Terry Porter new Suns coach, 3 year contract.

[Skkorpion]

Very nice glad we got Porter lets hope we get Silas as a assistant coach to help amare on defense and then we will be set. So is Porter a slow down type offense type guy or a up tempo coach?

I disagree with the Silas thing and hope Porter is allowed to bring in his own people, all of them, whoever they are. Not who we want.

 

[Irish]

I disagree with the Silas thing and hope Porter is allowed to bring in his own people, all of them, whoever they are. Not who we want.

I was very impressed with Silas as a head coach, so I hope it works out. I have not followed the work of Dave Cowens (former Celtics great) who was a coach with the Pistons, so he may be Porter's choice.

 

[Yuma]

How in the world did you determine that he's close to D'Antoni's style? I mean, he's been the assistant on the PISTONS for the past 2 years!

Just from what I am reading about him in Milwaukee. They were supposedly one of the teams that was copying the Suns.

 

[Muggum]

Boooo.

Hate the hire.

Shaq: Strike one for Kerr.
Porter: Strike two for Kerr.

Porter's record as a head coach is bad.
His Bucks were terrible on defense... worse than the Suns, even.

I'm actually hoping for disaster now. Something to get Sarver to sell. At the very least, I'd like to see us in the lottery the next two years, and then make every conceivable effort to bring in LeBron.

If you can't get beyond the first round of the playoffs, it's time to flush and start over, and try to make a play for one of the league's best players.

This feels about right:

65 percent chance: Porter doesn't finish out his deal.
25 percent chance: He finishes out his deal, but isn't renewed.
10 percent chance: He's coaching us beyond three years.

 

[Irish]

Just from what I am reading about him in Milwaukee. They were supposedly one of the teams that was copying the Suns.

Concidering that he started in 2003, I'd say it is unlikely he was copying D'Antoni.

Porter played on some very potent offensive teams in Portland:

1989-90 114.2 ppg
1890-91 114.7 ppg
1991-92 111.4 ppg

They went to the finals in 1990-91 and 1992-92, but their most potent offense was the 90-91 team had 7 guys in double figures:

Drexler - 21.5
Porter - 17.0
Duckworkth - 15.0
Kersey - 14.8
Cliff Robinson - 11.7
Buck Williams - 11.7
Ainge - 11.1
Walter Davis - 6.1

 

[YouJustGotSUNSD]

Boooo.

Hate the hire.

Shaq: Strike one for Kerr.
Porter: Strike two for Kerr.

Porter's record as a head coach is bad.
His Bucks were terrible on defense... worse than the Suns, even.

I'm actually hoping for disaster now. Something to get Sarver to sell. At the very least, I'd like to see us in the lottery the next two years, and then make every conceivable effort to bring in LeBron.

If you can't get beyond the first round of the playoffs, it's time to flush and start over, and try to make a play for one of the league's best players.

This feels about right:

65 percent chance: Porter doesn't finish out his deal.
25 percent chance: He finishes out his deal, but isn't renewed.
10 percent chance: He's coaching us beyond three years.

step away from the keyboard for your own sake.

 

[shazaam6]

Gimmick basketball is only effective when the opponent doesn't expect or know how to defend it. If you do it all the time it doesn't work.

Amare uncoachable? I would not listen to D'antoni either if I was Amare. He played Center but he is way better as a power forward. Would you play Larry Bird at Center. Playing Magic Johnson at Center one game helped the Lakers win a championship but he didn't keep playing center. He was a better point guard so he played that position. The Amare at Center experiment has hurt Amare's natural progression and development.


D'antoni was an ass about so many things. I'm glad he is gone. I've read posts here for years and got so frustrated last year I had to join. Some think D'antoni was great but he had incredibly talented players who didn't improve individually or develop anyone. We kept losing and D'antoni didn't make ANY changes.

Again I hate and thank those Spurs for beating us so bad D'antoni got fired. He deserved it. Bounced out of the playoffs three out of four years by the same team. I still say we were better.

