Suns 2019 GM/Front Office Search

Hoop Head

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We need a PG and a new coaching staff. Sadly just adding a PG is what 30 wins? If we're lucky. Add a new staff with a emphasis on Ayton and D I believe we can be middle of pack. We seen what our D can do. Sadly I think the staff had no play in that. It was Oubre and Johnson who sparked that

You think Ayton will lead us to the middle of the pack? What makes the Suns better than the Pelicans if they tried playing through Ayton? They aren't middle of the pack and Ayton isn't AD either so the results are more likely to be less than more. What team plays through a Center right now that is middle of the pack? Philly doesn't run through Embiid entirely either. They have Simmons running things with Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris as well as Embiid.
 

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You think Ayton will lead us to the middle of the pack? What makes the Suns better than the Pelicans if they tried playing through Ayton? They aren't middle of the pack and Ayton isn't AD either so the results are more likely to be less than more. What team plays through a Center right now that is middle of the pack? Philly doesn't run through Embiid entirely either. They have Simmons running things with Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris as well as Embiid.
I never said play through Ayton...more emphasis does not mean play through. Teaching.......coaching....nice that you turned my post into something it's not. Notice I mentioned D...but yeah
 

AzStevenCal

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I read an article that came to me today from Fansided Daily (Valleyofthesuns.com) that told some of the Sarver/Colangelo story that I was unaware of. Maybe someone can link to it for me but I'm curious how others feel about it? I'm sure it's spin to some degree and I'm not familiar at all with the author (Andrew Clark) but I'm wondering just how accurate it is?
 

1Sun

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I read an article that came to me today from Fansided Daily (Valleyofthesuns.com) that told some of the Sarver/Colangelo story that I was unaware of. Maybe someone can link to it for me but I'm curious how others feel about it? I'm sure it's spin to some degree and I'm not familiar at all with the author (Andrew Clark) but I'm wondering just how accurate it is?

There us a degree of truth to the Clark article, but in my opinion it is an oversimplification.

The Suns have gone from financial recklessness but extreme competitiveness and popularity under Colangelo (ditto for the Arizona Diamondbacks) to penny wise and pound foolish and extreme irrelevance and embarrassment under Sarver. Sarver might have been reacting to Colangelo's financial recklessness, but in my opinion it is an extreme overreaction.

Surely there is a happy medium...
 

Hoop Head

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I never said play through Ayton...more emphasis does not mean play through. Teaching.......coaching....nice that you turned my post into

something it's not. Notice I mentioned D...but yeah

You are the one who said you wanted to see a special emphasis placed on him and since he's currently the 2nd option on the team I'm not sure how much more of an emphasis can be placed on him without making him the primary option. He's currently averaging 12 field goal attempts a game, so I'm not sure what more the coaching staff can do other than increase his touches. He needs to be more assertive and look for better shots on his own, that isn't a coaching thing so much as it's an Ayton needs to move with the ball some to be in better position to score.
 

Hoop Head

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I read an article that came to me today from Fansided Daily (Valleyofthesuns.com) that told some of the Sarver/Colangelo story that I was unaware of. Maybe someone can link to it for me but I'm curious how others feel about it? I'm sure it's spin to some degree and I'm not familiar at all with the author (Andrew Clark) but I'm wondering just how accurate it is?


I believe this is what you're talking about. It details how Sarver drank his own kool-aid because when he bought the team the first thing that was done was sign Nash and turn things around. It went into detail about the position Sarver was in as owner though because Colangelo left the team with a $200 million dollar debt and Sarver was worried of ending up in a similar situation. Colangelo had to sell, not because he wanted to but because the debt was so much that he risked going broke if he didn't. So Sarver was a bit foolish with how he spent initially, selling picks and playing the JJ situation too safe but it's not without reason behind those moves. It's a good read, I think, and it doesn't make excuses for Sarver so much as tell the story of what happened when he took over. It wasn't as cut and dry as "Bobby bought a basketball team and it became his new toy". The early success convinced him he was better at being an owner than he was and Colangelo's debt that Sarver took on was part of what he tried to avoid at all costs since the Suns were moderately successful under Colangelo. Jerry racking up that much debt would worry anyone considering how it didn't seem like Phoenix was overspending like the Lakers or Knicks and they also didn't spend too much to keep a title contender on the floor because we hadn't realistically competed for a title in a decade or so when Barkley was last on the team.


https://valleyofthesuns.com/2019/03/28/phoenix-suns-fans-give-robert-sarver-one-more-chance/
 

AzStevenCal

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I guess I didn't realize Colangelo had left such a debt behind and that Sarver had to deal with it.
 
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Colangelo also swung for the fences with the DBacks financially, but it paid off with a world series! They had to dig out from that debt for quite a few years,
 

AzStevenCal

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Colangelo also swung for the fences with the DBacks financially, but it paid off with a world series! They had to dig out from that debt for quite a few years,

That one I knew about and I understood JC's reasoning. They had forecast based on what recent expansion teams experienced but the reality fell well short of their expectations. So they decided that they had to build a winner right away to hopefully build up the fan base and to an extent, it worked. Well, it brought us a championship so at least that part worked.

