RealGM

Grading Steve Kerr

Draft - Alando Tucker

With the 29th pick in the 2007 draft, the Suns select 4-year Wisconsin SF Alando Tucker. Tucker was designed to fill our anemic wing position with athleticism and shooting. He lit it up in college and in the NBA Development league, but has yet to prove himself on the big stage.

With the signing of Matt Barnes, it looks as though his major-minutes debut has been delayed for at least one more year. That being said, he seems to be a hard-working rookie that knows his place and enjoys life. Well-grounded rookies in seemingly short supply, Tucker was probably the best pick at 29.

Grade = B

Draft - DJ Strawberry

With the 59th pick in the 2007 draft, the Suns select 4-year Maryland guard DJ Strawberry. Strawberry had the best composite score of any incoming rookies, and was a straight steal at 59. Strawberry has the defensive tools to make it in this league a la Raja Bell. Look for him to develop his range and slashing abilities more thoroughly throughout decent playing time this next season.

Grade = A-

Trade - Kurt Thomas, 2008 1st Round & 2010 1st Round Draft Picks – Conditional 2nd rounder and 8 million TPE

The most frustrating move that Kerr has made during his short tenure as the Suns’ GM. It wasn’t really about losing our only low-post defensive presence, it wasn’t even really about the two 1st round draft picks, the icing on the cake was that we only got back a conditional second rounder.
Granted, Thomas’ contract was an awful hangover of his days in New York. He would have become a $16 million dollar defensive specialist after the luxury tax was taken into consideration, still and conditional second rounder?

Grade = F

Trade - James Jones & Draft Rights to Rudy Fernandez – Cash Considerations

The Suns created a TPE with this trade as Portland was under the cap and able to take on additional contracts. From a financial perspective, this was a great move.

From a team perspective, not so much. We really needed Jones’ range to spread the floor. Everyone complained about the fact that he was only a spot-up shooter, but that’s really what we needed, and for his price he wasn’t that bad at his job. Again, we run into the fact that his salary would have effectively been doubled by the luxury tax and though he lit a fire in Portland, I am inclined to say this was still a better move than the Thomas trade, though not by much.

Grade = C+

FA Signing - Grant Hill

Amazing. Phoenix has an incredible athletic training staff and perhaps that helped, but the fact that the Suns were able to beat out other teams offering all or part of their MLE for the services of Hill at the price of our bi-annual exception was a miracle; an underrated miracle at that. Sporting one of the best contracts-per-production in the league, Hill helped the Suns to fill a crucial need at the wing. Though his range left something to be desired with spoiled Suns fans, you could not complain with the way the aging Hill ran the floor nor could you find fault in his smooth jumper.

Grade = A+

FA Signing - Brian Skinner

Skinner signed with the Suns to form the highest shot-blocking tandem in the league with Stoudemire. He provided a body to put on defenders and his energy was fantastic off of the bench. His beard kicks this acquisition up a notch.

Grade = B+

Trade - Shaquille O’Neal – Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks

Okay, here’s the big one. Kerr pulled the trigger on the biggest trade this past season. For it being so controversial, it’s actually quite simple to break down. The Suns were terrible at interior rebounding and interior defense. They played small and it showed with the nightly rebounding deficit accrued when facing other teams. We needed rebounding, we need a stump inside, we acquired O’Neal. Marion was on the outs with Phoenix, Sarver was not willing to make our often 4th or 5th scoring option his highest paid player.

We lost a great defensive, intangibles player in Marion. This is what hurt us the most. Marion is the best defender in the league by virtue of the positions he can defend; the 1, 2, 3 and 4… and 5. The kicker in this trade was the creation of a TPE for the Suns by the inclusion of Banks in a second trade made possible by giving away Marion. Everyone, including myself, complained about Banks’ contract. The fact that we were able to package it with an outgoing Marion was fantastic.

Finally, in spite of what Sarver will end up paying O’Neal for the next two years, this puts the Suns in an amazing situation salary wise for the best FA and RFA market in decades.

Grade = B+

FA Signing - Gordon Giriceck

Once he was released, the Suns began to pursue Gordon because of his range. His aggressiveness was a welcome surprise, but he tended to pull the trigger rather quickly at times and often took ill-advised shots at times when ill-advised shots were unnecessary.

Grade = B

FA Signing - Linton Johnson

This may seem unimportant, but after signing Johnson to the league maximum two consecutive ten-day contracts, the Suns eventually signed Johnson for their post-season run. You may often find that people are defined by the way they treat people they don’t have to treat well. Johnson was never going to be an integral part of a championship run, but his effort and energy in Phoenix was rewarded. I appreciate that.

Grade = A

Coach Signing – Terry Porter

Forget D’antoni, he will not factor into this discussion. Terry Porter is a reflection of a new era of coach. Like Byron Scott, his quiet demeanor understates his passion for the game of basketball. A high-energy floor general in his years as a player, Porter will be able to relate to the best floor general in basketball today, Nash.

Porter’s emphasis on defense will be a breath of fresh air to the valley of the Sun. Though he will stress smart defense, his transition game will still see the Suns running and scoring like they can and love. Good defense can turn into great offense; Porter understands this and will look to help his players buy into this philosophy. More defensive stops will ultimately turn into more points in transition.

Grade = B+

Assistant Coach Signings – Dan Majerle, Bill Cartwright, Alvin Gentry, Igor Kokoskov

Gentry was a no-brainer. Cartwright was a controversial pick over Paul Silas. “Thunder” Dan Majerle was a great energy coach and Suns lifer to bring into the fold. Kokoskov, focusing on skills, seems to possess a great understanding of the “Xs and Os” and could help some of the younger guys with basic fundamentals.

