KTAR Reporting: Steve Kerr Not Returning as GM.

[Chris_Sanders]

I feel very ahead of my time with the $arver thing. God I got a ton of **** for that back then.

 

[Chris_Sanders]

Is that possible? Can you give an example of a quality vet player being sold for cash? I'm pretty sure something would have to come back with the size of Nash's contract.

I can't give an example. Just theorizing on what would cause Suns fans to raise the proverbial pitchfork.

 

[tobiazz]

It is the "forever" part that sticks out to me. I mean saying "you will disown the Suns for as long as Sarver is the owner" is one thing...

Forever is exceedingly strong.

"Forever" sounds like San Diego move talk, but I don't think that will ever happen. Seattle Suns?

I could see Sarver going with the minimum required payroll for a couple of years to maximize his profit, until the fans disappear, and then sell the team for a net profit, and never be welcome in Phoenix again.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Toronto loses Bosh.

Toronto buys Nash for $3 million dollars and a second round pick. Total savings is like $14 million.

$arver

I'd be PISSED if we did Nash like that! At least give him away to a team with a shot at a title!

We sent Shaq to Lebron for nothing... maybe we just keep sending him or old guys to help try and win a title!

 

[tobiazz]

I feel very ahead of my time with the $arver thing. God I got a ton of **** for that back then.

I thought almost everybody hates Sarver.

 

[Cheesebeef]

I feel very ahead of my time with the $arver thing. God I got a ton of **** for that back then.

a lot of us did... I was leery of him from the second he wouldn't budge on the JJ contract extension and his chicken dance/foam finger move against the Spurs sealed the deal.

 

[mojorizen7]

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[devilalum]

I feel very ahead of my time with the $arver thing. God I got a ton of **** for that back then.

I think Sarver has always been about the bottom line. What saves us most of the time is the fact that a winning team makes more money than a losing team.

Re-signing Amare is a high risk low return gamble. Even if he maintains his current level the Suns aren't going to get better as Nash gets another year or two older.

The best way for Sarver to make/save money at this point is to clear payroll and rebuild with cheap lotto picks and vet min guys.

 

[Cheesebeef]

oh, wow, I didn't even think of the possibility of them moving the team to San Diego... but there ain't NO WAY that's happening. we would have heard grumblings about this for a while.

although, maybe he starts pining for a new stadium... that would be the first tell-tale sign.

like I said, I can't wait to see what happens next.

 

[mojorizen7]

Sorry, cant help myself. Just tell me to stop and i will.

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[SunsTzu]

I'd be PISSED if we did Nash like that! At least give him away to a team with a shot at a title!

We sent Shaq to Lebron for nothing... maybe we just keep sending him or old guys to help try and win a title!

Raptors and Knicks are the only teams Nash has expressed an interest in playing for. As far as going to a contender I'd like to see him go to the Magic. He could be a major driving force in them winning a title instead of just riding coat tails.

 

[tobiazz]

I doubt you're too far off the mark. My best guess with limited info: Kerr is already gone. Griffin follows him out the door. Mark West or someone like him is promoted to GM. Amare gone to MIA, no S&T. We do not replace him with David Lee, Scola, or anyone else through FA / trades. Frye walks, possibly to Chicago or NJ. We replace him with some 2nd rounder or whatever. We trade Barbosa & a first rounder in 2011 for a trade exception we don't use but that the office says we *tried really really hard to*. We sign some D-League guy and our game 1 starting PF for 2010-11 is EC.

You forgot raising ticket prices.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Raptors and Knicks are the only teams Nash has expressed an interest in playing for. As far as going to a contender I'd like to see him go to the Magic. He could be a major driving force in them winning a title instead of just riding coat tails.

I'll vomit if Nash, Lebron and Bosh(or Amare) go to NY.

 

[tobiazz]

a lot of us did... I was leery of him from the second he wouldn't budge on the JJ contract extension and his chicken dance/foam finger move against the Spurs sealed the deal.

The foam finger and chicken dance will never leave my memory. But something smelled funny the moment he bought the team and let BC go and cut non-team jobs. Pretty much a big FU to Jerry and his legacy.

 

[ASUCHRIS]

Pretty much a big FU to Jerry and his legacy.

Don't forget the constant hammering of the color orange, with such ******** campaigns as ru orng? and orange crush unis.

 

[elindholm]

Nash and Richardson to Dallas for Dampier and Terry. Dampier has a cheap buyout for 2010-11, so he's like an instant expiring contract. Nash gets to re-partner with Nowitzki for his last two years, Cuban gets to be a hero for admitting his mistake and extending the Mavericks' run, and the Suns save a ton of money. Kidd is big enough to guard SGs, so he and Nash start in the backcourt together, and Richardson plays major minutes as a SG/SF sixth man.

 

[carey]

Nash and Richardson to Dallas for Dampier and Terry. Dampier has a cheap buyout for 2010-11, so he's like an instant expiring contract. Nash gets to re-partner with Nowitzki for his last two years, Cuban gets to be a hero for admitting his mistake and extending the Mavericks' run, and the Suns save a ton of money. Kidd is big enough to guard SGs, so he and Nash start in the backcourt together, and Richardson plays major minutes as a SG/SF sixth man.

I just threw up in my mouth. Thanks Eric.

 

[Sunburn]

WTF. Just when it seemed like Kerr was getting the hang of the job.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

Sarver won't trade Nash until he asks out (inevitable at this point, Kerr sold him on his vision and that they'd be competitive).

