BREAKING NEWS: Steve Kerr, New Suns GM

[DeAnna]

People need to get over the whole "man love for the Spurs" stuff. I would agree with you if it was 2005 or 2006, but this year there was a noticeable difference in the way he worked games. But of course, nobody remembers that.

Oh, I did. I kept thinking"'why is he now so pro-Suns?" He was always professing his man-love for the Spurs. Now it makes perfect sense.

 

[Covert Rain]

he called Suns in 7 before the series started. How that's pro-Spurs is beyond me.

I didn't say he is never pro-suns. What I said is that his comments when talking about the Spurs are much more complimentary then what he says about the Suns.

 

[Cheesebeef]

I didn't say he is never pro-suns. What I said is that his comments when talking about the Spurs are much more complimentary then what he says about the Suns.

maybe that's because for the majority of the last three years, they were better than us, having won a title in 2005, winning 63 games last year and even looked like the better team this up until the last four minutes of game 4.

you can't argue with a title, a 63 win season and having us on the ropes before a great comeback this year when we were down 2-1.

personally, I agreed with Kerr more often than not. shocker, I know.

 

[DeAnna]

I think Sarver wants someone to take a fresh look at the Suns roster to evaluate where the team is headed and perhaps make some tough roster moves. Now this can be scary or it can be good. I do think D'Antoni was too close to the players as Coach to make the tough roster decisions. I just hope Kerr is the right man for the job but I will give him the benefit of the doubt.

Yep - I expect some difficult roster changes.

 

[Mainstreet]

Oh, I did. I kept thinking"'why is he now so pro-Suns?" He was always professing his man-love for the Spurs. Now it makes perfect sense.

Yes, I remember this theme and asking myself why is he so pro Suns now?

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

I didn't say he is never pro-suns. What I said is that his comments when talking about the Spurs are much more complimentary then what he says about the Suns.

Yeah, calling a team better than the Suns when said team was in fact better than the Suns. What the hell was Kerr thinking?

If Kerr had gone to ASU and played for the Milwaukee Bucks I doubt you'd see so much criticism thrown his way. Fact remains that Kerr is one of the most intelligent people in basketball, has the balls to make the gutsy moves required to be a great GM, and happens to be a terrific salesman.

 

[SunsTzu]

Just like Barbosa can be attributed to Rex Chapman.

Chapman extended Barbosa to that bargain contract last year?

 

[slinslin]

No but without Chapman the Suns would have never traded for Barbosa to begin with.

 

[SO91]

What does being the GM of the Suns, and they way he called games on TV have to do with each other exactly. I understand people are still bitter about the loss, but the two positions have nothing to do with each other.

 

[Chaplin]

What does being the GM of the Suns, and they way he called games on TV have to do with each other exactly. I understand people are still bitter about the loss, but the two positions have nothing to do with each other.

I think a lot of people were a little confused when he became a minority owner of the team, yet the TNT crews were still putting him on Suns games, and before this past season, he wouldn't have much good to say about the team.

Now, that can also be attributed to him maybe making an effort to NOT have any favoritism, but that to me is just a cop-out. I will say that I think this move did come out of left field, but I think having a separate GM from the coach is more important than the fact that it happens to be Steve Kerr.

 

[fordronken]

http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/0531sunsgm-ON.html

“If this happens, it could be something the organization needs and something we've been wanting for a while,” D'Antoni said. “It's a great day for the organization. Steve will do a great job. It lets me do what I like to do and that's coaching. I'm really happy. It couldn't be better.”

n February 2006, Bryan Colangelo had a messy departure from Phoenix and took over Toronto's basketball operations, rekindling the Kerr rumors until Kerr said he had “no interest” in becoming GM.

“It's just not the time in my life I'd want to do something like this,” Kerr said.

D'Antoni was promoted and David Griffin became vice president of basketball operations to handle much of the day-to-day GM office work. The moves were considered stopgaps internally until Kerr was ready to accept the job.

 

[Gaddabout]

Which can almost completely be attributed to Jerry Colangelo.

Actually, no. Griffin, BC, and D'Antoni thought they'd have to convince JC to draft him. When JC saw Amare at the workout, he asked, "Why shouldn't we be drafting this guy again?"

 

[JCSunsfan]

Why is it a good hire? He does not have any experience as a GM. I'm just trying to understand the reason for excitement other than D'Antoni will not be the GM!

No coaching experience, no management experience,

We go from BC to DAntoni to Kerr

Big step backwards.

 

[JCSunsfan]

So to summarize some of the decisions made in the last 5 years

- not extenting Joe Johnson before he became a RFA
- trading away a #7 pick for a future pick that wasn't even lottery because they supposedly expected Iguodala to not be there
- trading/selling other picks
- Extending Diaw before he became a RFA
- Signing Marcus Banks
- Drafting Casey Jacobsen over Tayshaun Prince, Nenad Krstic and Carlos Boozer

I am sorry Slin but this is a not a fair (I had another word in mind) post. Every mgmt team makes misgtakes, but you conveniently leave out drafting Marion, signing Nash, Drafting Amare, trading for Barbosa, etc etc.

You could argue that no one has done better with less than the Suns over the last 14

 

[cly2tw]

he called Suns in 7 before the series started. How that's pro-Spurs is beyond me.

Because I called Suns in 5?

 

[slinslin]

I am sorry Slin but this is a not a fair (I had another word in mind) post. Every mgmt team makes misgtakes, but you conveniently leave out drafting Marion, signing Nash, Drafting Amare, trading for Barbosa, etc etc.