Terry Porter will be an improvement. I have no doubt about it.

btw Nash took us to the playoffs not D'antoni. Nash will get us there next year too. Shaq said something like "we were as talented a team as he won championships with."

I can't wait until next year.

Give Kerr a chance. I like it. Some may be surprised that Kerr knows what he is doing in general. (who sold the draft picks and gave KT away that was Sarver right not Kerr?)

 

[nashman]

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

Why because the Suns pretty much owned the Lakers for his stint here in PHX? And now we are gonna be who knows for the next few... Hopefully he turns out good, ah well at least the Lakers aren't winning anything either!

 

[Irish]

Gimmick basketball is only effective when the opponent doesn't expect or know how to defend it. If you do it all the time it doesn't work.

Generally the team with the best players win and the coach that gets the most ouf of his players win. A coach that loses the full committment of his players has a problem.

The truth about D'Antoni is mixed. If Hill doesn't get injured in game 1 and they foul rather than let the game get tied twice on three pointers, the series would habe been far more competitive than it looked after the fact. As it was, D'Antoni was not fired, he just quit rather than make some changes. Same effect, but not the same motivation.

Some key aspects of the D'Antoni system are not a gimmick. His emphasis on shooting three's before the opponent has set it's defense is a key innovation that other teams are now copying. The use of small ball almost exclusively was somewhat gimmicky, but that was not why they lost this year.

IMHO, the problem was that their team defense was not well developed and their hald court offense tended to stagnate. These were D'Antoni issues, but had nothing to do with his syle being gimmicky.

 

[scXfreakX]

Happy we got Porter. No surprise though. I think everybody on this board knew it all along. Anyways, this new coach can either do well, or fail miserably. Obviously. But I really hope this team takes him seriously because we might have two more years of solid Nash, if that.

I think having a more defensive minded coach and a coach that will (hopefully) get along with car might just take us to the next level. This team needed more focus on defense. And with our already solid offense, this could be the added ingredient to take us over the top.

 

[CardNots]

Only thing I'm sure of, Porter will be the next SUNs coach to be fired.

 

[Irish]

Only thing I'm sure of, Porter will be the next SUNs coach to be fired.

Not if he quits.

 

[mojorizen7]

Not if he quits.

Good one.

You must be registered for see images

 

[nowagimp]

I disagree with the Silas thing and hope Porter is allowed to bring in his own people, all of them, whoever they are. Not who we want.

Yep, Porter knows more NBA vets/coaches than Kerr. Kerr should just shine sarvers shoes, slap him on the backa few times, go back to San Diego and refrain from selling draft picks. Terry Porter was one of the smartest/toughest PG's in the NBA in the last 20 years. Steve Kerr was a bench warmer who only played because he could shoot wide open shots with teammates like jordan and duncan being tripled, and someone else could guard his man, as he was never able to guard any NBA player or even be a significant help defender.

 

[Mainstreet]

I didn't like Kerr much the first time around and as of now, I'm liking him less. This puts be in a peculiar situation of having to hope Kerr knows more than he has showed. I just can't give up on the Suns. I have a feeling Sarver and Kerr are going to move on in a couple of years. I just hope the Suns don't end up like Seattle.

 

[Yuma]

FWIW, on Porter and D'Antoni's system:

Suns General Manager Steve Kerr said a key to Porter's selection was his familiarity as a player and assistant coach with Rick Adelman, whose system has similarities to what Mike D'Antoni ran as Phoenix's coach over the past four years. Kerr said that would help ease the transition.

 

[Irish]

The odd thing about Adelman is that he has had a variety of offensive schemes. With the Blazers, his team was run and gun. With the Kings, it was a high post team with variations of the Princeton offense. The Rockers last season did not look like either of thse two.

