Bryan Colangelo Looks to be Gone

[TucsonDevil]

Paul Allen lives in Seattle, if memory serves me right. He is also the owner of the Seahawks.

 

[sly fly]

David Griffin is highly thought of, and is a nut when it comes to judging talent. I think he could step right in w/o missing a beat.

That being said, it would hurt to lose another piece of the "old regime". However, can we really blame BC in doing so? He would be out from his father's shadow for the first time, and try to build a legacy he can call his own in Toronto.

If I'm Sarver, I do what it takes to keep him. Nut up and give him the $$$.

On a side note, I can't stand it when Sarver jumps from his seat with the big foam #1 finger, and raises his hands to tell the crowd to stand up. Just sit the eff down, and act like you know what you're doing. Hell, I'm a bigger fan that he his (without the extra zeroes in my bank account), and I've never owned a big foam #1 finger.

In no way do I want Sarver dictating or giving his own opinion about any player. Leave that to the professionals.

 

[Chaplin]

On a side note, I can't stand it when Sarver jumps from his seat with the big foam #1 finger, and raises his hands to tell the crowd to stand up. Just sit the eff down, and act like you know what you're doing. Hell, I'm a bigger fan that he his (without the extra zeroes in my bank account), and I've never owned a big foam #1 finger.

So what? Are you really that concerned about it?

In no way do I want Sarver dictating or giving his own opinion about any player. Leave that to the professionals.

Where did this come from? Just curious. We give opinions about players all the time.

 

[HooverDam]

Personally, from a fan's perspective, Tucson is a better camp location just because there are a lot more state residents in Tucson than in Flagstaff.

I'd much rather go to Flag for camp. Tucson isn't exactly the type of place I'd like to getaway for the weekend. Flagstaff is a nice town, and the weather and climate is a nice change of pace from the Valley. Tucson is just like the Valley, but only the bad parts.

 

[F-Dog]

I figured this would happen eventually, although this is a little sooner than I thought.


The good news is that BC's work is pretty much done here. The main business this summer is getting Barbosa and Diaw signed, and BC wouldn't have controlled that either way. After that, the next major decision is what to do with Atlanta's pick in 2007. Considering what happened to the Suns' last high-first-round pick, it's just as well the team will have some new blood by then.


My guess is that Steve Kerr is the next GM. It would be nice to see the Suns keep David Griffin and as much staff as possible.


So, here's my question: is there going to be any compensation to the Suns if the Raptors sign BC? I mean, he's still under contract with the Suns for another year after this, right?

 

[Diamondback Jay]

If Colangelo does leave, I think Griffin has to be considered the front runner for the job. I know some reports say Kerr is being groomed for the job, however the Republic reports he'd most likely turn down the job if offered.

As for those who get offended or angered by Sarver's over the top antics at games, frankly as far as I'm concerned, as long as he keeps paying to keep talent in place and continues to keep it his mission to produce winning squads, I could give a damn less if he does the chicken dance in his long johns at mid-court during halftime of every game. Frankly, in a league full of crusty old men owners like Donald Sterling, who 90 percent of the time sits on his hands and watches his team fall to hell while using it all as a tax write off, I find folks like Sarver, Cuban and the Maloof Brothers to be refreshing.

 

[George O'Brien]

I don't know what to think of Sarver. He spent big money on Nash and Amare, but our salary is 22nd in the league, he refuses to keep any more than the minimum # of players, and he WONT touch the luxury tax despite being so close to a championship. He played a great game of chicken with regards to Joe Johnson, but he could have avoided the whole thing if he listened to Jerry and Brian in the first place and signed him to an extension a year earlier. .

The Suns are set to have a fairly big payroll quite soon as Amare's contract kicks in and they try to re-sign Leandro and Boris.

The Suns have 14 guys under contract with Amare and Grant being injured. Yes, they could add another body to not play, but with these two coming back is there really a point to it?

