Apr.30 at 9:05 am

maio says:
Quoth the Raven: Nevermore

Apr.30 at 9:08 am

whitewater says:
Shaq needs the rest

Apr.30 at 9:08 am

BxBaller says:
When will people understand, defense wins championships.

Apr.30 at 9:16 am

Cheryl says:
I just read that. Wow. He gets fired for something the GM did?

Apr.30 at 9:22 am

Ken says:
That’s sad. I really liked D’Antoni.

Apr.30 at 9:22 am

Captain America says:
No offense to Kerr, but shouldn’t he be updating his resume? Kerr’s coaching experience? Oh, didn’t think so.

Apr.30 at 9:26 am

Syk says:
i’m assuming he’s gonna head to toronto after colangelo fires mitchell.

Apr.30 at 9:27 am

Ryan Jones says:
One more time, just to be a dick: Would the Suns have done any better this year if they’d kept Shawn Marion?

Apr.30 at 9:29 am

Myk says:
No offense, but how many rings has Kerr got while playing point for bulls + spurs? And D’Antoni has how many? oh sorry I forgot, Mike ain’t got one.

Apr.30 at 9:35 am

Logan says:
plus i heard D’Antoni wanted Shaq on the team too..

Apr.30 at 9:37 am

DDB says:
The NBA sideshow known as D’Antoni’s Suns is finally over. Now that they will be playing defense again it may be harder to write them off before the post season even begins.

Apr.30 at 9:37 am

Esco says:
Mike should not be canned because of what Kerr did…Atleast give him a full season to see what can be done…Because a new coach will come in and will try and change the entire Suns team’s mentality…and that might not work out…at all

Apr.30 at 9:38 am

Esco says:
If he wanted Shaq…then too bad…I don’t care anyhow

Apr.30 at 9:44 am

maio says:
He wanted Shaq like SVG wanted to spend more time with his family.

Apr.30 at 9:47 am

Rasheedionics says:
How does (allegedly) best PG in the league (Nash) gets stripped by 80 year old Robert Horry with the game and the series on the line?? The truth is that both Shaq and Nash looked very old and tired. Nash played terrible besides hitting that game tying 3. But I believe his time is done. Time for the Suns to start rebuilding around Amare. He’s still young so they have time.

Apr.30 at 9:47 am

TADOne says:
But Mike won a championship in Italy!

Apr.30 at 9:55 am

Solito says:
Kerr prooved his point, buy putting a 350 lbs break pad on the fastest train in the league. Todays 7 footer run the floor like the 90’s Small Forwards. The game has evolved to more then just defense.

Apr.30 at 9:55 am

whooo! says:
Ryan, i dunno if you actually felt marion would have been better. shaq helped “contain” duncan to averages of 25 and 14. without him, amare would either foul out constantly, or duncan would’ve exploded for like 35 per. add to that the fact that marion shrinks vs the spurs because he gets his pts off transition and 2nd chance hustle pts, essentially off of undisciplined teams. he never does anything against the spurs. the suns would’ve done just as bad with marion, probably less close. the only benefit of marion is he comes off the books, whereas now they’re stapped w/ $40 mil (!) for 2 more years.

Apr.30 at 10:00 am

Harlem_World says:
I know its popular to Shaq-bash up in here - but if you look at the Series, Shaq held his end of the deal up. You KNEW he was never going to magically become a decent FT shooter. He was brought in to guard Duncan and provide a solid pivot on the offensive end. He did both of those things (when he was on the floor). If you have to call out one thing above all else that lost the suns this series, it has to be that Steve Nash couldn’t guard Bob Cousy, today.

Apr.30 at 10:05 am

RedRum says:
It was never going to work… you have two of the worst pick n roll defenders (nash and Shaq) against 3 of the best pick n roll runners (parker, Manu and TD). The Spurs much have run 50000 pick n rolls in those 5 games… What the Suns needed, is what the Spurs traded for: Kurt Thomas (as I said this is the most underrated trade of the year. thomas could defend the pick n roll well, checked Duncan 1 on 1, played D and rebounded. Wasn’t this why they traded for Shaq????

