http://www.hoopsworld.com/article_22211.shtml
By Tracy Graven
for HOOPSWORLD.com
Jun 5, 2007, 12:00You must be registered for see images
You must be registered for see imagesAs difficult as it may be for some to understand, the Atlanta Hawks getting the No. 3 pick in this month's NBA Draft may turn out to be a blessing in disguise for the Phoenix Suns.
The pick, acquired through the Joe Johnson - Boris Diaw trade, would have been Phoenix's were it not a Top Three pick, as it turned out to be.
The Suns were all but committed in their vision to select Florida's Joakim Noah with whatever pick they got, especially if it fell around four or five, as the odds placed it to be. Noah, despite having a soft game too similar to that of Boris Diaw -- who disappointed after scoring a $45 million deal -- would have fit right into the frenzied pace that has become Mike D'Antoni's signature.
Alas, for the Suns, their pick won't come until next year, where it's guaranteed, no matter where it falls.
But that's not the only bit of good news for a team that really needs to keep its core intact for another shot at the NBA championship. Think about it, had Diaw and Amare Stoudemire not been ejected, we could feasibly have been talking about the 2007 NBA Champion as the Cavs -- Daniel Gibson's heroics aside -- simply could not have kept up with the Suns, any more than the Heat could have a year ago.
Good omen number two was the hiring of Steve Kerr as the team's General Manager (though I would have given the role to David Griffin, who was being wooed by Memphis). The move needed to happen to let D'Antoni focus on tweaking his team enough on the practice court to enable them to get over the inimitable hump that the Cavs just cleared.
Completing the hat trick of signs of positive things to come is Griffin's decision to remain as part of that mission. (Thank heavens he didn't choose to go to Memphis, have a change of heart in an emotional press junket, and try and get out of a contract with the Grizzlies). The young man deserves accolades far beyond what he's received thus far, but may get his just desserts after re-signing a new contract with his hometown team.
His experience and unique insight will help Kerr adjust to the Suns' game plan, while Kerr's playing experiences with two of the game's best coaches (Phil Jackson, Gregg Popovich) will provide an insight to defense and total team package that could keep the Suns' eyes on the prize.
“Griff is a key part of our business and I think he and Steve will complement each other well,” Suns Managing Partner Robert Sarver said. “I'm glad he's staying. I think he's committed like the rest of us to winning an NBA championship.”
"I believe so deeply in Steve," Griffin said. "This is what we all hoped and expected would happen. I'm excited about it. Steve might not have known that but we all expected that."
The onus is now on D'Antoni, who must now answer to Kerr, and whose moves will most certainly be under the microscope as the luxury tax looms large above Sarver's spreadsheets. It's quite possibly one last chance to prove to Sarver, now the team's sole controlling partner, that his system works.
If not, the Suns could be embroiled in their own coaching search this time next year.
With that, Phoenix is pretty much back where they started a year ago ... with two late-first round draft picks at their disposal (Nos. 24 and 29) and a second rounder at No. 59.
Their main focus seems to be, once again, find someone to not only provide substantial and productive back-up minutes for Steve Nash, but to provide the Suns an heir apparent for the real Stevie Franchise.
While that role seemingly has been anointed upon Leandro Barbosa, mainly by default from Banks' disappointing performances and Barbosa's much-improved play, 'The Blur' is simply better moving without the ball and more explosive that way. He still has a ways to go to develop the 360º court vision Nash possesses and will spend the summer in Brazil, recovering from recent arthroscopic surgery to remove a small piece of debris that caused him to wear an elbow pad and shooting sleeve for the latter part of the season.
"He should not have played in the NBA playoffs but he did not want to lose those games," Arturo Barbosa, Leandro's older brother, told www.globoesporte.com in Brazil. "In the first game against the Lakers he played well, but in the second he felt a terrible pain. At that moment, no one said anything about his injury as they did not want to give anything away ahead of the San Antonio series."
But the Suns should also task themselves with finding a big man (or two) who can run with them and defend the big(ger) centers of the Western Conference. Too many times, one only had to look on the court to see the height disparity, even though the Suns used their high-octane offense to run past them.
Not everyone is Shaquille O'Neal (age) nor Yao Ming (seen sucking air several times after only minutes of playing at the Suns' pace).
Having seemingly figured out how to play with (and defeat) Dallas, the "hump" is finding someone that can stop Tim Duncan (ummm, that wouldn't have been Noah, by the way ... maybe Al Horford).
Last year, they passed on the opportunity to move up and grab Connecticut's Marcus Williams, who is turning out to look like Jason Kidd's heir apparent when he could have been Nash's. They drafted Rajon Rondo and offered him as the sweetener in a deal to Boston to unload Brian Grant's contract.
Sweet indeed, as Rondo was one of the few bright spots of the 2006-07 rookie class. Another was rookie Sergio Rodriguez, who they drafted and traded to Portland ... where he played well.
Both played better than Marcus Banks, a nearby Las Vegas native whose contract was akin to you or I hitting a lucky pull on nickel slots. Twenty-five million over four years ... any non-descript Phoenix citizen could sit on a padded chair for half that kind of money.
Fortunately, for Kerr, Griffin and the Suns, this year's draft is deeper than most in recent history, quite possibly the deepest class of all time.
Which is why the Suns won't have to trot out Stoudemire as their "rookie" in an attempt to appease fans at this year's draft party.
Portland and Atlanta might nab big names like Greg Oden and Mike Conley, Jr. and if I were a betting man, I'd say those were very safe bets. But they didn't get to the NCAA title game alone.
Daequan Cook and Ron Lewis were also big parts of that run ... and could be had by the Suns at picks No. 24 and 59.