Grade = B

Draft – Robin Lopez

Not a sexy pick by any means, but a necessary one. Lopez has showed great footwork and an understanding of how to use his size effectively around the basket. Known as the intangibles twin going into the draft, he is exactly what the Suns need to put on the floor when O’Neal sits.
He is very humble and soaks up advice from everyone; Dan Majerle down to DJ Strawberry.

Grade = B+

Trade – Malik Harriston and Cash Considerations – Goran Dragic

I was initially very high on this pick. Once the honey-moon phase was over however, we ended up creating one more position on our roster that needs filled with a veteran minimum player. Though I do not take stock in Spanish newspapers, it does appear if Dragic is more fond of getting e decent amount of spotlight with Tau Ceramica than with worrying about a buyout this season.
The grade drops tremendously because of the low hopes we have of acquiring Dragic’s services this year.

Grade = C+

FA Signing – Matt Barnes

Barnes was never seriously on the radar of any of the Suns’ faithful for one simple reason; money. The fact that we got a solid rotation player like Barnes for the veteran minimum was a straight coup. Barnes has the range to exist behind the arc successfully and I am looking forward to see what he can do in a more structured environment like the Suns.

On top of everything, this is essentially a contract year for him.

Grade = A

Steve Kerr’s Composite = B+

Reasonable grades except Goran Dragic. That should be an A.

I think that drafting Tucker and trading Jr should be lower, but that's just my opinion

Wow...how can Linton Johnson and Matt Barnes' signing be the same?!?

i think kerr has done a fine job over all with tweaking the team

Good topic

Linton J got an A??????????? The guy saw the court what, one game for a few mins? This is just an avg move, and should get a C for this move.

I think some things has held Kerr back as of yet. He was restricted to draft certain players with MD, and the cap situation and a owner not willing to pay that much lux tax, which I understand. So these limitations will affect his grading IMO.

You obviously have a lot of time on your hands for a Friday night. But I am going to give my opinion of Kerrs moves.

Grading Steve Kerr

Draft - Alando Tucker
Grade = B

I think this was a solid pick. A guy that has good character, skills, good bball IQ, and nice size. I see him as a SG in this league than a SF.

My Grade = B

Draft - DJ Strawberry
Grade = A-

Can’t really go wrong here because of the position in the draft. He is a better player than what you get at this spot, but I think it was good so far.

My Grade = B

Trade - Kurt Thomas, 2008 1st Round & 2010 1st Round Draft Picks – Conditional 2nd rounder and 8 million TPE
Grade = F

Hell, this is one of the worst moves I have ever seen. Yes it was to save $$, but two picks??

My grad = F-------------

Trade - James Jones & Draft Rights to Rudy Fernandez – Cash Considerations
Grade = C+

Your too kind. After the shaq trade, this was a really bad move. Yeah, at the time they did not know, but it really hurt us when Hill went down. Fernandez is a kid we could use on this team this year. I don’t car, but the cash considerations??? Really, no one cares. That TPE was not used for anything anyways.

My Grade = D

FA Signing - Grant Hill
Grade = A+

Easy one to me. But you have to look at his past with the risk of the injuries. Money wise it as great, but when we traded for Shaq and left our SF position short, this signing did not deserve a +.

My grade = A-

FA Signing - Brian Skinner
Grade = B+

At first, I was not a fan of Skinner, but loved him before the shaq trade. I think this was a solid signing b/c he was a reliable backup big for us. The best we have had in the past 6 years or more. MD killed his value by not playing him as much.

I concur, B+

Trade - Shaquille O’Neal – Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks
Grade = B+

Hard one. This one should not get a grade b/c we do not know the outcome as of yet. If not championship, this grade goes down big time. But to me, I did not think we were going to win it with Marion anyways. Shaq gave us something we sorely needed, but a huge hole was left by Marions departure. So we relied on Bell, who was not himself on D this year, and a broken down Hill.

My grade = B

FA Signing - Gordon Giriceck
Grade = B

Yeah, it was a good signing for the price.

FA Signing - Linton Johnson
Grade = A

I thought we could have done better here, but it really did not matter who we brought in b/c MD was the coach. It was avg and should in no way get an A for this signing. He did not do a thing for us.

My Grade = C

Coach Signing – Terry Porter
Grade = B+

Yeah, as of now, I am going with a B b/c I am not forsure what we are going to get out of him and how he is going to get this team to get motivated and have some passion.

Assistant Coach Signings – Dan Majerle, Bill Cartwright, Alvin Gentry, Igor Kokoskov
Grade = B

I would say B+ because these guys will teach some D. And we have a big as a coach, not just a bunch of guards on teh bench.

Draft – Robin Lopez
Grade = B+

At the 15th spot, hard pick to take, and I think they made the right one, the one we NEEDED. Solid pick I think, and a kid I think has more potential than most think. He will be a solid center next to Amare IMO

My grade = B+

Trade – Malik Harriston and Cash Considerations – Goran Dragic
Grade = C+

I agree, I am not high on this kid. I was hoping they get Chalmers over this cat. His video looked decent, but nothing to hump the pool like Kerr wanted to do when he announced they got him. They also gave away their 2nd rd pick next year. I think the got taken to the cleaners again. Yeah, its not a big deal, but two picks and cash considerations, and a buy out for this kid???? Not that great.

My grade = C

FA Signing – Matt Barnes
Grade = A

I love this signing. To me, this has to be the best move by him so far. A solid role player that fills a need and brings some balls to this team.

My grade = A+

Steve Kerr’s Composite = B


To me, what a great GM does is make the team better no matter what the situation is. If its money or coach, he has to give them the best team and find the best deal. He has not done that IMO in all cases. He has also pulled some solid picks and FA sigings that has brought his grade up. I think what a GM also has to do is take some risk, like has done with the Shaq trade. Its going to work, or be a huge failure. I would like to see him take another risk in my boy Shaun Livingston.

