Suns fire McD

[1Sun]

I thought I heard that Woj and McD were close.

I wonder if trading Chriss instead of Bender sealed McD's fate. That would explain the timing.

I keep hearing it was the point guard thing, culminating with backing out of the Chandler for Teague trade.

 

[taz02]

Yea, that's probably it. As bad as Bender has been its going to be really bad if Chriss goes off for 20ppg. Its pretty obvious Chriss was the wrong guy of the two to trade.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Yea, that's probably it. As bad as Bender has been its going to be really bad if Chriss goes off for 20ppg. Its pretty obvious Chriss was the wrong guy of the two to trade.

First, that is assuming trading Bender was even a possibility. And second, does anyone really believe the Chriss is going to go for 20 ppg.

It is kind of funny how we think that any deal including one of Chriss or Bender could have included the other one at our discretion.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

First, that is assuming trading Bender was even a possibility. And second, does anyone really believe the Chriss is going to go for 20 ppg.

No

 

[SirStefan32]

First, that is assuming trading Bender was even a possibility. And second, does anyone really believe the Chriss is going to go for 20 ppg.

No. However, even if he did, he'd give up 28 on defense. I may be disappointed with Bender, but I do not and will not miss at all.

 

[Hoop Head]

Yea, that's probably it. As bad as Bender has been its going to be really bad if Chriss goes off for 20ppg. Its pretty obvious Chriss was the wrong guy of the two to trade.

The only way Chriss will average 20 ppg is if he has the best game of his career on opening night. By the 2nd game that average will start moving back to reality and he'll enter game 3 averaging 10 ppg.

 

[Phrazbit]

Yea, that's probably it. As bad as Bender has been its going to be really bad if Chriss goes off for 20ppg. Its pretty obvious Chriss was the wrong guy of the two to trade.

As JC noted, I doubt anyone cared about taking Bender. I don't think we "chose" him over Chriss. For better or worse, I think Chriss was traded because of his attitude and that they wanted a PF who can spread the court to pair with Ayton.

 

[taz02]

Fair enough, all good points but aren't we at least a little concerned that Chriss will flourish under D'Antoni.

I'm sure the PG situation is the most likely reason for McD's exit but tension over the 2016 draft certainly didn't help.

I'm just speculating that keeping Bender over Chriss was the wrong choice after watching Bender. Chriss will most likely not average anywhere near 20ppg but he is very likely going to play better than Bender. Given the timing of his firing it could represent the final nail in the coffin.

 

[Hoop Head]

Fair enough, all good points but aren't we at least a little concerned that Chriss will flourish under D'Antoni.

Playing well under D'Antoni may not mean that much. Some players like Steven Hunter had career years while playing for D'Antoni, and Nash, but he fell off once he went elsewhere. So if Chriss has a good year that isn't enough to bother me. If he manages to get it together and keep it together then that might sting. I'm not concerned with it that much though. Odds of him finally realizing his potential here were slim.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Fair enough, all good points but aren't we at least a little concerned that Chriss will flourish under D'Antoni.

I'm sure the PG situation is the most likely reason for McD's exit but tension over the 2016 draft certainly didn't help.

I'm just speculating that keeping Bender over Chriss was the wrong choice after watching Bender. Chriss will most likely not average anywhere near 20ppg but he is very likely going to play better than Bender. Given the timing of his firing it could represent the final nail in the coffin.

Chriss has been a disappointment but with the exception of a few weeks last season, he has always played better than Bender. And for the most part, he played much better than Dragan did. So I don't think anyone involved in the trade recently discovered that Marquese was the better player, it was already common knowledge.

If there was any reaction to that trade that might have unhinged Sarver, it was likely regarding Anderson and/or Melton IMO. If Ryan represented to Sarver that giving up on Chriss now brought us the future starter at point guard and an immediate solution to our stretch power forward problem, I could see Robert watching the preseason games and going ballistic over how mismatched we still looked at the 1 and the 4. Melton hadn't shown us much and Anderson was looking like a complete waste of space until the Warriors game (after Ryan was fired).

