Shaq = Barkley

[slinslin]

I saw that thread on another board asking who is Perry, Lang and Hornacek this time?

I agree with the similarities but the question should be who is Horry, Cassell, Mark Bryant and Chucky Brown? And how many years has Shaq left before he is done and clowning in a TV studio on a weekly or daily basis?

 

[Yuma]

Well another way of looking at it from AZ standpoint. Barkley sold out AWA. Shaq would, too. Barkley didn't bring us a title, but fans still fondly remember that era. Shaq would do the same thing.

 

[George O'Brien]

Well another way of looking at it from AZ standpoint. Barkley sold out AWA. Shaq would, too. Barkley didn't bring us a title, but fans still fondly remember that era. Shaq would do the same thing.

If I remember correctly, AWA was pretty full before he came: KJ, Thunder Dan, Chambers, and Hornacek could certainly light it up. The deal worked because Lang and Perry regressed in Philly, so the deal was just Barkley for Hornacek.

It did not appear so one sided at the time. Perry averaged something like 15 ppg his last year in Phoenix and Lang looked like he might become a decent big man.

The odd part is that the Suns only a few years earlier made out going the other way, trading an all-star in Nance for unknowns and draft picks. The unknown was KJ and one of the picks was Marley.

 

[JCSunsfan]

If I remember correctly, AWA was pretty full before he came: KJ, Thunder Dan, Chambers, and Hornacek could certainly light it up. The deal worked because Lang and Perry regressed in Philly, so the deal was just Barkley for Hornacek.

Is that true? I thought it was the Coliseum that was sold out. Barkley opened up AWA, where the seating increased from 13,000 to nearly 20,000.

It was a rip-off, even at the time of the trade--everyone thought so--although we hated to give up Horny. There aren't many guards that shoot in the 50% range. It became MORE of a rip-off later.

 

[Mainstreet]

I always liked Andrew Lang's upside and agree he regressed after leaving Phoenix.

He was very close to being the type of center Phoenix always wanted... quick, athletic and could get up and down the floor. I even thought his jump shot was coming along before the Barkley trade.

 

[George O'Brien]

I forgot when they moved to AWA. Maybe it was as long as I thought.

I was in the Bay Area at the time and remember Lang seemed very promising and gave the Warriors a lot of trouble. But somehow he really regressed afterward. Talent isn't everything, drive is just as important and Lang didn't have it.

 

[capologist]

If I remember correctly, AWA was pretty full before he came: KJ, Thunder Dan, Chambers, and Hornacek could certainly light it up. The deal worked because Lang and Perry regressed in Philly, so the deal was just Barkley for Hornacek.

The greatest reason the deal “worked” is that we were already an elite team before the trade, and looked to Barkley to take that elite team over the top. We did not ask him to turn a 29-win team into a champion.

Also, we were able to sign Ainge to replace Hornacek, and draft Oliver Miller to replace Lang. Ainge was clearly a step down from Hornacek, but not a bad replacement, and Miller was probably superior to Lang. So we really gave up very little to add Barkley to an already-elite team... and, in the long run, didn’t get a hell of a lot better. In the four years before the trade, we won 217 regular-season games and five playoff series; in the four years after the trade, we won 218 regular-season games and five playoff series.

 

[George O'Brien]

The greatest reason the deal “worked” is that we were already an elite team before the trade, and looked to Barkley to take that elite team over the top. We did not ask him to turn a 29-win team into a champion.

Also, we were able to sign Ainge to replace Hornacek, and draft Oliver Miller to replace Lang. Ainge was clearly a step down from Hornacek, but not a bad replacement, and Miller was probably superior to Lang. So we really gave up very little to add Barkley to an already-elite team... and, in the long run, didn’t get a hell of a lot better. In the four years before the trade, we won 217 regular-season games and five playoff series; in the four years after the trade, we won 218 regular-season games and five playoff series.

I agree. I'm not sure whether the team might have been just as competative without making the trade following picking up Miller and Ainge. Maybe adding Lang to the West - Miller center tandem might have made a difference. It is not necessarily the case that the Suns might not have had a top team anyway.