Should Watson be fired?

[Hoop Head]

I know a lot of people are down on Watson as the coach right now and rightfully so. The team has been awful and he's to blame for a lot of that. His rotations have been a mess, his x's and o's are terrible, our offense is heinous, our ball movement is lacking, and our defense is non-existent.

We open the season at home by getting blown-out by 48 points, which was the worst loss in franchise history. They gave up 124 points and only scored 76. Then we lost to the Lakers by only 2 points but giving up 132 points, in regulation. In our 3rd outing, and first road game, we got blown out by the Clippers in LA by 42, giving up 130 points again and only scoring 88 ourselves. That is 386 points through 3 games that we've allowed for a 92 point differential. No one thought we'd make the playoffs but this is beyond embarrassing and something needs to be done.

Our highlight of the season so far is a play where all 5 players on the court started running at the same time. Our players don't look motivated at all and our offense is worse than anyone thought it could be, being just as bad as our defense, if not worse.

So should Watson be fired now or should the team wait?

I know this helps us "tank" but this is beyond that. Being bad is one thing but the Suns have looked atrocious. We aren't a great team but we shouldn't be the worst in the league either. I don't care about ping-pong balls when we're still in October, draft positioning shouldn't be something the team is concerned with until the halfway point or once the calendar year changes.

 

[Hoop Head]

This is from the Clippers game thread...

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The worst point differential was only 76 through 3 games before the Suns shattered that with the 92 point differential, and we only lost 1 of the games by 2 points, that makes it that much more impressive/depressing.

 

[Mainstreet]

This is from the Clippers game thread...

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The worst point differential was only 76 through 3 games before the Suns shattered that with the 92 point differential, and we only lost 1 of the games by 2 points, that makes it that much more impressive/depressing.

The Suns can do worse. The season is young.

I'm not sure what to make of it except the wheels have come off the wagon.

If Bledsoe wants out, trade him.

 

[Hoop Head]

The Suns should spin it, claim they miss Brandon Knight's contributions so much they've broken records displaying their ineptitude without him. Maybe it'll raise his trade value enough to get someone to take him off our hands despite being injured for the year?


Not sure what else can be done really. This team sucks but shouldn't be this bad. Bledsoe should be traded but based on his play so far we need to sell him ASAP before his play this season lowers his value even more. I'd offer him for future picks from anyone, we don't need an extra pick this draft but could use another 1st in 2019 and the 2021 draft, or is 2021 when we get the 2nd Miami pick? Could Bledsoe get 2 future firsts from a playoff team? I would think so, although we might have to take back a contract that runs as long as his does, which is only 2 more years.

 

[elindholm]

I can't select the correct option for this poll, which would be "No, he should have been fired last year."

 

[Folster]

It feels like every night we're the opponent of the original Dream Team.

 

[pokerface]

If keeping Watson guaranteed us the worst record with the best chance of landing #1 pick then heck yeah he should stay.

I see no moral victory by trying to squeeze an extra ten wins out of this team. Fans don't say after a season..."Wow that great we got 30 wins this year". They remember the draft order with much more precision than the wins and losses. Everyone knows the Spurs drafted Tim Duncan #1...Does anyone remember the Spurs record that year? Does anyone care?

In a couple years this year will just be a fuzzy memory. But if we get #1 pick they will ALWAYS remember that.

 

[pokerface]

Here is a hypothetical question...

If fans were asked "Which would you rather have? Any player you want in the next draft or any coach in the NBA? Which would you prefer most?"

I'm not knocking good coaching because they definitely can make a difference but...

 

[Hoop Head]

Here is a hypothetical question...

If fans were asked "Which would you rather have? Any player you want in the next draft or any coach in the NBA? Which would you prefer most?"

I'm not knocking good coaching because they definitely can make a difference but...

Comparing a single coach to a single player is a bit off, you need to look at things from a little further out.