 

[Suns_fan69]

Interesting comments from Earl Watson re: McDonough

https://sports.yahoo.com/earl-watson-suns-gm-ryan-050221111.html

Recap:

• Watson was given a 2 week ultimatum before he was fired, declined to get into details. Says the ultimatum was by 'ownership'.
• Watson pushed for Devin Booker to start in his second season over Brandon Knight despite McDonough (and others0, pushing for Knight to start
• He believes players kinda become who they are by 3 years into the league, wanted to make sure Booker became more than just a 6th man.

 

[Mainstreet]

Looking at the Suns roster, particularly when it concerns the point guard and power forward positions, it's becoming much clearer (at least to me) why McDonough should have been fired. I'm not giving Sarver a free pass because I do not know his motivation. However, I would not have trusted McDonough with another draft so I guess now is as good as anytime. Perhaps it is coincidental but among those fires was Courtney Witte, director of scouting and Emilio Kovacic director of international scouting.

The mistakes made in the 2016 draft are particularly distasteful looking back. If the Suns had hit on one of the draft selections in that draft (that they kept) perhaps none of this would have transpired.

 

[Hoop Head]

Looking at the Suns roster, particularly when it concerns the point guard and power forward positions, it's becoming much clearer (at least to me) why McDonough should have been fired. I'm not giving Sarver a free pass because I do not know his motivation. However, I would not have trusted McDonough with another draft so I guess now is as good as anytime. Perhaps it is coincidental but among those fires was Courtney Witte, director of scouting and Emilio Kovacic director of international scouting.

The mistakes made in the 2016 draft are particularly distasteful looking back. If the Suns had hit on one of the draft selections in that draft (that they kept) perhaps none of this would have transpired.

I think McD wanted Doncic also. That would explain some of the scouts getting canned, especially the international. Say McD is set on Doncic, Sarver says Ayton, James Jones breaks the split and says Ayton also. We see Ayton as an absolute beast through preseason and how special he could be while Doncic is just sort of there in Dallas. McD was on thin ice anyways. That could have caused it. Sarver and Ayton are both UofA guys and perhaps that is why Sarver went to see Doncic play a few times, trying to see what McD did to avoid another Bender scenario. He looked good but Ayton was the clear choice and everything since then proves it. McD wanting Doncic, event though he didn't get him, might have been enough when added to Bender, Chriss, Knight, etc to finally part ways. He wasn't as good as the Booker and Warren picks appear.

If McD couldn't draft his guy at #1, Doncic, perhaps that's why he went after Bridges. He's someone who can shoot well from outside and is a good defender. He's not Doncic but that gives McD a wing he liked a lot as a consolation prize. He spent too much but it never seemed like the cost bothered him.

 

[Mainstreet]

I think McD wanted Doncic also. That would explain some of the scouts getting canned, especially the international. Say McD is set on Doncic, Sarver says Ayton, James Jones breaks the split and says Ayton also. We see Ayton as an absolute beast through preseason and how special he could be while Doncic is just sort of there in Dallas. McD was on thin ice anyways. That could have caused it. Sarver and Ayton are both UofA guys and perhaps that is why Sarver went to see Doncic play a few times, trying to see what McD did to avoid another Bender scenario. He looked good but Ayton was the clear choice and everything since then proves it. McD wanting Doncic, event though he didn't get him, might have been enough when added to Bender, Chriss, Knight, etc to finally part ways. He wasn't as good as the Booker and Warren picks appear.

If McD couldn't draft his guy at #1, Doncic, perhaps that's why he went after Bridges. He's someone who can shoot well from outside and is a good defender. He's not Doncic but that gives McD a wing he liked a lot as a consolation prize. He spent too much but it never seemed like the cost bothered him.

It's really hard to know who wanted who but I preferred Ayton with the #1 pick.

Maybe I'm the only one, but I think the Suns over-payed for Bridges. This smacks of a McDonough move to me.

If the Suns had kept the future Miami pick, it would have been much easier to trade for a point guard. I suspect we will find out there were some solid point guards available in trade during the draft.

 

[Cheesebeef]

It's really hard to know who wanted who but I preferred Ayton with the #1 pick.

Maybe I'm the only one, but I think the Suns over-payed for Bridges. This smacks of a McDonough move to me.

there were a lot of us saying that during the draft.