Apr.30 at 10:08 am

David says:
If they do let D’Antoni go, and I hope they don’t, which team would most benefit from him at the helm? Denver? Toronto? And I don’t think this is all about the Shaq-Marion trade. If the Suns pulled pretty much anyone else in the first round, do you think they’d lose? Even with the Spurs, no one thought they were going to go out so quickly (just like the last few years…)

Apr.30 at 10:10 am

J says:
I’m still a Shaq fan but he doesn’t complement Sun’s style. Spurs did a great job of breaking the Sun’s momentum by the hack-the-shaq strategy…everytime they have a run.

Apr.30 at 10:19 am

Fredo says:
Credit the Spurs (I know, tough words to say) for putting the game in Shaq’s free-throwing-is-for-lesser-mortals hands. As for D’Antoni…Chicago or Dallas would be great fits for him.

Apr.30 at 10:21 am

Tom says:
Mike D’Antoni…..welcome to the toronto raptors. Sam Mitchell….get the f*ck outta here and take TJ with you.

Apr.30 at 10:21 am

Ben Osborne says:
Would’ve liked to see how the Suns did with Nash playing 28 minutes a night and a real back-up PG playing 20, like how the Jazz utilized Stockton late in his career. Think it might’ve made a big difference.

Apr.30 at 10:27 am

MK Petrik says:
Question is, who do the Suns hire to replace Mike D’Antoni on the bench? Who is even out there?

Apr.30 at 10:52 am

whooo! says:
it also doesn’t help that the we can’t really look at amare and say, “you know what, he’s better than he was 3 years ago.” the ONLY thing that’s improved about his game since then is his jumper. not defense, not rebounding, not mental toughness/mistakes… nothing. isn’t that the whole point of potential, etc. 3 yrs ago, everyone thought, “this is him now, wait till we see him in a few years!” he’s still young, but he needs to develop on defense, or learn a post move.

Apr.30 at 10:54 am

whooo! says:
the best teams cover up for each other’s defensive deficiences. somehow, the suns seem to magnify their teammates weaknesses. it’s amazing really.

Apr.30 at 10:55 am

Ryan Jones says:
whoo! — that was exactly my point.

Apr.30 at 10:57 am

Co Co says:
They were a hell of a lot closer to a ship with Marion than they are now.

Apr.30 at 11:06 am

Eboy says:
Yeah Co Co, Marion did SO much in his new home too. Please.

Apr.30 at 11:09 am

Allenp says:
Let the record show that despite my hatred of Shaq, he held up his end of the bargain and made things very tough for Duncan. You can’t blame this on Shaq. He even hit free throws when the game was close. No, Steve Nash was the problem. His horrific defense forced the Suns to make Diaw guard Parker, which meant that two bigs were involved in pick and rolls all night. Also, Diaw was the Suns main offensive weapon, and he also had to guard the most aggressive player on the Spurs team! That’s a heavy load to carry while the announcers are slurping the balls of Steve Nash.

Apr.30 at 11:10 am

Allenp says:
Eboy, at least Marion would have slowed Tony Parker down some. I think Shaq did a great job on Duncan, really great. But, the Suns missed Marion’s defense, particularly with Grant Hill returning to his regular uniform of dress clothes.

Apr.30 at 11:12 am

Froggiestyle says:
oh well, sad to see shaq go out like that (albeit predictable) All eyez on U KB24

Apr.30 at 11:13 am

Eboy says:
AllenP is so right it’s painful. Nash is the goat without question. Tony Parker made him look like a D-League player or any current Miami Heat point guard.

Apr.30 at 11:14 am

Diesel says:
The Suns didn’t lose because of the Shaq trade. They wouldn’t have even made the playoffs with Marion. And D’antoni’s not getting fired because of the trade. He’s getting fired because all he’s done for 4 years was provide entertaining basketball with no real post season results. YOU NEED DEFENSE TO WIN IN THIS LEAGUE

Apr.30 at 11:14 am

Eboy says:
That’s possible Allen, but if Grant would have been available he could have filled Marion’s “stopper” role a tad better than the invisible D of Mr. Nash.