The fact that Porter has played for some great defense oriented coaches should be important, but none of the other coaching candidates know up tempo.

here are some comments by Coroo

http://www.azcentral.com/members/Blog/PaulCoro/25323

More from Porter

Here are more of the thoughts Terry Porter shared Monday, when he officially became the Suns coach. He spoke during a news conference and met with reporters more later:

OPENING STATEMENT: "I just can't tell you how pleased I am to stand before you today. I'm very excited about this opportunity to take over this team."

ON TEMPO: "I've always believed in playing high tempo and playing fast is important in this game. That's the way I liked to play just from my own personal experience from teams I've been on. From a defensive standpoint, you've got to have in this league an anchor at the defensive end. You've got to have some concepts in place and things in place that are going to help."

ON HEAD COACH EXPERIENCE: "You've got to be a head coach. You've got to be able to call time outs and know those situations and grow from those. Just the day-to-day things and obviously the game preparation part and end-of-game situations. As a point guard and a player, it's totally different."

ON COACHING INFLUENCES: "I've been blessed to play with some great coaches in this league. Each one, I've taken a bit from and molded into the way I think the game should be played and how I want guys to approach the game when they step on the floor."
ON THE SUNS' TITLE HOPES: "It is a championship-caliber team. They have some pieces in place that obviously have competed at that level. The last four years, Mike (D'Antoni) and his staff have done a great job. In the Western Conference to win 50-plus games, guys, it's not easy. I'm hopeful for the opportunity to continue to build this going forward."

ON DEFENSIVE APPROACH: "I'll be hands on when it comes to the defense. Every team that's had success in this league, you've got to have some defensive ideals and coverages and philosophies that you live by. You've got to make sure those things are in place and make sure the players are locked into them. That is something definitely I will talk a lot about with this team . . . It will be one of the most important things going forward."

ON BENCH USE: "One of the things Detroit did was really develop their bench and giving young guys quality playing time during the regular season. When it came playoff time, those guys had huge confidence as far as ability to step on the floor and contribute."

ON WHAT HE TOLD JOE DUMARS: "I told him, 'I'd like to let this (Suns) situation play out before I start anything else and see how it plays out.' "

ON NASH: "The thing from a point guard standpoint, Steve has done a great job since he's been here, is taking care of the ball. You are a team that's going to play uptempo. You can't turn over a lot of turnovers. That's something this team has done (well) over the last four, five years."

ON EXPECTATIONS: "Based on my past experience in Milwaukee, I had a much younger team. I think it's important you set that tone early with young guys just to make sure that is in place and the understanding that there are consequences when there is slippage in different areas on the defensive end or the offensive end for that matter."

ON STOUDEMIRE'S DEFENSE: "It's hard sometimes on the outside looking to try and evaluate a player. I know he's a heck of an athlete and he can do a lot of things at both ends of the floor. It's something we'll definitely talk bout and see what kind of necessary adjustments are needed in that area and we'll definitely sit down and talk to him about those areas."

ON CONVERSATIONS WITH KERR AS SPURS TEAMMATES: "We always talked a lot about the game and how the game was being merged and what would be the new things. We did talk a lot about the game and how he envisioned playing. I used to always ask him about the Chicago days because of Michael and Phil and we used to always talk about my Portland days."

MORE ON DEFENSE: "Commitment is important. I think when you talk about defense, it's got to be a desire and a lot of repetition. Players have got to see the different type of coverages and where the breakdowns happen. Then, at that point, it's just about lacing it up every day so everybody can get comfortable with what the concepts are and the coverages are and execute them."

ON PRACTICES: "I've never been a coach that goes three hours. Just from a player standpoint, I didn't want to be a part of those because the last hour and a half, you're not going to get much out of that. I think you can still get a lot done in a shorter time. You just have to have the guys locked in and focused and make sure their attention antennas are up."

