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Irrelevance Sucks :(
Knicks sink as Suns rise
Trade assists Nash signing
BY FRANK ISOLA
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER
PHOENIX - Bryan Colangelo knew he was putting his reputation and the future of his franchise on the line the moment he agreed to send Stephon Marbury home to the Knicks. On the surface, the deal sounded preposterous: an All-Star caliber point guard for a collection of backups and a couple of draft picks. What was Colangelo, still smarting from trading Jason Kidd to the Nets two years earlier, thinking?
"Following the trade," Colangelo says, "we kind of hit rock bottom."
The Phoenix Suns won just 29 games last season and saw a drop in their season ticket renewals. Colangelo, the team's general manager, was being mocked for building another contender in the New York area.
"It was a tough position to sell," Colangelo said. "It really hurt us perception-wise and it also depleted our team because it took away our best player. But I always thought it was a move we had to make."
No one is laughing anymore at Colangelo or the Suns, a team that went from the draft lottery to a league-high 62 wins faster than you can say Isiah Thomas.
The Suns' decision to trade Marbury - and really the Knicks' ill-advised decision to accept Penny Hardaway's bloated contract and attitude - dramatically altered the fortunes of two organizations.
While the Knicks try to escape salary cap purgatory and wonder if Marbury will ever be a winner, the Suns are a legitimate contender. The Jan. 5, 2004, trade of Marbury made it all possible as the Suns acquired players with expiring contracts and used that available cap space last summer to sign Steve Nash and Quentin Richardson. Nash, the point guard who essentially replaced Marbury, is the league's MVP. Colangelo was just named as NBA executive of the year.
"The turning point was the Marbury deal," Colangelo said. "It's the reason we are here today."
In preceding years, Colangelo drafted well (selecting Amare Stoudemire ninth overall) and traded wisely (acquiring Joe Johnson from Boston for Tony Delk and Rodney Rogers.) But the linchpin was Nash, who wanted to re-sign with Dallas but saw Mavs owner Mark Cuban refuse to match the Suns' six-year, $66 million offer.
"Fortunately it worked out," Colangelo said. "We could have been sitting here with a cap space and no one to sign. Steve played a part in that and Mark Cuban played a part in that.
"We liked our young core so much that we knew that with the right leader and the right player we could do things. It's worked out better than anyone could have ever hoped for."
Thomas was initially praised for being savvy and daring enough to acquire a player of Marbury's caliber after just three weeks on the job. In the deal, the Knicks parted with Howard Eisley, Antonio McDyess, Charlie Ward, Maciej Lampe, the draft rights to Milos Vujanic and two first-round picks. But on further inspection, Thomas may have acted too hastily, giving up too much and assuming too much salary in return.
By making the deal, the Suns cut their payroll from a projected $72 million to $29 million - the most dramatic one season payroll slash in NBA history. It also gave them the flexibility to sign Nash and Richardson.
The Knicks' projected payroll for next season is a whopping $203 million, which prohibits them from signing top free agents for the foreseeable future. Hardaway entered the 2004-05 season with approximately $27 million remaining on his contract. A player with declining skills, Hardaway was so upset over his limited role that he left the team twice under the guise of rehabbing his hamstring. There is now talk the Knicks may buy out the remaining year of his pact.
Marbury has his own issues. He arguably is the most talented player in franchise history but his leadership skills continue to come into question. He's never advanced past the first round and he has a history of alienating most of his teammates.
There are rumors that both Shawn Marion and Stoudemire, two players who have flourished with Nash, fell out of favor with Marbury. Colangelo declined to discuss the issue and wouldn't comment on a rumor that when Marbury first learned of the deal, he took the news hard. Interestingly, Marbury said all along that playing for the Knicks was his dream, but people in the Suns organization insist that Marbury enjoyed playing in Phoenix and never wanted to leave.
Colangelo defended Marbury, pointing out that the Suns won 44 games in 2002-03 with the point guard and gave the eventual champion Spurs a difficult time in the first round. Colangelo added that it was the Suns who gave Marbury a contract extension and saw him as a cornerstone for the future. That was until Thomas made Colangelo an offer he couldn't refuse.
"We loved Steph," Colangelo said. "But we were swimming upstream financially and we got off to a slow start. So we jumped."