Apr.30 at 11:15 am

whooo! says:
Allenp and Eboy, dunno if you caught what Nash had said after game 3. he said that with the hack a shaq, he felt completely out of the offense, like an outsider to the play. they fouled shaq probably 4 times that entire game, unlike game 5. when on earth would you ever hear a supposed mvp, let alone one who has the ball in his hands, say he felt like an outsider and couldn’t control the game?

Apr.30 at 11:17 am

Eboy says:
Diesel’s pretty on point too.

Apr.30 at 11:18 am

Eboy says:
Right whooo, but that also falls on D’Antoni’s shoulders. Take Shaq out. Leave him on the bench. Go small. Make the Spurs adjust. F*ck it, they had nothing to lose, and now….they’re gone.

Apr.30 at 11:19 am

ciolkstar says:
Nash is that team’s coach on the floor and he fell apart last night. Whether or not they’d like to admit it, the Suns have a self fulfilling inferiority complex when it comes to the Spurs. What an intense game though. Literally every possesion in the last 6 minutes was huge. The Suns and their fans constantly complain about the Spurs luck, tactics,etc… but they beat themselves pure and simple.

Apr.30 at 11:20 am

Co Co says:
Marion played like every other Superstar on the Heat when he arrived……. There was NOTHING he could do to help his “new home”. They had 9 wins when he got there. Stop it Eboy, all I’m saying is the Suns at least gave the Spurs a run with Marion.

Apr.30 at 11:23 am

Eboy says:
Yeah, Co Co, they had SO much success against the Spurs in the past with Maid Marion flirting around with his ugly ass jumper. Let’s talk about something more exciting (can’t believe I’m typing this) your Hawks. I want them to take tonight’s game so bad, but I have a feeling they may get hammered and take a real close game .

Apr.30 at 11:24 am

whooo! says:
taking shaq out had its benefits, but nash as the leader of the team should have somehow learned to impact the game more. when he didn’t have the ball in his hands, which is what the spurs made him do by feeding diaw, nash was completely USELESS. it was d’antoni’s fault in that regard, going to a mismatch they had never exploited during the regular season, and had everyone just standing around not knowing what to do.

Apr.30 at 11:25 am

Eboy says:
* a real close game 6 at home.

Apr.30 at 11:26 am

whooo! says:
oh, and the funniest play of the series came in game 4. a pick n roll w/ shaq and diaw or nash, and duncan gets a nice pass of the roll, and dunks uncontested. on the bottom of the screen, you see amare underneath the basket, his back to the play, and having no idea what happened until he felt duncan dunking. the mna had no clue what was going on during the defensive set, and he’s your last line of defense?

Apr.30 at 11:26 am

Co Co says:
We’re going to win.

Apr.30 at 11:27 am

Diesel says:
If you’re going to get mad at a trade, get mad at the moves made to avoid the luxury tax BEFORE Kerr took over. Getting rid of Thomas and every single one of their draft picks didn’t help the Suns. Give Kerr a year or two before you throw him under the bus.

Apr.30 at 11:36 am

People's Princess says:
Fu{k it,if Sarver’s decided just to keep his picks over the past 3 years,they would’ve had some combination of Rondo and Deng/Iguodala.Let that sink in.The current Suns squad+2 of the better perimeter defenders in the Lig right now.

Apr.30 at 11:41 am

Khalid Salaam says:
D’antoni main problem is that he never created a bench. the reservee never got enough burn during the reg season. now granted with the west’s competitiveness he couldn’t afford to let them learn on the job but thats been a problem with the suns for a few seasons. not just this yr. i felt that they were good with the starting 5 but could never count on anything from the bench. esp size. and for all those who blame this on the marion/shaq trade, i would appreciate it if you guys would actually WATCH the games.