I'm not sure I believe it but I was also surprised by the author's contention that Colangelo's 200 million dollar deficit would be the equivalent of 1.5 billion today especially since he didn't burden the franchise with incredibly long term contracts such as he did with the DBacks.
 

sunsfan88

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Dan Gilbert and Glen Taylor say hold that bus, we'll be right there. But if you want a two owner race, I'd say Sarver trails only Dolan for most disliked in the NBA. Of course, Sarver is a distant second in that competition although it's no credit to Robert, it's directly tied to the size of markets.
Their equally bad as far as I'm concerned but I think Dolan is willing to spend more on the Knicks to see them improve than Sarver would. Giving a basketball executive a 5 yr $60M deal is something I doubt Sarver would ever do whereas Dolan did it with Phil Jackson (even though it backfired but that's beside the point).

Dolan is just stupid with his hires whereas owners like Sarver and Dan Gilbert have a proven record of never paying high compensation for their staff.
 

AzStevenCal

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Their equally bad as far as I'm concerned but I think Dolan is willing to spend more on the Knicks to see them improve than Sarver would. Giving a basketball executive a 5 yr $60M deal is something I doubt Sarver would ever do whereas Dolan did it with Phil Jackson (even though it backfired but that's beside the point).

Dolan is just stupid with his hires whereas owners like Sarver and Dan Gilbert have a proven record of never paying high compensation for their staff.

I don't disagree but the Knicks can pretty much spend, spend, spend without consequence - having and spending money solves one area of concern but it doesn't necessarily make Dolan a better owner. Remember, this wasn't about who spends but which owners are the worst. I don't know how anyone can top Dolan, he could teach Sarver a thing or two about interfering with his employees and Glen Taylor is no slouch in that area either.
 

Hoop Head

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I'm not sure I believe it but I was also surprised by the author's contention that Colangelo's 200 million dollar deficit would be the equivalent of 1.5 billion today especially since he didn't burden the franchise with incredibly long term contracts such as he did with the DBacks.

I questioned that number also. It doesn't make sense where he came up with that amount in today's money. I know that the NBA dollar has changed a lot but that still doesn't change that much and it's not like Sarver could have used that $200 million somewhere else in the league to have it be worth that amount today. Other than that it was a good article that made sense.
 

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Dan Gilbert and Glen Taylor say hold that bus, we'll be right there. But if you want a two owner race, I'd say Sarver trails only Dolan for most disliked in the NBA. Of course, Sarver is a distant second in that competition although it's no credit to Robert, it's directly tied to the size of markets.

Taylor and Gilbert do not have the longevity in futility that both Sarver and Dolan do. MIN and CLE were good teams until this year, the LeBron and Butler situations led to the teams decline this year.
 

AzStevenCal

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Could the dollar amount be tied to the teams value?

I wondered the same thing. But if so it was really quite a stretch on his part although perhaps he just wanted to show what level of financial incompetence Sarver would have to engage in to equal what Jerry did.
 

AzStevenCal

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Taylor and Gilbert do not have the longevity in futility that both Sarver and Dolan do. MIN and CLE were good teams until this year, the LeBron and Butler situations led to the teams decline this year.

I couldn't disagree more especially with Taylor. Maybe you give Gilbert a break because, incredible luck or not, he does have a championship. I can only guess your defense of Taylor stems from how little publicity that franchise gets. Keep in mind he's responsible for Minnesota giving away far too much value for Butler and he was banned for a year for that whole Joe Smith fiasco.

Taylor has long had a reputation for frequently overruling management and coaching and not just in financial matters. And yes we are going through what is easily our worst stretch ever but even still we've averaged 42.6 wins per season during Sarver's tenure which is slightly more than 9 better per season than Taylor's team during his 25 years heading up the T Wolves franchise. And unlike Sarver, Taylor has real wealth, the lack of which has resulted in many problems for Sarver (and us, the fans).
 

Mainstreet

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Stephen A. Smith really pumped up the volume of the criticism on the Suns saying Booker should want out of Phoenix.

If the Suns can't turn the corner next season it is probably on a matter of time before rhetoric turns into reality.

xc_hide_links_from_guests_guests_error_hide_media
 

1Sun

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Stephen A. Smith really pumped up the volume of the criticism on the Suns saying Booker should want out of Phoenix.

If the Suns can't turn the corner next season it is probably on a matter of time before rhetoric turns into reality.

xc_hide_links_from_guests_guests_error_hide_media

Which is why the Suns can't afford to go into next season with Igor as the coach (unless Booker inexplicably wants Igor to remain).
 

Mainstreet

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The great news is Booker looks to be actively involved in the Suns future and giving advice on how to improve the team.

Here is an excerpt from a Duane Rankin article:



"It’s probably the summer I’ll be most involved in my career," said Booker earlier this week.


The Suns guard signed a five-year, $158-million contract extension with the Suns last summer which kicks in next season.

