Hardwood Paroxysm Porter Bounced: Who’s Got The Wheel In Phoenix?
by Matt Moore
Coro’s got the official unofficial word. It’s particularly interesting as Friday the Suns pulled hard to refute the rumors.
So the questions abound. Let’s tackle them one at a time.
Did Porter deserve it?
Deserving to get fired is a tricky subject. I mean, really, in order to really “deserve” to get fired, you need to do something inexcusable. You can pile up reasons to go in “another direction” which is closer to what Porter did. He failed to manage egos and failed to bring the best out of the club. He failed to manage rotations effectively. And he failed to provide the team with anything that could even remotely resemble an identity. This may surprise you, but I don’t blame the Suns’ in-game failures on Porter. When I look at the work he’s done, and the attitude he’s taken (the hard practices, the defensive minded coaching, the simplistic pathos), I can’t find fault with it intrinsically. Let me put it this way: If you gave Porter a young club like Portland, Minnesota, Charlotte (pre-trades), or even Miami, I think he might be able to do a pretty good job. He’d be an excellent stepping stone for a team at the very least.
The problem is that this club was made of veterans, who are ready to win now. They don’t need to be pushed, prodded, or bullied. Even Amare, who could use tough love, needs it within the context of a relationship he trusts, not a bully sent in to shove him around. This is an aspect of professional basketball that makes college basketball enthusiasts cry in agony, the concept of a player needing to be “babied.” But it’s a reality in this league, and if you want to get the most out of Amare, you need to let him do his thing, and then convince him that what you want is his idea. My wife pulls this with me all the time, which essentially means that I am the Amare Stoudemire of house chores. But I digress. It wasn’t Porter’s fault that he didn’t do what he needed to, or that he did it badly. He was brought in to do something that wasn’t going to work regardless. Porter could have taught a young team to walk before they run, but the Suns were ready to fly. And in the confusion they crashed and burned.
So who’s fault was it?
You knew this was coming.
Look, Steve Kerr is probably a really great guy. Loves his family. Definitely has the respect of those in the league. Handles himself with class and professionalism. He’s got a great basketball mind and may even have a tremendous mind for basketball business.
None of this changes the fact that he has completely submarined the Phoenix Suns franchise and is now spreading the blame. That Porter was ill-equipped to lead this team isn’t his fault, it’s the fault of the person that chose a drill sergeant for a general’s job. Kerr not only sacrificed this team’s soul, he led it to the dungeon to chain it. Everything has been driven off of the Kerr Defensive Concept.
As a Chiefs fan, I’m uniquely aware of how this kind of thing goes. In 2005, Herm Edwards took over the Chiefs, who at the time held one of the most devastating offensive attacks in the NFL. He promised to keep the offense the same, but add a defensive presence, and said that hybrid would lead to a championship. Yet from the very beginning there were changes that showed that was not the case. And with every excuse for the failures of the club, there were signs that reflected the overall “good ol’ football” approach of Herm’s entire scheme. Similarly, Kerr’s defensive-approach and pro-2003 veterans influence was shown in all of the decisions: Pushing the offense through Shaq. Trading for Jason Richardson. Slowing the game down. Hiring a disciplinarian. It all reflected an overall policy set, one that was deeply, inherently flawed: trying to duplicate the Spurs.
I’m always stunned when Suns fans use this as justification for abandoning a style, system, and approach that netted them at least 55 wins each season. “Yeah, but we won no rings! The Spurs won championships!” This is not only flawed, it’s sad.
Why can’t the Suns be like the Spurs?
There’s only one Tim Duncan in this lifetime.
No, really, why can’t the Suns be like the Spurs?
Because you’re talking about a team that’s won four championships in a decade. A team that’s centered by a once in a lifetime player, who will go down as the best at his position of all time. A team with a GM that was willing to focus on little known foreign talent and work them into a system that was perfect for them, then fill the gaps with reliable veteran shooters. Do you know how tenuous that kind of formula is? And if you don’t believe me, take a look at what they’ve needed to get some of the rings they have. Even Spurs fans would tell you it takes some luck.
You can’t duplicate that kind of success on the fly. And just because you have someone who’s incredible at what they do, doesn’t mean they’re awesome at everything. Steve Nash is a terrible defender. You know, I know it, Steve knows it. He tries. He puts a lot of effort nowadays (at least) into trying to overcome his lack of horizontal quickness and strength with hustle. But he’s just not good at it. You know what? Tim Duncan can’t run the floor. And Duncan’s handle is pretty suspect, especially against the weak-side double. Are they equal players? No. But the point is that if Gregg Popovich decided to go be a coconut farmer in the tropics tomorrow, and you brought in Don Nelson, that team would underperform, be angry and lost. The talent is there in Phoenix. The vision is not.
How does this affect the Amare trade?
It’s unlikely that this signals a change of heart from Kerr that his plan was wrong. He can’t admit that, honestly, even if he thinks that. So the best move would be to appease his owners’ financial concerns and plan for the future. And you know what that means. Drew Gooden and Shaquille O’Neal on the block. But also Tyrus Thomas, a young power forward with tremendous potential that will make for some highlights with Nash. Gentry will have an impact on this, though, because I doubt Kerr’s foolish enough to not even consult him, and Gentry’s won with STAT before.
I’d say Amare’s quote from Friday about being 60-40 staying in Phoenix past Thursday are pretty accurate. Dropping a coach and trading an All-Star in a week is kind of an obvious panic move. After that it’ll come down to whether or not someone will get desperate and put a better deal on the table. This could actually end up helping the Suns down the road, as it puts the pressure back on the suitors to put a deal that convinces Kerr to pull the trigger. And whereas before it seemed that he had to do something he’s now done that. He’s made the obligatory “change in the best interests of the team” and now it just depends on what kind of trust Sarver has in Kerr over his pocketbook. Then again, when you put it that way, Amare’s jersey starts to look pretty red.
Could this plus an Amare trade actually put them back in the running?
This is the trouble I’ve had with Suns fan since this whole debacle started. It seems like I’m just a negative nellie, nay-saying the chances of this Suns team. That all comes back to the first significant move Kerr made, using their most valuable trade asset, Marion’s contract, to land the Shaqtus. I’ve covered that before in detail, so I’ll just leave it at this:It created an impossible problem to solve. His contract and ego demands his involvement, but his style and play devalue the rest of the team. Shaq’s been an All-Star to his team, and yet least valuable to his team at the same time. And the same kind of thinking that says that’s impossible also says that this team should do whatever it takes to be more like the Spurs.
We’re past that point. The question now, and really the only one left to answer, is what direction the Suns choose to head in now that plan A, B, and C have all proven themselves fatally flawed.