Apr.30 at 11:45 am

Sko says:
The key here, was not just Shaq vs Marion, but Shaq vs (Marion + Kurt Thomas) and Kurt Thomas counts double, cuz he ended up on the other side. good ownership is not just about spending more money, but it is about spending money wisely

Apr.30 at 12:00 pm

Ryan Jones says:
No, no, Diesel, you’ve got it all wrong. Kerr is obviously a horrible GM. Just like Mitch Kupchak.

Apr.30 at 12:02 pm

RedRum says:
I have said it before: the Spurs made an ingenius trade with Thomas. They acquired the only player that could play Duncan 1 on 1, while also getting one of the few players that could play Amare 1 on 1.

Apr.30 at 12:10 pm

Sko says:
no doubt, like the lakers getting Battier, just to keep him out of circulation

Apr.30 at 12:17 pm

WhaHuh says:
apparently DJ Strawberry is good at defense, but we never saw him come off the bench.

Apr.30 at 12:19 pm

Tommy Patron says:
I’d take D’Antoni in Chicago, no question.

Apr.30 at 12:20 pm

namik says:
Mitch Kupchak’s assist man was Jerry West. And West has always been a great passer.

Apr.30 at 12:20 pm

tike says:
WOW they should fire Kerr after all he did bring in the Disel in the middle of the season i hope he didnt think it was going to work-out…..now im waiting too see what PHX does there alot older next year with Shaq Nash and Hill

Apr.30 at 12:21 pm

ciolkstar says:
Kila kurt did do a great job on Amare all series but especially in game 5. I def think bringing Kurt in has been an underrated addition. I want to see him continue to defend/board and hit a few open Js — When he and our other role players contribute offensively, we’re a beast.

Apr.30 at 12:24 pm

ciolkstar says:
Don’t Fire Kerr. What if he pulls a Poppovich and tries to make himself head coach? I actually think it could be a great move. Steve Kerr was a clutch NBA performer (HUGE understatement)and a geat basketball mind. D’Antoni’s approach was novel and successful in the regular season, but I think Kerr understands more about what it takes to win playoff series’ in the NBA.

Apr.30 at 12:32 pm

Diogo says:
Marion wouldn’t have made a difference. They’d still lose. The Spurs are simply better. And it was Parker who killed them, not Duncan.

Apr.30 at 12:35 pm

Allenp says:
Like a couple of people said, the Suns management (Not Kerr) failed to get a complete team because they wanted to avoid spending money. Period. They gave up Rondo, who would have been great for them, they traded Kurt Thomas, and they lost out on Iggy. Point blank, the Suns decided to ride their offense and seven rotation players and two of those seven were horrible on defense. That Spurs don’t have that problem. I like Mike D’Antoni in Chicago where the defensive foundation has already been laid. I see him having the same sort of success that Adelman had in replacing Van Gundy.

Apr.30 at 12:35 pm

Allenp says:
Steve Nash should have Tony Parker’s name tattooed on his lower back.

Apr.30 at 12:41 pm

Tariq says:
If the Suns had BOTH Shaq and Marion, they’d be really dangerous. They covered their a$$es, which had gone uncovered for so long, with the acquisition of Shaq. But in the process they left their balls vulnerable to the gusty, cold winds of San Antonio(?). I enjoy mixing and matching my metaphors.

Apr.30 at 12:49 pm

Eboy says:
T, no coverage for the taint?

Apr.30 at 12:51 pm

albie1kenobi says:
for my first ever NBA related dream, i dreamt that i hung out with iverson and camby briefly and AI said he was gonna go to the bulls. i thought that wasn’t a bad idea in my dream (the bulls has been missing that alpha dog scorer/leader the last couple of years), but now i realize it may not be a good idea for the team to get even smaller than they already are.

