Sarver Responds to D'Antoni article....

[Kablansky]

I think Sarver could have been the bigger man and not even have acknowledged D'Antoni's comments. He's the owner of the organization and projects the professionalism of the Phoenix Suns. Colangelo would have taken his retort through another medium and not cast a stone via the media.

 

[Cheesebeef]

I think Sarver could have been the bigger man and not even have acknowledged D'Antoni's comments. He's the owner of the organization and projects the professionalism of the Phoenix Suns. Colangelo would have taken his retort through another medium and not cast a stone via the media.

true. both DA and Sarver are ginormous boobs as far as I'm concerned. That unholy trifecta of DASarvKerr screwed up what was seemingly un-screw-up-able.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

Can we stop reminiscing about the good times of Mike D'Antoni? He's just as responsible for the Suns having no rings as Sarver or Kerr. I want to address a couple things.

1. D'Antoni excuses the Spurs series last year, basically insinuating that the defeats in games 1 and 2 were somehow a result of poor luck. Um Mike? Do you recall that in almost every close playoff game that you coached that your team would rarely make big stops in crunchtime? The double OT game 1 wasn't a fluke, it was simply a pattern of your notoriously poor defensive teams. You played off those countless close playoff losses as coincidence or the referee's fault for years in Phoenix, can you please do us a favor and stop doing it in NY?

2. Did DA really suggest there was nothing wrong with his defensive coaching? It was terrible, Sarver and Kerr were more than right to suggest changes in that department. And there's nothing wrong with being impatient in regards to a championship when just a small change (defense in the Suns 03-07 case) could go a loing ways in attaingin said championship. How dare a boss encourage one of their employees to improve on his biggest weakness!

Make no mistake, I am no Sarver apologist. Had he showed some financial backbone and loaded this team with the proper talent at hand even D'Antoni probably could not have screwed it up. But I for one had seen enough defensive mistakes, irresponsible attitudes, and general poor coaching to know that D'Antoni would NEVER get it done with this cast of characters. Dude had to go. Period.

 

[AZZenny]

I am curious what head coaches with winning records would be satisfied with being told they needed to change their coaching AND personnel management style, bring in their possible future replacement, but otherwise, we want you to stay -- for awhile, anyhow. And of course we'll give you a good recommendation if you decide you'll be happier somewhere else.

That is exactly how you fire top execs in the business world -- and Sarver knows it full well.

 

[Cheesebeef]

I am curious what head coaches with winning records would be satisfied with being told they needed to change their coaching AND personnel management style, bring in their possible future replacement, but otherwise, we want you to stay -- for awhile, anyhow. And of course we'll give you a good recommendation if you decide you'll be happier somewhere else.

That is exactly how you fire top execs in the business world -- and Sarver knows it full well.

again, completely agree, which is why DA is so bitter and so perfectly playing the role of jilted ex-lover.

 

[dbUNIT16]

Here is the Gambo and Ash interview if you want to listen....

 

[BC867]

I am curious what head coaches with winning records would be satisfied with being told they needed to change their coaching AND personnel management style ...

That is exactly how you fire top execs in the business world -- and Sarver knows it full well.

Or Head Coaches who are told something like, "Mike, we're ready for the next plateau, which includes better preparation for good defense and playing a deeper bench."

That's how you provide a better product or service in the business world or playoff success in the NBA.

Then reacting when he is inflexible.

Mike chose his offense-only, seven-man rotation style and has moved on. He chose what was comfortable for him. Suns owners and management chose what was best for the team. Win-win.

 

[carey]

Win-win.

Lose-Lose actually. If the playoffs started today neither team would be in.

 

[Treesquid PhD]

Maybe Sarver's intentions are not bad, but the bottomline line is good players and good people don't really like working for him, then he spins them as 'greedy or selfish".

Phoenix used to be a place where players wanted to come, I am not sure it's the case anymore.

 

[Treesquid PhD]

Or Head Coaches who are told something like, "Mike, we're ready for the next plateau, which includes better preparation for good defense and playing a deeper bench."

That's how you provide a better product or service in the business world or playoff success in the NBA.

Then reacting when he is inflexible.

Mike chose his offense-only, seven-man rotation style and has moved on. He chose what was comfortable for him. Suns owners and management chose what was best for the team. Win-win.

Mike chose to not work for someone he couldn't trust anymore, because Mike has skills in demand and if your boss wants to spin to the fans at your expense then you bite thew bullet and leave, it's that simple. It's also obvious from all the quotes Mike still loves the Suns and the Suns loved him back.