Trade assists Nash signing
BY FRANK ISOLA
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER
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[size=-1]Suns find a good fit in Steve Nash, who shows Stephon Marbury how much Knicks' deal has assisted Phoenix. [/size] PHOENIX - Bryan Colangelo knew he was putting his reputation and the future of his franchise on the line the moment he agreed to send Stephon Marbury home to the Knicks. On the surface, the deal sounded preposterous: an All-Star caliber point guard for a collection of backups and a couple of draft picks. What was Colangelo, still smarting from trading Jason Kidd to the Nets two years earlier, thinking?
"Following the trade," Colangelo says, "we kind of hit rock bottom."
The Phoenix Suns won just 29 games last season and saw a drop in their season ticket renewals. Colangelo, the team's general manager, was being mocked for building another contender in the New York area.
"It was a tough position to sell," Colangelo said. "It really hurt us perception-wise and it also depleted our team because it took away our best player. But I always thought it was a move we had to make."
No one is laughing anymore at Colangelo or the Suns, a team that went from the draft lottery to a league-high 62 wins faster than you can say Isiah Thomas.
The Suns' decision to trade Marbury - and really the Knicks' ill-advised decision to accept Penny Hardaway's bloated contract and attitude - dramatically altered the fortunes of two organizations.
While the Knicks try to escape salary cap purgatory and wonder if Marbury will ever be a winner, the Suns are a legitimate contender. The Jan. 5, 2004, trade of Marbury made it all possible as the Suns acquired players with expiring contracts and used that available cap space last summer to sign Steve Nash and Quentin Richardson. Nash, the point guard who essentially replaced Marbury, is the league's MVP. Colangelo was just named as NBA executive of the year.
"The turning point was the Marbury deal," Colangelo said. "It's the reason we are here today."
In preceding years, Colangelo drafted well (selecting Amare Stoudemire ninth overall) and traded wisely (acquiring Joe Johnson from Boston for Tony Delk and Rodney Rogers.) But the linchpin was Nash, who wanted to re-sign with Dallas but saw Mavs owner Mark Cuban refuse to match the Suns' six-year, $66 million offer.
"Fortunately it worked out," Colangelo said. "We could have been sitting here with a cap space and no one to sign. Steve played a part in that and Mark Cuban played a part in that.
"We liked our young core so much that we knew that with the right leader and the right player we could do things. It's worked out better than anyone could have ever hoped for."
Thomas was initially praised for being savvy and daring enough to acquire a player of Marbury's caliber after just three weeks on the job. In the deal, the Knicks parted with Howard Eisley, Antonio McDyess, Charlie Ward, Maciej Lampe, the draft rights to Milos Vujanic and two first-round picks. But on further inspection, Thomas may have acted too hastily, giving up too much and assuming too much salary in return.
By making the deal, the Suns cut their payroll from a projected $72 million to $29 million - the most dramatic one season payroll slash in NBA history. It also gave them the flexibility to sign Nash and Richardson.
The Knicks' projected payroll for next season is a whopping $203 million, which prohibits them from signing top free agents for the foreseeable future. Hardaway entered the 2004-05 season with approximately $27 million remaining on his contract. A player with declining skills, Hardaway was so upset over his limited role that he left the team twice under the guise of rehabbing his hamstring. There is now talk the Knicks may buy out the remaining year of his pact.
Marbury has his own issues. He arguably is the most talented player in franchise history but his leadership skills continue to come into question. He's never advanced past the first round and he has a history of alienating most of his teammates.
There are rumors that both Shawn Marion and Stoudemire, two players who have flourished with Nash, fell out of favor with Marbury. Colangelo declined to discuss the issue and wouldn't comment on a rumor that when Marbury first learned of the deal, he took the news hard. Interestingly, Marbury said all along that playing for the Knicks was his dream, but people in the Suns organization insist that Marbury enjoyed playing in Phoenix and never wanted to leave.
Colangelo defended Marbury, pointing out that the Suns won 44 games in 2002-03 with the point guard and gave the eventual champion Spurs a difficult time in the first round. Colangelo added that it was the Suns who gave Marbury a contract extension and saw him as a cornerstone for the future. That was until Thomas made Colangelo an offer he couldn't refuse.
"We loved Steph," Colangelo said. "But we were swimming upstream financially and we got off to a slow start. So we jumped."
