I like Sarver. Flame Away!

[Miklo]

I've been going back and listening to some Sarver interviews, including a really interesting half hour long one. I've also heard just briefly, on a very general level, through my player contact who previously was associated with the Suns (though I don't really pester him about NBA buzz, since I'm dealing with him on a professional level) that many of the players actually have a lot of respect for Sarver. Nash and Amare are 2 of the main names there.

Its hard to get the truth out of people and everyone embellishes, but I feel like we hear certain sides of the issues and we listen to certain peoples' statements and give them more weight than Sarver's. Just because stupid moves have been made also doesn't mean you can put it on Sarver.

Sarver gave a really interesting take on D'Antoni where when he let DA be the GM, he also let DA pick the next GM and let him keep his extra $1 million salary after he left that role. He claims no moves were made without DA's final approval and that the first he heard about DA leaving was through the news.

He also claims that some of the defensive sentiment came from players, which influenced the choice of Terry Porter. The Matrix-Shaq trade allegedly came straight up from Trix refusing to sign less than a max extension.

When you listen to extensive Sarver interviews, you get to see more of the sports enthusiast and performance desire side of him than the penny-pinching side.

In conclusion, everyone who ever speaks to the media puts a spin on things, but if you give Sarver equal weight to others I feel you could possibly view Sarver as someone who actually does have the best interests of the team and a championship ring as a priority.

And by the way I know some of this like the Trix trade we already know but I'm just emphasizing that I think the burden of guilt and blame should maybe shift a bit away from Sarver.

[Miklo]

One of the interviews which some of yall might have heard is Gambo & Ash, 20 minutes long.

http://ktar.net/blogs/gash/archives/1781

[SUNSARETHEBEST]

Yeah he may not be a Paul Allen or Mark Cuban but he knows the Suns have to stay competitive, at least it seems that way now. It's going to be interesting to see what he does in a few years down the road and will be judged by that. I don't think Sarver is the type of guy that will just let the Suns be a lottery team like some of the other owners out there, he's no Donald Sterling and is spending over 70M in salary now.

Now alot of people complain about Sarver but the Colangelo's werent much better, they never broke the bank either and remember the picks the Colangelo's gave away, the #7 in 2004 and those picks to dump Gugliotta's and White's contract. Now people may say Sarver does the same thing but the culprit is actually D'antoni for giving those huge contracts to players who didn't deserve them like Diaw and Banks, that broke the Suns bank and of course Sarver wasn't going to pay $16m that year for Kurt Thomas, that's superstar money. If Colangelo owned the Suns he wouldn't have done the same thing either.

I'm not saying Sarver is great by any means but like I mentioned early he knows the Suns have to stay a competitive playoff team.

[ray ray]

I for one like Robert Sarver, I dont' fully blame Sarver for all of the 1st round picks being sold. I do remember that D'Antoni once said and I quote " I'm not here to develope players but to win a championship". I think that the Suns struggles of late are being blames soly on Porter and Kerr and they should observe some of the blame. But the reason why the Suns are struggling more and are one of the oldest team in the NBA is because of Mike D's refusal to develop young players. Sarver trusted coach Mike even to the point of trading Marion for Shaq. Heck, Mike D signed Banks, Barbosa and Diaw. ( How come nobody mentions this?)

Why do you think that Coach Mike decided to leave? Because he knew that the Suns where in the decline and he didn't want to take the fault. Why did he refuse to hire Tom Thibidoue and prefered to hire his brother Dan D'Antoni? I'm not saying that Coach Mike is totally at fault but he deserves half of the blame as well.

However , I think that the Jason Richardon has put the Suns back in the " contedor" statues but are not going to win a title unless they make some defensive changes. It's pretty hard to make the Suns a defensive team when you have Steve Nash and Amare in the lineup. Is hard for me to say this because I'm a huge Nash and Stat fan. But one of them need to be traded because they can not co exist in the defensive side.

Go Suns!

[ClosAZ]

I for one like Robert Sarver, I dont' fully blame Sarver for all of the 1st round picks being sold. I do remember that D'Antoni once said and I quote " I'm not here to develope players but to win a championship". I think that the Suns struggles of late are being blames soly on Porter and Kerr and they should observe some of the blame. But the reason why the Suns are struggling more and are one of the oldest team in the NBA is because of Mike D's refusal to develop young players. Sarver trusted coach Mike even to the point of trading Marion for Shaq. Heck, Mike D signed Banks, Barbosa and Diaw. ( How come nobody mentions this?)

