http://www.nba.com/suns/news/ktar_colangelo_040106.html
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Talk to the Suns
Posted: Jan. 6, 2004
Chairman Jerry Colangelo stepped up to the mic Tuesday night with KTAR’s Dave Burns for the 620 Sportsline’s weekly “Talk to the Suns” program. Colangelo discussed at length Monday’s eight-player trade with the New York Knicks and what lies ahead for his Suns.
Dave Burns: Isiah came to you, came to Bryan. Take me through the early stages of the genesis of this (trade), how it started.
Jerry Colangelo: Well, actually Bryan and Scott Layden had had quite a bit of conversation about a possible deal. What transpired is, once Isiah got the job, he was brought up to speed that there were some conversations that were going on with various teams, and he called Bryan to say that he was happy to have the job and he wanted to continue with conversations that were already started when Scott was there. That’s how the whole thing evolved.
Burns: Did things move pretty quickly after that or was this kind of on the slow burner?
Colangelo: As a matter of fact, in the world of deals I’d say it moved pretty quickly. Quite often these things get derailed or elongated and you never get to the finish line. In this particular case, that wasn’t what happened.
Burns: There are tons of questions that Suns fans, I’m sure, have on their minds, as you can clearly tell by the fact that the phone lines are going bonkers. The underlying question, why did the Phoenix Suns make this deal?
Colangelo: There are a number of reasons, Dave. Anytime you make a major change, there’s going to be a lot of opinions. I’m just going to give you kind of a preamble, if you will, to kind of set the tone.
I’ve been in the business for 37 years, and a lot of deals, as you well know. Thirty-five years with the Suns and with all of the deals that have been made, it’s resulted in the fourth-best record in the history of the NBA. So I think we have a pretty good idea about what we’re doing. That’s not being cocky, that’s just saying that this is not a knee-jerk reaction whatsoever. The reality was, in terms of who we were as a team, relative to our talent level, and the fact that we were absolutely locked with handcuffs relative to the salary cap with no room, really, to improve, other than internally. In other words, how much better your team would become with future draft picks. We had no money to do a thing because of the cap. We’re a tax payer. We’re way over the cap and we certainly getting anywhere near what we needed to get for the high-salary team that we were.
Tune in to 620 KTAR to catch each and
every Phoenix Suns game.
So, this was just as much about freeing ourselves up financially to give ourselves options going forward as anything else. The analysis about who were as a team and we wanted to do going forward. Being a .500 team or a little bit better was not really going to cut it, not in this competitive league, and we need to get to yet another level. I think the flexibility we will now have, through the draft, through the fact that we’ll have available cap space to do something in terms of free agency, gives us that kind of an opportunity. Now, time will tell, but it’s nice to know we’ve taken the shackles off and we have a chance.
Burns: Is this two steps back to take three steps forward? Are you going to go down to rock bottom to be able to build this thing back up for the Suns, in your estimation?
Colangelo: No. This team is a long way from rock bottom. If you just look at the personnel on our team if they were healthy, this is not a rock bottom kind of a situation. Amaré Stoudemire, Shawn Marion, Joe Johnson, (Leandro) Barbosa, (Zarko) Cabarkapa, those are pretty good pieces of a puzzle. Then you need role players like the Casey Jacobsens.
I feel pretty good about the fact that we have this opportunity going forward. Yeah, it’s not easy to do something that would appear to say you’re taking a step backwards. We’re taking a step backwards because we’re hurt and it’s been a screwed up kind of a season because of what happened to us this year. There was an analysis regarding our personnel and I think that’s important. Let’s analyze what we’ve got. We know what we gave up.
In terms of Antonio McDyess, we don’t know what he has left. We’re going to find that out. He’s going to have the opportunity to show us. If he can play, then we’ve got something that’s kind of special and it’s an add-on. I think (Howard) Eisley is a very serviceable point guard, a guy we’ve always liked, and a leader. We’re happy to have Eisley. (Majiec) Lampke, the center, they’re first pick this last year, is a player we had interest in in the draft and he had an outstanding summer league. He’s just young, but he’s a real prospect. We love the Serbian guard, the point guard. He’s the best point guard in Europe. The best way to describe him is he’s very similar to a Steve Nash, so we love that.