Cook could provide strong back-up for Raja Bell, who may or may not be included in any trade packages being bandied about this summer. Like Cleveland's Larry Hughes, Cook knows the game well enough to move well without the ball, something that would be critical to surviving D'Antoni's offenses. He has been an explosive scorer and finishes nicely in the transition game. While boasting one of the better first steps in this class, he also can stroke it mid-range.
Lewis, whose stock has fallen inexplicably, could be a steal if others pass on him as projected. Playing the same position as Cook, your mouth has to water if you recall the Buckeyes being on the verge of elimination before Lewis' shooting pushed the game to overtime and gave Ohio State the momentum necessary to push themselves all the way to the title game.
He's got an NBA-ready body and controls it well, converting many difficult finishes at the basket. His three-point range is eerily similar to Bell's and just as accurate, and we already know of his ability to hit the clutch shot in critical points of games.
But, with his Italian ties, D'Antoni could conceivably fall in love with Climamio Bologna's Marco Bellinelli, whose game is smoother, much like Ray Allen's. At 21, Bellinelli's talents will afford him a long and successful future in the NBA for the team that gives him the nod. He works very well off of picks and screens, super in catch-and-shoot mode and could give the Suns more of a defensive angle than someone like Cook.
USC's Gabe Pruitt might also be available, as could Javaris Crittenton (whose stock is falling day by day). Chances are, if the Hawks are unable to land Conley, they could turn to hometown favorite Crittenton at the No. 11, leaving Pruitt and Oregon's Aaron Brooks, Cal State-Fullerton's Bobby Brown, and Florida's Taurean Green if the Suns are interested in addressing the point guard position first.
Pruitt is in Phoenix today to work out for Griffin along with Nevada's Ramon Sessions, though Sessions is likely to return to the Wolfpack.
With the 29th pick, they could be looking at Brooks, North Carolina's Reyshawn Terry, or another shot at a Marcus Williams ... this one from down the road in Tucson.
Williams, leaving Lute Olson's Wildcats after two seasons, is projected as an early second-rounder, but the Suns could use Williams as a swing guard, utilizing his 6'7" height advantage against smaller opponents and gives them someone to match Utah's Deron Williams right away, wiping away the opportunity for the Jazz to go 3-1 (or 4-0) next season against the Suns.
Marcus Williams also moves well without the ball, practically a pre-requisite to enrolling in the Mike D'Antoni School of Breakneck Basketball. He also has great peripheral on the court and has a phenomenal crossover for a guy his size, excelling at one or two dribbles and popping the mid-range jumper to create and take advantage of mismatches.
If the Suns want some height with their last pick of the first round, Kyle Visser (Wake Forest), Aaron Gray (Pitt) and Pau Gasol's little brother, Marc, will all be available.
Visser may be on the draft boards higher than the others, and Gray may have the height and weight advantages, but if I am Kerr and Griff, I go with Gasol, if for no other reason, to keep him from becoming a Maverick or Spur early in the second round, not to mention that he will help the Suns beat Marc Iavaroni's Grizzlies.
Boasting great upper body strength, Gasol will need to work on foot speed to survive in the Suns' system ... but has plenty of time to do that, as a rookie, beginning with Vegas Summer League. According to scouting reports, it is not uncommon for Gasol to overpower his man and then shoot the ball off the glass. Sound Duncan-esque? The Suns could have used a little of that to counter the Spurs a couple weeks back.
And the 59th? As I said earlier, is Lewis is available, you have to sign off on that one.
But there's also the possibility that Glen 'Big Baby' Davis could be hanging around, as could Arizona's Mustafa Shakur.
But it'll be Virginia point guard Sean Singletary, who's game and cat-like quickness could give the Suns the speed and decision-making that they traded away with Nate Robinson. An excellent free throw shooter (84.5 percent), Singletary could be the dark horse of the draft and may not have to work that hard to make the Suns' (or any NBA) roster after he opens eyes in summer league play.
Suns' needs: Back-up at the point, depth in the shooting corps, and size ... eventually in a back-to-the-basket type of player.
What they'll get with their picks remain to be seen, but the crystal ball is telling me this ...
No. 24: Marcus Williams 6'7" 207 PG/SG Arizona
No. 29: Marc Gasol 7'0" 270 C Spain
No. 59: Sean Singletary 5'11" 175 PG Virginia
Then there are the trade scenarios popping up by the hour.
One has Stoudemire going straight up for Kevin Garnett. Minnesota wins that deal hands down and Sarver is trying to avoid luxury tax, not pay more.
The other has Shawn Marion to Detroit for Rasheed Wallace and Amir Johnson. Sure, let's grab Ron Artest, too ... and lead the league in technical fouls as a team. In fact, let's bring Dennis Rodman in to work with the big men while we're at it.
If you're going to hand Marion to the Pistons (and let it be said that I am against trading next year's Defensive Player of the Year to anyone), then you'd better get better back that the temperamental Wallace. At this point, you'd have to believe that Suns fans would even take back Antonio McDyess for a third time.
No, if Marion goes to Detroit, you have to get Johnson to replace Marion's offense (the kid exploded in the D League this year), Tayshaun Prince to replace Marion's defensive tenacity, and Nazr Mohammed to get a big man in the middle (D'Antoni will run off those extra pounds, without doubt).
But, as anyone can see, there's hardly one single person who could replace what Shawn Marion brings.
I could sit here and play armchair GM all day long.
Heck, it's how David Griffin got his start -- applying his passion and love for the game and parlaying that into becoming a much sought-after basketball mind.
So, despite the bitter disappointment that the 2006-07 playoffs left in many fans' mouths, you have to understand one thing ...
... with Kerr's insight, Griff's footwork on the ground, and D'Antoni speed, if the Suns can make good picks, keep their picks and deepen the bench, then what is bitter today becomes sweet by this time next year.
