don't like to see him being denigrated for not being able to run the team when the truth is that he's disliked because he hasn't been able to shoot worth a dam since joining the Suns.

What evidence is there that he doesn't respond well to coaching - maybe if Mike pampered him like he has Barbosa, Banks would respond, too. It seems to me that he yanks Marcus around and does absolutely nothing to put him in situations where he has a chance to succeed - which he was quick to do with Barbs.

D'Antoni has had five players that he tried out as a backup for Nash - Barbosa, House, Banks, Smush Parker, and Andre Barrett. The last two were summarily dismissed after a week and the other three played their worst ball under his tutelage at that spot. I think I see a pattern here...

 

[Covert Rain]

When Barbs was first designated the primary backup to Nash he played terribly - in fact when Nash had to sit six games, Leandro did a worse job filling in than Marcus did last year when Nash had to recuperate from an injury.

What turned things around for Barbosa was being moved to SG and getting his own personal coach. House took over the thankless job of backing up Nash and under D'Antoni's guidance he deteriorated as the year went on.

Over the past two years Leandro has gradually improved at running the team but the main reason he's successful is that he's become a tremendous scorer. He certainly has not become an assist machine - he gets assists at the rate of 4.8 per 40 minutes compared to Banks' 4.7 per 40.

I'm not a big Banks fan but I don't like to see him being denigrated for not being able to run the team when the truth is that he's disliked because he hasn't been able to shoot worth a dam since joining the Suns.

What evidence is there that he doesn't respond well to coaching - maybe if Mike pampered him like he has Barbosa, Banks would respond, too. It seems to me that he yanks Marcus around and does absolutely nothing to put him in situations where he has a chance to succeed - which he was quick to do with Barbs.

D'Antoni has had five players that he tried out as a backup for Nash - Barbosa, House, Banks, Smush Parker, and Andre Barrett. The last two were summarily dismissed after a week and the other three played their worst ball under his tutelage at that spot. I think I see a pattern here...

Barbosa showed flashes and signs of what could be possible with him. I never looked at Barbosa and said that guy is horrid like I did Marcus Banks. The only thing Marcus has showed flashes of is turnovers, bad shots and untimely fouls. It would be one thing if Banks was a rookie and had shown something. However, he is a vet that looked lost from day 1 and showed no signs of improving. It's not like the guy didn't have opportunities in both practice and games through the entire season.

Nobody is a bigger critic on these boards then me when it comes to D'Antoni's bench management and lack of use of the non-starters. I just don't think Bank's lousy fit has anything to do with D'Antoni unless you're saying he should change the style of the team around Banks.

 

[Mainstreet]

Barbosa showed flashes and signs of what could be possible with him. I never looked at Barbosa and said that guy is horrid like I did Marcus Banks. The only thing Marcus has showed flashes of is turnovers, bad shots and untimely fouls. It would be one thing if Banks was a rookie and had shown something. However, he is a vet that looked lost from day 1 and showed no signs of improving. It's not like the guy didn't have opportunities in both practice and games through the entire season.

I have to agree although I think Banks might work out for the right team. But what team is going to gamble with his salary.

Also I agree good players shows flashes of brilliance like LB and also Joe Johnson when he was first brought over from Boston (as part of the Delk and Rogers trade). Unfortunately I haven't seen the little lights twinkling with Banks.

 

[az1965]

he's a bad shooter first bad passer second.

Fixed that for you.

Fixed that fix for you.

 

[PoolBoy]

he's horrible, worst decision by the suns

 

[azirish]

he's horrible, worst decision by the suns

Gee, that's pretty rarified company. Thunder Dan for Hot Rot, signing Luc Longley, trading for Jahidi White and then having to use draft picks to dump him, etc. Still, Banks has not performed well.

I have not given up on Banks, but neither do I have any major expectations.

From what I can tell, Banks has shown some skill on defense. I'm not sure they can turn him into a more effective distributor, but if he focuses on distribution and only distribution without turnovers he could be useful. But I suspect that even if he improved a lot, he'd have a very tough time getting minutes except to be showcased.

 

[YouJustGotSUNSD]

I have a feeling he was benched for the entire year as a punishment. Dantoni was comfortable canning him for the entire season to show banks he was serious about his coaching. It could have been possible that banks simply wasnt that coachable, so dantoni was willing to eat a year of useless salary.

I think we are jumping to conclusions by claiming he is already over and done with. Im excited to see his performance tonight and hope kerr and dantoni have got his full attention this summer and made him realize this is his last chance. I just refuse to believe he is a 100% bust after sitting the suns bench for a year. I also refuse to believe nash is content having his 3.5 million dollar backup sit on the bench while he chalks up 40+ minutes a game.

And if I am completely wrong, and banks simply cannot take instruction from a former coach of the year and a two time MVP then banks needs to go to tent city for a couple months on counts of grand larceny... and I will lead the manhunt to convict him.

 

[Treesquid PhD]

I hope banks does well so they can ship him without sending more picks out, the Suns need to get under the cap pressure they are experiencing, and I am worried they will ship him with the Atlanta pick out before the deadline. If Atlanta's pick looks to be out of the top 10 the Suns may be able to entice someone to take the pick and take Banks.

Grant Hill can probably run the point, we can pick a pt guard of the future up next season. Banks is not the future and the Suns need to get below wat they are at now, sorry lovers he just isn't going to be the answer, so we will never get to see the joy of a marcus banks isolation style offense full time. Oh snap!