House of the Rising Sun
By Scott Church
for HOOPSWORLD.com
May 1, 2004, 08:01 [font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
The Suns are under new management. The report today will look at how this acquisition affects the team and community. Also, we will be looking at a possible trade, Milos Vujanic, the Center position and a couple of other items of note.
I was really worried when Jerry Colangelo announced that he was looking for someone to sell the Suns to. I was worried that this would affect the Suns free agency plans, who the owner would be, and what direction the team would go in after the accusation. I was afraid that free agents would not want to come to the team this off-season as management would be going through changes. My worries have totally been put to rest.
Robert Sarver appears to be a very smart business man and has done a lot to show that he is motivated to this team. First of all, he brought on Sean Elliot, Steve Kerr and Charles Barkley. Now if you are a true Suns fan, you have tons of respect for Sir Charles. Barkley led the Suns to the Finals in 1993 and played his heart out for Phoenix. All three of these former players know a lot about the game as well as being very well respected by other players, they also are all winners and two of the three have rings. These three guys alone have a lot of pull in the league and will be able to help sell the team to free agents or stars that the team could trade for.
Sarver also made a good move by keeping Jerry Colangelo on for three more years as CEO and chairman. Colangelo has done an amazing job running this team for many years and will be able to groom Sarver and his crew on how to run the team. Sarver also wants to continue to add investors that are from the Arizona area and want to see the team succeed. This is good for the community as well for the team.
Sarver will be willing to spend money on the team and probably be willing to go over the cap if he knows that it will bring success. This means that the Suns will probably try to make a big splash in the off-season as the new owner takes the team in a new direction. I think that everyone wins with how things turned out.
Tracy McGrady: There have been plenty of rumors swirling around about a trade for T-Mac. The most popular of those is the Suns trading Marion and their lottery pick to the Magic for him. This is an interesting deal so we will break it down from both sides. I believe that the Suns would also throw in Casey Jacobsen in the deal.
The Suns do the deal because they really come out on top. T-Mac is an amazing player that has not had much support in Orlando. He would continue to be the go-to man and could not complain or pout about not having enough scorers around him. He would have plenty in Phoenix. T-Mac would become the main focus of the offense and would be able open up a lot of open shots for his teammates when he gets double teamed. The Pick the Suns give up is nothing that will help them win a title. It should be around the 5th or 6th pick and by then, most of the guys that could help the team are already gone. Casey is thrown in just because he has not been overly impressive as a Sun. Maybe a change will help him to improve his game.
The Magic do this because they are afraid of losing T-Mac and not getting anything back from him. He can opt out of his contract after next season and the Magic would be decimated if they lost him with no compensation. The Magic would then have two picks in the top 8 and would be able to get two guys in the draft to build around. Marion would take T-Mac’s shots but would not need the ball near as much. This will give his teammates more of a chance to grow. Casey Jacobsen could become the starting two guard or could be an off the bench scorer/defensive stopper.
Over-Seas: There is a very good chance that Milos Vujanic will be coming to play for the Suns this next off-season. I believe it all depends on if the Suns sign any free agent guards this off-season. The reason Milos didn’t want to go to the Knicks is because they had to many PGs at the time. If the Suns sign another starter/veteran PG, I doubt that he will come to the team. He wants a chance to play, not sit on the bench. I feel that if the Suns leave the guard position alone, that they will be better off in the long run. To read more about Milos, go to http://www.nba.com/suns/news/azcentral_040429.html.