The rest of the team? We'll see.

 

[TBaslim]

Unbelievable news. I really thought Kerr would stay for a few more years after this great season, and sign up for a project of steady, keep-the-team-competitive rebuilding through the inevitable lockout in 2011.

Really not sure where things go from here. Ever since Sarver became the owner, there are these events that make it seem like the sky is falling and the franchise is doomed (BC leaving, JJ, KT trade, draft picks traded, Amare injuries, Mike D, Marion, Shaq, Porter, now Kerr leaving, etc, etc, etc). And then things sort themselves out and the team keeps plugging away. The only really bad stretch (gulp - so far) was the Porter year missing the playoffs. Otherwise, sustained NBA success (no ring, but still) since 04.

I do think much of that has to do with certain front-office talent (not Kerr, but the older guard that remains from the JC era). That and Nash.

So, when I first heard the news I was not too freaked, as Kerr had some really nice moves to go with some dumb ones under his watch and we never know which ones were his and which ones were staff ideas (like most GMs anywhere). And you could tell his heart was not set on running the Suns for 20 years. I had figured like others that his shelf life as GM was limited. I actually thought he was brought in to nuke the team (trade Nash, etc), not just get the payroll in line while staying competitive and playing some defense.

My only other thought was that Sarver had/has a financial plan regarding contracts and costs leading up to the new CBA - a plan formed when the team looked like it was done contending 2 years ago. That plan always included losing Amare or bringing him back really cheap, and it always included cutting costs way below the lux tax line and not taking on any high contracts outside of Nash (ie, face of franchise). The problem is that he didn't expect this year's team to be a winner. With no 1st rounder, their only goal last summer was to make the playoffs to break even on the $$ side and not lose a bunch of fans by being a mediocre team with no shot at a good draft pick. They vastly exceeded those expectations, which puts Sarver's 2011 CBA roadmap in a bind. What the hell do you do about 2010-2011 after almost making the Finals?

However, ALL of this speculation was before reading Matt's doom-filled post about never being a Suns fan again. For me, at least (and I am guessing for Matt too), none of the above 'bad things' (losing Amare, cutting more payroll for 2011, etc) would drive me away as a fan.

Piss me off? Yes. Cause me to spend less money on the team? Sure. But never a fan again? No way.

So, now my mind is working in terrible ways on what could cause such an event. The only things I can think of are the selling Nash for Cash idea, or trying to move the team.

My only hopeful thought is that maybe Sarver really needs to sell due to his finances, but knows he cannot get fair value. So he sets up a situation where he threatens to move the team to San Diego or sell to Seattle in order to drum up support for a Valley-based ownership group to buy the team to keep them in Phoenix.

Heck, I don't know - it's all speculation at this point. The fun of another hot-stove summer for the Suns, I suppose.

 

[Gaddabout]

Say what you want about Colangelo, but he was loyal to his friends and this community. Say what you want about Bidwill, but he's always been loyal to those closest to him.

What I can't say in many words I am saying in choice words is that Sarver doesn't measure up to either of those guys. Not even close. I'm sitting here amazed that Kerr would go so far as to still protect him, but I get that Kerr is leaving instead of raising a stink because Sarver is a friend.

As someone else has already reminded me, Sarver isn't the only owner of the Suns. Who knows what's going on behind the scenes there. Maybe Sarver is Jenny Craig's errand boy. Who knows? But the fallout behind the scenes is nuclear. It has the look and feel of the Atlanta situation a few years ago, but that's just me speculating. I'll end it by saying the Suns, as an organization, look even more dysfunctional right now than in 1986.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Say what you want about Colangelo, but he was loyal to his friends and this community. Say what you want about Bidwill, but he's always been loyal to those closest to him.

What I can't say in many words I am saying in choice words is that Sarver doesn't measure up to either of those guys. Not even close. I'm sitting here amazed that Kerr would go so far as to still protect him, but I get that Kerr is leaving instead of raising a stink because Sarver is a friend.

As someone else has already reminded me, Sarver isn't the only owner of the Suns. Who knows what's going on behind the scenes there. Maybe Sarver is Jenny Craig's errand boy. Who knows? But the fallout behind the scenes is nuclear. It has the look and feel of the Atlanta situation a few years ago, but that's just me speculating.

what was the atlanta speculation?

I'll end it by saying the Suns, as an organization, look even more dysfunctional right now than in 1986.

awesome!

 

[Cheesebeef]

i can't wait to hear the fallout from this across the league. Suns GM rises Phoenix from the ashes... and gives it up to be an announcer. Man, at least Kerr decided to do this during the a Lakers-Celtics 7 game Finals when it won't blow up to make this team look... oh, who am I kidding, it won't be a huge story, but it makes us look terrible regardless.

I'm thinking about going home to Phoenix and just posting up at Hava Java just to get that opportunity back that I missed back in the day to spill a scalding hot cup of coffee all over Sarver's crotch.

 

[TBaslim]

Atlanta had a huge catfight among the ownership group that devolved into lawsuits over control of the team (IIRC). Team was in chaos from a bball operations perspective during that time (not that the Hawks were ever a very stable or well-run franchise during the good times).

 

[Chaplin]

If this situation keeps deteriorating, maybe Stern will step in and hel--

Ah hell, who am I kidding?? We're screwed.