Babby and McDonough Presser

[FArting]

There will be a press conference live at 10am

Here is the link

http://arizonasports.com/streams/kmvpfm.php

http://www.nba.com/suns/now

 

[JS22]

Babby & McD really don't seem happy - at all - with Dragic. (Obviously.)

 

[slinslin]

They won some respect, especially Babby.

 

[unseenaz]

Can anyone summarize the presser? I caught about 5 minutes of the intro

 

[slinslin]

McDonough is absolutely ripping Dragic a new one.

On radio he also just said:

"some players say they only want to win whatever it takes and mean it, example PJ Tucker. And other player say they only want to win BUT only under their conditions and under their control"

 

[Cheesebeef]

McDonough is absolutely ripping Dragic a new one.

On radio he also just said:

"some players say they only want to win whatever it takes and mean it, example PJ Tucker. And other player say they only want to win BUT only under their conditions and under their control"

was more then fine with them trading Dragic... but no need to piss on his grave... which they partly dug. NBA is a PR league, best organizations turn the other cheek on this type of stuff.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

Amateur hour.

 

[ArizonaSportsFan]

They have to try to save face. They traded away the (fans') face of the franchise, imo.
I realize that McDonough likes Eric and views him as the future (obviously), but I don't think that the majority of fans are with him on that. So now it is a sales job...

And I wouldn't use PJ Tucker as an example of most anything positive...

 

[slinslin]

They could not let Dragic's comments go unanswered. Dragic straight up damaged the oragnization, team and front office.

 

[ArizonaSportsFan]

They could not let Dragic's comments go unanswered. Dragic straight up damaged the oragnization, team and front office.

I didn't listen to it, so I don't know for sure. But it sounds like they answered tit for tat. Didn't sound like any real facts came out. So, with more time to think about it and plan a response, they come off even more petulant.

 

[Cheesebeef]

They could not let Dragic's comments go unanswered. Dragic straight up damaged the oragnization, team and front office.

and they damaged them further by throwing him under the bus after he left. Great, classy organizations don't get into pissing matches after something blew up in their face. they just move on.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

They could not let Dragic's comments go unanswered. Dragic straight up damaged the oragnization, team and front office.

That strategy hasn't exactly worked out for the DBacks over the last handful of years. Players talk.

 

[TRW]

and they damaged them further by throwing him under the bus after he left. Great, classy organizations don't get into pissing matches after something blew up in their face. they just move on.

This.

Management has to rise above the disgruntled employee. Dragic admitted that he probably was too over the top in what he said.

The Suns needed to just let it go.

 

[Catlover]

and they damaged them further by throwing him under the bus after he left. Great, classy organizations don't get into pissing matches after something blew up in their face. they just move on.

They walked a tightrope. McDonough displayed his anger at the way Duffy handled this but Babby took the high road when asked if the outgoing players were selfish.

 

[slinslin]

-Suns president Lon Babby took offense to Goran Dragic's comments about not trusting the front office. "Unfair and unwarranted aspersions.

- Babby declined to asnwer the question if outgoing players were selfish "answering this question does no good".

-Babby said the Suns, including Sarver, tried to gauge Dragic's view weeks ago but didn't get a reponse til Tues. Not surprised at that point.

- Suns president Lon Babby, referring to moves to add Bledsoe and Thomas: "If some of those moves ruffle Goran's feathers, so be it." The only motivation for them is to make the Phoenix Suns a better team

- On the idea that PHX traded its best player (Dragic), McDonough said, "Eric Bledsoe and Markieff Morris are still in Phoenix Suns uniforms."

- McD: Dragic wondered about how things would work with Bledsoe in training camp 2013. They went to win 48 games and Dragic having his best season.

- McD: Players understand that tough moves need to be made to win and roles may change to be as good as they can be, at least the GOOD ones understand that

- McD: Players either buy into the Suns system or they are gone

- McD: Basketball is a team sport, not singles tennis.

- McD: they won 25 games 2 years ago, 48 last year and this year 4 buzzer beaters away from being in the thick of the playoff race in the West. Moves were made to improve the team and they did implying that Dragic would rather lose if he could keep playing the way he wants

If you thought before that McStunna is just a silent nerdy stat guy - nope - he was feisty. He is making a name for himself, he is determined.

 

[unseenaz]

-Suns president Lon Babby took offense to Goran Dragic's comments about not trusting the front office. "Unfair and unwarranted aspersions.

- Babby declined to asnwer the question if outgoing players were selfish "answering this question does no good".

-Babby said the Suns, including Sarver, tried to gauge Dragic's view weeks ago but didn't get a reponse til Tues. Not surprised at that point.

- Suns president Lon Babby, referring to moves to add Bledsoe and Thomas: "If some of those moves ruffle Goran's feathers, so be it." The only motivation for them is to make the Phoenix Suns a better team

- On the idea that PHX traded its best player (Dragic), McDonough said, "Eric Bledsoe and Markieff Morris are still in Phoenix Suns uniforms."

