First let me say I agree with you on Sarver and he makes me glad I'm not a Suns fan. But it didn't seem like Marion had the support of his teammates and they were glad to get rid of him. Oftentimes when a player is "underappreciated" by the owner, the guys that go to war with him have his back. Didn't see that in Phoenix. But I'm not saying Sarver handled things well either. Marion most certainly wasn't the heart and soul of that team. That title belongs to Nash. Marion is a great glue guy on the court who has no leadership qualities at all (at least I never saw any). We will find out how much he's worth this offseason. I guarantee you it will be less than 1 year at $17MM. If he opts out and becomes a free agent, I'll respect him for it. Otherwise he should shut up and play.
Honestly, the Suns would have been better off trading Marion for a package of expiring contracts and picks like Memphis got for Gasol. Shaq makes 20 million a year for another two or three seasons. Insane.
I hadn't thought of that. Marion & a couple of 1st round draft picks would have been much better than what the Lakers gave up. Gasol would have fit right into their system and given them enough of an inside presence to better compete in the playoffs.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I remember hearing from multiple sources that Kerr really wasn't the one who pushed for this trade. But yeah, I said all along Marion was one of the most underrated players in the whole league. I still think he was more important to the Suns than Amare was/is. If they HAD to trade someone to make everyone happy, Amare's the guy they should've traded.
Ok now I've heard a couple people on here say the same thing. Do you have a link? I can't find an article that mentions this.
I don't quite remember hearing that exactly. I do remember seeing a news report saying that D'Antoni was actually on board with the trade and pushed for it to happen, although at the time I believed it to be nothing but spin coming from the Phoenix front office in order to deflect criticism aimed at Steve Kerr. I still don't buy it today, either.
Wow, that was a good read. I know he has a reputation of just being a stat-head, yet ironically his articles suggests he watches a lot more game-footage that other writers. I like Hollinger for his analysis of situations. However, he still has ways to go in the "projections" department. I remember him being really down on Brooks/Landry.
Well to his credit, he was one of the first sports analysts to notice how well Carl Landry has been playing. Landry, by the way, leads all rookies in PER and it is not remotely close -- his PER right now is right up there with some of the best players in the league.
Suns problems started when Kerr refused to trade Amare for KG last offseasons. From i read, Marion and Amare doesnt see things eyes to eyes. Marion wants the spotlight and Amare wants more shots that is shots by Marion. So trading Amare for KG basically solved 2 problems: (1) Marion unhappiness, ok, he still his contract extension but at least it will improve the locker room and chances to resign Marion, and (2) the suns defense which Amare doesnt play any! IMO, Kerr has not gut to put the trigger then, is the biggest mistake than trading Marion for Shaq, a panic moved, now!
Anyone else wondering if D Antoni will come out later and say he was forced to accept the trade? D Antoni has always been kind of arrogant with his high octane offense and no defense will get them rings attitude. I just don't see him admitting that his coaching style is all smoke and mirrors. Something isn't right in Phoenix.
Well Suns were bound to implode since Marion is a whiny little b****. It seems like every article about him is him complaining about his lack of recognition around the league. HELLO? You build up a reputation by yourself, not just passively doing nothing about it then b****ing. I read an article about him once in which he said he would rather be the star of a crappy team then a 2nd or 3rd option on a championship caliber team. Well you got your wish Marion, now you've screwed up the entire Suns' teams chances of ever winning a championship . The funny thing is, he is still behind Wade in Miami Heat right now..Marion will NEVER be the 1st option or the alpha dog. He is an ALL-STAR role player, but not an ALL-STAR. Long story short Suns had to get rid of the cancerous Marion. The only thing they did wrong was trade for a 36 year old fat man.
Phoenix definitely needed to move him before they lost him for nothing but they should have tried to get more in return. I've said it a million times and I'll keep saying it; the Suns are complete idiots for not doing everything possible to get KG. Can you imagine this team with KG instead of Marion or better yet, Amare? 70 wins anyone?
They definitely could have landed Gasol. They have better draft picks than the Lakers to offer. They didn't trade the wrong forward. Well maybe they did. Marion is the only one who plays defense. But the real deal is they traded for the wrong player. They traded a top 15 player for a role player on a traditional style team.
Didn't know the Shaq deal was the right one for the Suns for Marion, but I don't blame them for not wanting to keep paying Marion what he was making. You shouldn't give 17 million a year to players who can't create their own shot.