I think he has done well for what has been handed to me. He can get better, but he needs to stop getting rapped in this trades.

I like to chop Kerr moves into two categories:

Category A: Big moves: Shaq-Marion / Kurt Thomas / Jajo Trade

Grade: C

Category B: Small moves: Grant Hill, Skinner, Strawberry, Tucker, Lopez, Drajic and etc.

Grade: A

Kerr big moves are sore on my eye sight but all time high on small ones.

we forgot to talk about the most important thing we´re tryin´to fix some years now:

finding a back up for nash:

my grade: f

Although we shouldn´t judge kerr too early, i think he has a plan, and we´ll see how this plan
works after this season. imo this is the last real run at the trophy for years. get it done and you´re
one of the smartest gm´s in this league, if not . mh, don´t even wanna think about it.

Grading Steve Kerr

Draft - Alando Tucker

Notable players selected after immediately after Tucker; Koponen(29), Landry(31). Early second rounders included Glen Davis and Marc Gasol as well. Time is going to show Tucker was a misfire.

Grade = C-

Draft - DJ Strawberry

Any player who makes your roster after being selected at #59 is a good pick.

Grade = A

Overall Draft Grade = B-

Trade - Kurt Thomas, 2008 1st Round & 2010 1st Round Draft Picks – Conditional 2nd rounder and 8 million TPE

With the signing of Skinner, the loss of KT did not hurt the Suns as a team. Trading 2 picks for what was tantamount to $16 Million dollars is a great move financially, since you can only garner $3M for a pick straight up. This year Seatle drafted Serge Ibaka, would you have traded his rights for $8M? I would. Now in 2010, if you can answer the same question with an affirmative yes it is an above average deal.

Grade = Incomplete

Trade - James Jones & Draft Rights to Rudy Fernandez – Cash Considerations

I have a feeling that this is a deal that is going to be far more damaging in the future, with my belief that Rudy Fernandez is going to be a solid NBA player for a long time. But until that time comes or goes by the wayside, I am inclined to hold off on any decisions. So far, this deal has not hindered our teams abilities.

Grade = Incomplete

FA Signing - Grant Hill

"Amazing." Nuff said.

Grade = A+

FA Signing - Brian Skinner

With the budget and players available, we could not have signed anyone better.

Grade = A

Trade - Shaquille O’Neal – Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks

Time will shift this deal one way or the other, I don't think it makes us any worse or better as a team. With Marion being a FA next summer, we would have had no choice but to sign him or sign and trade him. We would have only been $3M under the cap if we renounced his rights. I hope that whoever we sign in the summer of 2010, is better than we could have garnered in a sign and trade. If a C is average, then that is my grade so far.

Grade = C

FA Signing - Gordon Giriceck

Somewhat of a no brainer, but atleast we did something.

Grade = B

FA Signing - Linton Johnson

I wouldn't have even included this signing in my analysis, so I am giving it a P, for PASS.

Grade = P

Coach Signing – Terry Porter

I am a huge fan of Porter, I think he was a great choice and the number one candidate from the begining.

Grade = A

Assistant Coach Signings – Dan Majerle, Bill Cartwright, Alvin Gentry, Igor Kokoskov

I think Cartwright and Majerle will be great coaches for us and I am just as excited about them as I am Porter.

Grade = A

Draft – Robin Lopez

Too early to tell, but if NBA execs are discussing if he is going to be better than his brother, it is a good sign.

Grade = A

Trade – Malik Harriston and Cash Considerations – Goran Dragic

If you are to believe that Dragic was the second best PG in the draft; and that he would have been a first round pick had other teams thought he would be able to come over this season, then it was a great deal.

Grade = A

Overall Draft Grade = A

FA Signing – Matt Barnes

Unfreakinbelievable, I have wanted Barnes here for a long time now; but never thought the Suns would be able to get him because of his price tag.

Grade = A

Both Draft = B+
Combined FA signings = A
Trades = C
Coaching = A

Steve Kerr’s Composite = B+[/quote]

Damn I am bored.

the James Jones + Rudy for cash definitely deserves F.
JJ was an expiring contract, not too large, and i'm think we'll be very sorry for throwing in Rudy as well.
That guy can play.

Grading Steve Kerr

Draft - Alando Tucker
He still hasn't shown us anything to be excited about. We have been told he's working on his range, but I don't think it will get much better when he's spent his whole college career in the post. His post moves are polished, but with his size in this league won't get him the buckets.

Grade = C-

Draft - DJ Strawberry

Didn't know much about him at the time, but has shown that even though he can't shoot very well, he has what it takes to be a shutdown defender. With Bell on the decline, look for him to take over.

Grade = A-

Overall Draft Grade = B-

Trade - Kurt Thomas, 2008 1st Round & 2010 1st Round Draft Picks – Conditional 2nd rounder and 8 million TPE

Didn't like this trade at all. His contract was expiring and if we had kept him, he may have signed back with us for a vet min, who knows. But to also give away two 1st rounders is just ridiculous. To make it worst, he ended up playing for the Sterns.

Grade = F+

Trade - James Jones & Draft Rights to Rudy Fernandez – Cash Considerations

Still not sure about this. Haven't seen enough of Fernandez to know how he is.

Grade = N/A

FA Signing - Grant Hill

Absolute steal.

Grade = A

FA Signing - Brian Skinner

With his contract and his production before he became a bench warmer, I'd say it deserves at least an A. Real professional, came in and did his job with the minutes he got.