Why do you think that Coach Mike decided to leave? Because he knew that the Suns where in the decline and he didn't want to take the fault. Why did he refuse to hire Tom Thibidoue and prefered to hire his brother Dan D'Antoni? I'm not saying that Coach Mike is totally at fault but he deserves half of the blame as well.

However , I think that the Jason Richardon has put the Suns back in the " contedor" statues but are not going to win a title unless they make some defensive changes. It's pretty hard to make the Suns a defensive team when you have Steve Nash and Amare in the lineup. Is hard for me to say this because I'm a huge Nash and Stat fan. But one of them need to be traded because they can not co exist in the defensive side.

Go Suns!

Great Post ray ray. I for one believe that the most detrimental moves for our teams future were the ones made under Mike D's tenure as GM. The Diaw and Banks contracts along with us not drafting Rondo (Dantoni didn't want him because he couldn't shoot) were financially crippling to our salary cap and as many others have mentioned wouldv'e eliminated the ongoing need to find Nash's current backup and teams future point guard.

These two contracts given out were reasons for selling the Fernandez draft pick in 2007 along with the obvious Kurt Thomas salary dump. If you think about it another reason the Suns did the Marion for Shaq trade was that we were also able to unload Banks terrible contract

Sarver and Kerr are no genious's for sure and hopefully they learn from their mistakes made during their inexperienced takeover of the Suns. But for all of the good Dantoni did for the Suns, and he did, I'm with those that think the stinky bed we're sleeping in currently has alot to do with the above decisions made during Coach D's hidieous GM run. The soonest I see us starting with a clean slate is the summer of 2010 after Shaq and Nash's contracts are up. This summer I think will be the time the Suns (Kerr) decide if they want Amare in their plans long term. If not, Kerr better find a good trade because that's a big part fo the future for the next 5 + years.

[rsavaj]

Because at the time, the Banks/Diaw signings looked great, and Barbosa's on a good deal. We needed a backup defensive point; Banks was coming off a good season in Minny, he was young, he was quick, and he was available. Diaw looked like the next big thing. The one thing I truly hold against D'Antoni is not drafting Rondo b/c he couldn't shoot, but we got Fernandez out of that deal, who Kerr sold(along with Junior) for cash.

Also, the Kurt Thomas trade? All Sarver, all BS.

[ray ray]

Because at the time, the Banks/Diaw signings looked great, and Barbosa's on a good deal. We needed a backup defensive point; Banks was coming off a good season in Minny, he was young, he was quick, and he was available. Diaw looked like the next big thing. The one thing I truly hold against D'Antoni is not drafting Rondo b/c he couldn't shoot, but we got Fernandez out of that deal, who Kerr sold(along with Junior) for cash.

Also, the Kurt Thomas trade? All Sarver, all BS.

What about trading Lou Deng? That was D'antoni as well. I agree with you about Kerr and Sarver sharing the blame with D'Antoni. But I think that we are leaving Coach Mike off the hook as well. We could of had Iggy and Rudy Fernandez in our team but becouse Coach Mike chosed not to develop young players is the one of the reason why we are in this situation. I'm not fully blaming Mike D but he does deserve some heat. The Suns have done many questionable moves in the past but to say that Sarver does not want to win is insane. I'm not getting pay by Sarver ( I wish I was) but one thing I have learn from seeing him afar, Sarvar want to win a title as bad as we Suns fan do.

[Miklo]

But I think that we are leaving Coach Mike off the hook as well.

I'm not! If I had to choose one person to put all the blame on, it would be Mike D. He was basically like a televangelist, which I dunno if that's just an American term but its those preachers on TV who think their way is the only way and preach like crazy trying to convince everyone that their way is the only way. He basically took many personal gambles at the organization's expense, and to trick management into giving him a TON of leeway only to suddenly without notice ditch it when HIS moves and ideas flopped.

Good riddance.

[nevetsov]

Robert Sarver, is that you?

[pidi]

Robert Sarver, is that you?

well i think it´s maybe steve kerr. haha..

good points, but i don´t like him.. can´t tell you why, i just don´t like him.

i like the Shaq Trade, i like the J-Rich Trade, but i don´t like Sarver.. haha

[rsavaj]

Because at the time, the Banks/Diaw signings looked great, and Barbosa's on a good deal. We needed a backup defensive point; Banks was coming off a good season in Minny, he was young, he was quick, and he was available. Diaw looked like the next big thing. The one thing I truly hold against D'Antoni is not drafting Rondo b/c he couldn't shoot, but we got Fernandez out of that deal, who Kerr sold(along with Junior) for cash.

Also, the Kurt Thomas trade? All Sarver, all BS.