You could argue that no one has done better with less than the Suns over the last 14

He said in the last 5 years and

- Barbosa was all Rex Chapman that is a fact, and now Chapman is gone since 3 years or so

- Amare was all Jerry Colangelo and he is basically done as well

Anyway this GM promotion won't make much of a difference anyway. Kerr will have the ultimate say now and field all the calls but they will still make the decisions as a group I guess (Griffin, Kerr, West, Del Negro and whoever else is left in that group).

 

[se7en]

This is the type of move you make when you are considering a major shakeup of the team. D'antoni can't afford any political fallout as a coach of the team if he were to make moves as GM that maybe unpopular with players and fans.

D'antoni needs to be able to say it's out of his hands if/when a deal goes through.

We have 4 very likely trading pieces (along with draft picks).

Marion
Barbosa
KT
Bell

These are all hustle guys that are either homegrown and/or beloved by fans and teamates.

- KT was brought here by Amare's request
- Bell was brought here by Nash's request
- The Matrix is homegrown and beloved by teamates, fans and the media
- The Brazillian Blur is home grown and beloved by teamates, fans and the media

You can see that D'antoni can not be in a position where he is held resposnsible for trading away these players.

This doesn't mean there will be a trade. But if an opportunity arrises (Kobe, Garnet, J. O'Neal, Tmac etc.) where the Suns feel they can improve the team, they have to be ready to move, while giving the coach the ability to distance himself from any seemingly unpopular trade.

Bottom line is that D'antoni can not be stuck in a situation where he is "resented" for trading away his star player's favorite teamates or the fans favorite players.

That's how I see it anyway.

 

[Taco]

GOOD 4 KERR

 

[Furio]

This is the type of move you make when you are considering a major shakeup of the team. D'antoni can't afford any political fallout as a coach of the team if he were to make moves as GM that maybe unpopular with players and fans.

D'antoni needs to be able to say it's out of his hands if/when a deal goes through.

We have 4 very likely trading pieces (along with draft picks).

Marion
Barbosa
KT
Bell

These are all hustle guys that are either homegrown and/or beloved by fans and teamates.

- KT was brought here by Amare's request
- Bell was brought here by Nash's request
- The Matrix is homegrown and beloved by teamates, fans and the media
- The Brazillian Blur is home grown and beloved by teamates, fans and the media

You can see that D'antoni can not be in a position where he is held resposnsible for trading away these players.

This doesn't mean there will be a trade. But if an opportunity arrises (Kobe, Garnet, J. O'Neal, Tmac etc.) where the Suns feel they can improve the team, they have to be ready to move, while giving the coach the ability to distance himself from any seemingly unpopular trade.

Bottom line is that D'antoni can not be stuck in a situation where he is "resented" for trading away his star player's favorite teamates or the fans favorite players.

That's how I see it anyway.

GREAT POST.

It's hard for D'antoni to be good cop/bad cop. You really do need 2 people for that.

 

[bko32]

I'm not sure that Kerr is an upgrade over D'Antoni (we'll never know, really), but the situation is better - the head coach should never be the GM.

Isn't Popovich the GM of the Spurs as well. I'd say that's turned out pretty well for them.

 

[Gaddabout]

Isn't Popovich the GM of the Spurs as well. I'd say that's turned out pretty well for them.

Different situation. Pop the GM came out of coaching retirement and fired his coach so he could take over the team with rookie Tim Duncan playing next to David Robinson.

 

[Eastern_Sun]

Why is it a good hire? He does not have any experience as a GM. I'm just trying to understand the reason for excitement other than D'Antoni will not be the GM!

I think it's because most people think he sounds smart when calling a game.

You are right though. He has no experience and who knows what kind of GM he'll be.

 

[ActingWild]

Having said that where are the Spurs now and where are the Suns? Maybe his criticisms were not well placed but spot on. Maybe, he sees things that need to be seen in the GM position?

I refuse to give any legitimacy to the Spurs championship run. The only way Kerr was spot on about the Spurs being the better team was if he knew Stern was going to screw us.

 

[Sundance]

[SIZE=-1]San Antonio Express-News

[/SIZE]Popovich coaches Kerr — into a career


by Buck Harvey

http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/...YSA060307.01C.COL.BKNharvey.kerr.3b84079.html

...

Then came the Horry-Nash controversy last month, and Kerr wrote what many said then. He hoped no one would be suspended.

But he also wrote something else that no one else had knowledge of at the time: "However, if the league decides to suspend (Boris) Diaw and (Amare) Stoudemire, it may have to suspend Tim Duncan and Bruce Bowen as well. In a play that went entirely unnoticed until well after the game was over, both Duncan and Bowen actually left San Antonio's bench early in the second quarter after Francisco Elson and James Jones were entangled. Replays clearly show Duncan walking several steps onto the court as Elson and Jones appeared to be ready to get into it."

Take it from someone who has been wrong in print a few times over the last quarter of a century in San Antonio. There are times when writers wish they could take back a few words, if not entire ideas.

Kerr might have felt the same as soon as the next day. The NBA looked at the replays and didn't see anything.

Had another columnist written the same words, Kerr's story would have been taken as opinion and nothing more. But Kerr had advocated something others hadn't said except for, coincidentally, the Suns.

Was he acting as an observer? Or as a Suns investor?

Popovich rarely reacts to anything in print, but he glared at Kerr at their next encounter. Popovich also told him angrily: You are wearing too many hats.

According to those involved, Kerr felt awful about this. And perhaps after always weighing money and family and desire, this was the final push Kerr needed to take Sarver's offer.

 

[slinslin]

Typical San Antonio.