Kerr Deserves Credit

[The Diesel]

Hey guys,

Steve Kerr obviously became the punching bag of the NBA ever since he made the controversial Shaq trade (Even though he was against it and was talked into it by D'Antoni and Sarver) and I think it's time people give him credit where credit is due.

With the exception of drafting Earl Clark (who I think will be a bust) and hiring Porter, he had made some really good moves.

- Frye has been a great fit in the Suns' system.

- Gentry has done a good job this season

- Lopez and Dragic have developed very well

- Signed Nash to an extension

- The Bell/Diaw for J-Rich/Dudley trade is starting to look good even though I think losing Diaw cost the Suns a playoff spot last year.

Everybody makes mistakes and certainly Kerr has made a few. But I think it's time for people to acknowledge he's done a great job recently and I always thought he would improve because he's a VERY intelligent guy.

What do you guys think?

[DirtyDez]

If Duncan doesn't hit that miracle 3 we win the series and the Shaq trade wouldn't have been bad. Marion wanted too much $ and was a locker-room cancer. Diaw was awful so him and J-Rich cancel eachother out. Sad to see Raja go but Dudley is a stud. Disagree about Clark though, he'll be fine.

[Miklo]

I think Kerr got stuck with Sarver and Griffin and could have been great if he was with the Spurs organization or someone.

[MaryvalesFinest]

Ive always said Kerr is the last person to blame but he's still a medicore GM. Lopez and Dragic were bad picks at the time and still bad picks now, they gave up two second rounders to get Dragic and Lopez is a 7 footer that still can't rebound so I'm not sure how he improved.

I'm waiting to see what he does with the Amare situation, if he pulls something great off he has the chance to be one of the top GM's in the league, if nothing really changes he's still medicore and if he mishandles the Amare situation he might be known as one of the worst GM's in the league.

[Sreister]

Ive always said Kerr is the last person to blame but he's still a medicore GM. Lopez and Dragic were bad picks at the time and still bad picks now, they gave up two second rounders to get Dragic and Lopez is a 7 footer that still can't rebound so I'm not sure how he improved.

I'm waiting to see what he does with the Amare situation, if he pulls something great off he has the chance to be one of the top GM's in the league, if nothing really changes he's still medicore and if he mishandles the Amare situation he might be known as one of the worst GM's in the league.

That's just really hard to say, isn't it? The Dragic part? How many second rounders make such an impact their 2nd year in the league? Most just fad away and never get any sort of exposure or even a chance. You have to respect that a little bit!!

[The Diesel]

I agree that Duncan's 3 started their downfall in that series and as a franchise.

Mike D was talking about it a few weeks ago saying "we blew that Game 1 and it changed us."

Nash said the loss "took a lot out of us."

Remember, the Suns won both games against the Spurs post-Shaq tade that season including a 96-79 win on the road during the last meeting of the regular season.

Unfortunately, the team's only good defender against Parker (Hill) got hurt before the playoffs and the Suns suffered that devastating Game 1 Double OT loss; they blew an 18 point lead and blew several chances to win that game.

It didn't help that Kerr criticized the defense after that loss, which probably angered Mike D who already had a rocky relationship with Kerr up until that point.

The Suns had the best record of any team in the West WITH Shaq that season over the last 20 games of the season and everything went perfectly until Hill's injury and Duncan's miracle shot.

Don't forget the Suns were just 2-7 that season WITH Marion against the elite teams in the West and that Amare emerged an absolute monster after the trade by averaging 28/10 after Shaq came to the team because Amare got to move back to his natural PF position.

Shaq really gets a raw deal from the media.

The Suns failed him more than he failed the team. Even Kerr admitted "he played better than we ever could have expected."

[MaryvalesFinest]

Ive always said Kerr is the last person to blame but he's still a medicore GM. Lopez and Dragic were bad picks at the time and still bad picks now, they gave up two second rounders to get Dragic and Lopez is a 7 footer that still can't rebound so I'm not sure how he improved.

