Elston Turner loses Suns job

[HtownPA]

Suns board says that Terry Porter got the job. Adelman gets to keep his top assistant.

http://www.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?t=796942

[texasholdem]

I knew Kerr wouldn't hire anyone without head coaching experience.

[DraftBoy10]

never had it, so he never lost it. but they weren't going to replace d'antoni and get a very inexp. coach for their old club.

[Iggyemu]

Terry Porter is worst than D-Antoni. Seems like a ridiculous hire to me. PHX IMO has fallen from the ranks of the top teams.

[Tommy Udo 6]

He's still a candidate for Bulls job. However, Casey now seems to have the inside track

[A.J.]

Terry Porter is worst than D-Antoni. Seems like a ridiculous hire to me. PHX IMO has fallen from the ranks of the top teams.

And that means we should be better than them next season.

[King Roosk]

Yeah Terry Porter for the Suns? I think his record in Milwaukee was 71-93...this seems like a major step down for Phoenix.

And I'm glad we kept Turner. Losing top assistants is never good (Thibodeaux).

[TMU]

I loved Porter as a player. He was a great leader on the Spurs team and his leadership should supplement his coaching skills. He was a rookie coach in Milwaukee and his record doesn't speak for what he's capable of. Imo he deserves another shot.

[A.J.]

Yeah Terry Porter for the Suns? I think his record in Milwaukee was 71-93...this seems like a major step down for Phoenix.

And I'm glad we kept Turner. Losing top assistants is never good (Thibodeaux).

His best season was 41-41 with the Bucks, and that was in the East. If he has that record in the West they wont make the playoffs.

[JoeHova]

His best season was 41-41 with the Bucks, and that was in the East. If he has that record in the West they wont make the playoffs.

Obviously, but his best players in Milwaukee were Michael Redd, a rookie TJ Ford (who missed the last 30 games of Porter's first season and his whole 2nd season with a spine injury), and a washed up Keith Van Horn. I think Stoudemire, Nash, and a washed up Shaq is a slightly better nucleus.

[moofs]

It's also possible that the Suns realize they're going nowhere and just want to employ a cheap coach who they can push around or remove as necessary until they are able to rebuild their roster to contention status again. In this case, the coach's actual skill is not overly important.

[JoeHova]

It's also possible that the Suns realize they're going nowhere and just want to employ a cheap coach who they can push around or remove as necessary until they are able to rebuild their roster to contention status again. In this case, the coach's actual skill is not overly important.

yes, that's a safe assumption considering the Suns just traded for Shaq and his massive contract and have two other max-contract MVP type players. I'm sure they plan on being out of the mix for the foreseeable future.

[moofs]

yes, that's a safe assumption considering the [Knicks] just traded for [Randolph] and his massive contract and have two other max-contract [gonna have to strike the MVP here] type players [Eddy Curry, Quentin Richardson, Stephon Marbury]. I'm sure they plan on being out of the mix for the foreseeable future.

I kid, I kid! (Kinda.)

Shaq is washed up. Phoenix's style of play has taken a 180. They've given away all their depth to avoid taking luxtax hits. Just because they plan to keep winning doesn't mean they plan to keep contending. At this point, they're looking either for luck or to keep up appearances as long as possible until the wheels (Nash or contracts) completely fall off. Might as well have a cheap coach if that's the case. Dunno what D'Antoni was signed for, but would wager it was more than Porter is. Rules 1-27 (and possibly further) in the game of Phoenix GM: "We're 5 million over the luxtax, which means I'm paying 10 million a year just for the fun of it. You will cut costs absolutely anywhere and everywhere possible"

[JoeHova]

I don't see how Phoenix is weaker than most teams, despite their age. I think LA, Boston, and San Antonio are better, and Detroit and Utah are probably better. Other than that, they are on par with any other team. I think being one of the top 4-6 teams means you are a contender, but maybe we differ on that.

Plus, they could still make moves, the offseason is hardly even started (well, technically, it hasn't started). Teams would be interested in many of the guys on their roster other than Shaq (and maybe even Shaq, I was surprised Miami was able to dump his corpse on someone).

I don't like Phoenix's appalling cheapness either, but despite blowing so many chances to have a dominant team, they still have a good team.

[moofs]

Oh, absolutely. I didn't mean Phoenix doesn't have a good team. I meant that between their age, their financial state, their complete offensive overhaul, and about 20 million other factors, they are not, with this core, a legit contender any longer. They'll be good, they may even be pretty good, maybe even break 52-55 wins, but they won't truly contend. Anything is possible, maybe they make a really nice signing or trade (those look moot given their cap situation), maybe every other team in the league gets a major injury, but barring freakish unforeseen circumstances, they just won't.

(San Antonio is passing its contender days as well barring a great trade or FA signing. They shouldn't have more than another good year with this core, tops, but I really think their window has passed)