As a Phoenix fans i agree that there is ZERO chemistry at the moment. But that means we shouldnt trade anymore players on risk of hurting it more, hopefully we will pull together before the playoffs. I think we are trying to pull a San Antonio, dont overly impress anyone in the regular season, finish solidly and take the playoffs by storm.


or at least i can hope :S

I agree tho Quagmire this team is stressing me lately with their inconsistencies!

Locate a perimeter lock down defender. They lost that when they traded Bell away. Find a defensive big. Someone like Brian Skinner or Chuck Hayes. IMO they are lacking some 'glue' guys.

Trade scenario:

Hill/Barbosa/2nd rounder for Hayes/Battier

Trade for a better backup PG than Dragic.

Phoenix has a lot of money tied up in the top. There ain't many expiring contracts, or mid range contracts they have that can be used in 1-for-1 trades or for tweaking trades.

There isn't any guarantee that Amare is going to resign with the Suns either. Do they look at trading him?

You would think that Amare's agent would want him to sign with the knicks. Hoping he will regain the numbers he had when coach D was in phoenix.

The good selling point for the knicks is the potential to play alongside LBJ and lets face it, an LBJ Amare duo would go a long way...

Quagmire, I'd say there's no chance the Knicks go after Stoudemire given Amare's roll in D'Antoni's departure.

I bet the Suns are kicking themselves for not pulling the trigger on that Garnett/Amare deal last season...

At this rate I don't think it'll be long before Amare demands a trade.

Considering the numbers David Lee (and Randolph before he was traded) is putting up in NY, you have to wonder whether Amare may have had his abilities exaggerated by D'Antoni's system.

Just a couple of facts about the Suns this season:

- Amare` has dropped a whopping 7.5 points in his Player Efficiency Rating this season.

- The team's Offensive Rating last season was 2nd in the league, and this season it's 4th, so not much of a drop off.

- The team's Defensive Rating was 16th last season, and this season it's 24th, despite all the talk of Terry Porter putting more of an emphasis on defense than Mike D'Antoni ever did.

Anyway, I'm not sure how this can work financially (let alone if these teams think they'd be getting value out of it), but I'd like to see them make the following moves:

- Oklahoma City gets Leandro Barbosa and Jared Dudley, Phoenix gets Earl Watson and Joe Smith.

It would be handy if a guy like Kirk Snyder was available, because he'd be able to slot into the defensive guard role, which he's shown a bit of ability in as the past. He's still young, but has matured a bit since his earlier years where he had a few attitude issues. Snyder is playing in China however, so I'm not sure he'd really be an option. I'd suggest Ruben Patterson, but he's been out of the NBA for around 12 months, and he's been known to disrupt team chemistry a fair bit with his various antics (both basketball and non-basketball related), so he might not be the best option.

Maybe they can somehow engineer some sort of deal to trade Grant Hill for either Sasha Pavlovic of Cleveland, Mario West of Atlanta, Stephen Graham of Indiana, or Greg Buckner or Quinton Ross (my first choice) from Memphis, as any of them can fit into that defensive role nicely. Some of those guys might not seem like equal value for someone like Hill, but you have to remember he is ageing, is still an bit of an injury risk, and the other teams can always throw in a draft pick or something else to even things up. If he wasn't such a vital cog for the Magic, I might even suggest a straight swap of Mickael Pietrus for Grant Hill.

If those kind of deals go ahead, here's how their rotation would look:

C - Shaquille O'Neal / Robin Lopez
PF - Amare` Stoudamire / Joe Smith
SF - Matt Barnes / Louis Amundson or Alando Tucker
SG - Jason Richardson / (Quinton Ross/Mickael Pietrus)
PG - Steve Nash / Earl Watson

I think that kind of lineup is a bit more attractive than what they're running with now.

TSI, Everyone has their ability exaggerated by run & gun. Look at Chris Duhon, the guy is a career back-up and is looking like Steve Nash this season and in regards to the Suns back when the Suns were playing proper basketball (11-5, Nash complaining about not having fun FFS) Nash looked decidedly ordinary.

That's why despite the Suns playing well in the first 15 games of the season Nash was acting up in the media. He was being exposed badly for his horrible defence and lack of ability to play in a half-court setting.

Recently they were supposedly looking to trade him to the Raptors and the sooner they off-load Nash and everything that comes with him the better off they'll be.

Run & gun never has or will win anything. It goes belly up everytime in the playoffs because it is a failed and flawed ideology designed to hide weaknesses.

Hey 3, got to say man, i get the feeling those moves are a bit like shuffling deck chairs on the Titanic...

I could be wrong (i am more often than not) but i think Amare can still be the player to take the suns all the way.

One thing i have noticed- when Amare score, he boards.

When he isn't involved in the offence he just dissappears completely.

A player like him (childlike) must be the center of attention.

The future is Amare so instead of continuing the Diesel flashback, wouldn't the suns be better off with Shaq 100% focussed on being the man in the paint blocking shots and getting boards while Amare scores?

Coach Porter would need to stand up to Shaq as i'm not convinced Shaq would accept such a role.

Yea they're probably moves for the sake of moves, but they balance out the team more, and give the Suns a bit of a shakeup without hurting chemistry (but bringing in me-first star) or impacting too much on people's shots.

'Proper basketball'?

I really hate that term.

Who decides what proper basketball is? you?


Suns need a new gm... steve kerr has ruined the future of the Phoenix suns. At the expense of a few dollars and Shaq. oh well. I might become a Magic fan. i have one of those flag things from the 90s.