JTrain wrote:letsgosuns wrote:I understand exactly what you are saying. Here is my bottom line with him. Forget all that off the court garbage, the immaturity, the arguing with refs. I just do not think he is that good. At best, and I mean truly at best, a backup power forward. The Suns are going to go nowhere with him in the 3-4 years anyway if he is the starter.
Then I factor in all the other stuff besides his actual game and I say to myself, why would I want this guy on the team any longer. They do not win with him anyway. He does nothing but cause problems and aggravation for the organization. If what he said about the fans was not a big deal, then why was Robert Sarver a guest on Gambo's show the day after it happened at exactly 2 p.m., trying to play down what he said. Because it was a huge deal what he said. How often does an owner of a basketball team take the initiative to call in themselves to a radio show unless something major has happened.
I have talked to quite a few people about this (not on this message board) and they all want him off the team. Someone I know actually said to me, when has the Suns organization ever had players like the Morris brothers in franchise history. These are not the kinds of players the Suns are known for. Ever. Maybe Michael Beasley's influence is still on people's minds and fans have lowered their standards on what kinds of players they want to watch but I have not. I want to watch players that actually go all out and do everything they are capable of to win. Perfect example is Matthew Dellavedova. That guy sucks and has virtually no game, but he tries harder than I have ever seen Markieff try in his career. Markieff obviously smokes him talent wise but heart wise there is no comparison. Hence why I say you will never win with Markieff on your roster.
Right. You're not treading any new ground here. And again, I agree with many of your observations. My point is, he must be treated as an asset and traded at the right time, when someone is willing to give us something valuable in return. We can't trade him for a box of cereal.
I think a huge contingent of the casual fanbase doesn't like or want to see the Morris twins. I know people who have been huge fans in the past that don't watch or care about the team, and if I bring them up they ALWAYS mention the twins.
I think most everyone knows this, that the popularity of the team is down in some part, maybe a big part, due to the twins. It was huge to get rid of the bigger problem of the two, and I'm all about guys getting second chances. I think Markieff is very good and is still getting better, but how much the fan base is into the team plays a large part and can really energize the team if everyone is behind the team. One of the best things about LMA would have been for the fanbase. Like I've mentioned before, I don't know if we would have contended with him as our best player, but the general feeling around the team and the fans would have changed immensely which would create more buzz and it could have a domino effect.
I mean, just look how crazy excited this forum became over the last few days.
But he does have a ton of basketball value, so we can't and shouldn't just ship him off for nothing. It might be best for him and for the team if he gets a fresh start somewhere, but unless he nets us a great return (a better player or mid first round pick at the minimum), you have to give him a chance to prove his doubters wrong....I do have a feeling some contingent of the fanbase will never be a fan of his though, so it is a tough situation.
because you tank to get players like that.