Apr.30 at 12:52 pm

Myles Brown says:
The Suns were a bloody nose and a STAT suspension away from beating the Spurs last year. Ill never understand why they traded for someone who would take Nash outta the offense, be exposed at the free throw line and on the pick and roll. And Shaq slowed Duncan down? Who left him wide open for that game tying three? Who refused to hedge on that screen roll for the entirety of game 3? And yeah, Shaq made his FT when they “counted” down the stretch, but if he made the ten that “didnt count” in the first half, maybe theyd have pulled it out. And Im not saying this to place the brunt of the blame on Shaq-Nash and Diaw f*cked up plenty in that series- but this he held his end up sh*t is puzzling. If they stayed pat with Marion, they would have had a higher seed since they wouldnt have struggled with any adjustment periods and they wouldnt even have played the Spurs. Nash would be a different player, at least offensively and the team wouldnt be missing its most versatile player. Shaq was brought in for defense and rebounding. I didnt see much of it. Personally I would have rather had Marion.

Apr.30 at 12:56 pm

Eboy says:
Myles obviously has never constructed a title inning basketball program.

Apr.30 at 12:57 pm

Eboy says:
Or winning.

Apr.30 at 12:58 pm

albie1kenobi says:
as for something related to this post, d’antoni shouldn’t be fired because the suns had to do a 180 degree change in the middle of the season. HOWEVER, d’antoni has to shoulder A LOT of blame for the series loss. (even though i root for the spurs) i hated the hack-a-shaq tactic, but it makes no sense for d’antoni to keep shaq on the floor for all this hoopla. it was a genius (and ass) move for Pop to completely negate suns’ strength (their offense). nash also was uncharacteristically sloppy and had way too many turnovers that killed them. the usually sure hands of nash and amare were not there. nash really shows how amazing chris paul is.

Apr.30 at 1:01 pm

Stewie Griffin says:
You know, this series could have gone either way…the Spurs were lucky to grab game one…had the Suns won that game, it would have been very different. And don’t forget Grant Hill, a starter should I remind, was limited to only 60 minutes in those five games. I don’t think a new coach is gonna change anything, this Suns ain’t gonna win a championship with such old and injury prone starters.

Apr.30 at 1:04 pm

Tariq says:
Eboy: “no coverage for the taint?” Um..huh?

Apr.30 at 1:07 pm

Eboy says:
T, I forgot….as smart as you are….you are sort of American ignorant. You mentioned coverage for the Suns asses and balls, I referenced the taint, the area between both of those. Capice?

Apr.30 at 1:08 pm

albie1kenobi says:
i also fail to see how any coach can make this defensively challenged team play defense

Apr.30 at 1:09 pm

Tariq says:
Oh…that’s what Brian Skinner’s Beard is for. But I’m not “American ignorant”, whatever that means.

Apr.30 at 1:09 pm

albie1kenobi says:
i didn’t know that either, Eboy. i suppose i’m also american ignorant too.

Apr.30 at 1:11 pm

Mark Z says:
You can’t have it both ways. Everyone loved the Suns up and down style. Now D’Antoni is bashed for his approach since it will only take them so far. Yes, defense wins championships, but there are only so many Ducan’s to go around. Caps off to D’Antoni for overseeing one of the most entertaining teams of this decade. Ownership & the League should thank him for the piles of cash his run & gun style brought in the door. No they didn’t get a ring, but neither did 29 other teams….

Apr.30 at 1:12 pm

Tariq says:
Myles: I agree. The Suns would have been better off just keeping Marion, even though they still wouldn’t have won a title. Which poses the question: Which is worse: the Shaq trade or the Kidd trade? Both were awful, but I hate Dallas’s move even more. P.S.
I will try to start calling Shaq “Unicron” because he consumed both the Suns’s cap space AND their title aspirations. The Appleman-inspired “Big Slowpoke Gonzalez” also works.

Apr.30 at 1:19 pm

Myles Brown says:
Well they were both title contenders and now theyre both, um, not. You could argue that Dirk still has plenty of years left, whereas Nash has two at the most. But I guess what it comes down to is would you want to pay a marginal player whos depleted your team $20 mil for one more (Kidd) or two more (Shaq) years? I think Stern should force the Suns to trade Nash for Kidd.

Apr.30 at 1:24 pm

Eboy says:
albie, you get a pass since you haven’t ever claimed to have been in the stratosphere of big thinkers like Tariq.