Grade = A-

Trade - Shaquille O’Neal – Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks

I've always liked Matrix and seeing him leave after being in PHX for so long was a bit of a shock. When i had heard about rumors of the trade, i just thought it was just rumors. When it became a fact is initially condemned the trade as being knee jerk reaction. However Shaq did play a big role in becoming our big man defender and though he's definitely not worth his 20mill contract, i think this trade would allow us to play more conventional basketball, especially with Porter running the show now.

Grade = C+

FA Signing - Gordon Giriceck

Wasn't anything real exciting when he signed, but i guess he gave us a bit of depth to our bench.

Grade = B+

FA Signing - Linton Johnson

Not enough impact on the game, like he was never a Sun.

Grade = N/A

Coach Signing – Terry Porter
Don't know anything about Porter, but from what i've heard, he sounds like a decent coach who would make our guys play some D. Hopefully his small resume isn't an issue for our vets and Amare.

Grade = B

Assistant Coach Signings – Dan Majerle, Bill Cartwright, Alvin Gentry, Igor Kokoskov

I'm glad Gentry stayed, and though i miss our old assistant coaches who left with MD, I think we still got ourselves a solid team of assistants. And i love Majerle as a colour commentator, not sure about him as an assistant coach, but I don't think it would hurt.

Grade = A-

Draft – Robin Lopez

I think he's a solid pick for our needs. But at 15 i have to admit i didn't think he would be drafted so high. From what i've seen and heard from the summer league, he was very good and played above expectations. Needs to work on his stamina, but apart from that, he should be a quality guy behind Shaq.

Grade = B+

Trade – Malik Harriston and Cash Considerations – Goran Dragic

I don't believe he's the 2nd best PG in the whole draft. Sounded to me like Kerr and Co. just covering their a$$es for giving up so much to move up two spots in the 2ND round. At this point though, i still haven't made up my mind about him, but i'd expect him to be average. Until he actually does come over, I'm giving this pick a C+, on the fact that we needed a backup PG NOW and not he season after. If he does come or Kerr makes a trade for a back up, he stays a C+

Grade = C+

Overall Draft Grade = B

FA Signing – Matt Barnes

This is a bit unfair since I was already a fan of his even before him joining the warriors. I don't think ANYBODY expected him to even be a possiblity with the Suns and at that price . . . . I'm going to give Kerr props. I don't know what Kerr did, but this is one thing he definitely did right. Look for Barnes to be an important part of our bench.

Grade = A++

Both Draft = B
Combined FA signings = B
Trades = C
Coaching = A-

Steve Kerr’s Composite = B

I had to take more into account than just "on-court" time. I had to with the inlcusion of the rookies. Trying to grade the coaches by the same scale would have been hard too.

The thing with Linton has nothing to do with his production.

Truth be told, I was at the Suns v. Spurs game in PHX and he had a little bio come on the jumbotron during a timeout where he talked about the Fresh Prince of Belaire and did his immitation of the "Carlton" which they compared to the actuall version... it was pretty damn close. He seemed like a nice guy.

Biased? Maybe, but I weighted the grades anyways. Obviously, the O'Neal-Marion trade is going to be weighted more heavily than the Johnson signing.

Finally, I had written this in Word a couple of days ago, just posted it last night. My Friday night consisted of a foray to Outback Steakhouse....

yum.

I would give him a C+.

I think Kerr is a really smart guy and will eventually get better with time, but he's made some bad mistakes.

- The Shaq trade was a disaster

- The Kurt Thomas trade was a disaster.

- I don't think Porter is the right guy for this team. I would have preferred somebody else. I just can't see Shaq respecting him after what I heard about what he did to Stan van Gundy and that could become a huge problem in the very near future. Why will Shaq respect him after playing for Phil, Riley, and D'Antoni?

However, he's also made some really good moves.

- Signing Grant Hill

- Robin Lopez has looked really good so far

- Getting Brian Skinner

- Getting Dragic in the 2nd round when they had him rated as the second best PG in the draft.

I am not as high about signing Barnes as everybody else is; I would have preferred Bonzi Wells.

The team also still needs a back-up PG for Nash.

If Kerr can get Skinner back, another PG, and bring over Dragic, it would be an amazing off-season.

I have mixed feelings about the new coaching staff; I like that they kept Gentry and brought Cartwright to work with Shaq and Amare.

However, Majerle has never been an assistant and I don't know much about Kokoskov.

It would have been great if Paul Silas was on the staff.

And as I've said before, I'm not too convinced that Porter is the right guy for the team.

Trade - Kurt Thomas, 2008 1st Round & 2010 1st Round Draft Picks – Conditional 2nd rounder and 8 million TPE

The most frustrating move that Kerr has made during his short tenure as the Suns’ GM. It wasn’t really about losing our only low-post defensive presence, it wasn’t even really about the two 1st round draft picks, the icing on the cake was that we only got back a conditional second rounder.
Granted, Thomas’ contract was an awful hangover of his days in New York. He would have become a $16 million dollar defensive specialist after the luxury tax was taken into consideration, still and conditional second rounder?

--- I still don't understand how we got raped by the Sonics for those picks and then the Sonics in very short order made a reasonable deal with the Spurs for KT.
I'm surely missing something re: when the lux tax would have kicked in or a date KT had to be moved by to avoid it but sweet Geebus .... and a *conditional* 2nd round pick? That's just insulting ....

[quote="walkingart"]Grading Steve Kerr

Draft - Alando Tucker

Notable players selected after immediately after Tucker; Koponen(29), Landry(31). Early second rounders included Glen Davis and Marc Gasol as well. Time is going to show Tucker was a misfire.

Grade = C-

--- Right now I would much rather have PK, and we did , briefly, before sending him to Portland. That's three strong young guards we dealt away to PTL, one after the other. (Sergio, PK, Fernandez)
This is why Suns fans so easily fall into conspiracy theorizing .. this is kind of thing can't just happen by accident, can it?