I'm waiting to see what he does with the Amare situation, if he pulls something great off he has the chance to be one of the top GM's in the league, if nothing really changes he's still medicore and if he mishandles the Amare situation he might be known as one of the worst GM's in the league.

That's just really hard to say, isn't it? The Dragic part? How many second rounders make such an impact their 2nd year in the league? Most just fad away and never get any sort of exposure or even a chance. You have to respect that a little bit!!

Last years draft who knows who the Suns would have drafted in the second round but this year that pick could have been used to draft either one of, Dejuan Blair, Chase Budinger, Jonas Jerbko, Marcus Thornton, etc...I know I would have rather have any of those guys over Dragic.

[DirtyDez]

Ive always said Kerr is the last person to blame but he's still a medicore GM.

+1. Most fans just blame the GM for everything even though they have no idea what's going on behind closed doors. The fan will believe what they want to believe. Bryan Colangelo was smart to leave when he did with our salary situation at that time.

[Sreister]

Ive always said Kerr is the last person to blame but he's still a medicore GM. Lopez and Dragic were bad picks at the time and still bad picks now, they gave up two second rounders to get Dragic and Lopez is a 7 footer that still can't rebound so I'm not sure how he improved.

I'm waiting to see what he does with the Amare situation, if he pulls something great off he has the chance to be one of the top GM's in the league, if nothing really changes he's still medicore and if he mishandles the Amare situation he might be known as one of the worst GM's in the league.

That's just really hard to say, isn't it? The Dragic part? How many second rounders make such an impact their 2nd year in the league? Most just fad away and never get any sort of exposure or even a chance. You have to respect that a little bit!!

Last years draft who knows who the Suns would have drafted in the second round but this year that pick could have been used to draft either one of, Dejuan Blair, Chase Budinger, Jonas Jerbko, Marcus Thornton, etc...I know I would have rather have any of those guys over Dragic.

I wouldn't go that far, but I do respect the fact that you feel that way. But at the same time, you can't what if something like this.

"What if Lebron played a year in college before the NBA and he wasn't in the draft he was." That's basically what you're saying. So stop the BSing and just give him some respect, he's at least earned the right to not be called a bust. It's hard to EVER call a second rounder a bust!

[MaryvalesFinest]

Yeah bust is the wrong word for Dragic, should have said they just got a bad deal with that trade considering what they could have had.

[KLEON]

I wonder what who ever posted this is going to say when Kerr trades Amare for some guy who is only athletic and overrated (Iguodala) when the team is playing so well.

[ma_falaa_50]

MVF, if you are going to argue can u at least put names that were drafted on those 2 spots that we traded in exchange for Dragic?? can u at least support your points as to why Earl clark is going to be a bust? As far as commenting on the trade for Iggy, is it even going to happen? think smart MVF, would you pay an employee top dollar for mediocre work? if you had a chance to get more workers with the same amount of cost wouldnt you do it?

MVF please post evidence of your claims, ITS GETTING OLD! we cant really speak of the "iggy" trade until it actually happens.

I think Dragic may not be the steve nash suceessor. I think the suns should get a successor based on skill not position. last time I checked although we loss amare, we may also get iggy and Dalembert.

Robin Lopez is a good role player and is active, he is what he is. I have no problems with the suns drafted him. I have not really made an impression about earl clark because I have not seen him play in person.

as for the Kerr the GM, not all Gms get it right! there will be success and missteps along the way. Kerr did get shaq when the suns wanted a traditional center. Kerr got us j-rich and dudley but more importantly got rid of Diaw's lazy ass! Kerr is not perfect but he could be worse!! MVF its easy to play GM but its a whole new monster when its actually your job.

[lilfishi22]

The Suns team wasn't built to be the fundamentally sound team Kerr wanted it to be and trying to change our culture backfired as the fans didn't like it. However, he deserves credit where credit is due. Had we still been with D'Antoni, we'd probably are still looking at the playoffs but likely a low-to-mid seed and with absolutely no plans for the future. Dragic would hardly get any minutes because D'Antoni would be running a 36yo into the ground and Rolo would never see the court because he's got no jump shot. Clark would be seeing less time than he does now and Dudley and Lou would've likely never gotten the opportunity to blossom.