I agree that Sarver blew it when he passed on signing JJ less expensively. I hope he knows it too when he tries to re-sign Leandro and Boris,

 

[slinslin]

Someone give me a summary of Bryan's great moves before Sarver bought the team.

- Erased his own mistake of trading for Marbury and overpaying him big. Although we still got bad contracts in return such as Howard Eisley.

- Took a gamble with Joe Johnson when we were bad.

- Drafted Amare, which every other fan would have been smart enough to do and is better attributed to the coaching staff and Jerry Colangelo who was convinced by Amare. Before the draft it was probably 50% who wanted Amare, 30% Nene, 10% Wilcox, 10% Butler, Skita, Jeffries.

- Traded Finley for Jason Kidd basically.

- Signed Cliff Robinson, man that's a long time ago

- Drafted Barbosa because Chapman was high on him

Bad Moves

- Lost Antonio McDyess after giving up plenty picks for him

- Traded for Stephon Marbury

- Didn't sign FAs we needed when we had Kidd. Did we even sign a FA since Penny before Sarver bought the team, for more than 1.5M$?
If anyone was cheap it was the Colangelos, not Sarver.

- Signed Anfernee Hardaway and gave up picks for him.

- Signed Tom Gugliotta

- Drafted Casey Jacobsen, Zarko recently

- Traded away (Iguodala) to sign Quentin Richardson.

- Scott Skiles, Danny Ainge, Frank Johnson...

+/- moves
- Signed Tony Delk and Rodney Rogers
- Traded Steve Nash for a draft pick that turned into Shawn Marion

Feel free to add to this list.

Before Sarver bought the team, the fans and media were waiting for BC to leave just to tear him apart for his poor moves.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

I'd much rather go to Flag for camp. Tucson isn't exactly the type of place I'd like to getaway for the weekend. Flagstaff is a nice town, and the weather and climate is a nice change of pace from the Valley. Tucson is just like the Valley, but only the bad parts.

Yeah, but there are only around 50,000 people living in Flagstaff while a little less than a million live in Tucson. Building a solid relationship with the Tucson metro area makes much more sense financially than one with Flagstaff. The Cardinals could learn something from the Suns and Dbacks in this regard.

 

[Diamondback Jay]

- Signed Anfernee Hardaway and gave up picks for him.

- Signed Tom Gugliotta

Although hindsight is always 20-20, and looking back now we can say both were horrible moves, at the time both were signed, the Suns looked like geniuses for making it.

When they got Hardaway, he was widely considered to be one of the stars of the sport, and he had yet to reaching his prime. Putting it in modern sense, at the time it would be akin to Phoenix signing LeBron James or Kobe Bryant. The Hardaway deal was one of those big impact moves that I personally thought would put Phoenix on the championship level.

As for Gugliotta, although he wound up making more trips to the doctor's table than anything else, at the time he too was a solid signing. He was never a superstar, but he always had the stability and consistency that the Suns looked for in a big man at the time.

Yes, those turned out to be flops badly, especially Hardaway, however at the time there were issues that could not be predicted. I don't think ANYONE would have projected Penny to become a lazy hack and Gugs would become the team physical therapist's best friend.

+/- moves
- Traded Steve Nash for a draft pick that turned into Shawn Marion

A lot of people may disagree with me here, but this was a plus move IMHO. At the time, the Suns had Kidd and KJ. Nash was lost in a deep shuffle, and getting Marion out of it was a pleasant surprise.

 

[elindholm]

When they got Hardaway, he was widely considered to be one of the stars of the sport, and he had yet to reaching his prime. Putting it in modern sense, at the time it would be akin to Phoenix signing LeBron James or Kobe Bryant.

Only if James or Bryant had already sustained a major injury. Hardaway was already damaged goods when the Suns acquired him. That doesn't mean it was necessarily a mistake at the time, but the move was very risky from the outset.

I never liked the Gugliotta signing. Even at his best, he wasn't a max player.

