The Phoenix Suns number one off-season priority has got to be to get rid of Mike D’Antoni. Not Mike D’Antoni the coach but Mike D’Antoni the GM. Since the departure of Bryan Colangelo, who just won his second GM of the year award, the Suns front office has been just a shade above awful.
It started with last year’s draft where they magically turned two first round picks into absolutely nothing. From there it got worse with a late night meeting in Vegas with Marcus Banks, who D'Antoni signed to a 5yr $21 million dollar contract. Put it this way Banks made more last year than Boris Diaw and Leandro Barbosa
combined.
Speaking of Boris Diaw and Leandro Barbosa they gave each contract extensions last year. They needed to lock them up to avoid a Joe Johnson situation this off-season. Diaw got the bigger contract and was a virtual non-factor this season while Barbosa won the sixth man of the year and was a huge reason for the team’s success especially in light of the failure of Banks to step into the back up point guard role.
In D’Antoni’s defense he does not have a crystal ball and therefore couldn’t see that Diaw would spend half his contract on French pastries and turn into a pudgy soft slow footed pacifist. However, it is just one more thing that sheds a negative light on his reign as front office point man, as do the insignificant signing of Jumaine Jones, Sean Marks, Eric Piatkowski and Jalen Rose.
To further compound the problem D’Antoni the coach feels bound to uphold and support the mistakes of D’Antoni the GM. Case in point he stuck by and defended a clearly inept Diaw even calling him “the best player on the floor” at certain times. This was not as much a motivational tactic as it was him trying to justify the huge contract he’d bestowed up him before the season.
Putting the responsibility of organizing and running a team on one person is always a mistake. A coach needs to help his players, stick by them, and keep them focused and motivation. D’Antoni is a fine coach. A GM has to take a different view; he almost stands as an outsider remaining objective with the ability to make tough decisions.
The Suns need to take the responsibilities of GM away from D’Antoni. They could simply promote David Griffin or Mark West or they could bring in somebody new but they’ve got to have a full time GM.
That GM’s first order of business has got to be to get rid of Marcus Banks and his obscene contract. This will be a tall order because it is such a horrible deal. The seldom used point guard has nearly $18 million due to him over the next 4 years. Here are a few suggestions: package him with one of your first round picks, ship him to Menorca, Spain to play with Paul Shirley, list his contract on eBay. It doesn’t matter how it gets done as long as he’s gone come next season.
The next pressing need is to get under the luxury tax threshold. Unloading Banks is a step in the right direction. Kurt Thomas will almost certainly pick up his player option ($8 million) for next year; his play against San Antonio coupled with his expiring contract could be attractive to some teams. The Suns are thin in the front court and are lacking in interior defense so they can’t afford to lose Thomas.
That brings us to the annual ‘trade Shawn Marion’ discussion. It’s time to end the speculation, it’s time to distance the team from his incessant whining about lack of respect, it’s time to say goodbye to his infuriating playoff magic trick (you know the one where he disappears). We know all the positives that Shawn Marion brings: athletic, perfect running mate for Steve, versatile defender that can guard 1-5, quickest second jump in the league, and so on. Due to all of that we have put up with the ugliest shot in the game, the air ball three pointers, and the unwillingness to create contact and draw the foul. The total package, both good and bad, would be easier to take if he wasn’t the highest paid player on the team. You can’t have your $16 million dollar a year player be a guy who is at best your third scoring option and who is a consistent playoff no show.
Coach D’Antoni said of his forward, “Shawn is one of our core players. I don't know how we get better by losing him, and we want to get better.”
This is just another example of why D’Antoni shouldn’t be the GM. He is close to these players and can’t make objective decisions about personnel.
Steve Nash said, "We don't need to do anything monumental. We have a good thing as it is…If we can all improve individually and add a few pieces, we've got a lot to be optimistic about.”
I don’t disagree with Nash. Individual improvement along with a few pieces should give them optimism. The problem with Marion is he’s not going to improve. He is what he is and he’s not getting any better. As much of a monster as Amare is right now the best is yet to come. Barbosa gets better every year. Diaw and Jones are still refining their game. Steve and Raja are the most competitive players on the team and will be back stronger each year because of it. Marion just doesn’t have that ability. He’ll never be a good perimeter shooter and once his athleticism goes he’s going to be utterly worthless.
The Boston Celtics have made public their desire for an All Star caliber veteran to pair with Paul Pierce and bring some experience to their young team. Get on the phone; call Danny Ainge and say, “Have we got a deal for you.” Then use Boston’s pick (fifth overall) to draft Corey Brewer, a lanky lock down defender and an excellent perimeter shooter.
Finally, employ a sports psychologist for Boris Diaw and James Jones. These young talented kids have all the physical tools but there is a disconnect somewhere between the brain and the body. Diaw needs to play with fire and show some desire and Jones just needs to take that beautiful form and translate it into knocking down wide open jump shots.
This off-season is critical. No team in the West is going to stand pat. They’ll all be improved and if the Suns hope to get over the hump they too will need to improve. Bringing back the same cast with a ‘one more try’ attitude isn’t going to get it done.
After acknowledging that he “messed up” his first off-season GM Mike D’Antoni said, “We've got to be careful about tinkering with this too much. We've got a great product and a great team. We want to take a baby step forward, and hopefully all we need is a baby step.”
Spoken like a true coach.