Since Kerr's been in office, there has only been three things that has annoyed me about him.

1. KT trade: I don't think I need to go into it but if Kerr left the front office due to unpopularity, this would be the one move that would've defined his time in the Suns front office. While it's tough to say it was his fault since Sarver put a lot of pressure on him to get cap relief, I thought there would've been better deals out there that didn't require us to give up two 1st rounders.

2. Firing D'Antoni: I know some of you will disagree with me but I still stand by the notion that had we had a full training camp with Shaq under D'Antoni, we could've gotten to the Finals. Shaq was everything he said he would be under D'Antoni as he rebounded, provided a big body and guarded the opposing team's best big. Amare flourished next to him and was even considered by some to be an MVP candidate which was surprising, considering it came so late in the season. All in all, I still think we fired D'Antoni prematurely.

3. Hiring Porter: Of all the moves that was probably under his full control, hiring Porter would likely be his biggest mistake. Not only did he hire a coach that didn't have the respect of our vets, Porter tried to bring in a system that turned Shaq in our star player, Nash and Stoudemire into role players and tried to change our entire culture through one training camp. If there was a bigger mistake Kerr had made, it would have been not firing Porter earlier.

For all the moves he's made that turned fans against him, he's also made some good moves.

1. Jared Dudley trade: We got out of Doris' big contract which runs for another 2 seasons after this one and we got back Jared Dudley, who has been one of the bright spots of this season. I thought without Raja we would've lost the one guy who brought it every night and was the heart and soul of the team and never thought Jared Dudley would come in and play that role so well.

2. FA pick ups and draft picks: Grant Hill on the minimum, Barnes on the minimum, Lou on the minimum, Frye on the bi-annual exception, Lopez and Dragic draft picks. Kerr may not have had much to work with considering our cap situation and with Sarver dictating every financial move, but he certainly got us a lot of useful players for cheap. Nobody thought we could get guys like Hill and Barnes on a vet min but somehow Kerr got them for us. As for our draft picks, some have been questionable at the time (Dragic/Lopez), some are still questionable (Griffin) and one which has yet to blossom (Clark) but for those who are playing now, they are playing well. Lopez has been one of our better 1st quarter contributors and Dragic has been a real surprise this season by taking minutes away from JRich.

3. Our future: I can't say it's as bright as that of some of the other teams, but at least we have something. Financially, Kerr has done well with what he's got, his plans to get us cap space after JRich expires gives us options after 2011. We have some nice role players consisting of Dragic, Barbosa, Dudley, Lopez, Clark, Frye and Lou and we have good vets to keep us competitive and teach our young guys a thing or two. Amare is a valuable trade asset and could be part of our future (if he signs for 'cheap') and JRich is an expiring after next season and could be a tradeable expiring contract next season. We have a player's coach and with the city and the weather, it's always one of the top FA destinations and with cap space coming in the next few years, we could be back in the playoffs and challenging for a spot at the top of the West sooner than you think.

[MaryvalesFinest]

MVF, if you are going to argue can u at least put names that were drafted on those 2 spots that we traded in exchange for Dragic?? can u at least support your points as to why Earl clark is going to be a bust? As far as commenting on the trade for Iggy, is it even going to happen? think smart MVF, would you pay an employee top dollar for mediocre work? if you had a chance to get more workers with the same amount of cost wouldnt you do it?

MVF please post evidence of your claims, ITS GETTING OLD! we cant really speak of the "iggy" trade until it actually happens.

I think Dragic may not be the steve nash suceessor. I think the suns should get a successor based on skill not position. last time I checked although we loss amare, we may also get iggy and Dalembert.