 

[slinslin]

When we got Penny he already had major injury problem and we gave up Manning and several draft picks that would have almost cost us Amare.

 

[Wally]

Business is Business

One thing I don't understand is why everyone hates Sarver so much. Can anyone give a solid, relevant list of faults that would outweigh the good things that have happened since he took over?

I mean, his biggest thing was not wanting to pay Joe Johnson superstar money. And that turned out to be a very good thing, I'm sure we'd all agree. There has been no stand-out reason why we should call Sarver an "idiot" as some people here have done. He hasn't proven to be.

So BC might leave. Well, the Raptors are talking about tripling his salary! Triple! That is a HUGE jump, and BC would be stupid not to think about it. I'd hate to see him leave, but every single decision doesn't go through that one guy. And every single idea about this team doesn't come from one guy.

Exactly!

The biggest "fault" Sarver has is that he's on Bickley's S-list. I'll tell you that IF I bought the Suns and wanted to waive a foam finger around because I was excited about the team, I would.

Business is business. If someone makes an offer for an "employee" that is out of proportion to what the "employer" believes is a wise investment, the "employer" would not be wise to meet or exceed that offer. As far as Joe Johnson goes - he's gone and Atlanta paid to much (my opinion). As far as BC goes, Toronto is as desperate as was Atlanta was.

If all you "Roasters" want to have a barbeque - put Bickley on the grill - not Sarver.

If BC goes to Toronto, wish him luck - and tell him to keep his non-foamy fingers off the rest of the Suns. Maybe even make that a condition in breaking the contract......

Edit....
Would all the Sarver doubters rather have Mark Cuban as the Suns owner? Who made the offer for Steve Nash that owner Mark Cuban did not want to match? .....Would you rather have Joe Johnson & his contract or give up Marion, Nash, or Amare?

 

[sly fly]

David Griffin is highly thought of, and is a nut when it comes to judging talent. I think he could step right in w/o missing a beat.

That being said, it would hurt to lose another piece of the "old regime". However, can we really blame BC in doing so? He would be out from his father's shadow for the first time, and try to build a legacy he can call his own in Toronto.

If I'm Sarver, I do what it takes to keep him. Nut up and give him the $$$.

On a side note, I can't stand it when Sarver jumps from his seat with the big foam #1 finger, and raises his hands to tell the crowd to stand up. Just sit the eff down, and act like you know what you're doing. Hell, I'm a bigger fan that he his (without the extra zeroes in my bank account), and I've never owned a big foam #1 finger.

In no way do I want Sarver dictating or giving his own opinion about any player. Leave that to the professionals.

Let me re-phrase that a bit. Sarver's opinions are fine, but I don't want him making any basketball-related decisions. Stick to banking, signing the checks, and waving the pom-pom.

On the other hand, Colangelo (and his son) were the owners. I had no problems with them making the basketball decisions... because I knew he leaned on the basketball-wisdom surrounding him.

I'm just a bit worried Sarver can become too meddlesome when it comes to the comings and goings of players.

 

[sly fly]

BTW, I don't hate Sarver. So far, I like his desire to win.

However, I don't want to see him acting like an ass in public.

This organization has always portayed "class" (sans the drug scandal).

 

[coloradosun]

Does anyone know if Toronto is offering any ownership stake for BC.

In a statement that Sarver put out today is that he has offered Bryan an ownership share in the franchise. With the appreciation of the franchise that could be worth quite a bit in say a ten year period.

 

[Chaplin]

Does anyone know if Toronto is offering any ownership stake for BC.

In a statement that Sarver put out today is that he has offered Bryan an ownership share in the franchise. With the appreciation of the franchise that could be worth quite a bit in say a ten year period.

Where did you see that statement?

 

[coloradosun]

Where did you see that statement?

Realgm.com just posted it.

 

[Chaplin]

Realgm.com just posted it.