What about trading Lou Deng? That was D'antoni as well. I agree with you about Kerr and Sarver sharing the blame with D'Antoni. But I think that we are leaving Coach Mike off the hook as well. We could of had Iggy and Rudy Fernandez in our team but becouse Coach Mike chosed not to develop young players is the one of the reason why we are in this situation. I'm not fully blaming Mike D but he does deserve some heat. The Suns have done many questionable moves in the past but to say that Sarver does not want to win is insane. I'm not getting pay by Sarver ( I wish I was) but one thing I have learn from seeing him afar, Sarvar want to win a title as bad as we Suns fan do.

Again, Q-Rich helped our team more than Luol Deng would have that year, and that pick was traded solely to avoid the tax; a strictly Sarver move.

You really think D'Antoni had anything to do with the "Junior and Fernandez fo CASH" trade?

As far as "developing young players" goes, who didn't he develop? Amare turned into an All-Star, All-NBA player under D'Antoni's tutelage. JJ developed into a rising star. Barbosa developed into 6MOY; Boris into the MIP. Strawberry? Out of the league. Banks? Useless, even with Miami. Skita? Out of the league. Tucker? Porter's not giving him any minutes either.

What young players didn't he develop?

Again, the only thing I'll hold against him was his short rotation(which Porter is duplicating) and his "hell naw" to drafting Rondo....and even then, they got Rudy Fernandez out of the deal. It was the Sarver/Kerr brain trust that screwed that part up even further.

[Frank Lee]

One interview will not absolve this guy from what has gone on.



Interview recap.....

Do you think this (JRich trade) will help the locker room out ? Obvious YES question

Financially....Are we going to spend more money this yr to try to win...to get a vteran PG ?
ANSWER AVOIDED...question not re-asked.

Playoff out look...top 8-9 teams ? Blah blah blah

What about Mike ? Here comes the He Said She Said crap....Why even air it out ?

Did Mike have final say for his coaching staff ?? Yes...But Mikey picks his Bro rather than Tibedeu...jeez.....' may be a mistake ' says Melbourne Drysdale

Any trades done with out Mikey's approval ? Blah Blah Blah

More Mike this Mike that crap ... 'accountabity' lesson... 'you gotta listen to your boss' lesson

Title or Bust ? Bye Bye Mike news..... Hey I paid him a Million boast

More Boo Hoo Mike crap..... OH>>>THE DRAMA.... what cutting edge reporting

Kerr and SwannieShawnnie talk... hahaha ... the inflated ego of MaidMarion is revealed.



Mambo and Rash just tossed pitch after pitch into the sensational wheel house... like we really give a crap about the hissy fitting hair`pulling spat RSarver and D'Ant are having ? That was the gist of this interview. May be that is fun for you PeeWees to hear... but it does nothing for my 30+ yr angst that is building up to a newspaper headline.

Where are the Meaty questions ? Only once did they mention acuiring a PG...spending more $$ to win THIS YR... and ChickenDancer dodged it.

None of the ..... Hows that Dragic move working out for ya ? Hey, Did you catch Rondo last night ? Boy, It sure will be fun to watch him when the Celts come to town. How bout that Fernandez kid ?? ... WHO THE F ARE YOUR SCOUTS ??? Has ANYONE asked these front orfice guys any direct questions about their recent poochscrewin manuevers ? Let alone who may be responsible for the hundreds of psuedo aneurysms these guys have caused throughout globe.

This interview looks like it was set up....the SUNS called up Gumbo and Hush and said they needed to express an opposing viewpoint to Snively Mike's latest drivel. These two handjobbin hacks jumped right up and saluted.

Hey ... May be I am wrong.... but OP-er did ask for Flames.

[mkot]

I don't have time to read all the long posts, and I know I disagreed with every point some people make about Sarver is a good owner because he really isn't. For those who's blaming MIke for the mess we are at right now, you need to think about this - he was hired to be a coach, not to be a GM to make financial moves. Sarver made the mistake of running BC out of town before Kerr or anyone else is available. Mike was a GM for 1 year, that's it. His bad moves were signing Banks, and getting rid of a draft pick for nothing (Sergio for 3 million for Sarver). He also gave Boris his contract that everyone thought was about right at the time.

Then you look at Kerr. In Kerr's first year we gave away KT and two 1st rounder (WITH NO PROTECTION which could very well be a lottery pick) for the right to give SA 500k for Goran, and gave away James Jones and Rudy for nothing.

If you think Mike the GM did horrible things, what do you call these things?