Robin Lopez is a good role player and is active, he is what he is. I have no problems with the suns drafted him. I have not really made an impression about earl clark because I have not seen him play in person.

as for the Kerr the GM, not all Gms get it right! there will be success and missteps along the way. Kerr did get shaq when the suns wanted a traditional center. Kerr got us j-rich and dudley but more importantly got rid of Diaw's lazy ass! Kerr is not perfect but he could be worse!! MVF its easy to play GM but its a whole new monster when its actually your job.

I named guys the Suns could have used with the Dragic picks and when did I ever say Clark is going to be a bust? I'm pretty sure I supported most of my points though...

[ma_falaa_50]

I didnt read that post but I think Dragic is a good pick, and I think Robin is a work in progress. I think when the suns drafted EC, it was for the future. I think some of the players that you discussed does not help the suns for the future.

[The Diesel]

The Suns team wasn't built to be the fundamentally sound team Kerr wanted it to be and trying to change our culture backfired as the fans didn't like it. However, he deserves credit where credit is due. Had we still been with D'Antoni, we'd probably are still looking at the playoffs but likely a low-to-mid seed and with absolutely no plans for the future. Dragic would hardly get any minutes because D'Antoni would be running a 36yo into the ground and Rolo would never see the court because he's got no jump shot. Clark would be seeing less time than he does now and Dudley and Lou would've likely never gotten the opportunity to blossom.

Since Kerr's been in office, there has only been three things that has annoyed me about him.

1. KT trade: I don't think I need to go into it but if Kerr left the front office due to unpopularity, this would be the one move that would've defined his time in the Suns front office. While it's tough to say it was his fault since Sarver put a lot of pressure on him to get cap relief, I thought there would've been better deals out there that didn't require us to give up two 1st rounders.

2. Firing D'Antoni: I know some of you will disagree with me but I still stand by the notion that had we had a full training camp with Shaq under D'Antoni, we could've gotten to the Finals. Shaq was everything he said he would be under D'Antoni as he rebounded, provided a big body and guarded the opposing team's best big. Amare flourished next to him and was even considered by some to be an MVP candidate which was surprising, considering it came so late in the season. All in all, I still think we fired D'Antoni prematurely.

3. Hiring Porter: Of all the moves that was probably under his full control, hiring Porter would likely be his biggest mistake. Not only did he hire a coach that didn't have the respect of our vets, Porter tried to bring in a system that turned Shaq in our star player, Nash and Stoudemire into role players and tried to change our entire culture through one training camp. If there was a bigger mistake Kerr had made, it would have been not firing Porter earlier.

For all the moves he's made that turned fans against him, he's also made some good moves.

1. Jared Dudley trade: We got out of Doris' big contract which runs for another 2 seasons after this one and we got back Jared Dudley, who has been one of the bright spots of this season. I thought without Raja we would've lost the one guy who brought it every night and was the heart and soul of the team and never thought Jared Dudley would come in and play that role so well.

2. FA pick ups and draft picks: Grant Hill on the minimum, Barnes on the minimum, Lou on the minimum, Frye on the bi-annual exception, Lopez and Dragic draft picks. Kerr may not have had much to work with considering our cap situation and with Sarver dictating every financial move, but he certainly got us a lot of useful players for cheap. Nobody thought we could get guys like Hill and Barnes on a vet min but somehow Kerr got them for us. As for our draft picks, some have been questionable at the time (Dragic/Lopez), some are still questionable (Griffin) and one which has yet to blossom (Clark) but for those who are playing now, they are playing well. Lopez has been one of our better 1st quarter contributors and Dragic has been a real surprise this season by taking minutes away from JRich.

3. Our future: I can't say it's as bright as that of some of the other teams, but at least we have something. Financially, Kerr has done well with what he's got, his plans to get us cap space after JRich expires gives us options after 2011. We have some nice role players consisting of Dragic, Barbosa, Dudley, Lopez, Clark, Frye and Lou and we have good vets to keep us competitive and teach our young guys a thing or two. Amare is a valuable trade asset and could be part of our future (if he signs for 'cheap') and JRich is an expiring after next season and could be a tradeable expiring contract next season. We have a player's coach and with the city and the weather, it's always one of the top FA destinations and with cap space coming in the next few years, we could be back in the playoffs and challenging for a spot at the top of the West sooner than you think.

