Suns Training Camp: Five Observations

Hunter · Oct 13, 2008

Five observations from Phoenix Suns training camp:

1. No regrets
If you're hoping to hear the Suns publicly second-guess their trade for Shaquille O'Neal last February, you're going to be disappointed.

The Suns believe -- and I have to agree -- that even had they kept Shawn Marion they'd still be too small in a brutal Western Conference whose top teams seem to be getting longer.

The Suns also strongly dispute the claim that their season was ruined by the trade, noting that they entered the playoffs on a 15-5 surge after Shaq averaged more than 12 points and 10 rebounds in 28 games. Losing Game 1 of the San Antonio series on Tim Duncan's unforgettable 3-pointer in overtime -- and simply drawing the Spurs in the first round -- is what ruined a lot.

"You're always judged on wins and losses and we lost in the first round -- that's the way it is," said Suns president Steve Kerr, who made his first full season in charge unforgettable as well by making the O'Neal deal with Miami. "So I can't argue with people who say it didn't work. But we think he played very well for us and that we played well with him. Everyone knows we threw Game 1 away. Who knows what might have happened?

"We knew what we were doing when we made the move. It was a big gamble in many ways. But hopefully we'll be in a better position [in the 2009 playoffs] after a whole season with Shaq."

It's also Kerr's contention that getting O'Neal at the end of his career, when he has ample motivation to go out in glory, enhances the Suns' chances of keeping Shaq at the level he finished last season.

Said Suns guard Steve Nash when asked if he'd do the trade over again: "Yes. I think it was a risk that we had to take. And now that we have him for a full training camp and the whole season, hopefully we can get the most out of each other."

Shaq's take?

"I accept [the blame]," O'Neal said. "I have no problem with that. I've played 16 years and it's been my fault 12 times [when his teams didn't win the championship]. I accepted that all my life. That's fine with me. But last year I think I did everything I was asked. I just think we met each other too late. We tried to change something at the end of the season and the Spurs were just the better team. This year we started from the beginning, and by the time the playoffs come we'll know each other."

2. I'm with George Karl
The Nuggets' coach was asked a variety of questions about the new-look Suns before the teams met on Saturday in the first outdoor NBA game on U.S. soil and aptly summed up my view of claims that Steve Nash's production will nosedive without Mike D'Antoni's system to run.

"I would never question Steve Nash or Amare Stoudemire or Shaquille O'Neal," Karl said. "Those guys, they're great players. They can play slow, fast, in the dark. Whatever you want to do, they'll be good."

Said Nash, who recently announced his desire to play at least four more seasons through the age of 38: "I can see why people say that [the Suns' window is closing]. We've had four great years and we haven't won it. But I don't feel that way.

"I feel great. I don't feel like physically I've changed at all [since last season], so I feel like I should be able to adapt [to new coach Terry Porter's system]. I still feel like my team is going to need me to make plays. We can play a different style, but it all boils down to players in this league have to make plays and I think my teammates are going to be looking to me to be the one who does that."

3. Stoudemire's goggles look good
We'd love to be able to tell you that Stoudemire himself looks good in goggles. But he's only just now working himself back onto the floor after missing the initial stages of training camp with an ankle sprain and then sustaining a painful poke to the eye from Boris Diaw in the first scrimmage he was cleared to join.

Stoudemire is serious when he says that he plans to wear the goggles for the rest of the season and maybe the rest of his career to keep his eyes safe.

The good news?

They're not really goggles as you think of them in Kareem Abdul-Jabbar terms. They're sleek, cutting-edge Oakley specs that, at least to the amateur eye, look as though they have to be easier to play with than what Kareem used to wear.

"They're definitely stylish now," Stoudemire said. "You gotta have a little pizzazz."

More good news for the Suns: Stoudemire's conditioning is considered his biggest stumbling block to get meaningful court time. Coach Porter is hoping that the 25-year-old will be able to play in Phoenix's final three exhibition games.

4. Phoenix has its own James Posey
Or so Shaq claims.

In O'Neal's estimation, free-agent signee Matt Barnes is the Suns' answer to Posey, who helped Boston win it all with his sticky defense and clutch shooting off the bench before becoming New Orleans' biggest acquisition of the offseason.

"He's a hard-nosed guy," O'Neal said. "I've always liked his game. Every great team has a guy like that. He's gonna sort of be like our James Posey. Actually they have similar games … [Barnes] hustles, get to the hole, shoots the 3, plays defense, will never back down from anybody."

It remains to be seen if Barnes winds up starting at small forward -- something Phoenix is considering to keep Grant Hill's mileage low -- but there's little doubt he's one of the Suns' big wild cards. The focus, as always, is on the Suns' returning top seven. But injury and age concerns among the so-called Seven Starters -- Shaq, Nash, Hill, Amare Stoudemire, Raja Bell, Leandro Barbosa and Boris Diaw -- have the Suns counting on contributions from Barnes, second-year swingman Alando Tucker, rookie center Robin Lopez and rookie point guard Goran Dragic.

Dragic is the furthest away of the three youngsters -- and I seriously question whether he's going to be able to play right away as Nash's backup -- but Tucker has been the surprise of the month and Lopez has showed flashes of readiness, at least defensively. (Knowing how to get shots off against O'Neal in practice is another matter.)

"I already put him in the top 12 big men," Shaq said of Lopez. "There's only two or three great big men. The rest just do what they're supposed to do. I put [Lopez] in the Brendan Haywood category. Good big guy, just hard-nosed, blocks shots, rebounds, scores around the basket. He's in that category. My job is to get him to that upper-echelon category."

I suppose we should note that Shaq initially referred to Haywood as Haywoode Workman, who's about to start his first season as an NBA referee after a long playing career in the league, most notably with the Indiana Pacers.

5. The Suns are in a strange spot
Pundits all over are expecting Phoenix to slide this season, so you can expect to keep hearing various closing-window analogies to describe its place in the Western Conference hierarchy.

The Suns, like most teams, can live with what the media is saying about them. The uncomfortable part is that lower external expectations, in this case, don't equate to any less pressure on Kerr, Porter and really everyone on a roster that remains way up there in terms of star power no matter what happens in the standings.

"I don't think any of us really pay a whole lot of attention to that," Suns forward Grant Hill insists. "For three or four years this team has sort of been [anointed] next year's champions, so you almost sort of assume that you're going to win or represent the West and you really haven't done anything to deserve that. You just kind of expect it to happen.

"Then we got knocked on our butts last year and changes have been made. But you know what? I like this personnel at the start of the year more than I did at the start of last year."
Click to expand...

ESPN

Log in or Sign up

Suns Training Camp: Five Observations

Hunter Administrator Staff Member Administrator

Share This Page

Log in or Sign up

Suns Training Camp: Five Observations

Hunter Administrator Staff Member Administrator

Share This Page

Useful Searches