Angry Shannon Brown Says Phoenix Suns ‘Lied’ to Him

According to Shannon Brown, Phoenix Suns management deceived him about his role on the team this season. Brown, glued to the bench for the last two months, blasts his employer. Per the AZ Republic: “I did what I needed to do as a starter and handled my business,’ Brown said. ‘For some reason, they want to cut my legs from under me. I know I’m built for it. I did a great job of holding my composure and not letting it get to me to where I did something detrimental to my career. I showed a lot of character by sitting back while I was taken advantage of in a lot of ways. I’ve done everything asked of me in practice and made sure to show these people what time it is. It definitely hurts to sit on the bench, watching us lose night in and night out knowing I can help and being lied to. It’s been a crazy year. I’m just glad I made it through.’ Shortly after Lindsey Hunter became interim head coach, Brown moved to the end of the bench to create playing time for Wes Johnson, who is averaging 13.5 points as a starter. Brown made spot appearances in five of the past 27 games when Hunter was displeased with the team’s effort. Out of respect, Hunter said he would not use Brown in mop-up duty but also did not play him Saturday night when only nine other players were available at Minnesota. ‘I was told that it would change,’ Brown said. ‘It’s one thing hoping. It’s another thing being told that and it doesn’t happen. I could see if we were winning, but we just won our first game in 11 games. The part that hurts most is, whenever I step on the court, I give whatever I got even though it might not be the best situation. I give it all until it hurts. It hurts even more when you’re always fighting an uphill mountain-climb battle with no gear, butt-naked out there, clawing and scratching. People come to me and apologize for what’s going on.’ Asked who pledged a change or lied, Brown only said, ‘The people in charge.’ […] ‘I’m glad I didn’t let my emotions get the best of me and lash out like I normally do,’ Brown said. ‘Younger Shannon Brown would’ve been out of the NBA for doing something he couldn’t handle. I’ve been through enough.'”