Booker Upset with Front Office?

[pokerface]

Are you saying that Booker is still upset with the front office? What's the story?

Just amused by the thread BC. It's still going strong

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Okay but if their trading someone away, that counts as internal right so Booker doesn't get consulted then?

Likely just about the fit of whomever they are considering bringing in. I agree that it’s courting disaster in the locker room if booker has a say on who stays or goes.

 

[sunsfan88]

Likely just about the fit of whomever they are considering bringing in. I agree that it’s courting disaster in the locker room if booker has a say on who stays or goes.

Well, they can still ask him what his opinion is of an opponent. That doesn't require they tell him the specifics of the trade.

They might get his input on the incoming player. It would make for huge chemistry issues if other players believed Booker could get them traded (or not). This whole "consulting players" thing is a sticky wicket. It might make sense for signing free agents but that is about it. Otherwise we end up creating another LeBron James.

I was actually thinking more along the lines of if the Suns were say, trading Troy Daniels for two 2nd rd picks (like the Tucker trade) then I’m guessing Booker isn’t being consulted about that beforehand.

I think you guys are saying that he wouldn’t be consulted in this example I just gave but would rather only be consulted if the Suns had an incoming player from another team so they can ask Booker his opinion on the player.

 

[AzStevenCal]

I was actually thinking more along the lines of if the Suns were say, trading Troy Daniels for two 2nd rd picks (like the Tucker trade) then I’m guessing Booker isn’t being consulted about that beforehand.

I think you guys are saying that he wouldn’t be consulted in this example I just gave but would rather only be consulted if the Suns had an incoming player from another team so they can ask Booker his opinion on the player.

Yeah and it's not like they are asking for his approval either, just his input. It's pretty common, what isn't common is announcing it to the world like we did.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

I was actually thinking more along the lines of if the Suns were say, trading Troy Daniels for two 2nd rd picks (like the Tucker trade) then I’m guessing Booker isn’t being consulted about that beforehand.

I think you guys are saying that he wouldn’t be consulted in this example I just gave but would rather only be consulted if the Suns had an incoming player from another team so they can ask Booker his opinion on the player.

Exactly

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Yeah and it's not like they are asking for his approval either, just his input. It's pretty common, what isn't common is announcing it to the world like we did.

Yeah that is a bit puzzling

 

[BC867]

Yeah that is a bit puzzling

It's not puzzling when you consider the inexperience in their jobs of the executives involved.

Learning on the job in crucial positions has its drawbacks. Too much hit-and-miss, trial-and-error.

 

[pokerface]

Booker is officially not upset with the front office. It's a done deal.

 

[JCSunsfan]

It's not puzzling when you consider the inexperience in their jobs of the executives involved.

Learning on the job in crucial positions has its drawbacks. Too much hit-and-miss, trial-and-error.

You cannot call them inexperienced now. Good grief, Sarver has been an owner for over a decade and McD has 6 drafts as a GM under his belt.

 

[BC867]

You cannot call them inexperienced now. Good grief, Sarver has been an owner for over a decade and McD has 6 drafts as a GM under his belt.

OK, change that to ... good experience. Eight years of missing the playoffs hardly reflects a strong resume.

Tanking, plus good luck in getting the #1 pick, have given us hope. Not the performance of the owner and GM.

Hopefully, Sarver's step back from micro-managing and McDonough's reducing his blundering will continue. That is hardly a compliment. That they are not as weak as they have been.

 

[Chaplin]

OK, change that to ... good experience. Eight years of missing the playoffs hardly reflects a strong resume.

Tanking, plus good luck in getting the #1 pick, have given us hope. Not the performance of the owner and GM.

Hopefully, Sarver's step back from micro-managing and McDonough's reducing his blundering will continue. That is hardly a compliment. That they are not as weak as they have been.

Well, they did draft Josh Jackson, Devin Booker, DeAndre Ayton and TJ Warren. Who do you think made those decisions ultimately?

 

[BC867]

Well, they did draft Josh Jackson, Devin Booker, DeAndre Ayton and TJ Warren. Who do you think made those decisions ultimately?

I should hope they did some things right. But the NBA is about competition.

Have Sarver and McDonough's performances as executives ranked in the upper half of the NBA since they got together? No!

Hopefully, they are on the right course. They're all we have. And if they move us into solid playoff contention, I'll be the first to congratulate them.