- McD: Dragic wondered about how things would work with Bledsoe in training camp 2013. They went to win 48 games and Dragic having his best season.

- McD: Players understand that tough moves need to be made to win and roles may change to be as good as they can be, at least the GOOD ones understand that

- McD: Basketball is a team sport, not singles tennis. Players either buy into the Suns system or they are gone

- McD: they won 25 games 2 years ago, 48 last year and this year 4 buzzer beaters away from being in the thick of the playoff race in the West. Moves were made to improve the team and they did implying that Dragic would rather lose if he could keep playing the way he wants

McDonough sounds like he had it out for Dragic. wow..

That last comment, sick of the excuses. You could say the same for 10 point losses, what's the difference? Put yourself in a position to win, regardless of a buzzer beater

 

[Errntknght]

The second link that FA posted worked for me, though I did have skip over about the first 30 minutes of the recording before the program began - it was playing music with a blank screen.

 

[slinslin]

There was obviously other stuff

They wanted Knight for a long time. They studied him. They consulted Bledsoe about playing with Knight.

Friend in Detroits FO told McStunna that it was a huge mistake to trade Knight.

Knight has a legendary work ethic. They locked their gym at night because Knight would not stop working to improve and they were worried that he is wearing himself out by training too much.

Signing Isaiah Thomas was not a mistake. It just did not work out perfectly because some players were not buying into their system. Thomas was traded because he wanted to be a starter.

All the things about not accepting their roles in order to win could be directed at Draigc, Thomas and Plumlee.

Marcus Thornton fits into their style and is an explosive scorer off the bench.

McD: "Every move they make is to make this team a championship level team".

 

[Covert Rain]

They could not let Dragic's comments go unanswered. Dragic straight up damaged the oragnization, team and front office.

Sure they could. This sounded more like two high school kids getting in a pissing match.

Dragic didn't set out the strategy for the organization. Dragic didn't make the decisions that baffled the entire NBA in terms of turning the roster into Guardapalooza.

Look, I think Dragic could have handled it better but to blame him is ludicrous. The Front Office screwed the pooch in terms of decision making and direction and to some extent is continuing that with Bledsoe/Knight combo.

How about taking some ownership for making mistakes and admitting they screwed up the entire situation. I would have left too if I was Dragic.

 

[slinslin]

He had to put Dragic in his place otherwise he would be seen as weak, drove Dragic out, broke promises and whatever BS Dragic was accusing them of.

 

[Covert Rain]

He had to put Dragic in his place otherwise he would be seen as weak, drove Dragic out, broke promises and whatever BS Dragic was accusing them of.

How do you think he looks now? The Front Office is the butt of jokes right now. They have been criticized across the league for a stupid strategy.

You really think pissing on Dragic helps? It didn't. Not one bit. Just makes the front office look stupid and now petty too.

Have some freaking class and rise above.

 

[slinslin]

How about taking some ownership for making mistakes and admitting they screwed up the entire situation. I would have left to if I was Dragic.

Because they have not.

McStunna clearly adressed this. They are the 3rd youngest team and solidified their status as a winning team this season. 2 years ago Dragic was the PG and they won 25 games.

They did not screw up anything. He took over a horrid team and made moves that made them competetive again and young at the same time.

 

[JS22]

Amateur hour.

Care to explain?

I have no problem with them being openly disappointed with the way Dragic threw them under the bus one day before the trade deadline.

 

[Rab]

I don't mind him addressing the Dragic situation the way he did...to a certain point. I think it was a little overkill to keep taking shots at Goran. They're both at fault, Goran and the FO messed this up, and neither want to take responsibility for it all. Maybe Goran really is more of a diva than we all perceive. Who knows?

All I know is that the FO shouldn't be surprised at how an agent handles things knowing Babby's prior employment history. He should know these games much better than he is leading us to believe he does.

Anyway, time to move on. Goran is gone, IT is gone, and there's a bit of fresh air out there now...at least for now.

 

[StreetTruckinTitan]

Sure they could. This sounded more like two high school kids getting in a pissing match.

Dragic didn't set out the strategy for the organization. Dragic didn't make the decisions that baffled the entire NBA in terms of turning the roster into Guardapalooza.

Look, I think Dragic could have handled it better but to blame him is ludicrous. The Front Office screwed the pooch in terms of decision making and direction and to some extent is continuing that with Bledsoe/Knight combo.

How about taking some ownership for making mistakes and admitting they screwed up the entire situation. I would have left too if I was Dragic.

Did the FO screw the pooch over this debacle? Sure, why not. But what Goran did to publicly disparage this organization in the media has long damaging consequences for the Suns. Calling the FO untrustworthy can affect future FAs who the Suns could pursue in the future. Goran should have voiced his displeasure and trade demands in private or through his agent. I lost a ton of respect for Goran over this matter.