What's Not to Like?

As the great Lou Brown once said, look at this fuckin' guy.



Call him a Lopez sister, call him Sideshow Bob, call him a big, dumb animal with so much hair a hat has no chance of fitting his melon head. I'll go ahead and call him a solid draft pick that fills a need for this Suns team.

As for this European fellow the Suns traded two picks and cash for, if he's half as good as Steve Kerr says (if you heard Kerr on 620 or 910 this morning, you know what I mean...he was GUSHING over this kid,) the Suns made quite the steal.

Onto the summer league and free agency we go.

Stay tuned for some site news next week, strange things are afoot at BJD.

Joakim Noah Will Surely Be Stoned to the Bone Tomorrow Evening

Steve Nash is hosting a charity soccer game tomorrow evening in New York City. According to Henry at TrueHoop, the following players will participate in the event (forgive me for not knowing all these names, I avoid soccer like the plague): Baron Davis, Jason Kidd, Raja Bell, Leandro Barbosa, Joakim Noah, Thierry Henry, Claudio Reyna, Robbie Fowler, Steve McManaman, Jozy Altidore, Juan Pablo Angel, and Gregg Berhalter.

This is all well and good and further proves Steve Nash will always be more than a basketball player, but so help me God, if he appears in one of those "the world is mine" commercials with Thierry Henry I'm taking a hammer to my Nash Bobblepop Doll and then setting the remains on fire.

Taking the High Road

So the big "news" is that Shaq rapped about Kobe Bryant yesterday. I don't care.

I DON'T CARE.

It has absolutely nothing to do with basketball, so again, I DON'T CARE (well, maybe a little.)

I'd much rather talk about more important things, like the NBA Draft and the rumors swirling around LB and Diaw. Check back later today if you'd like to think about things that affect what happens on the court. If videos from TMZ (aka the Anti-Christ) are your thing, get yourself to the top of Camelback Mountain and take the short route down.

Boris and LB...Who's It Gonna Be?

Paul Coro was a busy man yesterday. He does us the favor of putting names to the trade rumors involving LB and Boris Diaw.

According the rumors/sources, LB would be traded to the Trail Blazers for Martell Webster, the #13 pick and a throw-in to make the deal work. Boris would be sent to the Raptors for T.J. Ford and the #17 pick in the draft.

This is pretty interesting stuff.

First, the possible LB deal. Webster makes less money and comes off the books next year, perhaps paving the way for the extension Amare will no doubt get. Besides payroll flexibility, Webster also brings dead-eye accuracy from three point land and defensive intensity instilled in him by Blazers coach Nate McMillan.

The #13 pick and the poor schlub who will no doubt be cut during training camp is simply icing on the cake. According to Chad Ford's latest mock draft, Brandon Rush, a guy Steve Kerr supposedly covets, has risen to that spot. However, with Webster already filling the role of a shooting swingman, the Suns could grab the 7 foot Koufos from Ohio State. Or one of another million things could happen.

From a talent and financial standpoint, the deal makes sense. Two young and hungry players for the price of one is tough to argue with. However, for this deal to go down and help the team in the process, Kerr would have to make another deal.

That's the trade of Boris for T.J. Ford and the Raptors' pick in the upcoming draft, which lands at #17. If Kerr is trading away the Suns' backup point guard, the role must be filled by someone. He can do a lot worse than T.J. Ford and his bad back, that's for sure.

Again, an additional draft pick gives the Suns another piece to retool and rebuild. Whether or not T.J. Ford can stay healthy and if he's the Suns' answer at point guard when Nash God forbid leaves the team remains to be seen.

This will surely not be the last we hear of trade rumors involving the Draft, LB and Diaw. It's good to know Kerr is working hard to improve the team but time will only tell if the decision to move LB, Diaw, or both players is the right decision.

Another Piece in Place

The Suns have settled on a coaching staff. According to Paul Coro at the Republic, an official announcement will be made soon. His sources tell us the staff will be filled out as such:

-Alvin Gentry: my guess is Alvin has been around long enough and is smart enough to realize he has a pretty good thing going here in Phoenix. It was either stay here or follow D'Antoni and company to New York to be swallowed whole by the hell that is New York Knicks basketball.

He probably wouldn't run into many situations such as an infamous episode detailed in :07 or Less if he were in New York ("Alvin, what's going on?" "Nothing, just being black") but he made the right choice.




-Bill Cartwright: known for being the first in a long line of Chicago centers who did their job just well enough to help Jordan win six rings, he'll step into the role of Amare Stoudemire Mentor. He has what Kerr was looking for: experience and "the physical presence of looking someone in the eyes."







-Igor Kokoskov: I'll be honest, I know nothing about Igor except for what Coro just told us. However, his name is Igor and if there's one thing the Suns need, it's more Igors. He's also a native of Yugoslavia, where my sister in law's parents are from. So he's got that going for him. Which is nice.