ON DETROIT'S APPROACH TO PHOENIX: "The first thing we always talked about when playing the Suns was getting back in transition, taking away easy baskets, taking away layups, taking away Nash's initial thrust to the basket, his penetration, his lanes and trying to make him bring the ball back out or throw it to the point and close out on those guys."
ON EXPECTATIONS: "Everywhere I've gone is always about winning the championship, getting to the Finals, trying to get the opportunity. That's part of the community, right? Everybody wants to win the championship."

ON NASH AND HIS AGE: "I think he still has a lot left in the tank. I think it's important we still obviously put the right type of people around him and make sure at the end of the year ... there's been a lot of talk that he's been worn down. That's where I think at times we have to take a look at that during the regular season and see how he feels and see how his energy levels are and see if there are stretches where we need to give him a little bit more rest by using LB of somebody else, depending on who that particular player is. Because I played that position and have been a part of teams that have uptempo styles, you have to be careful as far as the wear and tear of the point guard because that's very important."

ON WHAT HAPPENED IN MILWAUKEE: "That was never explained to me, why they decided to go a different direction. Personally, I thought I was deserving of an opportunity to finish out my contract at the time. We had success the first year, had some injuries and made some moves during the second half of the second seasons that tried to clear some salary cap so it put us in a tough situation as far as trying to compete for a playoff spot."

ON THE SUNS: "When you step into a situation like this where they've had a lot of success and the vets have been around the game for a long time and had success themselves, they know how to win games for the most part."

ON HIS SIDELINE PERSONALITY: "I'm kind of a fiery guy. I have stretches of games where you will probably see some facial expressions and things of that nature. Eighty-two games is a long time. You can't be on an emotional roller coaster every night so there's going to be times when I'm even-keeled and times where the emotions carry over."

 

[chickenhead]

I loathed Porter as a player...because of Portland's playoff wins over the Suns in '90 and '92. A great competitor and I'm happy to have him on our side.

I also like the variety of his coaching experience so far. I realize that this was right after the Shaq trade, but the Pistons victory over the Suns in February was a domination in every facet of the game. Hopefully an inside man from the winning side can help us out

In any case, good luck to TP! He's a golfer, so I hope he enjoys golfing in 100+ heat, because we don't want him golfing any earlier...

 

[Irish]

I loathed Porter as a player...because of Portland's playoff wins over the Suns in '90 and '92. A great competitor and I'm happy to have him on our side.

I also like the variety of his coaching experience so far. I realize that this was right after the Shaq trade, but the Pistons victory over the Suns in February was a domination in every facet of the game. Hopefully an inside man from the winning side can help us out

In any case, good luck to TP! He's a golfer, so I hope he enjoys golfing in 100+ heat, because we don't want him golfing any earlier...

I don't think he'll get much free time this summer. He's got four years of video to watch, draft prospects to review, summer league to think about, off season preparation of the players to review, and free agents to consider.

 

[nowagimp]

Some think D'antoni was great but he had incredibly talented players who didn't improve individually or develop anyone.

That is just an ignorant statement, almost pure ignornace. Objective criticism is not in your bag is it? this criticism smell like a sewer, its almost the opposite of the truth.


So no one improved or developed under Dantoni?

Joe Johnson went from talented enigma to near all star, to the Hawks
Diaw, unwanted hawks scrub to NBA MIP
Barbosa, from a non english speaking rookie to NBA 6th man
Nash became 2 time NBA MVP, after being "washed up" according to cuban
Amare Stoudemire went from promising high schooler to 1st team all NBA.

All this happened under DAntoni, while the roster turnover was quite high as only Nash and amare remain from the '04 rotation.

Why dont you just stick to the non use of the bench or some other supportable argument like defensive strategy. there are plenty of supportable criticisms of DAntoni, he was a poor GM, he didnt acquire and retain quality assistant coaches.


And yes, steve Kerr an unproven nobody of a GM craps golden nuggets and trades away (2) #1 picks to unload an expiring contract.

 

[Mainstreet]

That is just an ignorant statement, almost pure ignornace. Objective criticism is not in your bag is it? this criticism smell like a sewer, its almost the opposite of the truth.