The post-Colangelo era, and the Kerr era in particular, are still too young to render a solid verdict, but based on early returns, I think it looks like we are “another poorly run franchise.” and it's all Robert Sarver's fault. He did the sh*tty thing and hired his buddy and Kerr reciprocated by hiring his buddy. It should have never come to this, changing the GM and coaching staff in the midst of a legit title run. Blowing chance after chance, and making mistake after mistake when building the team during the Nash era. BS.

[mkot]

Mambo and Rash just tossed pitch after pitch into the sensational wheel house... like we really give a crap about the hissy fitting hair`pulling spat RSarver and D'Ant are having ?

Gambo is the Suns' mouthpiece. They feed him information that they want fans to hear and believe. Sometimes the stuff they say don't even make any sense.

[Never Fear 33 Is Here]

One interview will not absolve this guy from what has gone on.



Interview recap.....

Do you think this (JRich trade) will help the locker room out ? Obvious YES question

Financially....Are we going to spend more money this yr to try to win...to get a vteran PG ?
ANSWER AVOIDED...question not re-asked.

Playoff out look...top 8-9 teams ? Blah blah blah

What about Mike ? Here comes the He Said She Said crap....Why even air it out ?

Did Mike have final say for his coaching staff ?? Yes...But Mikey picks his Bro rather than Tibedeu...jeez.....' may be a mistake ' says Melbourne Drysdale

Any trades done with out Mikey's approval ? Blah Blah Blah

More Mike this Mike that crap ... 'accountabity' lesson... 'you gotta listen to your boss' lesson

Title or Bust ? Bye Bye Mike news..... Hey I paid him a Million boast

More Boo Hoo Mike crap..... OH>>>THE DRAMA.... what cutting edge reporting

Kerr and SwannieShawnnie talk... hahaha ... the inflated ego of MaidMarion is revealed.



Mambo and Rash just tossed pitch after pitch into the sensational wheel house... like we really give a crap about the hissy fitting hair`pulling spat RSarver and D'Ant are having ? That was the gist of this interview. May be that is fun for you PeeWees to hear... but it does nothing for my 30+ yr angst that is building up to a newspaper headline.

Where are the Meaty questions ? Only once did they mention acuiring a PG...spending more $$ to win THIS YR... and ChickenDancer dodged it.

None of the ..... Hows that Dragic move working out for ya ? Hey, Did you catch Rondo last night ? Boy, It sure will be fun to watch him when the Celts come to town. How bout that Fernandez kid ?? ... WHO THE F ARE YOUR SCOUTS ??? Has ANYONE asked these front orfice guys any direct questions about their recent poochscrewin manuevers ? Let alone who may be responsible for the hundreds of psuedo aneurysms these guys have caused throughout globe.

This interview looks like it was set up....the SUNS called up Gumbo and Hush and said they needed to express an opposing viewpoint to Snively Mike's latest drivel. These two handjobbin hacks jumped right up and saluted.

Hey ... May be I am wrong.... but OP-er did ask for Flames.

Haha, I have only been a fan of PHX since last season and it seems like I am already agreeing with you.

[Miklo]

OP-er did ask for Flames

Preeshyadit

One interview will not absolve this guy from what has gone on.

This interview looks like it was set up....the SUNS called up Gumbo and Hush and said they needed to express an opposing viewpoint to Snively Mike's latest drivel.

I'm pretty sure the point I made was that we get the same "set up" "he said she said" through the news from the squeaky wheels, we've gotten the thug players complaining and we've had people in this forum and the news feeling the need to point their finger at someone and what I said was here is the other side. I said this is obviously cushioned BS, but when has any NBA semi-rumor article not been? Why are we more inclined to believe certain peoples' BS than others? There's a ton of ambiguity with a lot of the moves, but while some are clearly SarvKerr's fault others are just as clearly not the dynamic duo's fault.

Anyway, your boohoo about Gambo and Ash aside (was there a traumatic incident we need to know about? ), the point of the declaration of my love for SarviePie was from multiple interviews and watching him at games and meeting him for a couple minutes when I sat behind the Suns bench, the point being that if you listen and watch enough you can tell he's not quite the penny pincher we all talk about and he does have a passion for the game and the win.

[collidingNeurons]

Frank Lee you are probably one of the main reasons i still read this board, even though i don't have the inclination or stomach to post much anymore. I salute your astute take on this brotha. For ll those wanting to give D'antoni all the blame and absolve the upper management. Yes mike sucked as GM, but they freakign hired him as that.. and between the three main players in this 4-5 year drama, they took one of the youngest most exciting teams in the league with nearly unlimited potential and turned it into a old boring underachieving also ran that wont even be that in a few years.

