Steve Kerr: Genius or Moron?

[enigmatics]

Can we stop comparing Richardson to JJ? Seriously, I'm excited that Rich is here, but he's no JJ.

So Richardson isn't the slasher who can create on his own? That's the comparison I'm making. And that's what we've been missing.

[mkot]

J-Rich is definitely an upgrade over whoever we have at the 2 right now since JoeJ left. But he is NO JoeJ. He's not a playmaker, not a good ball handler, and he won't fill a box score. And he doesn't defend like JoeJ can. He's more one-dimensional like Amare, and that could present problems.

[enigmatics]

J-Rich is definitely an upgrade over whoever we have at the 2 right now since JoeJ left. But he is NO JoeJ. He's not a playmaker, not a good ball handler, and he won't fill a box score. And he doesn't defend like JoeJ can. He's more one-dimensional like Amare, and that could present problems.

We'll agree to disagree on everything, but the defensive perspective. It's not like Raja was playing championship defense anyways. What did Wade blow him up for again? He's not the player he used to be. If you're not going to get that production anymore, at least upgrade the position all around.

[Ninjafish]

This is the typical argument I hear time and time again. The Buffalo Bills went to 4 straight Super Bowls but never won one. Does that mean they needed tweaking or was it that there was just always a better team each year they lost?

Probably both. If I was a GM of a team that made it to 4 straight Super Bowls, I sure wouldn't disintegrate the team though.

Can you say that the Mavs would have been better than us in 06 if we had Amare, Thomas, and Bell? Doubtful. Would the Spurs have won in 07 if it wasn't for the suspensions? It's hard to say. I know the momentum was in our favor going back to Phoenix with the series tied 2-2 before the hip check. Could be that we just needed to be healthy one time and have nothing silly happen like BS suspensions. Could be that we just needed to add a few more bench players that we could afford to play in the playoffs. (a player like Amundson) Now we'll never know.

[BurningHeart]

Rsav.....the copy/paste post you did from ESPN is spot f'n on. If there's no vision, you can do everything you want, but nothing will work.

[enigmatics]

Rsav.....the copy/paste post you did from ESPN is spot f'n on. If there's no vision, you can do everything you want, but nothing will work.

Interpretive.

You really honestly believe he's making trades just to make them? That says more about what little you think of Kerr than what's actually going on.

[rsavaj]

Rsav.....the copy/paste post you did from ESPN is spot f'n on. If there's no vision, you can do everything you want, but nothing will work.

Interpretive.

You really honestly believe he's making trades just to make them? That says more about what little you think of Kerr than what's actually going on.

Well, it's not hard to think so. He trades his best defenders(KT, Marion, Banks, Bell, Diaw) even though he wants to become more defensive minded, which makes no sense. Here are the moves that kind of make sense: he wants to play a more traditional style of basketball, because he believes run and gun can't work in the playoffs, so he trades an unhappy Marion for Shaq(okay), then he replaces run and gun D'Antoni with supposedly balanced Porter(sounded like it made sense in theory at the time).

So again, he wants to continue to play more traditionally/half court, but then he trades his second best halfcourt threat in the post(Boris) and a cheap guy who can spread the floor(Raja) for run and gun Jason RIchardson. THAT is why I'm confused. Where's the fit? Jason's going to need his shots. Is he comfortable being the 3rd option? Was it worth thinning what little frontcourt depth we had?

Kerr has contradicted himself. Now, he wants to play a more uptempo game b/c Porter is a freaking moron and can't coach his way out of a paper bag, and I'm fine with that, but I just don't see how this isn't completely hypocritical.

Kerr's philosophy:

1) To improve our defense, I'm going to trade all of our best defenders!
2) To improve our half court balance, I'm going to trade for a guy who is D'Antoni's wet dream!

THAT is what some of us don't understand.

[|||-Abaddon-|||]

There should be no emotional attachment to the players on your team, the NBA is a business and your team should have one goal in mind: get better.

The Suns did get better in this trade, so goodbye Raja and Diaw, thanks for the memories.

Same rules apply to Nash, Amare, Shaq --- If the Suns can get better by trading either of these guys, the Suns will pull the trigger. Its the nature of the game, and like everything else, things expire.

[rsavaj]

There should be no emotional attachment to the players on your team, the NBA is a business and your team should have one goal in mind: get better.

The Suns did get better in this trade, so goodbye Raja and Diaw, thanks for the memories.

Same rules apply to Nash, Amare, Shaq --- If the Suns can get better by trading either of these guys, the Suns will pull the trigger. Its the nature of the game, and like everything else, things expire.

Yeah, that would be a great rule if the athletes were robots without feelings, lives or emotions, not human beings.

