Terry Porter new Suns coach, 3 year contract.

[Yuma]

Anyone underwhelmed like me? He's a good enough guy. I guess we'll see what happens next season.

 

[Yuma]

Suns General Manager Steve Kerr said he agreed to terms today to make Terry Porter the next head coach of his team.

Porter, a lead assistant in Detroit the past two years, will sign a three-year deal worth about $7 million and be introduced at a press conference in Phoenix on Monday or Tuesday.

"He's a great leader," said Kerr, who was his San Antonio teammate for the final two years of Porter's 17-year career. "He's very tough-minded, confident yet humble, in a way that I think players will respect. He's a really good communicator."

Porter, 45, was a head coach in Milwaukee for the 2003-04 and 2004-05 seasons. He led a team picked to finish at the bottom of the Eastern Conference to a playoff season in his first year but he was fired after his team went 30-52 the next year when T.J. Ford had been lost to a neck surgery. Porter went from guiding the NBA's No..4 offense in 2003-04 to work on the staff of a top defensive team the past two years in Detroit.

"The coaching experience was critical," Kerr said. "His couple years in Milwaukee really put him over the top. It's head coach experience.

"There's a balance there with Milwaukee. His first team led the Eastern Conference in scoring. He likes to push the ball but he's really defensive-minded also. He's got a good balance to his resume. He played for (Gregg) Popovich and Pat Riley and Rick Adelman. He played for great coaches. You add the last couple years in Detroit on one of the best teams in the league.

"I think he can help us achieve the balance we feel we need, getting better at the defensive end while still pushing the ball."

Porter was schedule to interview Monday for the Detroit job but informed the Pistons today that he would take the Suns' job. Porter is seen as a guy who can command the respect of veterans a past competitor who made two All-Star Games and two NBA Finals but knows what it is like to be a head coach too.

"I like the fact that he's had that experience and now will be able to use that experience with a talented team," Kerr said. "I'm excited about that combination."

Kerr was also looking for a coach that could go deeper with the Suns bench and develop young talent, from core players like Amaré Stoudemire, Boris Diaw and Leandro Barbosa to last year's rookies (D.J. Strawberry and Alando Tucker) and incoming rookies.

"Those are things we talked about and those are things I expect and anticipate," Kerr said.

Kerr and Porter will collaborate on the rest of the coaching staff in the coming days.

"When I played with him, I definitely envisioned him as a future coach," Kerr said.

Porter was selected over Houston lead assistant Elston Turner and Utah assistant Tyrone Corbin.

I forgot about the Milwaukee stint. I remember thinking he got a raw deal after his first year there. Hopefully he'll do all the things Kerr wants.

 

[Divide Et Impera]

I, for one, am VERY happy!

I initially wanted Mark Jackson because I remember him playing and I liked his toughness, IQ and skills. But, I also remember the POR team that Porter ran. It was Porter-Drexler-Kersey-Williams-Duckworth with Robinson off the bench. I LOVED that team. I am very excited about the signing and look forward to what Porter will bring that D'Antoni refused to bring....

 

[Andrew]

Awesome, lets see what this guy can do...

 

[cly2tw]

Excellent!

 

[Covert Rain]

Not overly excited. However, I am willing to give him a shot. If this guys develops our young talent, uses our bench and keeps Amare in check....then its a plus. I just hope this guy can coach on the court.

 

[dodie53]

go TP!

i hope the suns get Silas as an assistant coach

 

[TJ]

It was slim pickens from the start, but I am happy with this selection. He is a leader, former player, and a former HC who has taken a shotty Bucks team to the playoffs.

 

[D-Dogg]

Good, solid coach with a ton of upside. Nice move by the Suns.

 

[PoolBoy]

not even going to pretend i know who he is, but im excited for a new look. is he defensive minded? or is it more run and gun?

 

[LV-Suns]

not even going to pretend i know who he is, but im excited for a new look. is he defensive minded? or is it more run and gun?

Defensive minded coach. The Bucks team he took to the playoffs was a running team.

 

[PoolBoy]

Defensive minded coach. The Bucks team he took to the playoffs was a running team.

so a healthy balance??!?!?!?

 

[Mainstreet]

I think the Suns made a good selection based upon who was available. When I think about Porter as a coach, I just always come back to what a fierce competitor he was as a player in Portland. If he can bring this energy to the Suns, then I can hope.

