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As the new Western Elite?

I'm sorry to see this happen, but when you:

A. Lose in the first round two years in a row (see: Dallas)

or

B. Lose in the Conference finals, then the Semifinals, then first round...

you're not an elite team anymore.

I feel really bad for Phoenix fans. If their owner wasn't so cheap and had just signed their draft picks/free agents, this could be their team right now:

C: Shaquille O'Neal
PF: Amare Stoudamire / Kurt Thomas
SF: Luol Deng / Grant Hill
SG: Joe Johnson / Raja Bell
PG: Steve Nash / Rajon Rondo / Nate Robinson

It's horrible how awful the Phoenix roster is at this point. If I'm a Phoenix fan, I'd kill Sarver.

netsforever wrote:As the new Western Elite?

I'm sorry to see this happen, but when you:

A. Lose in the first round two years in a row (see: Dallas)

Tell this to the Lakers.

Rich Rane wrote:-= original quote snipped =-



Tell this to the Lakers.

Lakers without Gasol were not elite by any stretch of the imagination.

Lakers with Gasol - while still unproven in my eyes, Denver is just garbage - are on their way.

netsforever wrote:-= original quote snipped =-



Lakers without Gasol were not elite by any stretch of the imagination.

Lakers with Gasol - while still unproven in my eyes, Denver is just garbage - are on their way.

Yeah, but the great thing (and bad thing as we've seen in the playoffs) is that Dallas and Phoenix FO isn't afraid to take the risk. Though limited by the cap in PHX, they know when they don't have what it takes to win and they'll do anything to get over the hump.

Rich Rane wrote:-= original quote snipped =-



Yeah, but the great thing (and bad thing as we've seen in the playoffs) is that Dallas and Phoenix FO isn't afraid to take the risk. Though limited by the cap in PHX, they know when they don't have what it takes to win and they'll do anything to get over the hump.

Just because Dallas and Phoenix aren't afraid to take the risks doesn't mean that they (mostly Phoenix) should be excused for making stupid trades.

Shaq missed 11 free throws last night in a game that Phoenix lost by 6.

Why did Phoenix make the Shaq trade? Interior defense. Rebounding. Someone who could slow down Tim Duncan.

Rebounding stats from last night: Spurs +6.

Tim Duncan's stats from last night: 29 points and 17 rebounds on 13-28 shooting.

Is there anything that Shaq brings to the table at this point that Kurt Thomas doesn't?

Would Phoenix have been better off last night with Kurt Thomas and Shawn Marion as opposed to Shaq? I think that they would have.

hopefully they can derail those dam spurs.......

netsforever wrote:Just because Dallas and Phoenix aren't afraid to take the risks doesn't mean that they (mostly Phoenix) should be excused for making stupid trades.

Shaq missed 11 free throws last night in a game that Phoenix lost by 6.

Why did Phoenix make the Shaq trade? Interior defense. Rebounding. Someone who could slow down Tim Duncan.

Rebounding stats from last night: Spurs +6.

Tim Duncan's stats from last night: 29 points and 17 rebounds on 13-28 shooting.

Is there anything that Shaq brings to the table at this point that Kurt Thomas doesn't?

Would Phoenix have been better off last night with Kurt Thomas and Shawn Marion as opposed to Shaq? I think that they would have.

netsforever, I stated that it's also a bad thing.

Rich Rane wrote:the great thing (and bad thing as we've seen in the playoffs)

See?

The best thing about being a fan of a top West team is knowing you're not going to get the same thing you lost with. As a Net fan, would you be as confident in the FO making changes than a fan would be in PHX and Dallas? In Dallas, Avery's gone already. Phoenix will surely make moves to try and compete harder with the likes of San Antonio, LA, and New Orleans.

I'd wait before giving Utah any props. They've been struggling to beat Houston without Yao in general - and have lost 2 out of 3 games since Rafer came back into the lineup.

[quote="netsforever"]

I feel really bad for Phoenix fans. If their owner wasn't so cheap and had just signed their draft picks/free agents, this could be their team right now:

C: Shaquille O'Neal
PF: Amare Stoudamire / Kurt Thomas
SF: Luol Deng / Grant Hill
SG: Joe Johnson / Raja Bell
PG: Steve Nash / Rajon Rondo / Nate Robinson
quote]

Pheonix wanted to resign Johnson but he wanted to go elsewhere and be the man. As for Rojon Rondo, nate robinson, you really dont know how they would've developed since Pheonix barely plays anyone on their bench. They actually spent more money on Marcus Banks as the backup for Nash. Deng turned out to be a bad trade but the time everyone thought it was a good trade since no one expected the Bulls to turn everything around with Deng and Gordon as rookies.

Da big3 wrote:hopefully they can derail those dam spurs.......

Lol agreed.

vincanityisdagr8est wrote:

netsforever wrote:
I feel really bad for Phoenix fans. If their owner wasn't so cheap and had just signed their draft picks/free agents, this could be their team right now:

C: Shaquille O'Neal
PF: Amare Stoudamire / Kurt Thomas
SF: Luol Deng / Grant Hill
SG: Joe Johnson / Raja Bell
PG: Steve Nash / Rajon Rondo / Nate Robinson
quote]

Pheonix wanted to resign Johnson but he wanted to go elsewhere and be the man. As for Rojon Rondo, nate robinson, you really dont know how they would've developed since Pheonix barely plays anyone on their bench. They actually spent more money on Marcus Banks as the backup for Nash. Deng turned out to be a bad trade but the time everyone thought it was a good trade since no one expected the Bulls to turn everything around with Deng and Gordon as rookies.

Fair point about Johnson.

As for Rondo and Nate - if Phoenix had anyone on their bench, I'm sure they would play them. Didn't D'Antoni have a really deep rotation the first year he was in Phoenix?