Centers:
Keon Clark: Glad you could be traded to the team and never play. What a waste this guy has become. He has so much talent and has squandered it away so far in his NBA career. I doubt that his free agent stock is very high as he has already been in trouble for weed and now has wasted a full season. He sat out all but two games this last year when he was only supposed to be out a couple of weeks. I don’t know what changed but he sure did disappear. His mug just might be on the next milk carton you buy. (F)
Maciej Lampe: Lampe came over from the Knicks and was able to get into 21 games with the team. Lampe showed a lot about his game when he got chances to play. He showed that he is a great scorer but appears to think that he is the only player on the team. He only handed out 9 assists in 21 games. He loves to shoot but does not like to pass. His game is still very raw and needs to be improved. The thing people tend to forget is his age though. He is only 19 and this year would have been like his freshman year in college. Lampe will continue to improve and could become a force on this team. (D)
Antonio McDyess: Dice did not get much play when he first was traded to the Suns. He sat on the bench and waited for his chance to play. When White and Voskuhl went down with injury, Dice proved himself. Dice had a real coming affect on the other players on the team. He was a great floor leader and was able to help the other guys on the team play better. He played out of position most of the time he was with the Suns. He is best suited for PF but was able to fill in at Center and he did a great job. Look for Dice to sign a one year deal for the veteran minimum with either the Suns or another team this off season. (B+)
Jake Voskuhl: Jake was thrown in as the starting Center on the team when the Suns traded Jake Tsakalidis and Bo Outlaw to the Grizzlies before the season started. Voskuhl had never been considered a starter and now was thrown into that position. Jake is best suited for 15-20 minutes off the bench as a reserve PF/C. Jake is more of an energy boost type of player. He is not the type of player you really want starting. This affected his game this whole last year. Jake still played as hard as he could, but just couldn’t match up well enough with the bigs in the league. Jake showed a lot of heart and passion this last year, but look for the Suns to find him some help this off-season. (B)
Jihad White: White was defiantly the big man on the team. White came to the team with idea that he was the solution with the teams whole in the middle. Sure, White was the solution for around 15-20 minutes but besides that, he was on the bench. White is a strong player that will bang and set hard picks. He does not catch nor pass the ball that well and that hurts the team on offense. It allows his defender to play off of him. White is most deadly when he is near the basket and is able to get to the rim. He is a powerful dunker and is able to bang with the best of them – Shaq. White just can’t do it for as long as the Suns need. White is also foul prone. Look for the Suns to shop him extensively this off-season. (B-)
Thanks for reading this week's report. There are a lot of exciting articles that will come out this off-season. Next report is focusing on what players the Suns need to keep and what positions need to be upgraded. The report after that will look at the draft prospects that could help the team. There will also be a report on the former draft picks that the Suns have had. Around the time of the Rocky Mountain *****, there will be a report on the teams appearing at the ***** and their rosters.
The Suns report will be coming out on Fridays, rotating every other week with the Jazz report. This is because of my new school and work schedule. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to email me.
By Scott Church
for HOOPSWORLD.com
May 1, 2004, 08:01 [font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
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[/font]Printer friendly page The Suns are under new management. The report today will look at how this acquisition affects the team and community. Also, we will be looking at a possible trade, Milos Vujanic, the Center position and a couple of other items of note.
I was really worried when Jerry Colangelo announced that he was looking for someone to sell the Suns to. I was worried that this would affect the Suns free agency plans, who the owner would be, and what direction the team would go in after the accusation. I was afraid that free agents would not want to come to the team this off-season as management would be going through changes. My worries have totally been put to rest.
Robert Sarver appears to be a very smart business man and has done a lot to show that he is motivated to this team. First of all, he brought on Sean Elliot, Steve Kerr and Charles Barkley. Now if you are a true Suns fan, you have tons of respect for Sir Charles. Barkley led the Suns to the Finals in 1993 and played his heart out for Phoenix. All three of these former players know a lot about the game as well as being very well respected by other players, they also are all winners and two of the three have rings. These three guys alone have a lot of pull in the league and will be able to help sell the team to free agents or stars that the team could trade for.
Sarver also made a good move by keeping Jerry Colangelo on for three more years as CEO and chairman. Colangelo has done an amazing job running this team for many years and will be able to groom Sarver and his crew on how to run the team. Sarver also wants to continue to add investors that are from the Arizona area and want to see the team succeed. This is good for the community as well for the team.
Sarver will be willing to spend money on the team and probably be willing to go over the cap if he knows that it will bring success. This means that the Suns will probably try to make a big splash in the off-season as the new owner takes the team in a new direction. I think that everyone wins with how things turned out.
Tracy McGrady: There have been plenty of rumors swirling around about a trade for T-Mac. The most popular of those is the Suns trading Marion and their lottery pick to the Magic for him. This is an interesting deal so we will break it down from both sides. I believe that the Suns would also throw in Casey Jacobsen in the deal.