Found it on Suns.com:

Sarver Statement on Stories Surrounding Bryan Colangelo


Posted: Feb. 22, 2006
Suns Managing Partner Robert Sarver released the following statement today on the stories surrounding Suns President and General Manager Bryan Colangelo:

“At the time we reached agreement on the purchase of the Suns, Bryan Colangelo and I agreed on a three-year contract that continues through the 2006-07 season that includes an ownership interest in the team. I also had an understanding with Bryan that, if another opportunity presented itself that he wished to explore, I would not stand in his way. Consistent with that, when another team asked permission to speak with Bryan, I granted permission at his request.

“I have had discussions with Bryan regarding an extension on his contract and those conversations are ongoing. My hope remains he will stay in Phoenix.”

 

[playstation]

one interesting thing about sarver is he is fairly quick to put out his side of the story. i like that. it's almost like stuff like this happens and he checks out the message boards to see what the pulse of the fans is

 

[BC867]

I'd love to hear BC867's and Errntknight's reactions to this news. Those 2 have been the most critical of the Colangelo's over the years.

Actually, Chaplin, I did react when I recently posted this about Bryan.

As I posted last August in the thread "Bryan Has Come Of Age", he did indeed come into his own when he separated himself from Jerry's 30 years of finesse basketball and said

We can safely put aside that soft label that has been associated with Suns basketball probably for the history of the Suns organization.

That was quite a statement for the Phoenix Son to make about Jerry's entire tenure of leadership. From that point on, I became a Bryan fan -- and not just because we share the same initials.

From everything I've read, Sarver wants to bring in his own man. I appreciate how Bryan has put together this team, but at a huge salary increase, I expect he'll be leaving . . . unless it's a ploy to get an increase from Sarver.

http://arizonasportsfans.com/vb/showthread.php?t=58817

 

[thegrahamcrackr]

I like David Griffin a lot. With that said, I think it might be too early for him to become a GM. 5 years ago he was the assistant video coordinator for the Suns. To make it to asst GM in that short amount of time is amazing in itself, but I think he needs to get some more experience before jumping all the way in.

But who knows? I would definitely prefer him than Steve Kerr.

 

[Errntknght]

Chaplin, "I'd love to hear BC867's and Errntknight's reactions to this news. Those 2 have been the most critical of the Colangelo's over the years."

I put in my two cents in already - post #12 in this thread, but what the heck, here's another two...

Basically my long running complaints about the Colangeli were that they always went for finesse and offense at the expense of strength and defense and couldn't pick coaches worth a plugged nickel. After BC took over I added the failure to put together groups of players that fit together as basketball teams. Some particular moves I disliked - signing Penny and Googs - and others I liked - signing Delk and Rodney & trading them away! I liked the fact that he listened to Percudani when drafting.

Lately there hasn't been so much to complain about since he did put together a team that is a team and he got some guys that give more than lip service to D. But, as Slinslin noted, this has all been since Sarver took over and so raised the possibility that it wasn't all BC's doing. Heck, it's even possible that BC is thinking of leaving because Sarver has been listening too much to other people and BC's been forced to make the moves that I like.

I have to admire JC for many things but I've been saying for a long time that the team needed less of his influence - and was even more convinced of that when he installed Bryan as the GM. I was tickled pink when he sold the Suns to Sarver and not because I knew anything about the latter. All in all, I won't be sad if BC leaves though I know we run the risk of getting a truly rotten GM.

 

[George O'Brien]

I honestly think that BC has learned from his past mistakes. Most people don't, which is why history has an irritating tendency to repeat itself.

IMHO, the problem the Suns had in the late 90's and early this decade was that they were a good but not good enough team. This led to a series of "dramatic" moves to get them over the top.

No one hits a home run every time up, but most of their moves over the past few years have been better thought out. Perhaps BC should not get all the credit (personnel is a team function), but putting together the right personnel function is the same as putting the right players on the court.

I don't know how much credit to give BC, but I'd be reluctant to find out.