Apr.30 at 1:25 pm

Allenp says:
Myles, I thought Shaq made Duncan work on offense. Duncan had a very Iverson-like shooting night last night. He was like 10 for 30 or something. However, the real problem was with Parker. Nobody could stop him, and all the trickery in the world couldn’t hide that fact.

Apr.30 at 1:25 pm

TADOne says:
So who is screwed worse: The Suns or the Mavs?

Apr.30 at 1:32 pm

albie1kenobi says:
thanks eboy. good thing i can get away with stuff like that, otherwise i may be branded as a traitor or something and get deported.
TADOne, good call on the (almost) 20 point piston W yesterday.

Apr.30 at 1:33 pm

G Diesel says:
Destiny has to be fulfilled. Mike D’Antoni will take the Toronto Raptors to the NBA Finals.

Apr.30 at 1:36 pm

Myles Brown says:
Shaq did make Duncan work in the low post no doubt. But when they went to the screen roll he enabled Parkers success as much as Nash. He just didnt have the lateral movement to make himself a threat and he was never committed to defending that play anyway. I like to think that Marion could have solved some of those defensive mismatches since he can guard any position from 1-4. And while Shaq did open up things on offense for STAT, dude always got his against the Spurs anyway.

Apr.30 at 1:36 pm

Khalid Salaam says:
the mavs are absolutely screwed worse.

Apr.30 at 1:37 pm

TADOne says:
Ahhh, you noticed Albie. I’ve predicted a 10 point win on Thursday.

Apr.30 at 1:38 pm

Tariq says:
“American ignorant” is apparently a phrase used exclusively by ignorant Americans.

Apr.30 at 1:42 pm

Tariq says:
What I want to know is this: obviously the Suns had a problem with Parker from the get-go. They weren’t going to solve that problem, no matter what they did. But why didn’t they IMMEDIATELY decide: OK, we’re not going to let Nash guard TP. Put someone else on him, zone up, whatever. Please explain this to me.

Apr.30 at 1:46 pm

Eboy says:
That zinger had no zing, T.

Apr.30 at 1:47 pm

albie1kenobi says:
suns made absolutely no adjustments throughout the series. and the fact that the suns keep on insisting to post diaw on ginobili only worked out 1 out of maybe 10 times for them. that’s not good basketball.

Apr.30 at 1:48 pm

Eboy says:
T, they had Grant on him for some moments when he actually played and he did mildly better than Nash, just on his length alone.

Apr.30 at 1:51 pm

albie1kenobi says:
d’anotoni should have at least try to put raja on parker to see how that’d work out. granted the spurs may just let ginobili go wild instead, but at least they’d throw a wrinkle into the spurs.

Apr.30 at 1:52 pm

Ryan Jones says:
“If they stayed pat with Marion, they would have had a higher seed since they wouldnt have struggled with any adjustment periods.” Right. Because Shawn was SO happy in Phoenix, the rest of the season was just guaranteed to be peachy if they’d kept the Matrix in town. Revisionist!

Apr.30 at 1:55 pm

albie1kenobi says:
btw, i’m watching/listening to inside the nba online right now, and kenny just mentioned that suns and mavs couldn’t execute down the stretch because the teams aren’t familiar with each other, but lakers can execute down the stretch. the difference is that shaq and kidd CHANGED the system already in place (essentially bad fits), while gasol fits in perfectly with his skill sets.

Apr.30 at 1:56 pm

Myles Brown says:
They were 34-14 when they had him. And he wasnt exactly peaches and cream every other year either, but when he hit the court he did his job. Are you saying he wouldve sabotaged the team?

Apr.30 at 1:57 pm

Ryan Jones says:
Also: Presumptuous!

Apr.30 at 1:59 pm

Myles Brown says:
Um, good answer.