And we love the fact that we’ve got a couple of first round picks. That’s what this is all about. This past year in Cabarkapa and Barbosa, (who) was the last pick in the first round, we’ve got two outstanding young players. I think our fans got a chance to see a little something in Barbosa last night in his first start. The kid goes for 27 (points). That’s an exciting beginning for him.
So, now is the time to watch some young guys develop and put ourselves in a position to add some pieces going forward because we’re still trying to get to the promised land.
Burns: I’ve read some comparisons of this deal to back in 1988 when you dealt (Larry) Nance to Cleveland for Kevin Johnson and all the draft picks that became, really, the genesis for what you’ve got now. It was a long time ago, but that’s where it all kind of started with what you’ve got on your hands now.
Colangelo: I guess it’s fair to say there could be some comparisons. I don’t think there’s a Kevin Johnson that was acquired in terms of a young budding star, but that’s the big difference.
The other thing, Burnsie, I was thinking how people react to deals. There were a lot of adverse comments made about the deal we made with Boston sending Rodney Rogers and Tony Delk to Boston for a young kid named Joe Johnson. Today, Boston doesn’t have anything to show for that trade and we’ve got a young kid who has a chance now, without Penny (Hardaway) behind him or in front of him, to really show what he might be able to do. And the jury will be out, but he’s certainly an outstanding young player. How far he comes will be up to him.
Caller (Doc, Mesa): Mr. Colangelo, I’d like to ask you a couple of questions. Number one, I think that the best part of the trade was getting Antonio McDyess back. In my opinion, he’s a player, like (Charles) Barkley, that can see the big picture, be aware of the whole court, if he’s healthy. I wanted to ask you what his health status is and what are you doing as far as developing your young talent to get them to the next level in a faster and more efficient pace?
Colangelo: Let’s take the second part first. The best way for young players to develop is to play. When you see young players get consistent minutes over 40-50 games and are getting 20-24 minutes a game, you’ll watch that development. In Cabarkapa, who’s had two injuries this year, one was a hernia, which he couldn’t help, that kept him out the beginning of the year, then a broken wrist. I think Cabarkapa and Barbosa will make vast improvement during the course of this year and you’ll see a lot of development before next season.
The first part on McDyess. Ironically, he left us, which caused a lot of things to be put in motion a few years ago. He injured his knee against us in a game and he hasn’t been the same since, although he’s on the mend and on the way back. I think in this case, it’s more about him getting confidence in the ability to go all-out. We’re going to find out. He’s going to play the remainder of this season and we’ll find out how much he has left.
Caller (Noel, Mesa): I felt like in the past that the Suns would trade a lot of young talent for big names, like a Hardaway, and they’d be willing to trade away (Steve) Finley and (Steve) Nash to get these types of players like Jason Kidd. I felt like the Suns now did an about-face and decided to build with young talent, which I believe is the way to do it. Do you feel like this is another step where they’re trading away (Stephon) Marbury to continue to get these draft picks? As a fan, I’m concerned the Suns will get these draft picks and trade them away again.
Colangelo: Don’t be concerned about that. We only make the deals that we think are going to improve where we’re trying to go. You have to really analyze each of those deals. I guess in some cases, we’ve been a little too good for own good. We’ve tried to add a missing piece at the end at a high expensive price. And some of those things have not turned out. The best way to develop a team is through the draft and develop your own players, and that’s really what we’re trying to do. We have a very young core. Marbury is a young player, so we can’t include him as not being a young player. The reason for this trade was to give us the flexibility to really open it up and give us the opportunity, through the draft and through free agency, of young players to add to the nucleus. I think we’re being consistent.
Caller (Craig, Phoenix): You said a couple of years ago and it was assumed that with Marbury, (Shawn) Marion and Stoudemire that we were going to build this Suns team around them. Now you’re changing it, saying we need to go younger, different. Why should guys like Marion and Stoudemire believe that you’re not going to trade them?
