CardShark
DEAL WITH IT!
When you read the title of this thread you probably think of the Shaq/Marion trade. That was just a last minute desperation shot. The Suns were oh so close to having that championship team, but they were done in by financial mismanagement. Money became the deciding factor of the Suns. They overpaid players like Marion, Diaw and Thomas and it left no room to bring in players that could give them that extra push. So do the Suns trade away one of their starters for a player or players that can get them to the finals? Do they get the cap space that allows them to pursue the player or players they need? They did neither. I'm not against Shaq being in a Suns uniform, in fact I think he can help. The $20 mil a year is what I have the problem with. It leaves no room to get the kind of players that provide the Suns their identity. That of the fastest, most prolific offensive team in the league. They had to trade off KT along with draft picks to avoid a hefty luxury tax. They sold draft picks for cash, but those weren't just draft picks. They were young players that might have helped this team. They were the future. This happened before the trade for Shaq. That trade only emphasizes that the Suns have lost their identity and what made them contenders. Of course it's just my opinion, but I don't think this team has a chance in hell of winning a championship.
Now this team played poorly before Shaq was here, so maybe they weren't going to win it anyway. I felt that was due to a hangover from last years playoff fiasco. Kind of like how the loser of the SuperBowl usually goes into a funk the following season. The players may not say it, but hasn't everyone in Phoenix felt jobbed with that officiating heist? I think the players have put on their game face and said last year doesn't matter. I can't believe their is no lingering effect. I know as a fan there is and maybe it's where the team and fans have grown apart. What I mean is that the fans were still angry and they wanted the team to dominate their opponents, to crush them. Then in the first game against the Lakers, the Suns played so poorly that the fans outright booed them. What was the response from the players? "It's a long season and it's about the playoffs." Were they really putting that game into perspective or have they lost their fire. I tend to think it was the latter. So how do they get it back? They could play through and hope for something to ignite it, but Nash said it was no longer fun. Well fun and exciting was the spark, the catalyst for this team. Without that the Suns needed to add someone that could re-energize them. Enter Shaq. He's a presence on the court, but not the dominating presence the Suns needed. Yes all of the team said they were excited again, but it cost them another piece of their offense. Now it seems as though the Suns only have two legitmate threats from long range. It makes it much easier to guard this team. It won't be long before all the fun is gone again unless Kerr can make the right moves in time. They have to add not one but two more players before all is lost. Barry and Cassell. Barry is the outside shooter the Suns need and Cassell is the court gneral to run the offense with Nash on the bench. Of course we know that won't happen because the money is dictating the Suns at this point. That my friends is a direct result of mismanaging this team.
Of course I could be full of crap and just venting about what I see out on the floor these days.
Now this team played poorly before Shaq was here, so maybe they weren't going to win it anyway. I felt that was due to a hangover from last years playoff fiasco. Kind of like how the loser of the SuperBowl usually goes into a funk the following season. The players may not say it, but hasn't everyone in Phoenix felt jobbed with that officiating heist? I think the players have put on their game face and said last year doesn't matter. I can't believe their is no lingering effect. I know as a fan there is and maybe it's where the team and fans have grown apart. What I mean is that the fans were still angry and they wanted the team to dominate their opponents, to crush them. Then in the first game against the Lakers, the Suns played so poorly that the fans outright booed them. What was the response from the players? "It's a long season and it's about the playoffs." Were they really putting that game into perspective or have they lost their fire. I tend to think it was the latter. So how do they get it back? They could play through and hope for something to ignite it, but Nash said it was no longer fun. Well fun and exciting was the spark, the catalyst for this team. Without that the Suns needed to add someone that could re-energize them. Enter Shaq. He's a presence on the court, but not the dominating presence the Suns needed. Yes all of the team said they were excited again, but it cost them another piece of their offense. Now it seems as though the Suns only have two legitmate threats from long range. It makes it much easier to guard this team. It won't be long before all the fun is gone again unless Kerr can make the right moves in time. They have to add not one but two more players before all is lost. Barry and Cassell. Barry is the outside shooter the Suns need and Cassell is the court gneral to run the offense with Nash on the bench. Of course we know that won't happen because the money is dictating the Suns at this point. That my friends is a direct result of mismanaging this team.
Of course I could be full of crap and just venting about what I see out on the floor these days.
