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The 5x5: Sports Loud and Clear.. Read It Now!

Gear Up For Suns Basketball

This Is The End…Or Is It?

 
By Adam Brennan
April 15th, 2009 at 10:31 am

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The Phoenix Suns wrap up their season tonight at home vs. the beleaguered Golden State Warriors. In their last meeting on March 15th, the Suns dropped 154 points (all in regulation) in route to winning by 24 points. Golden State literally is limping into this final game; they have been dressing injured Marco Belinelli just to reach the league requirement of 8 players in uniform. This is the 1st time since Steve Nash’s 2nd coming to Phoenix (he was originally drafted by the Suns) that the Suns are not participating in postseason play. This is difficult to stomach considering the Phoenix Suns would be a 5 seed in the Eastern Conference.

More important than the actual game; fans may be witnessing the last time many players are in Suns uniforms. Here is a player by player breakdown on who I think will stay and who I think will go.

Going Elsewhere:

Shaquille O’Neal: This one is pretty simplistic, Shaq is owed 20 million next season and this is way too much allocated to an aging superstar that can no longer defend the pick and roll. Shaq has already expressed some interest in going to Dallas. Robert Sarver and Steve Kerr will have a tough time getting anything decent in return for Shaq; but dumping 20 million in salary is worth it just to avoid the luxury tax next season

Grant Hill: As much as I love Grant Hill, he is going to be 37 years old in October. He is not under contract for the 2009-2010 season. The Suns will likely give him an offer, but he will likely receive larger offers elsewhere around the league. Jared Dudley seems to fill the same role Grant Hill plays and this is likely why he will be playing elsewhere next season.

Matt Barnes:  He clearly is a decent player, but it was obvious towards the end of the year the break neck pace the Suns like to play at was too much for him. His 3-point percentage of 34% and field goal % of 42% is pretty low for the Small Forward position. In addition, he missed a great deal of clutch free-throws during their final playoff push. The Suns will look to the draft to add a young defender at Small Forward to compliment Jared Dudley.

Stromile Swift: There was a reason he was un-signed late in the year wasn’t there?

Staying (but may be shopped):

Steve Nash: Plain and simple the fan-base goes away if Steve Nash goes away. Considering Steve Kerr’s comments this morning it seems Nash will be staying. “Steve’s the face of the franchise,” Kerr said. “He’s one of the top point guards in the league still, one of the greatest of all time. He hasn’t really showed signs, to me, of slowing down.”

Amare Stoudemire: The 42 points that he put up against the Los Angeles Clippers may have been just a preview of what he can do in an uptempo style offense. Amare was stuck playing in an offense where he could not utilize his ball-handling skills under Terry Porter; however he was still leading the team in scoring up until his eye injury. The status of his eye will be a major turn-off to possible suitors, and therefore the risk-reward payoff for trading Amare will simply not be there this off-season. My guess? Amare comes in next year with something to prove and averages close to 30 points per game.

Jason Richardson: The Suns would love an upgrade defensively at the shooting-guard position. However, with a 13 million dollar contract next season he will be difficult to move. In addition, his DUI andspeeding at 90 mph with his child in his car will not help his allure to other teams. Barbosa and Tucker will likely take some additional playing time away from Richardson next season.

Louis Amundson: This guy is pure grit and hustle. The team has an option to exercise with him and should do so immediately. Sweet Lou is the one good thing Terry Porter helped bring to Phoenix.

Staying (Under Contract)

Alando Tucker, Robin Lopez, Goran Dragic, Leandro Barbosa, Jared Dudley

With all this being said here is my starting 5 next season:

Steve Nash, Jason Richardson, Jared Dudley, Amare Stoudemire, Robin Lopez*. The Suns will need to find another defensive Center in return for Shaquille O’Neal and draft a good shooting Small Forward to find enough balance for a playoff run in 2009-2010!

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Comments
  • Den
    Adam, I hate to pick on a player because the season is long, it is physically draining and must be tough on the players being constantly traveling. Matt Barnes is an enigma as a player. He is sloppy, a poor defender, turnover prone and just when you are ready to sit him down he will hit several shots, make a steal and completely turn the game around.
    I noticed that he was spending a lot of time on the bench at the end of the game the last part of the season. As you point out, his shooting percentage is below average and I think his turnovers and boneheaded plays are way too high.
    He cost the team the game in Utah when there was still a chance to make the playoffs. With less than a minute in the game, he received an inbound pass from Grant Hill and immediately fired it back to Grant. He hit Grant in the chest with a bullett pass and it bounced out. Why he would make that pass is beyond me. It appears that he didn't want to get fouled and have to shoot free throws. Do you really want to have a player like this in the game at the last? Yeah, neither do I.
    There is little question that J Dudley is going to be a better player than Barnes. It has been fun watching Dudley develop this year. He was a really top player in college and has an attitude you have to like. He knows he is good and he is not afraid to play agressively. He is not afraid to take a shot and he has skills.
  • Hey Den,

    One thing I am fairly sure of is that Jared Dudley can play better than Matt Barnes this season. I don't think he is a superstar but he can score 12 points and get 6-8 rebounds a game. Most importantly he hustles and plays some defense. I don't think Robin Lopez is good enough to fill that role. Maybe Erica Dampier comes over in a trade for Shaq? Lou needs to spend the whole offseason shooting free throws and that is it!
  • Den
    Adam, Nice analysis on the Suns players. I also hate to see Grant Hill go. He has some play left in his 37 yrs old body. I'm surprised that he was able to play so well and was injury (serious injury) free this year.
    As you write, a good shooting and good defending small forward is very important for this team. The team also needs an agressive, tough rebounding center. Can Robyn Lopez fill this position. The misspelling is intentional in case you are wondering.
    The starting lineup that you suggest will hardly strike fear in the opponents that the Suns will face next year.
    Is there a player in the draft that can step into the small forward slot? Is Jared Duddley good enough to play small forwrd? Can Alando Tucker be more than the 10th person off the bench? Is Goran going to toughen up enough to consistently play point guard? Will Lou Amundsun learn to shoot a 15 ft jumper and a free throw? I would like to have Lou in the game at the end of the 4th quarter but he is a liability because he can't hit a free throw. Somebody needs to whisper in is ear that he will be gone unless he improves his shooting.
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