Colangelo: I might trade anyone. The point is circumstances have changed in the last couple of years since I made that statement. That’s not going back on word, that’s what we thought was going to take place. But circumstances certainly didn’t work out quite as we thought they would, and it doesn’t just fall on any one or two players shoulders. Everyone has to shoulder a certain amount of responsibility. Our circumstances are certainly different today than they were a couple of years ago.
Burns: It brings up a question that I did want to ask you about Stephon Marbury. It was just about three months ago that you signed him to the extension. I think for a lot of people that makes the news of (Monday) a very interesting pill to swallow because three months ago, it was $100 million, he was this, he was that, and now three months later he’s a New York Knick.
Colangelo: Bear in mind, Dave, that he was going to be a free agent and by signing him to the new contract, you had an opportunity to tie up the assets so that you were in control and the player was not and that’s exactly what took place.
Burns: When you talk about this deal, you talk about the finances and the money and the salary cap. How much did this have to do with Stephon Marbury the player?
Colangelo: We have great respect for Stephon Marbury’s talent, there’s no question about that. In any major chance, it takes something to give up to get what you need to get, and that’s what this trade was all about. I think I could be, and hopefully it will be, a good deal for both teams. We wish our players who left us the best in New York. This is what we want and these are the options we were seeking and now we have to make it work, and we feel confident we can. So, we’re also pleased with the results on our end.
Caller (Mike, Gilbert): (Why) don’t you take a look at management and look inside at your son as the general manager to determine (what led to) this fiasco? A general manager makes the decision in terms of the coaching. You had to fire Frank Johnson after only a couple of seasons, that fiasco of signing Penny Hardaway, used goods. That kind of led to the fact that you had to get rid of his big contract. You guys got into this situation because of the decisions made by the general manager.
Colangelo: We must be a couple of dummies based on what Mike had to say but forget what I think. Bryan has a very strong reputation in the NBA. He’s very highly thought of. In fact, he’s an excellent general manager, and every decision that’s made is not on his shoulders. This is something we share all the way in terms of making these decisions and if I didn’t think he couldn’t do the job, he wouldn’t be there.
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Talk to the Suns
Posted: Jan. 6, 2004
Chairman Jerry Colangelo stepped up to the mic Tuesday night with KTAR’s Dave Burns for the 620 Sportsline’s weekly “Talk to the Suns” program. Colangelo discussed at length Monday’s eight-player trade with the New York Knicks and what lies ahead for his Suns.
Dave Burns: Isiah came to you, came to Bryan. Take me through the early stages of the genesis of this (trade), how it started.
Jerry Colangelo: Well, actually Bryan and Scott Layden had had quite a bit of conversation about a possible deal. What transpired is, once Isiah got the job, he was brought up to speed that there were some conversations that were going on with various teams, and he called Bryan to say that he was happy to have the job and he wanted to continue with conversations that were already started when Scott was there. That’s how the whole thing evolved.
Burns: Did things move pretty quickly after that or was this kind of on the slow burner?
Colangelo: As a matter of fact, in the world of deals I’d say it moved pretty quickly. Quite often these things get derailed or elongated and you never get to the finish line. In this particular case, that wasn’t what happened.
Burns: There are tons of questions that Suns fans, I’m sure, have on their minds, as you can clearly tell by the fact that the phone lines are going bonkers. The underlying question, why did the Phoenix Suns make this deal?
Colangelo: There are a number of reasons, Dave. Anytime you make a major change, there’s going to be a lot of opinions. I’m just going to give you kind of a preamble, if you will, to kind of set the tone.
I’ve been in the business for 37 years, and a lot of deals, as you well know. Thirty-five years with the Suns and with all of the deals that have been made, it’s resulted in the fourth-best record in the history of the NBA. So I think we have a pretty good idea about what we’re doing. That’s not being cocky, that’s just saying that this is not a knee-jerk reaction whatsoever. The reality was, in terms of who we were as a team, relative to our talent level, and the fact that we were absolutely locked with handcuffs relative to the salary cap with no room, really, to improve, other than internally. In other words, how much better your team would become with future draft picks. We had no money to do a thing because of the cap. We’re a tax payer. We’re way over the cap and we certainly getting anywhere near what we needed to get for the high-salary team that we were.
