This is probably a better place for this discussion lestgosuns
letsgosuns wrote:I listened to McDonough's interview today as well and found some of his answers very alarming. He mentioned how at the time Bledsoe went down that the Suns were just a couple games out of the eight seed and then described how Potland had a big surge to become a playoff contender and what if that could have been the Suns. I heard that and immediately thought this guy is completely out to lunch. The Suns were 12-19 when Bledsoe got injured. Newsflash McDonough. THAT MEANS YOUR TEAM SUCKS!
We all knew we had playoff aspirations in the off-season and many of us, including myself, thought we had a chance with a more-balanced but similarly dangerous team so for him to think we could've had a surge after playing only 31 games is not out of the question. 12-19 sucks and I'm definitely not saying we could've been a made playoffs even with Bledsoe but look at where other teams were on 23 December, the same time we were 12-19
Portland :
11-20Houston: 15-15
Memphis: 16-15
Utah: 12-15
Dallas: 16-13
Teams which were expected to be a mid-tier playoff team were barely over .500. Teams which we expected to suck (Dallas) with no centre were 3 games over 500. We were slotted right in between Portland and Utah at that point in time.
I have zero faith McDonough knows how to build a team. He might be great at picking in the draft, but he has shown for three years straight that he cannot build a contending team. And I have no reason to believe he will miraculously learn how to do it overnight. I will never forget he is the man that chose to put a team together of Bledsoe, Dragic, and Thomas, AND draft a point guard too. Then he goes out and trades three of the point guards only to bring in a far worse point guard in Knight (you do not need another point guard in the first place) and give him a huge salary.
He's hit on some great draftees and trades and he's missed on others too. Like any exec out there. This is a learning experience for him but let's be honest, we got ahead of ourselves with that 48 win season. We thought we had a winning formula with a strong PG rotation, which we did, but McD's mistake was adding too much to that rotation while falling short in other positions. He messed up the Knight trade which I still hate but I could see why he made it. We could all look back and say, I told you so, but Knight did have a similar profile to Dragic. Above average size for a PG, great shooter, average passer and can push the ball. I could see why he did it and even though I thought it was a mistake and it's proven now that it's been a mistake, he took a chance and I don't think it's set us back that far. With our young guys coming along just fine, another top pick and Bogdan hopefully joining the team, it makes Knight/Bledsoe disposable. We're not as screwed as you seem to think we are.
McDonough's vision is totally flawed. It does not take a genius to recognize that a dual point guard lineup does not work. Especially when the two players are undersized, inconsistent shooters, and turnover prone. Kidd and Hardaway could have worked if not for injuries but those are historically great hall of fame players who were also incredible passers and unselfish and tall. That is the opposite of what the Suns currently have. If Bledsoe, Knight, and Booker are all on the team next year and start together, next season is over before it begins, just like this season was with Bledsoe and Knight starting. Dragic said it best when he said multiple point guards do not work because there is only one ball.Stop trying to reinvent the wheel with some idiotic undersized dual point guard garbage and get back to the tried and true way of winning a championship with the biggest, most talented, and smartest players you can find.
I still believe in McD not because I'm a blind follower but because I understand the reason he made the moves he made without the lip service. When you understand his moves, you understand the mindset he's coming into the offseason with. I still believe in him because I don't believe McD is intent on keeping Knight or Bledsoe but at the same time, he can't just say we're looking to trade both in the offseason. Dragic also said he and Bledsoe had great synergy together and we did win 48 games with a duel PG line up and with no complaints from either players. I'm not saying it will always work or that I like it (I'm a traditionalist) but it's been proven that it can be a dangerous line up with two PG's.
If next season we have a starting line up of Bledsoe/Booker with Knight coming off the bench, I'll be OK with that. The dual PG lineup may not have work in our current set up but the addition of Booker changes everything.
