Suns see Amaré's return as only change needed
Paul Coro
The Arizona Republic
Jun. 5, 2006 12:00 AM
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The Suns are not far away from a title.
They still might be playing if they had a healthy starting shooting guard.
They think Leandro Barbosa can be the backup playmaker.
They plan to only tweak a good team in the off-season.
Maybe you have heard all of this before, like a year ago when five players wound up returning in October.
This time, the Suns say they mean it. They think they already have the best off-season pickup signed - Amaré Stoudemire, who is coming off two knees surgeries with plans to not "settle for anything less than a championship next year."
"Lord knows I hope it doesn't blow up, but we will do everything we can to have a championship team," said Mike D'Antoni, who goes from coaching duties to executive vice president and general manager duties today.
What does adding Stoudemire to a Western Conference finals team equal? It's not a simple equation that injects 20-some points and eight to 10 rebounds. There are egos to massage, a crowded lane to configure and lineups to shuffle, but the prospects are tantalizing.
As of today, the 2006-07 Suns would send out Steve Nash, Raja Bell, Shawn Marion, Boris Diaw and Stoudemire for the tip in the opener.
"(Stoudemire's return) gives us enough to win a championship," D'Antoni said. "Now, it's up to us as coaches and players to put it all together and do that. Any time you throw a rock in the pond, you've got some ripples. We're going to have to figure that out. This is a boulder we're throwing in.
"Everybody's got to be cool and understand the goal is to win a championship. Do I average two less points? Maybe. Do I average 10 less points? Maybe. I might not have a career year, because there's only so many points to go around. There's where the character comes in."
Phoenix has until preseason to work out contract extensions for its rising players, Barbosa and Diaw, who reiterated hopes to stay Sunday. Barbosa, 23, might sign for a deal approaching the one Bell signed last year (five years, $24 million), but Diaw, 24, will be much more expensive. Both remain on rookie deals next season, paying them a combined $3.5 million.
As for other Suns with contract issues, Pat Burke plans to come back, Brian Grant is leaning that way and Eddie House is on the fence after fading out of the playoff rotation.
Phoenix has two draft picks (Nos. 21 and 27), which they could package to move up or deal one to lessen the burden of guaranteed contracts with a payroll creeping toward the luxury tax threshold.
It will be hard to re-sign unrestricted free agent Tim Thomas, even at a midlevel exception starting price of about $5.5 million, and avoid being taxed unless a player is moved.
"We want him," D'Antoni said. "We love him."
Thomas shot down the popular theory that he will wind up with New Jersey. He said his wife "won't allow it" because it would be "too much" with both being natives. He said he will not listen to any other team until he hears from Phoenix. Free agency contact begins July 1.
"I'm not going to sit here and say that I'm not going to make as much money as I can," said Thomas, who is willing to be a reserve. "But at the same time, just knowing what's at stake here and what's here to reach that goal, it would be almost (ridiculous) to try to go somewhere else and get paid and have a setback as far as winning."
The Suns also have a $3.6 million trade exception. But if it means taking on more salary, they may let it expire.
As with every season, a Marion trade rumor is sure to surface despite consecutive All-NBA seasons. When the call comes, D'Antoni said: "I'll listen because you always have to listen. And then we'll go, 'No.' . . . Shawn has to know we're not doing anything. We're close to a championship. We're not going to get into that."
Nash headed off to a busy summer of an NBA trip to South Africa, off-season living in New York and a charity game in Vancouver feeling like an even better title chance got away.
"It hurts a little more (than last season) because I thought we could've done it," Nash said.
He said he would be more than happy if the team remained intact and had a discussion Sunday with D'Antoni about quality of minutes vs. quantity. He was taxed heavily because of the playmaking burden once Stoudemire was out. Barbosa's playoff improvement and coachable way may keep Phoenix from looking outside for help at point guard.
"There won't be as much pressure to create shots for everyone," Nash said. "With Leandro, Boris and Raja all becoming better and better ballhandlers and playmakers and with Amaré coming back, it'll take pressure off all of us. It probably won't be the same 30 to 35 minutes as it was this year."
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So Burke and Grant are coming back........there goes two slots to someone that may actually be productive, or a rookie to improve down the road. I guess they could waive them but then there goes the money, so that is probably not an option.