The Suns had the talent and youth to be one of the best teams in the league for years. they had nearly the resources of portland, hell a ton of the resourses portland has were gift wrapped to them from the Suns and it's a combination od Sarver, D'antoni and Kerr's fault. blame them all collectively or individually but that's who screwed it up. Three years ago i cared, now i am barely amused for the train wreck aspect of it all.

[mkot]

But I think that we are leaving Coach Mike off the hook as well.

I'm not! If I had to choose one person to put all the blame on, it would be Mike D. He was basically like a televangelist, which I dunno if that's just an American term but its those preachers on TV who think their way is the only way and preach like crazy trying to convince everyone that their way is the only way. He basically took many personal gambles at the organization's expense, and to trick management into giving him a TON of leeway only to suddenly without notice ditch it when HIS moves and ideas flopped.

Good riddance.

Now I decided to skim through some of the post here and found this.

PLEASE construct a logical argument as to how Mike D'Antoni could be blamed for giving up the Deng/Iggy pick. Ridiculous. At the time we traded that pick, Mike had been the coach for half a year (and played young guys the whole time), hadn't won anything, hadn't earned any front office pull, didn't have Nash or Q, didn't have a system and didn't have any guarantees that we would land anyone in free agency. Why on earth would he push for management to trade that pick? Why would BC listen to him? Bryan Colangelo admitted that they wanted both guys and didn't anticipate either being available at the time of the trade - which was made to clear cap space for FA signings, not to get rid of prospects.

The D'Antoni bashing is just nutso. So many people think everything will be so much better with him gone. Hasn't happening.

The D'Antoni years, and the team that BC built, for the most part, were some of the highlights in my years of being a fan of the team. I hope I can say the same for the Kerr and Porter years.

[mkot]

he's not quite the penny pincher we all talk about and he does have a passion for the game and the win.

Waving a big foaming finger at the front sit doesn't mean you're passionate. He does seem to have a passion for it I will give you that. But he IS a penny pincher.

Selling draft picks is penny pinching. Not signing any extra body to sit on the bench is penny pinching, every year, 13 men and we're done. If selling draft picks for cash and never go for the home run isn't penny pinching then I don't know what is? I don't like to hear the argument that it's Sarver's money and he can do what he wants with it. Owning a sports franchise is not like owning a deli, a bank or a company that manufactures microchips. When you buy a team you buy an entity that has a deep and historic connection to the community and to its fan base around the world. People put an inordinate amount of passion and emotion into rooting for the franchise and financially support the team with the expectation that there’s going to be a certain level of financial reciprocity on the part of the owner.

Selling draft picks is completely indefensible and nearsighted. It serves no purpose other than to make Sarver $3M richer. In reality, if shrewdly used (like actually drafting Rudy Fernandez, for example) it can bring in an asset with limited salary that has the potential to generate much more revenue for the franchise and keep us competitive in the inevitable lean years that every franchise goes through. And the developmental thing has been taken way out of context. He developed LB, Amare, Boris, JoeJ, and James Jones. And probably got as much as anyone has and ever will out of Steven Hunter and Quentin Richardson. The 'Mike not develop players' is just a spin or excuse Sarver use to justify his selling.

If Sarver isn't cheap, then he's an idiot, because there had t have been a way to shed some payroll without coughing up multiple draft picks including an unprotected 2010 first rounder.

[Miklo]

PLEASE construct a logical argument as to how Mike D'Antoni could be blamed for giving up the Deng/Iggy pick.

The D'Antoni bashing is just nutso.

The Deng pick killed me, I never said and I will NEVER forgive anyone, and I mean anyone, involved in that. I'm a diehard Duke fan as much as a Suns fan, you think I was okay with management trading that pick?

D'Antoni bashing nutso...so this entire forum must have been killin ya for the last 4 months. I can't speak to everyone's specific opinions, but 75% of us over the last few months all seem to have the same basic ideas. D'Antoni developed LB, Amare, Boris, JJ1 and JJ2. Wouldn't anyone? Res ipsa loquitor, their talent speaks for itself. Anyone who doesn't develop a monster like Amare, a speed demon like LB, a versatile hard worker like Boris, a pure beast like JoeJ or someone with the shooting touch of JaJo would be fired and killed immediately. Its these other guys who the FO drafted and DA never gave a chance in Hades. You wonder why SarvKerr sold subsequent picks? You can bash someone while still agreeing with some of what they did, or blaming someone else for some things. I blame D'Antoni for what everyone else does - not playing the bench, which directly led to injury-ridden playoff failures.

Yeah, so many people did think everything would be better. But just because we have a limited-experience coach who is a hypocrite as of yet and has mixed ideals, doesn't mean if he doesn't do well that means D'Antoni is the next Phil Jackson!