Tune in to 620 KTAR to catch each and
every Phoenix Suns game.
So, this was just as much about freeing ourselves up financially to give ourselves options going forward as anything else. The analysis about who were as a team and we wanted to do going forward. Being a .500 team or a little bit better was not really going to cut it, not in this competitive league, and we need to get to yet another level. I think the flexibility we will now have, through the draft, through the fact that we’ll have available cap space to do something in terms of free agency, gives us that kind of an opportunity. Now, time will tell, but it’s nice to know we’ve taken the shackles off and we have a chance.
Burns: Is this two steps back to take three steps forward? Are you going to go down to rock bottom to be able to build this thing back up for the Suns, in your estimation?
Colangelo: No. This team is a long way from rock bottom. If you just look at the personnel on our team if they were healthy, this is not a rock bottom kind of a situation. Amaré Stoudemire, Shawn Marion, Joe Johnson, (Leandro) Barbosa, (Zarko) Cabarkapa, those are pretty good pieces of a puzzle. Then you need role players like the Casey Jacobsens.
I feel pretty good about the fact that we have this opportunity going forward. Yeah, it’s not easy to do something that would appear to say you’re taking a step backwards. We’re taking a step backwards because we’re hurt and it’s been a screwed up kind of a season because of what happened to us this year. There was an analysis regarding our personnel and I think that’s important. Let’s analyze what we’ve got. We know what we gave up.
In terms of Antonio McDyess, we don’t know what he has left. We’re going to find that out. He’s going to have the opportunity to show us. If he can play, then we’ve got something that’s kind of special and it’s an add-on. I think (Howard) Eisley is a very serviceable point guard, a guy we’ve always liked, and a leader. We’re happy to have Eisley. (Majiec) Lampke, the center, they’re first pick this last year, is a player we had interest in in the draft and he had an outstanding summer league. He’s just young, but he’s a real prospect. We love the Serbian guard, the point guard. He’s the best point guard in Europe. The best way to describe him is he’s very similar to a Steve Nash, so we love that.
And we love the fact that we’ve got a couple of first round picks. That’s what this is all about. This past year in Cabarkapa and Barbosa, (who) was the last pick in the first round, we’ve got two outstanding young players. I think our fans got a chance to see a little something in Barbosa last night in his first start. The kid goes for 27 (points). That’s an exciting beginning for him.
So, now is the time to watch some young guys develop and put ourselves in a position to add some pieces going forward because we’re still trying to get to the promised land.
Burns: I’ve read some comparisons of this deal to back in 1988 when you dealt (Larry) Nance to Cleveland for Kevin Johnson and all the draft picks that became, really, the genesis for what you’ve got now. It was a long time ago, but that’s where it all kind of started with what you’ve got on your hands now.
Colangelo: I guess it’s fair to say there could be some comparisons. I don’t think there’s a Kevin Johnson that was acquired in terms of a young budding star, but that’s the big difference.
The other thing, Burnsie, I was thinking how people react to deals. There were a lot of adverse comments made about the deal we made with Boston sending Rodney Rogers and Tony Delk to Boston for a young kid named Joe Johnson. Today, Boston doesn’t have anything to show for that trade and we’ve got a young kid who has a chance now, without Penny (Hardaway) behind him or in front of him, to really show what he might be able to do. And the jury will be out, but he’s certainly an outstanding young player. How far he comes will be up to him.
Caller (Doc, Mesa): Mr. Colangelo, I’d like to ask you a couple of questions. Number one, I think that the best part of the trade was getting Antonio McDyess back. In my opinion, he’s a player, like (Charles) Barkley, that can see the big picture, be aware of the whole court, if he’s healthy. I wanted to ask you what his health status is and what are you doing as far as developing your young talent to get them to the next level in a faster and more efficient pace?