-Thunder Dan Majerle: Thunder Dan doesn't have any of the experience Kerr was looking for (unless you count experience off the basketball court...hiyo!) but he was a hard-nosed player who gave maximum effort on both ends of the court. His playing experience won't hurt his coaching ability, that's for sure.

I'm going to miss the interesting he and Gary Bender have when doing games though. I'm referring to Thunder Dan being funny and Bender having no idea what he's talking about and being left with no choice but to laugh awkwardly.

Side note regarding Thunder Dan: my childhood best friend's sister had a life-size poster of a shirtless Thunder Dan in her room. Rawr.

With the coaching staff now in place (notice there aren't any siblings on the staff,) the Draft is the next stop for the Suns. As I said yesterday, that situation is only beginning to get interesting.

Amare Needs a Break...Let the Speculation Begin

The latest from USA Basketball and Jerry Colangelo is that Amare Stoudemire will NOT be a part of this year's Olympic team. Sayeth the great Colangelo:

"Amaré has pulled himself out of consideration for the roster and that's predicated on, despite the fact that he's had an injury-free year coming back (from knee surgeries in 2005 and 2006), he's a little hesitant on pushing the envelope too hard."

Here's what's going through my head after reading the article:

1 - Amare being concerned with the health of his knee is never a good thing. In fact, it's downright scary. He is the most important player on the team and one of the dominant forces in the league. Seeing his name and his knee in the same sentence together makes me cringe. I'll be sleeping with the light on tonight.

2 - Mike D'Antoni is Coach K's assistant on the Olympic squad. Is it possible that Amare is so petty and self-absorbed he can't coexist with his former coach for a couple of months? A coach who, don't forget, turned him loose on the league and allowed him to develop freely but without accountability?

We all remember Amare's comments regarding Coach D upon his switch to the Knicks and after the Suns unceremonious exit from the playoffs at the hands of the Spurs. He didn't exactly give a glowing endorsement of the man's ability to coach.

If this line of thinking is to be bought into, it only brings up more questions regarding Amare's time with the Suns. Is he, and he alone, the "chemistry issue" we so often heard about this last year or so? Will his unhappiness with the way things ended against the Spurs in the playoffs (Boris Diaw being the focal point of the offense) extend into next year? And if that's the case, will Diaw's role become smaller once again or will he be part of a pre-draft trade? How many questions can I as in one post? Is anyone listening to me?

3 - As Coro stated in his article, Amare is up for a contract extension next summer. You can't blame a guy for wanting to get paid but being part of a team that is hell-bent on bringing home a long overdue gold medal would be a pretty special experience. His decision to not be a part of the team despite being guaranteed a spot only further raises questions of his motives and if they're team-oriented or selfish in nature.

Notice that he does not mention his team at any point here:

"That's one thing, but health is the most important for me. I want to make sure I'm totally healthy to play the game of basketball. I want to have a long career, and I just want to make the right strides toward doing that."

I don't have any answers here. I really wish I did. All I know is Amare continues to be an enigma to us all.

Again, all these thoughts are nothing more than speculation and probably a good amount of stupidity on my part but that doesn't change the fact that a statement from Amare regarding the Olympic team and his reasons for not participating would go a long way. Something like this would really do the trick:

While bringing home a gold medal with the rest of the incredible players on USA Basketball would be a dream come true for myself and my family, I do not feel at this time that my body will be able to hold up to the rigors of what would amount to a year-round basketball season. It is for this reason as well as my dedication to the Phoenix Suns, my new head coach Terry Porter, my Suns teammates and Suns Fans that I regretfully remove my name from consideration for the Olympic team.

U-S-A! U-S-A!

Knowing is knowledge.

Turning Barbosa Into a Point Guard

If Chad Ford is to be believed, the Suns no longer think LB is their backup point guard and have shifted their focus to trading the Blur to help fill the very spot he hasn't been able to.

That last part is me putting words in the mouths of the Suns and Chad Ford but if what a Suns insider told Chad Ford is true, "Barbosa isn't really a point guard," they have to fill the role LB couldn't with someone, right?

As for trading for Josh Howard, Richard Jefferson, Gerald Wallace or Tayshaun Prince, thanks but no thanks. Terry Porter will make Boris Diaw earn that contract even if it kills him. The Suns are set at the 3.

With one week to go before the Draft, things will surely continue to get more interesting.

An Open Letter to Kobe Bryant

Dear Kobe Bryant:



Sincerely,

Suns Fans

Faceoff in the Carrier Dome

The Suns will face off with the Denver Nuggets in a preseason game in Syracuse's Carrier Dome on the 17th of October. This is of course interesting because Carmelo Anthony will be making his triumphant return to the school where he won an NCAA Championship as a freshman. Carmelo has been through quite a bit since then but I think the dead horse has had enough.

