How Can It Have All Spiraled Out Of Control Like This ………?
How Can It Have All Spiraled Out Of Control Like This ?
With the abrupt firing and departure of Terry Porter from the Phoenix Suns. It can be said that fallout from it all has been staggering. Never mind the fact that it’d been rumored that the franchise was prepared to trade their All Star forward with a view to changing the whole identity of the team.
Alvin Gentry (foreground) and GM Steve Kerr have some fun whilst awaiting questions from the convened press. picture appears courtesy of nbae/getty images/ David D Garrabant .............
This season the team has not so much stumbled but merely fell out of starting gate. And they’ve yet to show any glimpse as to what had made them so successful under their former coach Mike D’Antoni. General Manager Steve Kerr has bungled his way through transactions that they weren’t exactly of benefit to the team overall. Since the trade of the Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks whereby in return they obtained 15 time All Star center Shaquille O’Neal from the Miami Heat. The team has really struggled to show some semblance of consistency. And even with the acquisition also of Jason Richardson things have somewhat gotten back on an even keel. But the player himself has proven what those within the league have known all along. He’s something of a knucklehead. He’s been suspended for one game by the team after a traffic incident that’s somewhat disturbing.
Suns' cheerleaders perform at the 2009 All Star Game at the US Airways Center in Phoenix, Az. picture appeaers courtesy of ap/photo/ Dennis Brunton ..............
They’re still the same offensive minded team and albeit that Porter was brought in to put some defensive toughness into the team. The same old persona remains on a team that’s still trying to find a new identity. Kerr for his part hasn’t really provided the fans with a sound explanation as to the travails of the team. But one would dare believe that the fans themselves must’ve been baying for his blood upon the announcement that Terry Porter had been fired. Never mind the fact that he’s offered no specifics other than to suggest that the team is now going in another direction. As to what direction might be is open to a great deal of debate and conjecture.
Interim coach Alvin Gentry takes questions from the attending press having just been introduced as the Suns' new coach by GM Steve Kerr . picture appears courtesy of ap/photo/ Dennis Brunton ................
Porter in the meantime has been replaced by Alvin Gentry as the team’s coach on an interim basis. It’s hard to see how he’ll succeed in light of the failure of Porter. And though Gentry , himself has coached within the league before. His successes aren’t exactly highlighted by anything tangible. Though he’s respected by the players it’s hard to see what he’ll do differently from his predecessor. The inexplicable has happened under the tenure of Kerr as GM the team has regressed rather than improved. And sad as it is to say since Jerry Colangelo relinquished control of the team. Things haven’t been the same since. And although his son Bryan Colangelo remained behind for a brief stint . Once he’d had enough and the sale of the franchise was made to entrepreneur Robert Sarver. Things just seemed to have spiraled completely out of control.
And as knowledgeable as it was believed Kerr might’ve been . His credentials as an executive does leave a lot to be desired. It were as if the mistakes made by his former teammate with the Chicago Bulls in Michael Jordan were indeed something of template for what would follow with the Suns. Jordan’s fluffs as a front office executive with the Washington Wizards and Charlotte Bobcats are the stuff that legends are made of. Though in Jordan’s case already being a legend on the court just didn’t seem to be enough for him. He became the laughing stock around the league. Though it has to be said that there are other candidates within the NBA who can attest to the fact that they’ve done just as damning a job in their respective front offices. You can ponder the names of those individuals for yourselves.
Suns' center Shaquille O'Neal in the locker room at the interval of the All Star Game held in Phoenix, Arizona,. picture appears courtesy of ap/photo/ Paul Attwood ............
With little more than thirty games remaining in the regular season the team will have to play at a clip above .500 or better if they’re to be in with a realistic chance of making the playoffs. They sit some 13 ½ games behind the division leading Los Angeles Lakers (42-10) in the Pacific Standings. And with the Lakers seemingly on a charge to make it back to the Western Conference Finals. You’d be hard pressed to think that the Phoenix Suns would indeed have what it takes to post a serious challenge to the men in purple and gold.
The Suns’ record of (28-23) places them ninth amongst the teams in the playoff chase in the Western Conference. And they merely sit a game behind the eighth place Utah Jazz (30-23). The struggles of the Suns haven’t been lost on their fans. And though there’ve yet to have been any vocal demonstrations against the franchise. It was to be said that their displeasure has to be now fomenting to a boiling point. The core of the team isn’t getting any younger and the window of opportunity for the team is quickly closing shut. Albeit that the hinges on the door aren’t yet squeaking. It also hasn’t help the situation with no doubt tensions rising as to the what might’ve been viewed as the impending trade of power forward Amar’e Stoudemire. The player was said to be somewhat disgruntled and had plainly made his wishes felt to whomever was prepared to listen. With the change in coaching duties with the promotion of Gentry from an assistant to coach on an interim basis. It is now not only Gentry and the franchise’s livelihood that’ll be on the line. But also that of Steve Kerr’s as well. He was the original architect of this all. And if anything it ought to be his head that’s placed on the chopping block , should the team fail to make the postseason and beyond.
Porter (left) seen here alongside Gentry in a game played against the Detroit Pistons at the Palace Of Auburn Hills, Mi,. picture appears courtesy of getty images/ Neal Thorpe ....................
There’s only so much that can be expected from point guard Steve Nash as a player and last I looked he wasn’t viewed as a miracle worker. Despite what many of us had been led to believe. It may not bode well for the franchise at this juncture but it’ll be very interesting and intriguing to see how they’ll fare over the remainder of the season. Kerr and the franchise will have to sink or swim with the decisions made.
tophatal1
Leave a Reply