EDIT: Thinking more about your comment, though. Booker - definitely. Ayton - tanking and luck. Jackson - who knows. Warren - one dimensional and in the process of losing his starting SF job.

 

[Chaplin]

I should hope they did some things right. But the NBA is about competition.

Have Sarver and McDonough's performances as executives ranked in the upper half of the NBA since they got together? No!

Hopefully, they are on the right course. They're all we have. And if they move us into solid playoff contention, I'll be the first to congratulate them.

EDIT: Thinking more about your comment, though. Booker - definitely. Ayton - tanking and luck. Jackson - who knows. Warren - one dimensional and in the process of losing his starting SF job.

Wait wait wait. Ayton was the pick, and a good one. But if they are as incompetent as you say they are, wouldn't that mean they would have drafted someone else in that spot? Like Bamba or Trey Young instead?

Can't argue much about the tanking, but what they do with that luck definitely takes some skill. I'm no McD fan, but he's done VERY well over the past 3 weeks or so.

 

[Mainstreet]

I should hope they did some things right. But the NBA is about competition.

Have Sarver and McDonough's performances as executives ranked in the upper half of the NBA since they got together? No!

Hopefully, they are on the right course. They're all we have. And if they move us into solid playoff contention, I'll be the first to congratulate them.

EDIT: Thinking more about your comment, though. Booker - definitely. Ayton - tanking and luck. Jackson - who knows. Warren - one dimensional and in the process of losing his starting SF job.

It's hard to buy the Suns losing to the degree they did and drafting Ayton is luck.

 

[Krangodnzr]

I think Sarver has been a well below average owner because of the team's insistence of selling picks during the SSOL era and then his choice of hires after the SSOL era.

McD has been a mixed bag; some good, some bad. The Knight trade was horrid, but the Bledsoe trade and a few others were very good.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

It's not puzzling when you consider the inexperience in their jobs of the executives involved.

Learning on the job in crucial positions has its drawbacks. Too much hit-and-miss, trial-and-error.

BC this is a common refrain from you but at this point McD has years of experience as a GM and spent years learning under Ainge, one of the best. He’s not a 22 year old right outta college. No one was shocked or dismayed when he was hired. And if all teams just hired experienced GMs there would be no development of new talent and when they all died you be bitching about all these guys with no experience. What’s the point at this juncture?

 

[JCSunsfan]

I think Sarver has been a well below average owner because of the team's insistence of selling picks during the SSOL era and then his choice of hires after the SSOL era.

McD has been a mixed bag; some good, some bad. The Knight trade was horrid, but the Bledsoe trade and a few others were very good.

Remember that every GM is a mixture of good and bad--every last one. The moment that LMA turned down the Suns they went into a rebuilding mode that included being bad, getting picks, and developing youth. So the record is not an indicator of success. If you want the team to rebuild (and tank) you cannot complain about the fact we havent been in the playoffs in the five years that McD has been here.

 

[BC867]

Wait wait wait. Ayton was the pick, and a good one. But if they are as incompetent as you say they are, wouldn't that mean they would have drafted someone else in that spot? Like Bamba or Trey Young instead?

Can't argue much about the tanking, but what they do with that luck definitely takes some skill. I'm no McD fan, but he's done VERY well over the past 3 weeks or so.

Chap, most things are not all-or-nothing. For the record, there is a big difference between being incompetent and not being in the upper half of skilled front offices.

Avoiding "incompetent" keeps you out of last place. Being skilled gets you into the playoffs.

Suns fans are so used to being incompetent, that if we are a step better, some consider that accolades. I'm sorry, but my sights are set higher than being only better than incompetent.

 

[Chaplin]

Chap, most things are not all-or-nothing. For the record, there is a big difference between being incompetent and not being in the upper half of skilled front offices.

Avoiding "incompetent" keeps you out of last place. Being skilled gets you into the playoffs.

Suns fans are so used to being incompetent, that if we are a step better, some consider that accolades. I'm sorry, but my sights are set higher than being only better than incompetent.

Baby steps. We aren’t going to be championship contenders overnight.

 

[Mainstreet]

Chap, most things are not all-or-nothing. For the record, there is a big difference between being incompetent and not being in the upper half of skilled front offices.

Avoiding "incompetent" keeps you out of last place. Being skilled gets you into the playoffs.

