Team by Team: Phoenix Suns
2008-2009 Finish: 36-46
What went bad
Lordy, the city of Phoenix hates Frank Goldstein. Why, you ask? In a short period of time we watched one man totally dismantle a team. So many great players gone in such a short period of time. Wow wow wow. This is a team to topped the Western Conference two years ago. Now it's just down, down, down for these guys. So right before the Suns' owners showed Goldy the door, he had some time left for a little destruction.
Though Emanuel Ginobili and
Louis Williams decided to stick with the team, Elton Brand left for the Knicks. With the holes beginning to show in the lineup, GM Goldstein could only attract small fry FAs like Royal Ivey, Lindsey Hunter and Kevin Ollie. I guess they needed point guards. Well, they got James Posey too.
The march of mediocrity continued when they sent Manu and Charlie Villanueva to the Clippers for
Eric Gordon, Chris Wilcox and Tyrus Thomas. Not that any of those players are bad, but Frank would then trade Gordon and Joey Graham for the RIGHTS to Josh Childress, Jason Maxiell and Rashad McCants. Oof! Gordon would go on to be one of the league's best rookies.
What went worse
In Franky's final trade, he sent Thomas to Lakers for Channing Frye. Frye had a lousy season. Frank's GM points sank to 45. He stopped returning phone calls. The team fired him. The Suns stunk and the team is now in complete disarray. The mighty have officially fallen. Even his interim replacement Seekh quit soon after inheriting this mess.
Goat
- GM Frank Goldstein–
Baa! Baa! Wizkid will resuscitate the Lakers before someone can fix the damage that happened here.
Looking to the future
What are the Suns going to do? The team needs a GM ASAP. The good news is they have tons of money. But will anyone come to the town and play? $30 million clams is a lot but overspending on one star is not a good idea. So what pieces do the Suns have? Well, free agent Mike Bibby has indicated he would like to return. That's a good start. Wilcox will probably leave. Zaza Pachulia or
Al Horford at center, Maxiell, Posey and Charlie Bell can round out a lineup. See, not so bad?
In the draft, Phoenix grabbed Brandon Jennings. He played a lot of shooting guard in Rome, but is he too small for the two spot in the NLL? Time will tell.
The jury is out on the Suns' future, but with the correct guidance the team can maybe be salvaged. Anyone out there?