"When I signed my deal, I think it was an understanding, through the franchise and myself, that moving forward, we both have the same goals at hand and that’s to get better," Booker said. "It’s not a one-sided thing. It’s not whatever I view, whatever they view. I think it’s a collective agreement. Moving forward, throwing in any advice I can, stay in the loop and watch what’s going on and know what’s going on."

https://www.azcentral.com/story/spo...e-say-what-phoenix-suns-do-summer/3300800002/
 

BC867

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The great news is Booker looks to be actively involved in the Suns future and giving advice on how to improve the team.

Here is an excerpt from a Duane Rankin article:



"It’s probably the summer I’ll be most involved in my career," said Booker earlier this week.


The Suns guard signed a five-year, $158-million contract extension with the Suns last summer which kicks in next season.

"When I signed my deal, I think it was an understanding, through the franchise and myself, that moving forward, we both have the same goals at hand and that’s to get better," Booker said. "It’s not a one-sided thing. It’s not whatever I view, whatever they view. I think it’s a collective agreement. Moving forward, throwing in any advice I can, stay in the loop and watch what’s going on and know what’s going on."

https://www.azcentral.com/story/spo...e-say-what-phoenix-suns-do-summer/3300800002/
Scene 1 Take 2. The Suns previously announced that Booker would be involved in player personnel decisions. Apparently that faded away.

There has been no indication that it remained the case, especially with Book announcing the same thing again. He doesn't take a strong stand on it being factual. It sounds more like a hope. Again!
 

Mainstreet

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Scene 1 Take 2. The Suns previously announced that Booker would be involved in player personnel decisions. Apparently that faded away.

There has been no indication that it remained the case, especially with Book announcing the same thing again. He doesn't take a strong stand on it being factual. It sounds more like a hope. Again!

Booker signed his $158 million extension on July 7th 2018. This was after the draft and after the Trevor Ariza signing.

His involvement in franchise decisions going forward seems to commence from the date he signed his extension.

So we will see what happens this summer.
 

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Ayton is the one to watch this summer. His development is critical to the teams success.

I think Booker should worry about staying healthy. Am I the only one that thinks he looks like he is in poor shape, comparatively speaking of course. I wonder if that contributes to his injuries. Maybe he needs some advice from Nash. Didn't he have a crazy fitness regiment? I could be thinking of someone else.
 

Hoop Head

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Scene 1 Take 2. The Suns previously announced that Booker would be involved in player personnel decisions. Apparently that faded away.

There has been no indication that it remained the case, especially with Book announcing the same thing again. He doesn't take a strong stand on it being factual. It sounds more like a hope. Again!

You really look for the negative wherever possible, don't you? There has been no indication Booker was removed or excluded from big decisions the franchise made either but since you want to bash the team for something you'll say he was forced out of that role and is now trying to get it back. Apparently you forgot how everything was discussed with how the team would seek his input on big moves made but not on smaller moves after they waived Ulis last offseason.

Honest question, why do you still follow the Suns? You hate the owner, you hate the coach, you bash the players, you don't seem to have any sort of hope for the future, and take no joy in watching the team so why not move on to another team? You've done so in the past, you can do it again. Follow your actual home team because I know you aren't a native Phoenician. All you seem to do now is bad mouth them here and talk down to other fans of the team here. You can say it's not talking down to them but you don't get to view how what you say is perceived. If someone has hope for the next season you try and squash that because you claim everyone making decisions for the team are idiots. You also bash out of state fans for caring, claiming they don't have a connection because of their proximity to where the Suns play home games.
 

Mainstreet

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The Suns forum wouldn't be the same without BC and I mean this in the best way possible.

We can handle a difference of opinion.

Anyone who likes Simon and Garfunkel is good in my book.
 

Hoop Head

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The Suns forum wouldn't be the same without BC and I mean this in the best way possible.

We can handle a difference of opinion.

Anyone who likes Simon and Garfunkel is good in my book.

He's turned into a troll, essentially. Whenever someone points out an error he makes, he cries foul and claims he's being personally attacked. I don't think he knows what a personal attack is based on how quick he is to accuse others of attacking him as well as how often he attacks others. He won't debate anything, either because it's not his job or he claims the person attempting to engage with him is personally attacking him. Outside of blaming Sarver for this, that, and the other thing he only posts about the verbiage people use like some sort ASFN Rain Man who has to make it known whenever he spots a double negative.

The closest he'll come to discussing something with someone is when he hijacks a post to talk about music or a movie or politics because he won't talk Suns basketball with anyone beyond telling them they're wrong for hoping for a better team and that they set their expectations too low, like only he knows how to be a proper fan. Onto the proper fan bit he still doesn't believe anyone outside of the Phoenix metro can care about the Suns as much as he does because they're not in the same "community" as the team, like that matters.

He doesn't add anything of value to any discussions about the Suns anymore. Maybe he'd be better suited talking music in one of entertainment boards here because he's not interested in talking about the Suns with anyone anymore. Based on what's he's been posting the last couple of months it seems he's only interested in getting on a soapbox and preaching about how awful Sarver is, debating verbiage, and telling people why their outlook on the Suns is incorrect.
 

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