Apr.30 at 2:03 pm

Ryan Jones says:
I’m saying what I’ve already written (nerd!), and what you know: That Marion was known to be unhappy and wanted out, and that the Suns as constructed had never beaten these Spurs when it mattered. Yes, they’d been close, but you know as well as I that close can be deceiving — these Spurs OWNED those Suns, and no actual on-court result gives us any reason to think otherwise. With Shaq, pick and roll and FT deficiencies aside, they had a guy who’d beaten the Spurs en route to titles. Hence, it was worth a shot. It was never LIKELY to work, but neither was standing pat. And (stop me if you’ve read this before) at least they tried SOMETHING.
CAPITAL LETTERS ARE AN EFFECTIVE MEANS OF IMPLYING EMPHASIS.

Apr.30 at 2:05 pm

Ryan Jones says:
The Suns with Shaq were DIFFERENT, not deficient…

Apr.30 at 2:08 pm

Ryan Jones says:
That last one was a test, Mr. Brown.

Apr.30 at 2:08 pm

Gambeta says:
I don’t know why everyone constantly trashes the Suns as never doing anything in the postseason. They made it to two consecutive western conference finals which makes them better then all but 3 teams. Also two out of the last three years they lost to the team that went on to win the championship (the Spurs) and it could happen again this year. Granted they haven’t won the championship but I hardly think you can say they didn’t do ANYTHING in the playoffs because they don’t play defense. If anything every time I watch Spurs and Suns in a series the Suns lose because of lack of late game execution more than anything else (see games 1 and 5). the 2005 series was the same way which ironically the Suns also lost in 5 if memory serves.

Apr.30 at 2:13 pm

Co Co says:
I just can’t get behind the idea that “they had to do something” so it justifies making a bad trade. This is not Shaq or KIdd from 2000! I mean, if they could have gotten him for nothing like the Kwame for Pau situation then yeah you take that “risk”, but the Suns and Mavs got old real fast and they initiated it. That’s bad management, I don’t care what you guys say.

Apr.30 at 2:16 pm

Bro. D. says:
Adding Shaq was like putting a Clydesdale on a wagon drawn by race horses.

Apr.30 at 2:16 pm

Tariq says:
Ryan: Using numbered lists would also help your argument. They give the illusion of organized thought.

Apr.30 at 2:21 pm

albie1kenobi says:
when the shaq trade went down and the suns were losing games immediately, most people called it a bust. i said wait until the playoff to evaluate because that trade was strictly for that.
even after being ousted by the team that they made this move for, i can’t say it was a complete failure, for the reasons Ryan just noted. i’d place more of the blame on antoni’s incapability to make adjustments and the players for not executing (stevie nash turned the ball over out of a time out TWICE last night).

Apr.30 at 2:24 pm

albie1kenobi says:
Co Co, those teams were not going to win the title pre-trade anyway. they rolled the dice and went all in and lost. although i think the mavs might have matched up against the hornets much better with harris and diop, there was no guarantee that they’d even make it to the post season.

Apr.30 at 2:31 pm

Kevin says:
siiiigh

Apr.30 at 2:31 pm

Co Co says:
I understand they weren’t going to win as currently constructed, but that doesn’t justify making a bad trade. It just doesn’t. They didn’t learn anything new about themselves in February that they didn’t know last June. They reacted to what the Lakers did, only problem is the Lakers didn’t give up anything to get Pau. Unfortunately they weren’t savy enough to pull off something equally amazing.

Apr.30 at 2:36 pm

Russ Bengtson says:
At least the Suns will be much better next year. Oh, wait.

Apr.30 at 2:43 pm

Tariq says:
The Suns should trade Amare for Danny Manning.

Apr.30 at 2:45 pm

albie1kenobi says:
“Unfortunately they weren’t savy enough to pull off something equally amazing.”
i’d say that’s more of the grizz being unbelievable and gave something away for nothing. no sane person would trade a slightly used mercedes for a broken tercel.

Apr.30 at 2:49 pm

Co Co says:
Doesnt make Mitch look any less savy……… Pat Riley looks like a genius for getting rid of Shaq’s contract and the Nets got a very good young point guard for a used to be very good old point guard. Genius.