Great post. I enjoyed reading it.

I agree that the Porter hiring and running out D'Antoni were huge mistakes. He ran out a coach who was EXTREMELY successful and well-liked by the players and replaced him with a guy whose system didn't fit the team and a guy who the players did not like playing for.

And for those who think the Shaq trade was a mistake, PLEASE stop blaming Kerr for that move. It's been confirmed by now that Mike D was the biggest supporter of that move and that Kerr was reluctant.

[ma_falaa_50]

1. KT trade: I don't think I need to go into it but if Kerr left the front office due to unpopularity, this would be the one move that would've defined his time in the Suns front office. While it's tough to say it was his fault since Sarver put a lot of pressure on him to get cap relief, I thought there would've been better deals out there that didn't require us to give up two 1st rounders.

- I didnt like the trade but why keep him in the roster if MD was not going to play him?? WHats the point if the coach is not going to play a player. I hated that they traded him for peanuts. I was surprised that the trade was legal cuz I thought thats why they had the look out so money wise it matches up.

2. Firing D'Antoni: I know some of you will disagree with me but I still stand by the notion that had we had a full training camp with Shaq under D'Antoni, we could've gotten to the Finals. Shaq was everything he said he would be under D'Antoni as he rebounded, provided a big body and guarded the opposing team's best big. Amare flourished next to him and was even considered by some to be an MVP candidate which was surprising, considering it came so late in the season. All in all, I still think we fired D'Antoni prematurely.

how Mike D is doing in NY explains why he got fired! he didnt think he needed to practice team defense for more than 30 minutes during practice

3. Hiring Porter: Of all the moves that was probably under his full control, hiring Porter would likely be his biggest mistake. Not only did he hire a coach that didn't have the respect of our vets, Porter tried to bring in a system that turned Shaq in our star player, Nash and Stoudemire into role players and tried to change our entire culture through one training camp. If there was a bigger mistake Kerr had made, it would have been not firing Porter earlier.

-I agree Porter was a bad coach but at the time of the hiring who knew porter was going to act like a dummy! but i do agree with you

[lilfishi22]

1. KT trade: I don't think I need to go into it but if Kerr left the front office due to unpopularity, this would be the one move that would've defined his time in the Suns front office. While it's tough to say it was his fault since Sarver put a lot of pressure on him to get cap relief, I thought there would've been better deals out there that didn't require us to give up two 1st rounders.

We were playing KT, he was one of the reasons our system worked without a traditional big. D'Antoni liked playing KT because he provided us with defense and rebounding and he didn't clog up the lane for the Amare/Nash PnR because he had a money mid range shot. The reason the trade was made was not because we weren't playing him, it was because Sarver didn't want to pay his salary.

how Mike D is doing in NY explains why he got fired! he didnt think he needed to practice team defense for more than 30 minutes during practice

I agree that D'Antoni wouldn't fit in our plans long-term since he didn't preach defense but I'm still convinced if he had one more season and a training camp with Shaq, he could've taken us far

[ma_falaa_50]

Dantoni initially liked playing KT then he played him less and less. In the playoff game that followed the famous suspension of DIaw and Amare, Dantoni only played like 7 ppl, Kt got like 20 minutes??? really? 20 ??? Dantoni initially liked playing Kt but he played him less and less later on. Sarver had reason to trade him. I just didnt like they traded him for a bag of chips.

kerr has said that if the shaq trade didnt work out it was on him. he made a mistake when hiring porter and he owned up to it. Kerr is not delusional. he has an idea to where this team should be going. if ppl dont like amare getting traded, thats your choice. For me, he is 28 and he still doesnt show 110 percent effort every night.

[jolbin]

MVF
You would rather have Blair going into the future?
This guy is a ticking bomb..
If i remember correctly you were fully against Budinger before the draft...
If Dragič would have a chance to play as much as the other guys you mentioned, he would be even more succesfull than they are