Here is a quote from Q.
"Everybody is making money and having good careers, but at the same time we all realize and acknowledge that we had something pretty good. Even from coach. We had a great coach that everybody got along with. You never get that - all the players on the same page and the coach likes everybody and everybody likes the coach. We had a rare thing, and it was pretty much dismantled in the snap of a finger."

 

[Chaplin]

Maybe Sarver's intentions are not bad, but the bottomline line is good players and good people don't really like working for him, then he spins them as 'greedy or selfish".

OMG, what a completely ridiculous statement. Your love for D'Antoni is quite nauseating.

 

[nowagimp]

You made that same comparison earlier and it does fall right in line with the longstanding fire-the-coach crusade. But Sarver's saying they wanted him to stay. So if you really take Sarver's comments at face value and remember how it all went down, DA was not the jilted one, he was more the jilter. He could have stayed on and given their way a try, but instead he took off for a new job and more money--not a bad choice at all under the circumstances.

D'Antoni had roughly a quarter of the season last year to see how it went with Shaq in the middle, and toward the end of that season things were actually starting to look more promising. But he also had four long years to get to know his team and his individual players' attitudes and personality quirks. It's a good guess that over those last 20 games he got a feel for the locker room atmosphere that was building and a pretty good sense of what to expect down the road.

The fact that Sarver/Kerr/Porter had to reevaluate and regroup at this point in the run is significant and DA may be the only one who wasn't surprised. I really doubt he's missing anything in Phoenix except the weather.

Good post Ms Dundee, well though out and insightful, I almost missed it being surrounded by so much noise. The coach will be the first one with an inkling that the wheels are coming off. And any smart NBA coach knows he needs his players to buy in and stay focused.

 

[Chaplin]

Good post Ms Dundee, well though out and insightful, I almost missed it being surrounded by so much noise. The coach will be the first one with an inkling that the wheels are coming off. And any smart NBA coach knows he needs his players to buy in and stay focused.

While there probably is some truth there, we have to sift through all the bullcrap and see what all this really is: MONEY.

The Knicks offered a substantial raise (just like Toronto did for BC), and Mike took it. All this postulating about reasons and whatever is BS. Mike D'Antoni left on his own accord to make more money. Plain and simple.

 

[nowagimp]

While there probably is some truth there, we have to sift through all the bullcrap and see what all this really is: MONEY.

The Knicks offered a substantial raise (just like Toronto did for BC), and Mike took it. All this postulating about reasons and whatever is BS. Mike D'Antoni left on his own accord to make more money. Plain and simple.

Your opinion didnt result from sifting through anything at all in an objective sense. Facts are in short supply concering the motivations of individuals in this case. You can supply the motivations of individuals, but I doubt you actually know them. People who say that they know what someone they dont even know thinks, well its more than a little thin.

 

[Mainstreet]

While there probably is some truth there, we have to sift through all the bullcrap and see what all this really is: MONEY.

The Knicks offered a substantial raise (just like Toronto did for BC), and Mike took it. All this postulating about reasons and whatever is BS. Mike D'Antoni left on his own accord to make more money. Plain and simple.

I think money was a secondary issue to D'Antoni.

I think DA wanted to keep coaching in Phoenix but he couldn't with the proverbial 800 pound gorilla (Kerr) on his back. After reading several articles about D'Antoni and his relationship with the Suns I came up with one word to describe it.... nostalgic. He feels it and many of the fans feel it as well.

 

[nowagimp]

Maybe Sarver's intentions are not bad, but the bottomline line is good players and good people don't really like working for him, then he spins them as 'greedy or selfish".

Phoenix used to be a place where players wanted to come, I am not sure it's the case anymore.

Yep, BC, DA, and JJ were greedy and selfish. Sarver(or is it saver?) is not greedy and not selfish. He shares his foam finger with all of us.

 

[Mainstreet]

Yep, BC, DA, and JJ were greedy and selfish. Sarver(or is it saver?) is not greedy and not selfish. He shares his foam finger with all of us.

How about super-saver.

 

[Chaplin]

Your opinion didnt result from sifting through anything at all in an objective sense. Facts are in short supply concering the motivations of individuals in this case. You can supply the motivations of individuals, but I doubt you actually know them. People who say that they know what someone they dont even know thinks, well its more than a little thin.

What Mike fired? NO.

Was he forced to resign? NO.

Did he stand to make a lot more money with the Knicks? YES.

Was his relationship strained with management? Sure.

Did he leave because he hated Sarver? No, he left because he could--he had an offer for a lot more money on the table. He would still be the coach of this team had the NY/Chi offers not been on the table.

If you think that there are deep-seeded motivations that make money secondary in professional sports, then you don't understand professional sports.