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Paul Coro
The Arizona Republic
Jun. 5, 2006 12:00 AM
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]
The Suns are not far away from a title.
They still might be playing if they had a healthy starting shooting guard.
They think Leandro Barbosa can be the backup playmaker.
They plan to only tweak a good team in the off-season.
Maybe you have heard all of this before, like a year ago when five players wound up returning in October.
This time, the Suns say they mean it. They think they already have the best off-season pickup signed - Amaré Stoudemire, who is coming off two knees surgeries with plans to not "settle for anything less than a championship next year."
"Lord knows I hope it doesn't blow up, but we will do everything we can to have a championship team," said Mike D'Antoni, who goes from coaching duties to executive vice president and general manager duties today.
What does adding Stoudemire to a Western Conference finals team equal? It's not a simple equation that injects 20-some points and eight to 10 rebounds. There are egos to massage, a crowded lane to configure and lineups to shuffle, but the prospects are tantalizing.
As of today, the 2006-07 Suns would send out Steve Nash, Raja Bell, Shawn Marion, Boris Diaw and Stoudemire for the tip in the opener.
"(Stoudemire's return) gives us enough to win a championship," D'Antoni said. "Now, it's up to us as coaches and players to put it all together and do that. Any time you throw a rock in the pond, you've got some ripples. We're going to have to figure that out. This is a boulder we're throwing in.
"Everybody's got to be cool and understand the goal is to win a championship. Do I average two less points? Maybe. Do I average 10 less points? Maybe. I might not have a career year, because there's only so many points to go around. There's where the character comes in."
Phoenix has until preseason to work out contract extensions for its rising players, Barbosa and Diaw, who reiterated hopes to stay Sunday. Barbosa, 23, might sign for a deal approaching the one Bell signed last year (five years, $24 million), but Diaw, 24, will be much more expensive. Both remain on rookie deals next season, paying them a combined $3.5 million.
As for other Suns with contract issues, Pat Burke plans to come back, Brian Grant is leaning that way and Eddie House is on the fence after fading out of the playoff rotation.
Phoenix has two draft picks (Nos. 21 and 27), which they could package to move up or deal one to lessen the burden of guaranteed contracts with a payroll creeping toward the luxury tax threshold.
It will be hard to re-sign unrestricted free agent Tim Thomas, even at a midlevel exception starting price of about $5.5 million, and avoid being taxed unless a player is moved.
"We want him," D'Antoni said. "We love him."
Thomas shot down the popular theory that he will wind up with New Jersey. He said his wife "won't allow it" because it would be "too much" with both being natives. He said he will not listen to any other team until he hears from Phoenix. Free agency contact begins July 1.
"I'm not going to sit here and say that I'm not going to make as much money as I can," said Thomas, who is willing to be a reserve. "But at the same time, just knowing what's at stake here and what's here to reach that goal, it would be almost (ridiculous) to try to go somewhere else and get paid and have a setback as far as winning."
The Suns also have a $3.6 million trade exception. But if it means taking on more salary, they may let it expire.
As with every season, a Marion trade rumor is sure to surface despite consecutive All-NBA seasons. When the call comes, D'Antoni said: "I'll listen because you always have to listen. And then we'll go, 'No.' . . . Shawn has to know we're not doing anything. We're close to a championship. We're not going to get into that."
Nash headed off to a busy summer of an NBA trip to South Africa, off-season living in New York and a charity game in Vancouver feeling like an even better title chance got away.
"It hurts a little more (than last season) because I thought we could've done it," Nash said.
He said he would be more than happy if the team remained intact and had a discussion Sunday with D'Antoni about quality of minutes vs. quantity. He was taxed heavily because of the playmaking burden once Stoudemire was out. Barbosa's playoff improvement and coachable way may keep Phoenix from looking outside for help at point guard.
"There won't be as much pressure to create shots for everyone," Nash said. "With Leandro, Boris and Raja all becoming better and better ballhandlers and playmakers and with Amaré coming back, it'll take pressure off all of us. It probably won't be the same 30 to 35 minutes as it was this year."
----------------------------
So Burke and Grant are coming back........there goes two slots to someone that may actually be productive, or a rookie to improve down the road. I guess they could waive them but then there goes the money, so that is probably not an option.
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We still have room for the two rookies, but I don't see us using the whole bench.