Draft - Alando Tucker

I know it was the 29th pick but I don't expect him to even be a role player so bad choice.

Grade = D+

Draft - DJ Strawberry

Took a shot which came off. Good to see us going after a player which had one really good aspect to his game but was willing to learn the others.

Grade = A

Trade - Kurt Thomas, 2008 1st Round & 2010 1st Round Draft Picks – Conditional 2nd rounder and 8 million TPE

At the time I almost threw up when I heard this. I know we had to free up some space and I expected us to trade Kurt but I just didn't expect us to get completely screwed in a deal. I think I'm going to dry-reach.

Grade = F

Trade - James Jones & Draft Rights to Rudy Fernandez – Cash Considerations

I wish we wouldve just sold the Tucker pick. I'm actually OK with selling draft picks when mgmt do not think they'll amount to anything. But I thought Rudy Fernandez was a steal at this point in the draft and I wouldve loved to have seen him come aboard eventually. Perfect situation just to keep him O/S for a year or two as well. Just don't understand why we gave up such a good player. James Jones was good enuff to just give away at his salary without having to provide further incentives.

This deal was all about the benjamins and we got screwed.

Grade = E

FA Signing - Grant Hill

Lets face it, it was a no-brainer as soon as he chose to join us for that money.

Grade = A+

FA Signing - Brian Skinner

I was surprised by Skinner. I really liked him but then his mins got reduced and he just became a bit-timer. Still good move for the minimum but didn't end up making a difference in the play-offs.

Grade = C+

Trade - Shaquille O’Neal – Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks

I said it at the time and I'll say it again. YUCK!!!

Even if you think we wouldn't have won it with Marion the fact is we might've been without his salary and ready to actually use the TPE from Kurt *and* the MLE. Now we won't be using either and I don't think we are in a better position.

This was always going to be about results and we didn't get it with Shaq so the top brass has to cop it sweet for this move. It stunk of desperation and selling T-Shirts.

Grade = D+

FA Signing - Gordon Giriceck

A no-brainer once he wanted to join us ... much like the Tim Thomas signing.

Grade = B+

FA Signing - Linton Johnson

Who cares!

Grade = N/A

Coach Signing – Terry Porter

It's all about results and Terry hasn't even coached a competitive game yet so we'll see. If we are planning on refocusing to defense I wouldve much preferred a more experience coach however.

Grade = To be assessed.

Assistant Coach Signings – Dan Majerle, Bill Cartwright, Alvin Gentry, Igor Kokoskov

<See Terry Porter>

Grade = To be assessed.

Draft – Robin Lopez

Really hard to say at this point. We don't go for bigs that often at that point in the draft so hopefully they know what their doing.

Grade = To be assessed.

Trade – Malik Harriston and Cash Considerations – Goran Dragic

Don't know much about either so can't say.

Grade = N/A

FA Signing – Matt Barnes

Much like Giricek, Hill and Tim Thomas. Low risk, potentially high reward.

Grade = A

Conclusion: I think Kerr has just tried to change too many things too quickly. I'm not sure whether it was because his philosophies differed so greatly from D'Antoni's or whether he was under a lot of pressure to make things happen quickly. My guess is it was a bit of both. The things which have been low risk he has done well but the big decisions he has made have been terrible up to this point.

And I'm not naive like some. I realise that cutting salary is never popular (look at Denver cutting Camby for nothing) but that's where negotiation skills come into effect. When Sarver first came on board we preached having flexibility with our cap space ... well we are now operating on the other side of the world thanks to the moves which we've made. That my friends is because of poor mgmt and desperate decisions.

What has also been frustrating is that while selling picks is unpopular, I think it would've been a much better PR exercise to say "we are using the money from the picks to pay for the Lux Tax". So at least the PR machine couldve said we are selling picks to keep this great team together. Instead they sold picks and then practically blew the team up. So we did neither. Therefore Sarver deserves the fans criticising him as far as I'm concerned. There's a fine line between being a shrewd businessman and a penny pincher. Sarver stepped over that line last season IMO.

ok non of us can grade the shaq trade yet
he came over half way threw the season was way out of shape and still looked decent.

we all knew he would not help us much this year next year will be when we can grade the trade becuse he will have all preseason to work with the team.

I have not been too found of Steve Kerr as of yet....... that being said he has a huge opportunity to prove all of us pessimists wrong this year if terry porter works out as head coach. I obviously hope I'm wrong about Kerr since it looks as if he'll be here for quite a while.

There has been some good moves made but losing marion and coach d stands out above them at this point, hopefully those two moves pay off this year but I am not without my doubts.

I personally think Kerr has done very well. both drafts heve been exellent except the tucker selection im still not convinced on. but lopez, DJ and dragic were good picks

the thomas and james jones trades were probably more to do with sarver than him.

I also think we have not seen the best of the shaq trade and it would have been foolish for kerr not to do something as we had not one a ring in 3 yrs with essentially the same team. with marions unhappiness with his situation in phx he was the obvious person to trade. i think he had to pull the trigger on this trade.

Finally the switch of Mike d for porter had to be made. Mike d's style was not winning us rings. terry porter putting more emphasis on defense and development of the bench is a welcome change. BTW emphasising D does not mean we cant still Run & Gun. And as the saying goes "good offence starts with solid defence." Also we can still run and gun with shaq or lopez on the floor but it also gives us a halfcourt option that is better, combined with better interior D.

An interesting and insightful post; thanks Scorched.

My own thoughts on the various moves:

Draft - Alando Tucker

Tucker was a mistake, even then. An undersized power wing with questionable range, he had a lot of intriguing numbers and a lot of us (myself included, for a short while before the Combine) were sold on his physical traits, his mentality and various other aspects of his prospect sheet.