On another note, I'm trying to figure out how much money the Suns saved by hiring Porter versus paying D'Antoni's salary based on a two year period (D'Antoni had only two years left on his contract). So just for the sake of simplicity, I figured Porter makes about 2.3 million a year (7 million divided by 3 years). So Porter would make about 4.6 million over two years. I think D'Antoni would make 8.5 million for those same two years if he had stayed. So Phoenix saves near 4 million for two years. I'm just hoping this might coax the Suns into slightly exceeding the LT limit... maybe acquiring another draft pick or something.

 

[LV-Suns]

so a healthy balance??!?!?!?

Looks like it. From what I've heard, he is a great motivator, loves working with young guys, and always has his team play hard.

 

[PoolBoy]

nice

 

[mojorizen7]

Defensive minded coach. The Bucks team he took to the playoffs was a running team.

That Bucks team he took to the playoffs in '03-'04 was 4th in scoring(NBA).
I'm excited to see T. Porter in here. He's played for some good coaches(Adelman,Riley,Popovich) and i think he'll bring in a more balanced approach as opposed to D'Antoni who believed in purely out-scoring the opponent rather than making it difficult for the opponent to score.
We'll see. I give this hire a thumbs up.
If Porter can get this team to commit to defense and find a way to get a deeper rotation going he's already light years ahead of the other guy in my book.....regardless of how many regular season victories he can rack up.

 

[LV-Suns]

Here is what a Bucks fan said about Porter on RealGM

Porter was the only guy to get into TJ's head and make him an under control player. After Porter left TJ developed napoleon complex so Porter is good at coaching guards. He's also good at motivating his players and he got the best out of that Bucks team in 2004. So that's a sure fire positive for you guys. But like has already been mentioned, his out of timeout plays and offensive sets left a lot to be desired. But the Bucks team in 2004 was a running team so you'll probably keep the same style as years past.

 

[Chaplin]

Porter was EASILY the best remaining candidate, and some of you still don't like it.

 

[YouJustGotSUNSD]

If you hate dantoni and arent optimistic about porter you need to step away from the keyboard.

 

[Forrestham]

I think Porter is an excellent hire. I'm so glad he was picked rather than a retread like Collins, Flip or Van Gundy. He did not get a fair shot in Malwakee. I think he wanted them to draft Paul instead of Bogut.

I will be excited to see him use our bench and hope he can make in game adjustmentd. D'Anoni won a lot of games but the young players were not coached. He was non flexible on using his bench and in game adjustments. I hope he will not wear out Hill, Bell, Shaq and Nash and will give them spot breakes during the season. The wear and tear caught up with Bell, Nash and Hill. I believe they all have something left but can't keep playing so many minutes

 

[D-Dogg]

Porter was EASILY the best remaining candidate, and some of you still don't like it.

Yep, really good choice for the Suns. It will be interesting how he works with your big men, but he's overall the best choice on the market. Big names weren't the way to go...he is a solid assistant and is one of those guys who could be a damn fine head coach. It remains to be seen how he coaches a team of vets like the Suns have...

Good move...let's see what Sarver and Kerr do over the summer to get competitive in the brutal West next year. The West is sick with talent....

 

[D-Dogg]

If you hate dantoni and arent optimistic about porter you need to step away from the keyboard.

qft

About the most opposite you can get. I have a ton more respect for the suns with Porter at the helm than Antoni.

 

[Griffin]

I guess he was the best option out of the people the Suns actually considered, but there is no doubt that list was not filled with candidates with a whole lot of coaching experience. Porter was the only one with any head-coaching experience, and so he got the job.

Btw, with this coaching change, the Suns organization just saved around $4.5M over the next two seasons. In fact, Porter is scheduled to make less over the next three years than D'Antoni would have over the next two.

 

[D-Dogg]

I guess he was the best option out of the people the Suns actually considered, but there is no doubt that list was not filled with candidates with a whole lot of coaching experience. Porter was the only one with any head-coaching experience, and so he got the job.

Btw, with this coaching change, the Suns organization just saved around $4.5M over the next two seasons. In fact, Porter is scheduled to make less over the next three years than D'Antoni would have over the next two.

People worried about Phil Jackson, Pop and Rilely when they grabbed their teams.

TP is potenially a damn good coach. In that realm??? Maybe not, but he's better than Collins or the other "established" coaches you could have hired.

Good shot for a coach that might be great for the suns.

 

[arthurracoon]

he has upside