I'm more curious as to whether or not the Phoenix Suns Gorilla and the Syracuse Orange will face off in some humorous mascot way.

For my money there's no better mascot at the collegiate level than the Otto the Orange.
The Suns Gorilla represents the pinnacle of mascot achievement at the professional level.


Something has got to give. It had better be good, because we all know the game will be the pits.



hat tip to my brethren at AZ Sports Hub

Des Moines...I Spent A Month There One Night

The Iowa Energy will be the D-League affiliate of the Suns for the 2008-09 season. If Alando and DJ put in some D-League time once again they had better watch out. While the hustle and bustle of Albuquerque makes Tokyo look tame by comparison, Des Moines is on an entirely different level, as it chews young men full of hopes and dreams up and spits them out.

Tread lightly, young men. Des Moines is full of more energy than you know.

Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together... mass hysteria!

The link isn't quite up on KTAR 620 but Steve Kerr appeared on Doug and Wolf this morning and GUARANTEED the Suns would be using their draft pick on a player.

I am speechless. I am without speech.

Terry Porter and Too Much Talk Radio

New Suns head coach Terry Porter appeared on both Jime Rome and XTRA Sports 910 this morning. Neither interview really brought any new information to light as Porter once again hit all his talking points and got his philosophy across, but I'll never get tired of hearing a coach put equal emphasis on both offense and defense.

Coach D's teams will always be my favorite (until the Suns win it all) but more and more, this change seems to be the right one as the Suns looks to be in good hands with Terry Porter at the helm.

It's the offseason. Games aren't being played, the roster isn't set, and the players have yet to even meet with their coach, but right now all is right in the Valley of the Suns and it's easy to get excited.

For all the turmoil the franchise has gone through in the last month or so, things have finally settled down and we have hope. It's a good thing, maybe the best of things.

Terry Porter Says All the Right Things

Terry Porter's introductory press conference just finished up and while nothing particularly newsworthy or groundbreaking occurred, the new Suns coach said all the right things and impressed me.

He consistently discussed defense and the importance of having a philosophy, an identity, and "plays you live by" on that side of the ball. Porter also touched upon the importance of a solid bench and guys a coach can count on over the course of an 82 game season.

One gets the feeling if Porter and D'Antoni were in the same room together they would resist each other as like poles of magnets do.

It can be argued that Porter is simply saying what Kerr would like him to but these two really seem to be on the same page. A strong relationship and good rapport is evident and we can only hope they're able to come close to duplicating what RC Buford and Greg Popovich, Bill Polian and Tony Dungy, and John Schuerholz and Bobby Cox were able to in their next few years of working together.

About the only thing that struck me as interesting during the press conference was Kerr discussing the assistant coaching staff and letting it be known the choice of staff will be a team decision. Porter will surely have his input and Kerr will "pursue what will make Terry the best coach" but it's abundantly clear that Steve Kerr has grabbed a hold of the reins of this team and franchise and will be directing things from here.

The buck stops with Kerr.

The hiring of Terry Porter is his first imprint on the team. This morning's press conference confirms it is a step in the right direction.

Welcome to Phoenix, Terry

Well, they finally did it. The Suns have ended their search for the franchise's 14th head coach and Terry Porter is the choice.

Porter was the front-runner from the start of the process and he obviously did nothing to make Kerr and David Griffin think he wasn't ready, willing and able to take this team through at least the next three years.

We Suns fans can now focus on the draft (Augustin's size worries me) and the summer league games, as this strange chapter in Suns history is finally coming to a close.

I'm looking forward to seeing the imprint Porter makes on this team and on Amare Stoudemire in particular. As we all know, the Suns will only go as far as Black Jesus can take them.

Best of luck, Terry. Welcome aboard.

No Use For All Those Well-Crafted Madonna Jokes

From Jerry Brown of the East Valley Tribune comes the latest on the Suns coaching search. Brian Shaw is out of the running. Kerr let it be known he wants someone with more experience.

Sadly, Shaw no longer had Madonna's number for Kerr.

Thank you, I'll be here all summer.

Terry Porter Just Made Himself Some Extra Dough

The Pistons fired Flip Saunders today, his failure to bring another championship to Detroit leading to his ultimate demise. What's next for the Pistons? Who knows. They could blow it up, they could make another run.

But this is a Suns blog, so forget the Pistons.

Another team is now without a coach, making for more competition for the services of coaches, Terry Porter in particular. While I'm sure he's upset his buddy Flip is without a job, he isn't sweating the payday he'll receive from the Suns or perhaps Pistons.

He had his second interview yesterday with Kerr, Griffin and Sarver. Things apparently went so well Sarver threw down for dinner. No word on if some t-shirts and hats were thrown in at the end of the meal.