Having said that, the Suns also managed to pass on Koponen, Carl Landry, Kyrylo Fesenko, Marc Gasol, Taurean Green, Aaron Gray, Demetris Nichols and Ramon Sessions.

Some of these guys are unproven and are more "potential" picks than anything else (Koponen, Fesenko, Gasol, Green, Sessions) but some of them are reasonable NBA players (Gray, Landry) or misused NBA players who would be better if they weren't playing for Mike Brown or the New York Knicks (Demetris Nichols, who reminds me a lot of James Jones).

I don't think Tucker will ever play significant minutes for Phoenix because of the number of other scoring weapons they already have and what they'll probably try to do in the '10 off-season (where there are so many nasty offensive threats that it would make no sense to bring up Tucker as a significant scoring piece).

I like Tucker, I think he's got the chops to be a very good NBA player somewhere between Corliss Williamson and Adrian Dantley (a broad range, but he's a stunning scoring talent) but I think Phoenix is not his port of call. I label this a 'D,' but there remains the possibility of moving Tucker for something legitimately valuable (either for a pick or in a deal for something else), which would make the pick at least somewhat valuable.

Grade = D, (C if we get something decent out of a trade)

Draft - DJ Strawberry

He's already a capable NBA defender with the size and athleticism to play either the 1 or 2 at 6'5 and 200+ pounds. He doesn't have a great wingspan (it's only about +2, +2.5") but that hasn't mattered because he's been so aggressive and such a pest about getting to the right spots first and hawking the ball that it hasn't diminished his defense. Better, he's both a sound man defender AND an aggressive and energetic help defender. In the summer league, we saw an improved handle helping him turn the corner, a pull-up jumper and even a corner 3 that gives him massive promise as a 6MOY candidate in the coming years. He's a very intriguing prospect, he just needs the PT and I'd bet that he'll get a minimum of 10 mpg this year, semi-consistent PT throughout the regular season and if he proves himself there, then he'll be a part of the postseason rotation. He brings great promise for the future. I put this one as an A rather than an A- because Strawberry figures to feature quite prominently in Phoenix's future if he continues to work and develop has done.

Grade = A

Trade - Kurt Thomas, 2008 1st Round & 2010 1st Round Draft Picks – Conditional 2nd rounder and 8 million TPE

A TPE and a conditional second-rounder for a good rebounder and the team's best positional defender not named Marion and two first round picks.

Yeah, enough has been said, this was a terrible move. I have my doubts that any other GM would have been able to avoid this, though, as it seems clear that this is a move forced upon Kerr by Sarver. I wouldn't lampoon Stevie on this one too harshly, since cost-cutting is undoubtedly FO mandate. I call it a D because he didn't make more of the situation and KT's deal but not an F because it was hardly his own initiative.

Grade = D

Trade - James Jones & Draft Rights to Rudy Fernandez – Cash Considerations

Another cost-cutting move; the Rudy F part may bite back in the coming days from Portland... but that's to be expected; an exchange involving a pick always carries that potential but you can never really account for that, it's just not fair unless the situation is blatant (like trading Oden or something). The loss of Jones hurt because he's a semi-decent perimeter defender and an outstanding spot-up shooter... but spot-up shooters are reasonably simple to acquire... Gordan Giricek SHOULD have filled that role but he busted out pretty badly as I predicted. Still, this one is mediocre without being especially hurtful and I agree with Scorched's original grade.

Grade = C+

FA Signing - Grant Hill

Nothing to complain about... he didn't have great range at 31.7% from downtown but everyone knew that would happen coming in. His production was amazing; 13/5/3 on over 50% from the floor (primarily out of mid-range jumpers, as he has done for much of his post-Detroit career and even in his hey-day with the Pistons he was an exceptional mid-range shooter), he didn't draw fouls the way he did the year before in Orlando but he was a secondary ball-handler, a sound rebounder, a steady veteran presence and even a pretty solid perimeter defender. He was also a surprisingly effective help defender, averaging nearly a steal and a block per game (the latter of which was almost completely unexpected to me) and was generally the best value by production-vs-contract in the league, as Scorched mentioned.

RE-signing Hill for a hair under $2M for this upcoming season was a coup of similar magnitude; even if he doesn't produce at the same level, all of the aforementioned reasons still apply and the situation should only be more favorable with a team better prepared and more cohesive for having a single game plan all year (and a coach who has a better and more balanced system in mind).

Grade = A+

FA Signing - Brian Skinner

Skinner was a sound acquisition; this wasn't as good as it could have been because D'Antoni was stingy with minutes for Skinner even in the absence of Shawn Marion, but he was still a valuable post-Thomas player.

Grade = B+

Trade - Shaquille O’Neal – Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks

There are some immutable truths about this trade, some of which have already been touched upon by Scorched

1) Shaq's contract is over in time to give the Suns a huge cap break in what may well be the most important off-season in the next decade and a half; he's done after the 09-10 season and that is HUGE. This outweighs any concerns about the luxury tax, even those associated with cost-cutting moves like selling draft picks.

2) Shaq's presence in the middle filled (and still fills) a significant defensive gap simply by virtue of his size. Even if he were a terrible post defender, which he is not, his size alone would make it difficult for opposing post scorers to back down on him, forcing them to work outside of their comfort zones and away from their favorite spots. Too, he remains a very good shot blocker and help defender. He has some difficulty with the pick-and-roll but he still hustles around more than one would expect from a man of his stature and possessing such a resume as his.