The Suns do the deal because they really come out on top. T-Mac is an amazing player that has not had much support in Orlando. He would continue to be the go-to man and could not complain or pout about not having enough scorers around him. He would have plenty in Phoenix. T-Mac would become the main focus of the offense and would be able open up a lot of open shots for his teammates when he gets double teamed. The Pick the Suns give up is nothing that will help them win a title. It should be around the 5th or 6th pick and by then, most of the guys that could help the team are already gone. Casey is thrown in just because he has not been overly impressive as a Sun. Maybe a change will help him to improve his game.
The Magic do this because they are afraid of losing T-Mac and not getting anything back from him. He can opt out of his contract after next season and the Magic would be decimated if they lost him with no compensation. The Magic would then have two picks in the top 8 and would be able to get two guys in the draft to build around. Marion would take T-Mac’s shots but would not need the ball near as much. This will give his teammates more of a chance to grow. Casey Jacobsen could become the starting two guard or could be an off the bench scorer/defensive stopper.
Over-Seas: There is a very good chance that Milos Vujanic will be coming to play for the Suns this next off-season. I believe it all depends on if the Suns sign any free agent guards this off-season. The reason Milos didn’t want to go to the Knicks is because they had to many PGs at the time. If the Suns sign another starter/veteran PG, I doubt that he will come to the team. He wants a chance to play, not sit on the bench. I feel that if the Suns leave the guard position alone, that they will be better off in the long run. To read more about Milos, go to http://www.nba.com/suns/news/azcentral_040429.html.
Centers:
Keon Clark: Glad you could be traded to the team and never play. What a waste this guy has become. He has so much talent and has squandered it away so far in his NBA career. I doubt that his free agent stock is very high as he has already been in trouble for weed and now has wasted a full season. He sat out all but two games this last year when he was only supposed to be out a couple of weeks. I don’t know what changed but he sure did disappear. His mug just might be on the next milk carton you buy. (F)
Maciej Lampe: Lampe came over from the Knicks and was able to get into 21 games with the team. Lampe showed a lot about his game when he got chances to play. He showed that he is a great scorer but appears to think that he is the only player on the team. He only handed out 9 assists in 21 games. He loves to shoot but does not like to pass. His game is still very raw and needs to be improved. The thing people tend to forget is his age though. He is only 19 and this year would have been like his freshman year in college. Lampe will continue to improve and could become a force on this team. (D)
Antonio McDyess: Dice did not get much play when he first was traded to the Suns. He sat on the bench and waited for his chance to play. When White and Voskuhl went down with injury, Dice proved himself. Dice had a real coming affect on the other players on the team. He was a great floor leader and was able to help the other guys on the team play better. He played out of position most of the time he was with the Suns. He is best suited for PF but was able to fill in at Center and he did a great job. Look for Dice to sign a one year deal for the veteran minimum with either the Suns or another team this off season. (B+)
Jake Voskuhl: Jake was thrown in as the starting Center on the team when the Suns traded Jake Tsakalidis and Bo Outlaw to the Grizzlies before the season started. Voskuhl had never been considered a starter and now was thrown into that position. Jake is best suited for 15-20 minutes off the bench as a reserve PF/C. Jake is more of an energy boost type of player. He is not the type of player you really want starting. This affected his game this whole last year. Jake still played as hard as he could, but just couldn’t match up well enough with the bigs in the league. Jake showed a lot of heart and passion this last year, but look for the Suns to find him some help this off-season. (B)
Jihad White: White was defiantly the big man on the team. White came to the team with idea that he was the solution with the teams whole in the middle. Sure, White was the solution for around 15-20 minutes but besides that, he was on the bench. White is a strong player that will bang and set hard picks. He does not catch nor pass the ball that well and that hurts the team on offense. It allows his defender to play off of him. White is most deadly when he is near the basket and is able to get to the rim. He is a powerful dunker and is able to bang with the best of them – Shaq. White just can’t do it for as long as the Suns need. White is also foul prone. Look for the Suns to shop him extensively this off-season. (B-)
Thanks for reading this week's report. There are a lot of exciting articles that will come out this off-season. Next report is focusing on what players the Suns need to keep and what positions need to be upgraded. The report after that will look at the draft prospects that could help the team. There will also be a report on the former draft picks that the Suns have had. Around the time of the Rocky Mountain *****, there will be a report on the teams appearing at the ***** and their rosters.
The Suns report will be coming out on Fridays, rotating every other week with the Jazz report. This is because of my new school and work schedule. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to email me.
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