Screw the nature of the game; human nature states that you're going to be sad when your best friends aren't there to battle with you anymore. Nash's world is kinda crumbling around him. He's had 4 years of glory that each came to a premature, frustrating end. His symbiotic relationship with D'Antoni was weakened when they traded Marion for Shaq, but he almost made it work. Next thing you know, his greatest enabler/believer D'Antoni is gone. They were literally joined at the hip; Nash is an extension of D'Antoni.

But it was okay, because he still had his pal Raja to help him get through the transition of playing for an elementary level coach, even as the team was slowly being dismantled around him.

Oh wait, Raja and Boris are gone too, and sorry Steve, we don't think enough of you to tell you that we're trading your best friend.

I don't expect him to be emotionless about this whole thing, and I shouldn't.

[Ninjafish]

There should be no emotional attachment to the players on your team.

This is one of the crazier things said here. And saddest.

What do you get out of watching if you don't have emotional attachment to players on a team?

[rsavaj]

There should be no emotional attachment to the players on your team.

This is one of the crazier things said here. And saddest.

What do you get out of watching if you don't have emotional attachment to players on a team?

Major flipping word.

[rsavaj]

Rsav.....the copy/paste post you did from ESPN is spot f'n on. If there's no vision, you can do everything you want, but nothing will work.

Interpretive.

You really honestly believe he's making trades just to make them? That says more about what little you think of Kerr than what's actually going on.

Well, it's not hard to think so. He trades his best defenders(KT, Marion, Banks, Bell, Diaw) even though he wants to become more defensive minded, which makes no sense. Here are the moves that kind of make sense: he wants to play a more traditional style of basketball, because he believes run and gun can't work in the playoffs, so he trades an unhappy Marion for Shaq(okay), then he replaces run and gun D'Antoni with supposedly balanced Porter(sounded like it made sense in theory at the time).

So again, he wants to continue to play more traditionally/half court, but then he trades his second best halfcourt threat in the post(Boris) and a cheap guy who can spread the floor(Raja) for run and gun Jason RIchardson. THAT is why I'm confused. Where's the fit? Jason's going to need his shots. Is he comfortable being the 3rd option? Was it worth thinning what little frontcourt depth we had?

Kerr has contradicted himself. Now, he wants to play a more uptempo game b/c Porter is a freaking moron and can't coach his way out of a paper bag, and I'm fine with that, but I just don't see how this isn't completely hypocritical.

Kerr's philosophy:

1) To improve our defense, I'm going to trade all of our best defenders!
2) To improve our half court balance, I'm going to trade for a guy who is D'Antoni's wet dream!

THAT is what some of us don't understand.

This is everything I'm saying in a much more compact message: http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/132331

And that is why Steve Kerr is on my "BURN!" list.

[lilfishi22]

This is everything I'm saying in a much more compact message: http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/132331

And that is why Steve Kerr is on my "BURN!" list.

The article is quite accurate in their thoughts about the J-Rich trade. But damn, "The best argument for the Suns' current defense may be that, with Nash, Richardson, Hill, Stoudemire and O'Neal in the starting lineup, opposing offenses won't know where to start attacking." That is painful to hear, but it can't be better put.

The trade for J-Rich is weird. Feels like the Shaq-Marion trade, where we traded someone who fills the stat sheet for a role player brought in for one thing only, defense. Except here, we traded two guys who fill in the stat sheet together in their own versatile way, while bringing in someone purely for filling up the score board.

All in all, out of all moves Kerr has made, the negatives right now outweighs the positives by at least 4 folds.

Also, seeing how Fernandez is playing right now, man is Kerr a MORON!

[enigmatics]

Guys c'mon now. Boris Diaw and Raja Bell were not the end all be all of winning a championship. In one hand you have a player clearly on the decline and another who's as consistent as winning Powerball, who also happens to own one of the NBA's worst contracts.

[realfung]

Moron for trading Matrix.

[The Diesel]

Moron for making the Shaq trade and for hiring Terry Porter.

[rsavaj]

Guys c'mon now. Boris Diaw and Raja Bell were not the end all be all of winning a championship. In one hand you have a player clearly on the decline and another who's as consistent as winning Powerball, who also happens to own one of the NBA's worst contracts.

No, very true, I absolutely agree with you there. However, that doesn't mean that you make change just for the sake of making change. We know that Diaw flourishes as a starter. Why not trade Amare for two solid wings(Wallace+Richardson), start Boris, improve your starting lineup AND your depth at the same time?

Nash/Barbosa
Richardson/Barnes
Wallace/Hill
Diaw/Amundson
Shaq/Lopez

I like that lineup a lot better. Versatility, scoring, defense both in the starting lineup and the bench.