You don't want a player who is a coach killer but you really don't want a coach who is a career killer, which Watson could be. What player has improved under his time as coach? What good does he do for the Suns? Getting more ping-pong balls is irrelevant if players don't develop under his tenure and they leave as soon as they get the chance. Rebuilding is one thing, which we're doing, but we shouldn't be counting ping-pong balls in the first month of the season while setting records for our on-court failures. Making sure we have the best chance, not guarantee as Suns fans are well aware, at the #1 pick when we're 3 games into the season is ridiculous. Tanking like that just drives fans away in droves and it'll take longer to get them back.

Do you really think Booker will want to stick around on team this awful? Sure, we have another year on his rookie deal before we can offer an extension and 2 years until he becomes a Restricted Free Agent but that doesn't mean he can't ask for a trade and in today's NBA when a player asked to be traded, they'll get traded, it's not a matter of telling them no and to tough it out. That would drive away any potential free agent signings and also make draft picks not want to be selected by us.

The only way you should aim to get blown out by 30-40+ every night is if you're looking for the team to bottom out completely with fans so you can move them easier. I don't want to see the Suns move but if you don't think Sarver would consider taking off to Seattle if attendance is awful, he's losing money here, and he doesn't get a new arena in the next decade then you haven't paid much attention to his motives as an NBA owner. His main motive has been to turn a profit annually and he's already been laying the ground work for a new arena for the last couple of seasons. The NBA is in a position that the NFL was for quite some time also, the NBA has Seattle and the NFL had LA. That's a market that is just chomping at the bit for a franchise that has already been used by other franchises as a threat to get new arenas.

 

[CardsSunsDbacks]

If keeping Watson guaranteed us the worst record with the best chance of landing #1 pick then heck yeah he should stay.

I see no moral victory by trying to squeeze an extra ten wins out of this team. Fans don't say after a season..."Wow that great we got 30 wins this year". They remember the draft order with much more precision than the wins and losses. Everyone knows the Spurs drafted Tim Duncan #1...Does anyone remember the Spurs record that year? Does anyone care?

In a couple years this year will just be a fuzzy memory. But if we get #1 pick they will ALWAYS remember that.

You are correct that it isn't so much about wins and losses right now, but we need to at least look like an NBA team. Setting records for ineptness is not a good way to go through a season regardless of whether you care about winning or not. Bottom line is that we need a coach in here that can start holding these guys accountable and drawing up schemes that these guys can actually have some success in. Virtually no one on this roster looks even trade-able right now and none of the young guys are showing any signs of improvement. That is especially on the coach when just months ago these guys were looking quite a bit better.

 

[pokerface]

Comparing a single coach to a single player is a bit off, you need to look at things from a little further out.

You don't want a player who is a coach killer but you really don't want a coach who is a career killer, which Watson could be. What player has improved under his time as coach? What good does he do for the Suns? Getting more ping-pong balls is irrelevant if players don't develop under his tenure and they leave as soon as they get the chance. Rebuilding is one thing, which we're doing, but we shouldn't be counting ping-pong balls in the first month of the season while setting records for our on-court failures. Making sure we have the best chance, not guarantee as Suns fans are well aware, at the #1 pick when we're 3 games into the season is ridiculous. Tanking like that just drives fans away in droves and it'll take longer to get them back.

Do you really think Booker will want to stick around on team this awful? Sure, we have another year on his rookie deal before we can offer an extension and 2 years until he becomes a Restricted Free Agent but that doesn't mean he can't ask for a trade and in today's NBA when a player asked to be traded, they'll get traded, it's not a matter of telling them no and to tough it out. That would drive away any potential free agent signings and also make draft picks not want to be selected by us.

The only way you should aim to get blown out by 30-40+ every night is if you're looking for the team to bottom out completely with fans so you can move them easier. I don't want to see the Suns move but if you don't think Sarver would consider taking off to Seattle if attendance is awful, he's losing money here, and he doesn't get a new arena in the next decade then you haven't paid much attention to his motives as an NBA owner. His main motive has been to turn a profit annually and he's already been laying the ground work for a new arena for the last couple of seasons. The NBA is in a position that the NFL was for quite some time also, the NBA has Seattle and the NFL had LA. That's a market that is just chomping at the bit for a franchise that has already been used by other franchises as a threat to get new arenas.

