Great Raja Bell Interview About Suns

The Diesel · Post #1 » by **The Diesel** » Wed Mar 24, 2010 3:00 pm

Hey guys,

This was an interview with Raja that was done at the Super Bowl and I don't think it's been posted on these boards.

Here's the link.

http://a1135.g.akamai.net/f/1135/18227/1h/cchannel.download.akamai.com/18227/podcast/PHOENIX-AZ/KGME-AM/2-3%20Raja%20Bell_1.wav

It's a great interview. Please share your thoughts as it will make for a good discussion.

He says at the end that the Shaq trade was a big mistake because Marion fit the system better.

Your thoughts?

hunterxaz · Post #2 » by **hunterxaz** » Wed Mar 24, 2010 3:41 pm

Any transcript? I'd agree that the Shaq trade was a mistake.

The Diesel · Post #3 » by **The Diesel** » Wed Mar 24, 2010 3:50 pm

A recap:

- Says he has no hard feelings towards the organization.

- Says he now understands what a difficult job Porter walked into last year and didn't give him enough credit for it.

- Says he wasn't trying to be a negative influence, but was trying to help the team by speaking out about how Porter's system wasn't clicking with the players.

- Says he felt at the time of the Shaq trade that it was a bad move because Shaq isn't a good fit for an up-tempo team like Marion was. But Raja also said he likes Shaq as a person.

- Says he's been impressed by Dragic and Dudley.

I probably forgot a few things, but that's what I remember.

Post #4 » by **lilfishi22** » Wed Mar 24, 2010 3:58 pm

Definitely can't say anything he said in that interview was wrong. I think he still has a future with Phoenix to be honest. With the change in coaching staff and reverting to our old style of play but with an added emphasis on defense and also now that we're back to our winning ways, if Amare stays, I think both parties would love to get back together. It seems our biggest competition right now is NY but I don't believe they are a series contender for Bell since PHX is home for Bell and I doubt they can or are willing to offer a lot more than a vet minimum, especially when they want to use their cap space on big names.

It was tough to see him get traded but I wouldn't have turned the trade around in retrospect. I would love to see Bell come back.

The Diesel · Post #5 » by **The Diesel** » Wed Mar 24, 2010 4:30 pm

Technically, was the Shaq trade a disaster? Yes.

But, truth to be told, we'll never know how things would have played out IF:

- Duncan missed that 3 pointer

- Hill didn't get hurt before the playoffs

- D'Antoni had stayed (He pushed for the move)

- Gentry was the coach from the beginning instead of Porter

- Amare hadn't missed the final 29 games of the season

- Diaw hadn't been traded last season (The team had no back-up for Amare)

People should also remember that Marion has SUCKED since leaving Phoenix.

Post #6 » by **lilfishi22** » Wed Mar 24, 2010 4:52 pm

I wouldn't put Duncan's 3 in there as a reason for Shaq being a disaster in PHX. Hill getting injured is iffy too.

I thought D'Antoni leaving was the biggest reason why it was a disaster. MD was one of the guys who pushed for the trade and I would imagine he had a training camp all mapped out to integrate Shaq into his own SSOS. But when he left and Kerr hired Porter, I can bet Porter had no idea how to use Shaq, especially when the other pieces didn't fit with Shaq's style of play so Porter probably just changed the team so it played the only Porter knew how to play and that's through a big man.

Amare's injury was a freak injury so but the damage was done the moment MD left.

Mr. Sun · Post #7 » by **Mr. Sun** » Wed Mar 24, 2010 5:00 pm

hunterxaz wrote:Any transcript? I'd agree that the Shaq trade was a mistake.

In hindsight, yes.

HootieRules · Post #8 » by **HootieRules** » Thu Mar 25, 2010 2:12 pm

The Duncan 3 meant nothing. Was pretty apparent we weren't beating the Spurs 4 out of 7 because we couldn't guard the pick and roll with Steve and Shaq defending.

Miss Raja though.

JohnVancouver · Post #9 » by **JohnVancouver** » Sat Mar 27, 2010 1:40 am

HootieRules wrote:The Duncan 3 meant nothing. Was pretty apparent we weren't beating the Spurs 4 out of 7 because we couldn't guard the pick and roll with Steve and Shaq defending.

Miss Raja though.

Hootie - two for two

dantian · Post #10 » by **dantian** » Sat Mar 27, 2010 5:21 am

Shaq's trade was only a mistake in that we didn't find the best way to use him. As in today's win against NY, Nash didn't need to dribble too much to be effective and useful for the team. And we wouldn't have had that much problem with GS last time, had we played as disciplined as in the NY game. But Nash couldn't really deal with the dimished role back then. He seems to be better at that, after realizing the good days of SSOL leading to even just regular success is over. So, Shaq trade was no mistake at all as the uptempo style with Marion was already going nowhere then.

If Amare stays with Suns, Bell will not be back who refused to pass the ball to Amare over his career here. If Amare is gone, who cares.

impulsenine · Post #11 » by **impulsenine** » Sat Mar 27, 2010 5:16 pm

Based on this interview, I think he'd be OK in Phoenix if:

- The Suns' physical staff can do for him what they've done with Hill. This seems perfectly realistic to me, given their track record (Shaq, Hill, Nash, et al.).

- He gets some playtime. I think as an off-guard defensive scorer he'd be fine off the bench as an alternate to LB or as part of an small-ball 3-guard bench that would do a good job defending guards (LB, Goran, Bell, Dudley, Frye). This, I think, depends a lot on LB.

- He takes the vet minimum.