Apr.30 at 3:18 pm

henry says:
apparently d’antoni isnt gone..

Apr.30 at 3:18 pm

what says:
When your two best players are arguably the worst defensive players in the NBA at their respective positions, you’re not gonna win a title.

Apr.30 at 3:31 pm

albie1kenobi says:
Co Co, THAT i can agree with (still not the mitch cupcake part, i remember i was stunned by the ridiculousness of grizz for a whole friday)

Apr.30 at 4:06 pm

brenden_7 says:
Shaq is to old…he should just retire in my opinion but whatever…

Apr.30 at 5:08 pm

B. Long says:
This is another team in need of extreme roster changes. Only player that should be untouchable is Amare. Steve Kerr will be lucky to get his TNT job back and Shaq’s newest nickname is offically The Big Disappointment. Please let Nash get out of this train wreck while he still has a little tread on the tires.

Apr.30 at 5:11 pm

1hush D says:
I wonder what the Suns would have looked like with Marion and instead of Shaq, maybe Webber or Thomas? Webber or Thomas would have been at least as adequate compared to the diesel.

Apr.30 at 5:19 pm

The Promise says:
If Steve Kerr wanted Mike D’Antoni to stay there, he would not have traded for Shaq. He realized that they are not going to win with him, so he let him go in hopes of finding a defensive coach that can take them all the way. But they better hurry, cause Shaq and Nash are not spring chickens anymore, so they have to find a guy that will make them a top contender right away…they can still do it if they play their cards right…they just need to go into this offseason looking to change the style of this team without a major shakeup…one thing they should look into is finding a big time defensive player that can guard a guy like Kobe or Parker, guys that they have had serious trouble with…if they do that and find a defensive minded coach to go with it, I would watch out for them next year.

Apr.30 at 5:29 pm

Allenp says:
The guy named What made the same point I’ve made over and over again. You can’t have two horrible defenders in your rotation and expect to be a championship team. You can hide one player, but never two. It doesn’t happen.

Apr.30 at 7:54 pm

The Biz says:
The Suns should seriously go after Larry Hughes

Apr.30 at 8:38 pm

Bubba Chuck says:
Fire Coach Karl!

Apr.30 at 8:44 pm

Dacre says:
Woe…. I would like to think the Suns can add to what they have….Sure Nash has a place still but the idea that another PG is needed to compliment the offense might be worth considering - Marcus Banks was there however at one point…D’Antoni’s court time philosophy needs work, I think using more of the roster through the season would benefit too - this 7-8 man rotation doesn’t work… AVERY JOHNSONS ON THE MARKET NOW….This could get interesting.
Thank you Phoenix for a good year. An exciting year - a little short however…
SEE YOU ALL NEXT YEAR!

Apr.30 at 10:05 pm

Jukai says:
FORGET ALL OF YOU: THIS IS GREAT NEWS! I AM HAPPY ABOUT THIS!!!!

Apr.30 at 10:31 pm

Joseph says:
LMAO AllenP killed it, Nash should get his Tony Parker ‘tramp stamp’ ink just like Eva

Apr.30 at 11:36 pm

mongoose says:
I think suns have the 3 of the worst screen and roll defenders in Nash, Shaq, AND Amare. The only reason game 5 was close is that kurt thomas, duncan, and parker were not hitting the midrange game. I think Utah (williams and boozer and memo pick and roll) New orleans (west and cp3 pick and roll) Lakers (best interior passing team) would have beat the suns. I don’t think they were even remotely close to a title contender.

May.1 at 4:15 am

LAN says:
i recon hed b good in chicago with a small team like that

May.1 at 12:58 pm

Mark Z says:
I’d argue that Kerr’s big trade actually weakened the team defensively. Marion would routinely guard almost every position. Shaq couldn’t do that, neither could Hill, Barbosa, Diaw, etc. Simply demanding the team play D without the players or coaches to execute any kind of defensive scheme isn’t going to work.

May.1 at 1:55 pm

j melo says:
why has george karl not been fired yet?