Sarver and McD are the ones that tanked the suns last season. They know the draft is their best shot at significant improvement... especially this draft. I mean can you tank too soon with this much at stake? If the suns had the worst record they couldn't do worse than top four. And there are four quality bigs.

I don't think we are in any danger of a player revolt. They know they're young...they know they're bad (from last year). They are under contract for a lot of years. Worse case scenario if one wants out bad we still get value back. Plus Porzingis revolted...he's still there isn't he?

I don't know about Sarver and attendance but they could have traded players to improve the team right away but stayed the course. They seem to be taking a long term approach despite attendance issues.

 

[pokerface]

You are correct that it isn't so much about wins and losses right now, but we need to at least look like an NBA team. Setting records for ineptness is not a good way to go through a season regardless of whether you care about winning or not. Bottom line is that we need a coach in here that can start holding these guys accountable and drawing up schemes that these guys can actually have some success in. Virtually no one on this roster looks even trade-able right now and none of the young guys are showing any signs of improvement. That is especially on the coach when just months ago these guys were looking quite a bit better.

Ok well that's a legitimate argument if players aren't improving. But over the last couple years players improve and regress. This season they all look bad.

Bottomline the west is so brutal and the suns are so young what coach is going to turn this around? Maybe a little... little enough to drop us in the draft where we don't want to be.

 

[Hoop Head]

The Suns ran a better offense in Summer League. I don't recall who coached that team but they looked to be running a system of sorts and played a certain style. Watson is doing worse with NBA players than whoever coached our SL team of 3-4 NBA quality players and a bunch of G-League castoffs.

 

[BC867]

You are correct that it isn't so much about wins and losses right now, but we need to at least look like an NBA team. Setting records for ineptness is not a good way to go through a season regardless of whether you care about winning or not. Bottom line is that we need a coach in here that can start holding these guys accountable and drawing up schemes that these guys can actually have some success in.

Good post. The Suns aren't tanking. They are being humiliated ... in two of our first three games (including at home).

Tanking can be turned off at any time. Humiliation can't. Each one pounds our young guys into the sand deeper and deeper. And the fans as well. Any team or fan in any city, as well as the NBA office, can see it.

The Suns need not only to replace a Head Coach with limited skills. They need to make a statement that what is going on is not acceptable.

To not react immediately also makes a statement. Not the kind that holds fans. Are we going to wake up one morning and hear that the truck is packed and loaded and on its way to Seattle?

 

[Beaver]

We can't have this mess ruining the young guys developement. I say go now.

 

[Hoop Head]

30 votes so far and no one wants to keep him through the season, except maybe Pokerface but that's only for tanking purposes. Only 2 people want to give him half a season, until the All Star break, and just 5 want to let him have a month or two under his belt before deciding. This board hasn't agreed like this in a long time.

I was never anti-Watson either and wouldn't say I am now even though I want to see him get fired. He's just not head coach material. It sucks seeing a roster with talent but being coached by someone who shouldn't be a head coach in the NBA. We've dealt with that for 4 years now, Hornacek was the same way when he was here although you got to give him credit for over-achieving during his 1st year here though. I think Watson had a short period of that also when he took over for Hornacek, although it wasn't visible in the win/loss column it was clear while watching games that the team had come together and seemed to be happy to be for the Suns. That didn't extend into the next season though, unfortunately it was just enough to get the "interim" tag removed from his title.

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[Finito]

Boom goes the dynamite

 

[gmabel830]

News just broke. Watson fired

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[devilalum]

Time of death......


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[Mathew81]

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[mojorizen7]

My vote is YES. ASAP. Today.

 

[Hoop Head]

Since this thread worked for canning Watson I'm tempted to start a trade Chandler & Bledsoe thread.

Edit: Had no clue Bledsoe asked out already. I checked my notifications before coming to the actual forum after seeing the Watson news pop up on NBA TV.

 

[BC867]

News just broke. Watson fired

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Could it be that Sarver read our poll?

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Wow. I was one of two to vote til all star break. But it’s bc it helped the tank. I’ll admit it.

 

[Hoop Head]

Could it be that Sarver read our poll?

We all know that Sarver is a poop head but is he THE Poop Head?