Suns fans are so used to being incompetent, that if we are a step better, some consider that accolades. I'm sorry, but my sights are set higher than being only better than incompetent.

BC, at some point you might consider giving the Suns a fresh start.

 

[BC867]

Baby steps. We aren’t going to be championship contenders overnight.

See, another all-or-nothing. I didn't say championship contenders overnight. I said upper half of skilled front offices. Anything better than the half way point.

There is a huuuuuge range between incompetent and championship contenders.

 

[Hoop Head]

See, another all-or-nothing. I didn't say championship contenders overnight. I said upper half of skilled front offices. Anything better than the half way point.

There is a huuuuuge range between incompetent and championship contenders.

You don't propose any sort of plans for how to get better, just that they should be better, and if the moves they make aren't good enough to see an instant payoff then it's fans accepting mediocrity. I think you'd be a lot happier if you quit judging how other fans view the team.

 

[Chaplin]

You don't propose any sort of plans for how to get better, just that they should be better, and if the moves they make aren't good enough to see an instant payoff then it's fans accepting mediocrity. I think you'd be a lot happier if you quit judging how other fans view the team.

Exactly. That is he very meaning of all-or-nothing. He’s contradicting himself in every other post.

 

[BC867]

You don't propose any sort of plans for how to get better, just that they should be better, and if the moves they make aren't good enough to see an instant payoff then it's fans accepting mediocrity. I think you'd be a lot happier if you quit judging how other fans view the team.

OK, I'll shout it!

STOP PRETENDING THAT BRANDON KNIGHT IS A POINT GUARD AND ANNOUNCING IT TO THE PUBLIC!

The Front Office said, before the draft, that our top two priorities are a starting Center and Point Guard.

If we are being misled and McDonough is working his ass off behind the scenes to accomplish the second part of that, I'll believe it when I see it.

As far as judging how other fans view the team, posting to a sports board is supposed to be fun. It is anything but fun when I see Suns fans condoning our unskilled front office.

Exactly. That is the very meaning of all-or-nothing. He's contradicting himself in every other post.

I never said championship. The bottom to championship would be all-or-nothing. I referred to making the playoffs for the first time in nine years and moving into the upper half of the NBA.

 

[Hoop Head]

OK, I'll shout it!

STOP PRETENDING THAT BRANDON KNIGHT IS A POINT GUARD AND ANNOUNCING IT TO THE PUBLIC!

The Front Office said, before the draft, that our top two priorities are a starting Center and Point Guard.

If we are being misled and McDonough is working his ass off behind the scenes to accomplish the second part of that, I'll believe it when I see it.

As far as judging how other fans view the team, posting to a sports board is supposed to be fun. It is anything but fun when I see Suns fans condoning our unskilled front office.

No one had even brought up Brandon Knight until your recent post and like it or not, he is classified as a PG and has been throughout his career. Whether he's the right PG for the Suns or not this season is yet to be seen. We won't be contending for a title so using what we have on the roster already to determine the fit and what sort of players would be best around Ayton, Booker, Bridges, and Jackson is fine. There's no one better on the market the Suns can acquire right now. It seems like you'd prefer they make a move for the sake of making a move rather than being patient and waiting for a quality PG to become available.

It is fun to talk sports with other fans but what isn't fun is to see the same person repeatedly bash moves that were made simply because they don't like the person who made them. If McD makes a move you agree with, like draft Ayton, that's too little too late. If other fans are patient and realize that it takes time to build a contending team you come in and say we're expecting failure when that isn't the case, at all. No one is expecting failure this season but no one is expecting the playoffs either. Build a contender for years to come takes time. It doesn't happen overnight.

You keep harping on how long the Suns have missed the playoffs but you can't lay all of those years at McD's feet. He wasn't even here for a couple of those seasons. The direction of the team has changed, for various reasons, but someone else pointed it out elsewhere, once the Suns failed to acquire Aldridge as a free agent a couple years back they changed course and went to building through the draft. Since then, that's what has been done and we now have drafted enough promising talent that we don't need to tank any longer.

Now we have our core players locked in, we need to play and develop them while making improvements around them as we're able. We can't force anyone to give us a PG so we can compete immediately. Even if we did add a better PG, it's unrealistic to think a team this young will contend for a title. We need to give them time to develop chemistry with each other and grow as players. Once a PG is available, we go for them, but we can't control when one will be available.