3) His rebounding is superior to that of Shawn Marion, most especially on the offensive end and that's significant to a team that primarily relies upon its offense rather than defense or balance to win games. Offensive rebounds deny the opposition possessions while extending a team's own possessions and generally increasing the percentage of the follow-up shot. So, greater efficiency, fewer defensive possessions... win-win and Shaq does it better than Marion.

4) Offense. Marion created wonderful opportunities in transition without the ball and even in the halfcourt but Shaq's still a talented low-post draw who passes very well. He sucks in the defense so much that teams aren't willing to double AMARE STOUDEMIRE at the foul line, a guy who averaged 25 ppg on the season and shot an extremely high percentage in so doing. Shaq's presence on the block opposite from where Amare begins makes that lateral cut to post dive play the Suns run incredibly effective, moreso than with Marion by a fairly significant margin. Nevermind that he still has some gas in the tank for legit isos instead of just decoy plays and he's a nasty put-back jammer that can energize a crowd and demoralize an opponent. So here we're discussing efficiency and court spacing, as well as his effect on Amare... all greatly superior to Marion.

5) Defensively, we lost the versatility to put a guy other than Nash on small guards and whomever and that hurt because Bell wasn't defending well and Nash was logging heavy minutes because Mike D is stubborn. More of DJ will help assuage this problem, and presumably Lopez as well. Porter implementing a competent defensive scheme will be another progressive move towards improved defense; D'Antoni didn't really do much on this end. Bill Cartwright may help Amare stop sucking on man defense and that will likewise help. Shaq was part of the solution, not the problem. Marion was a Band-Aid over a really bad defensive team headed by a poor defensive coach and his departure merely illuminated the full scope of the problem. This overemphasized defense with his departure but it was a problem with him ON the team too, so the mere fact that it was excessively noticeable in his absence is nothing more than a wakeup call to the need for better defense. Shaq improves one end at the expense of a stopgap that needed more help anyway.

This is the sum of the trade; Scorched's B+ is accurate enough, as the Suns actually did worse than they had in previous seasons but I doubt the Suns would have won the series with Marion and they've managed to upgrade themselves in numerous areas, ditch Banks' contract and still have a core that looks like it could contend for another year or two anyway, with a few tweaks that would have been necessary one way or another.

Grade = B+

FA Signing - Gordon Giriceck

Good in principle, terrible in practice. The Suns needed a shooter and Kerr pursued Giricek, who has been a good shooter in Utah. He flopped; hard. He shot well enough in the 22 regular-season games in which he participated (over 49% FG, 38% 3P and over 94% on 17 FTA) but come the postseason, you'd be hard-pressed to find a worse performance. Historically a mixed bag in two previous performances (you got either good FG% or good 3P% in his ORL and UTA postseasons), he shot 6/18 overall and 1/4 from downtown in 21 mpg over 5 games against the Spurs... and this as a complementary piece not being focused upon defensively. He was a stand-still kickout shooter and he flopped terribly.

I give this one a C because it was a good idea; Kerr clearly identified a problem and set about attempting to rectify it by going after a guy who's a career 36.8% 3P shooter and shot +1.2% during his stay in Phoenix... but it can't be higher than that because when it REALLY mattered, he busted as hard as you can.

Grade = C

FA Signing - Linton Johnson

I appreciate Scorched's comments about Linton Johnson; a good sign of faith and loyalty, which is valuable to a team's image. I still give this a C+ because it had no appreciable impact on the team.

Grade = C+

Coach Signing – Terry Porter

Terry Porter.

Presumably, Porter will improve Phoenix's attention to detail on the defensive end by implementing a legitimate scheme for rotations, switches and funneling... all in an effort to mask deficient players and emphasize defensive strengths. Here, we're mainly talking about masking Nash and Amare (which is troublesome, because they represent 40% of our starters, both of whom will be playing at least 30 mpg, probably 33 for Amare, and at positions that are characterized by talented scorers). To do so, the team needs roster upgrades and better rotations. Porter should be up to the task and any defensive improvement will be welcome. Simply making a significant rotation player out of DJ will be a smart beginning and useful minutes for players with valuable skills to contribute will be another item by which to appraise this signing. I don't make much of Porter being a point guard; if anything, it's a hindrance because D'Antoni was likewise a point guard and has overemphasized Nash's role on the team to the detriment of balance with him on the floor and efficacy wtih him OFF the floor. Since the team is looking to cut him back to 30 mpg, the other 18 mpg will become critical to the team, so balance and the ability to do without Nash will be vital. The integration of Shaq into the offense in a more efficacious manner will be critical; the Suns seemed to try to incorporate elements of the triangle offense at the end of the season and if it takes including some of the set plays from the triangle to get this team functioning properly in the halfcourt, so be it, it has the personnel, including the big ball-handling wing (Hill), the shooters and the uber-dangerous 4. Amare would be beastly in the pinch post, especially with Shaq on the block... and the triangle is effective without a volume scoring center, as the 6 Chicago titles indicate (and L.A.'s Finals appearance this past season, too). It doesn't have to be a wholesale conversion to the triangle, just emphasis of the principles of spacing, good passing and sound off-ball movement. D'Antoni's half-court offense sucked, he was all about transition and the secondary break. SSOL meant that there really WAS no plan to score in the halfcourt because they wanted a shot up in the fastbreak or as the trailers arrived, or else they broke down and this was a telling problem in the playoffs...and a primary reason why Amare featured so heavily in '05 and these past two seasons. Notably, Amare had his worst playoff FG% this past off-season and his second-worst FT%,as well as dropping off in rebounding (no excuse for that, Shaq only averaged a hair over 9 rpg, and he's done better with Marion going for 10-12 rpg).

This one's incomplete; it's sound in principle, and worth at least a C just for the fact that it's a decent coach with a mindset that is suitable to the roster and the new identity of the team.