So no one improved or developed under Dantoni?

Joe Johnson went from talented enigma to near all star, to the Hawks
Diaw, unwanted hawks scrub to NBA MIP
Barbosa, from a non english speaking rookie to NBA 6th man
Nash became 2 time NBA MVP, after being "washed up" according to cuban
Amare Stoudemire went from promising high schooler to 1st team all NBA.

All this happened under DAntoni, while the roster turnover was quite high as only Nash and amare remain from the '04 rotation.

Why dont you just stick to the non use of the bench or some other supportable argument like defensive strategy. there are plenty of supportable criticisms of DAntoni, he was a poor GM, he didnt acquire and retain quality assistant coaches.


And yes, steve Kerr an unproven nobody of a GM craps golden nuggets and trades away (2) #1 picks to unload an expiring contract.

"Tell It All Brother Brother" comes to mind when you describe the above facts. I Have to give credit for the quote as it was a title to a song from a 1970 album by Kenny Rogers & The First Edition. It was a great song even if few people remember it any more. Some Suns fans will no longer be able to kick D'Antoni around anymore.

 

[cly2tw]

DA used the players given skills, but didn't develop their other skills. Putting up stats in his system doesn't mean the same thing like development. JJ's true "development" came only when he went to Hawks with more skills needed on his side to win games there. Amare's lack of postup games is likely due to lack of opportunities in real games.

It's one thing that you utilize a player's strength to the fullest. It's another to force that same player become one-dimentional, one-trick pony, and call it "development".

 

[Chaplin]

That is just an ignorant statement, almost pure ignornace. Objective criticism is not in your bag is it? this criticism smell like a sewer, its almost the opposite of the truth.


So no one improved or developed under Dantoni?

Joe Johnson went from talented enigma to near all star, to the Hawks
Diaw, unwanted hawks scrub to NBA MIP
Barbosa, from a non english speaking rookie to NBA 6th man
Nash became 2 time NBA MVP, after being "washed up" according to cuban
Amare Stoudemire went from promising high schooler to 1st team all NBA.

All this happened under DAntoni, while the roster turnover was quite high as only Nash and amare remain from the '04 rotation.

Why dont you just stick to the non use of the bench or some other supportable argument like defensive strategy. there are plenty of supportable criticisms of DAntoni, he was a poor GM, he didnt acquire and retain quality assistant coaches.

D'Antoni's tenure showed a lot of good things (as you detailed above), but in the end, the goal is to win a championship and that goal was never realized. Mike D'Antoni deserves all the criticism that comes along with failing to do so with a high-level team. This one criticism far outweighs the collective great things from the above post.

 

[Mainstreet]

DA used the players given skills, but didn't develop their other skills. Putting up stats in his system doesn't mean the same thing like development. JJ's true "development" came only when he went to Hawks with more skills needed on his side to win games there. Amare's lack of postup games is likely due to lack of opportunities in real games.

It's one thing that you utilize a player's strength to the fullest. It's another to force that same player become one-dimentional, one-trick pony, and call it "development".

D'Antoni developed Joe Johnson no matter how one looks at it. When he first arrived in Phoenix he was a very timid player. He became a star in Phoenix and then went to a weaker team so he could an All-Star. Also JJ did not want to be the fourth star in Phoenix. In regard to Amare, perhaps he is not a post-up player. I guess the other examples cited by Nowagimp doesn't mean anything either

 

[cly2tw]

D'Antoni developed Joe Johnson no matter how one looks at it. When he first arrived in Phoenix he was a very timid player. He became a star in Phoenix and then went to a weaker team so he could an All-Star. Also JJ did not want to be the fourth star in Phoenix. In regard to Amare, perhaps he is not a post-up player. I guess the other examples cited by Nowagimp doesn't mean anything either

Those with skills that fit his system could indeed become confident and perform complimentarily for better stats then would be in other systems. If developing is interpreted as "improving stats", then no dispute here. But it's not.