Colangelo: Let’s take the second part first. The best way for young players to develop is to play. When you see young players get consistent minutes over 40-50 games and are getting 20-24 minutes a game, you’ll watch that development. In Cabarkapa, who’s had two injuries this year, one was a hernia, which he couldn’t help, that kept him out the beginning of the year, then a broken wrist. I think Cabarkapa and Barbosa will make vast improvement during the course of this year and you’ll see a lot of development before next season.
The first part on McDyess. Ironically, he left us, which caused a lot of things to be put in motion a few years ago. He injured his knee against us in a game and he hasn’t been the same since, although he’s on the mend and on the way back. I think in this case, it’s more about him getting confidence in the ability to go all-out. We’re going to find out. He’s going to play the remainder of this season and we’ll find out how much he has left.
Caller (Noel, Mesa): I felt like in the past that the Suns would trade a lot of young talent for big names, like a Hardaway, and they’d be willing to trade away (Steve) Finley and (Steve) Nash to get these types of players like Jason Kidd. I felt like the Suns now did an about-face and decided to build with young talent, which I believe is the way to do it. Do you feel like this is another step where they’re trading away (Stephon) Marbury to continue to get these draft picks? As a fan, I’m concerned the Suns will get these draft picks and trade them away again.
Colangelo: Don’t be concerned about that. We only make the deals that we think are going to improve where we’re trying to go. You have to really analyze each of those deals. I guess in some cases, we’ve been a little too good for own good. We’ve tried to add a missing piece at the end at a high expensive price. And some of those things have not turned out. The best way to develop a team is through the draft and develop your own players, and that’s really what we’re trying to do. We have a very young core. Marbury is a young player, so we can’t include him as not being a young player. The reason for this trade was to give us the flexibility to really open it up and give us the opportunity, through the draft and through free agency, of young players to add to the nucleus. I think we’re being consistent.
Caller (Craig, Phoenix): You said a couple of years ago and it was assumed that with Marbury, (Shawn) Marion and Stoudemire that we were going to build this Suns team around them. Now you’re changing it, saying we need to go younger, different. Why should guys like Marion and Stoudemire believe that you’re not going to trade them?
Colangelo: I might trade anyone. The point is circumstances have changed in the last couple of years since I made that statement. That’s not going back on word, that’s what we thought was going to take place. But circumstances certainly didn’t work out quite as we thought they would, and it doesn’t just fall on any one or two players shoulders. Everyone has to shoulder a certain amount of responsibility. Our circumstances are certainly different today than they were a couple of years ago.
Burns: It brings up a question that I did want to ask you about Stephon Marbury. It was just about three months ago that you signed him to the extension. I think for a lot of people that makes the news of (Monday) a very interesting pill to swallow because three months ago, it was $100 million, he was this, he was that, and now three months later he’s a New York Knick.
Colangelo: Bear in mind, Dave, that he was going to be a free agent and by signing him to the new contract, you had an opportunity to tie up the assets so that you were in control and the player was not and that’s exactly what took place.
Burns: When you talk about this deal, you talk about the finances and the money and the salary cap. How much did this have to do with Stephon Marbury the player?
Colangelo: We have great respect for Stephon Marbury’s talent, there’s no question about that. In any major chance, it takes something to give up to get what you need to get, and that’s what this trade was all about. I think I could be, and hopefully it will be, a good deal for both teams. We wish our players who left us the best in New York. This is what we want and these are the options we were seeking and now we have to make it work, and we feel confident we can. So, we’re also pleased with the results on our end.
Caller (Mike, Gilbert): (Why) don’t you take a look at management and look inside at your son as the general manager to determine (what led to) this fiasco? A general manager makes the decision in terms of the coaching. You had to fire Frank Johnson after only a couple of seasons, that fiasco of signing Penny Hardaway, used goods. That kind of led to the fact that you had to get rid of his big contract. You guys got into this situation because of the decisions made by the general manager.
Colangelo: We must be a couple of dummies based on what Mike had to say but forget what I think. Bryan has a very strong reputation in the NBA. He’s very highly thought of. In fact, he’s an excellent general manager, and every decision that’s made is not on his shoulders. This is something we share all the way in terms of making these decisions and if I didn’t think he couldn’t do the job, he wouldn’t be there.