 

[Mainstreet]

there were a lot of us saying that during the draft.

I kept hoping the Suns were trading up for a point guard.

I'm not saying trading for a forward was a terrible move in the draft if the Suns had addressed the point guard position elsewhere. Unfortunately it didn't happen.

 

[Hoop Head]

It's really hard to know who wanted who but I preferred Ayton with the #1 pick.

Maybe I'm the only one, but I think the Suns over-payed for Bridges. This smacks of a McDonough move to me.

If the Suns had kept the future Miami pick, it would have been much easier to trade for a point guard. I suspect we will find out there were some solid point guards available in trade during the draft.

Should have pushed the Milwaukee pick into the Bridges deal instead of the Heat. Apparently the Bucks pick isn't doing us any good. We traded our best player last year for a 1st round pick that won't even buy us a good backup PG.

I know Bledsoe sucked for us in the first 3 games but going into the season he was the best player on the roster.

 

[Mainstreet]

Should have pushed the Milwaukee pick into the Bridges deal instead of the Heat. Apparently the Bucks pick isn't doing us any good. We traded our best player last year for a 1st round pick that won't even buy us a good backup PG.

I know Bledsoe sucked for us in the first 3 games but going into the season he was the best player on the roster.

I suspect the 76ers didn't think the Bucks pick was enough. In that case, the Suns should have kept the future Miami pick.

 

[hcsilla]

The MIA pick was a steep price for trading up.

However, if the Heat trades for Butler and he will resign in Miami then it is a mid 1st rounder, since Butler alone is almost capable of keeping them around the play-off bubble for some years.

 

[Hoop Head]

I suspect the 76ers didn't think the Bucks pick was enough. In that case, the Suns should have kept the future Miami pick.

That was a panic trade. If they waited they might have done it later for a lesser price.

 

[Mainstreet]

The MIA pick was a steep price for trading up.

However, if the Heat trades for Butler and he will resign in Miami then it is a mid 1st rounder, since Butler alone is almost capable of keeping them around the play-off bubble for some years.

That was a panic trade. If they waited they might have done it later for a lesser price.

I liked the Miami pick for the trade value better than the pick itself.

However, the pick was attractive because it was unprotected. My guess is McDonough thought time was running out and it was.

 

[AzStevenCal]

I think we were overvaluing the Miami pick but Bridges, for me is a real mystery. I have no idea what his NBA potential really is and I don't see a pressing need for him. I'm not sure we made a mistake with him but we appear to have made a mistake not using it as trade capital for a point guard. It might work out in the long run but we're on a bumpy trip right now in part because of this decision.

 

[Raze]

I think we were overvaluing the Miami pick but Bridges, for me is a real mystery. I have no idea what his NBA potential really is and I don't see a pressing need for him. I'm not sure we made a mistake with him but we appear to have made a mistake not using it as trade capital for a point guard. It might work out in the long run but we're on a bumpy trip right now in part because of this decision.

I'm a fan of Bridges, but your concerns are valid.

McD loved stock piling one position. Picking up Bridges without a plan for JJ and Warren was short sighted... again. Then he signs Ariza and I'm just like

For the life of me, I can't understand why Warren wasn't traded this off season. I truly love the guy, but I thought for sure he would be odd man out. Turns out, no one was odd man out. We're just going to roll into the season with 4 potential starting SFs. Man, McD was weird.

 

[Mainstreet]

I think we were overvaluing the Miami pick but Bridges, for me is a real mystery. I have no idea what his NBA potential really is and I don't see a pressing need for him. I'm not sure we made a mistake with him but we appear to have made a mistake not using it as trade capital for a point guard. It might work out in the long run but we're on a bumpy trip right now in part because of this decision.

Trading the Miami pick was not a luxury McDonough could afford and the Suns are paying the price.

As I said before it's not necessarily the value of the pick but the value it possessed in a trade packaged with other assets like the Bucks pick. If need be, the Suns could have easily packaged as many as three first round picks for a quality point guard.

 

[Mainstreet]

For those who wish to hear James Jones address the media.

https://www.azcentral.com/story/spo...time-suns-interim-general-manager/1615688002/