Grade = INC]

[b]Assistant Coach Signings – Dan Majerle, Bill Cartwright, Alvin Gentry, Igor Kokoskov

C. None of these additions were noteworthy except for Cartwright, who may help Amare in the fashion it was hoped that Silas would do. Silas, of course, is a successful former head coach with playoff experience and an understanding of a slower-paced, traditional offense. He knows about post players, gritty defense and rebounding, penetrating guards, shooters, all manner of NBA offensive components and it would have been exceedingly valuable to have him onboard.

This was a failure; I give it a D+ because Gentry was a lateral move, Majerle won't help that much except perhaps with morale, Kokoskov isn't a huge addition and Cartwright is the poor-man's version of Silas.

This grade might almost be incomplete because I want to wait and see with Cartwright, though; he shouldn't be UNDERvalued. He has been a headcoach, albeit unsuccessful because he didn't have the personnel to do what he wanted. In three seasons with the Bulls, he didn't have a wonderful roster. His first season was the one in which the Bulls pulled the trade with the Pacers (Artest, Ron Mercer, Kevin Ollie and Brad Miller for Jalen Rose, Travis Best, Norm Richardson and a 2nd rd pick). He was working with fairly poor talent. They got Jay Williams in the '02 draft but he struggled under Cartwright because Bill was trying to run the triangle and Jay didn't have NBA 3pt range (and tended to force things a lot). The team lacked offensive punch behind Rose (who was an inefficient chucker like Jamal Crawford, also on that roster) and generally the team was a wreck defensively. In Cartwright's final season, he coached but 14 games to open the season before being replaced by Pete Myers (who lost 2 games) and Scott Skiles, who improved upon Cartwright's winning percentage with a 19-47 record, roughly .404, by implementing a no-nonsense and extremely physical style with limited offense but extremely aggressive defense. It worked for a while, especially with the infusion of Ben Gordon and Luol Deng but that eventually collapsed as well.

So in terms of incomplete status, I want to see what Cartwright brings to the halfcourt offense and the usage of Shaquille O'neal as much as to the defensive scheme of things and all that. He has potential to be as or more valuable than Paul Silas but Silas had the advantage of being a successful, proven NBA head coach that Cartwright lacks, hence my limited enthusiasm for the move.

Grade = D+

Draft – Robin Lopez

I'll go with a B- here.

Like many of Kerr's most recent moves, it is incomplete since Lopez hasn't yet played an NBA game but he is another of those sensible moves that address a clear issue (especially with the departure of Skinner). Lopez promises energy, rebounding, some defense and maybe even more offense than advertised, all of which point to this being a successful and valuable draft selection.

Grade = B-

Trade – Malik Harriston and Cash Considerations – Goran Dragic

IThis is a terrible pick, I don't respect this move at all.

He can't shoot in the mid-range and is average at best spotting up from downtown; he turns the ball over a lot because he forces on offense and doesn't have a strong ability to create for himself. He overdribbles and overpasses in half-court situations because his skills are only transition-oriented. He's big but not terrifically athletic. He reminds me of a poor man's Nikos Zissis more than anything valuable to an NBA team. He's fundamentally impaired, though aggressive and mentally strong.

This is not a player on whom I wanted the Suns to waste a pick; the only positive he has on DJ is that he's better as a transition passer. That's it. DJ's bigger, a vastly superior athlete and a considerably better defender. There is no value in the addition of Dragic.

They passed on Richard Hendrix and DeVon Hardin for this guy with no tangible prospects for him being present this season and with a fairly weak prospect profile IMO. I hate this move. I won't call it an F because there's the possibility that I am wildly incorrect but I have thus far seen a number of European point guards that translate to the NBA that totals 2... and only one of them is a traditional point guard. Dragic isn't the athlete that is Tony Parker and he's not the shooter that is Jose Calderon (and Jose is manifestly superior in the halfcourt and not very much a transition point guard). There is much talk of his size (6'4) and his ability to be like a Jason Kidd who can key the break with his defense and rebounding but I plainly do not see this value in Dragic as an NBA player. He looks like a great international player (except insofar as shooting 27% or so from international 3) and maybe a nice 8th or 9th man or something...

And this is a 2nd round pick, so it's hardly damaging to the Suns to trade another second-rounder for this guy but for a team to trade a pick and cash considerations for this guy when it's already bleeding money is unfathomable to me; I'd have selected Hardin or Hendrix... or just sold off the pick. This was a wasted move. As wastes go, it's forgivable because it's not a damaging move but there were better options.

Grade = D

FA Signing – Matt Barnes

Barnes came cheap, so that's a big plus right from the start. He's a good perimeter defender, that's another one. He's got some ability to create his own shot in the post as well as working for shots in transition... another plus. He has evidenced some ability from downtown (which will be rigorously tested in Phoenix), which means he fits in. All of this, coupled with the length of his contract (1 year, which as Scorched notes makes him playing for his next contract) converge to make this basically the perfect signing. Cheap, short, value-added stuff. If the Dragic move was a complete flop, this one is a success even if Barnes fails to produce anything.

Grade = A

Steve Kerr’s Composite = C+

I give him about a 69% on his report card, pending resolution of some of his more recent moves (and certainly the signing of Terry Porter, which I've listed as incomplete, might sway things considerably in his favor). He's made some sound moves, a couple of gambles that haven't paid off and the Shaq move, which wasn't the resounding success it was hoped to be but better than the detractors otherwise claim.

Again, this is with the results of several moves pending, any of which might sway the grade up or down by a significant factor. I expect the signing of Terry Porter to be the pivotal move here, since it's the only incomplete grade I have (though of course the Barnes signing, the Dragic trade and the selection of Robin Lopez might all be legitimately called incomplete grades themselves).