Just So We Can Pick at the Scabs One More Time
Posted: Wed Sep 9, 2009 7:23 pm
from http://howtowatchsports.com/2009/09/the ... he-stupid/
...."Phoenix Suns – If you’re a Suns fan, I warn you. This might make you a little queasy.
You see, Suns owner Robert Sarver was notorious for years for staying well below the luxury tax. He ran his team like a business, and while he was able to sign Nash and draft people like Stoudemire and Marion, he also always had his eye on the bottom line.
Circa, 2004-2006, the Suns were a blast to watch. They were scoring 120 a game, and though they weren’t putting on any defensive clinics, they were the most entertaining team in the league to watch.
If you’re Robert Sarver, you’ve already got the product on the court, so why not save some dough? How do you save some dough? Well, you don’t pay those pesky first-round drat picks, that’s for sure.
So Sarver did one of the worst things an owner can do: he sold his first round draft picks. In the 2004 draft, the Suns had the seventh pick. They sold it to Chicago for a second-rounder (who wouldn’t have a guaranteed contract) a future first-rounder and $3 million.
That pick was Luol Deng. It could have also been Al Jefferson (a center who can run, unlike Shaq), Andre Iguodala, Josh Smith or Jameer Nelson. Ouch.
Fast forward to 2006. Phoenix has the 21st pick, Rajon Rondo. They sold the pick to Boston for cash and a 2007 first round pick. The 2009 Suns have a problem with who is going to succeed Nash, but they sold Rondo for a few million, and now Rondo has a ring in Boston. Not to mention Rondo is one of the best defensive point guards in the game today, something that Phoenix needs at that position more than ever. Double ouch.
What did Phoenix do with that 2007 first rounder? They picked Rudy Fernandez, and sold him to the Trailblazers.
Then there’s Kurt Thomas, a veteran with a great low post defensive game, something that the Suns lack with Stoudemire down there. But sure enough, Thomas would have put them over the luxury tax, so he was traded to the then-Seattle Sonics for an $8 million trade exception and a second-round future draft pick.
But as we all know, Sarver finally decided to go into the luxury tax in February 2008. By doing so ironically enough, it ushered the end of the “Fun and Gun” Suns, by bringing Shaquille O’Neal into the mix.
And since they traded Shawn Marion for Shaq, they’ve had a gaping hole at small forward. If only there was some way that they could have had a small forward. Hmm…maybe Luol Deng? Or Josh Smith? How about Rudy Fernandez? All can run, shoot the three and are decent defenders.
Instead, Robert Sarver has an extra $10 million or so in his pocket. But then again, why let basketball get in the way of money?"
It doesn't get any easier to read, does it?
...."Phoenix Suns – If you’re a Suns fan, I warn you. This might make you a little queasy.
You see, Suns owner Robert Sarver was notorious for years for staying well below the luxury tax. He ran his team like a business, and while he was able to sign Nash and draft people like Stoudemire and Marion, he also always had his eye on the bottom line.
Circa, 2004-2006, the Suns were a blast to watch. They were scoring 120 a game, and though they weren’t putting on any defensive clinics, they were the most entertaining team in the league to watch.
If you’re Robert Sarver, you’ve already got the product on the court, so why not save some dough? How do you save some dough? Well, you don’t pay those pesky first-round drat picks, that’s for sure.
So Sarver did one of the worst things an owner can do: he sold his first round draft picks. In the 2004 draft, the Suns had the seventh pick. They sold it to Chicago for a second-rounder (who wouldn’t have a guaranteed contract) a future first-rounder and $3 million.
That pick was Luol Deng. It could have also been Al Jefferson (a center who can run, unlike Shaq), Andre Iguodala, Josh Smith or Jameer Nelson. Ouch.
Fast forward to 2006. Phoenix has the 21st pick, Rajon Rondo. They sold the pick to Boston for cash and a 2007 first round pick. The 2009 Suns have a problem with who is going to succeed Nash, but they sold Rondo for a few million, and now Rondo has a ring in Boston. Not to mention Rondo is one of the best defensive point guards in the game today, something that Phoenix needs at that position more than ever. Double ouch.
What did Phoenix do with that 2007 first rounder? They picked Rudy Fernandez, and sold him to the Trailblazers.
Then there’s Kurt Thomas, a veteran with a great low post defensive game, something that the Suns lack with Stoudemire down there. But sure enough, Thomas would have put them over the luxury tax, so he was traded to the then-Seattle Sonics for an $8 million trade exception and a second-round future draft pick.
But as we all know, Sarver finally decided to go into the luxury tax in February 2008. By doing so ironically enough, it ushered the end of the “Fun and Gun” Suns, by bringing Shaquille O’Neal into the mix.
And since they traded Shawn Marion for Shaq, they’ve had a gaping hole at small forward. If only there was some way that they could have had a small forward. Hmm…maybe Luol Deng? Or Josh Smith? How about Rudy Fernandez? All can run, shoot the three and are decent defenders.
Instead, Robert Sarver has an extra $10 million or so in his pocket. But then again, why let basketball get in the way of money?"
It doesn't get any easier to read, does it?
)...at a certain point you will start losing money instead of saving it.