Well, so much for Larry Riley as GM

It's one of those rumors, but still...

While "Warriors and Peace," as one colleague hilariously dubbed it, is a long read, Lacob was candid on how he saw the futures of general manager Larry Riley and guards Monta Ellis and Stephen Curry. That being said, I stumbled on a bit of insight after the interview that would have been interesting to throw their way.

In regards to Riley, the owners' support came with a qualifier from Lacob that they had his back "right now" and that they simply needed more time to work together before final conclusions are drawn. But two sources close to the situation expect Riley, eventually, to be supplanted by a bigger-name executive and placed in a supplementary role. A name that is atop Lacob's wish list, I was told, is Steve Kerr.

The former Phoenix president of basketball operations abruptly resigned in mid-June and is now a commentator for TNT, a development that, Lacob said on Monday, railroaded the plans of his Stanford graduate son, Kirk Lacob, to join the Suns' staff during the summer. Kirk's safety net came when Dear Old Dad beat out Larry Ellison to buy the Warriors and he was hired as Director of Basketball Operations for Golden State. The senior Lacob, the sources said, is enamored with Kerr and would be thrilled if he could convince him to head for the Bay Area.

Here's to hoping the Turner folks book Kerr for the Warriors' TNT game at home against Phoenix on Dec. 2, if only because the commentary might take on new meaning.

http://nba.fanhouse.com/2010/11/20/nets-carmelo-anthony-avery-johnson-warriors-steve-kerr/

 

candid on how he sees the futures of ellis and curry??? as i've said before, the only reason i'd get rid of monta is if we got a superstar big man in return...he's carrying our team on his back right now, and he's a ridiculously good bargain at what he's making right now. curry...why would he hesitate to get his back?? point guards and centers are the most valuable part of an NBA team, and we got a very promising young point guard...unless we got chris paul or somebody, i wouldn't consider dropping curry, who is also a great bargain in his current contract.

 

If it were Kerr, he's Tolbert's best friend. That'd make for an interesting dynamic on the Razor & Mr. T show.

 

yeah i agree with that...i've been pretty impressed by almost all of riley's moves so far. i don't see any need to replace him just for a "big name"

 

I like Kerr. I wouldn't mind having him as part of the organization at all. Maybe give us some back up minutes at the SG? By the same token, there's no reason to get rid of Riley yet. He's set the table. Now let's see what he serves for dinner...

 

Shoulda saw that coming .

Jeremy Lin should change his name to Jerry Rice. He would look interesting on the roster and Jerry Rice could ball on the court, too, i.e. play above the rim.

 

I can't believe people are actually advocating keeping Riley on over Kerr? Is this the Bizarro board?

 

As long as they look at multiple candidates and as long as Mike Dunleavy isn't one of those candidates, I'll be satisfied. Kerr is a good candidate, but he didn't achieve much as far as getting wins or revolutionizing the Suns. On the bright side, he did well in the draft, managed the cap well, and is well known and connected, at least.

There's literally tons of experienced guys out there with all sorts of philosophies...Randy Pfund formerly of the Heat, Mark Warkentien formerly of the Nuggets, Pritchard or his assistant Tom Penn, Dennis Lindsey of the Spurs. There's plenty of other names of guys with experience and know-how, but it's up to the new owners to filter out the right one.

I do think that there's much better options than Riley, but I'm not advocating his firing either. I'm all for giving Lacob and Guber time to digest ownership and figure things out this season.

That was pretty much it, personnel-wise. For more specifics, he drafted Robin Lopez and Goran Dragic, and signed Channing Frye. He extended Nash and tried to trade Stoudamire (and during contract negotiations, was the one to stand fast against guaranteeing the whole thing which ended up with Stoudamire going to NY). And he hired Terry Porter, fired Terry Porter, and then promoted Alvin Gentry. These moves weren't amazing, but they did end up getting pretty far in the conference finals last year.

 

Are you kidding me? Riley over the GM who got the Suns to the Western Conf. finals? Kerr resurrected Frye, got JRich, Dudley and Amundson, big pieces of the team. Sure he had Nash and Stoudamire but you need more and he got them more. Give me Kerr.

 

OMG

 

My dad was a highschool coach for 30 years, the 49ers came to play a charity game against school staff back in the 80's... I have a b&w photo of my dad stealing the ball from Jerry Rice

 

Well, you've never let the facts stand in the way, CH. Kerr also hired Terry Porter which was a huge mistake. And he was fired as GM. His rep as a player precedes him. Definitely Riley has done better in his short time.

http://hoopshype.com/general_managers/steve_kerr.htm

 

Hmm...Thanks for the slur, I'm not sure where that came from. That link shows me a pretty good GM history. I don't agree with your assessment. Kerr cleaned up the Cap mess that was there, brought in young talent, didn't overpay for players that he could've overpaid. Took some chances that didn't pay off, but still got the Suns to the Western Conference Finals. What facts are you talking about?

As for Porter, he was one of the top coaching prospects at the time that he brought in. It didn't work out, but then again, he got Gentry in which was the right move when it was obvious that Porter wasn't working out.

 

lol, actually it was a pretty athletic play.. Rice was on a fast break, my dad came up alongside him and reached in for the steal. In the picture they're side by side, banging into each other, and they both have one hand on the ball. It's pretty cool.

 

To clarify my comment on Riley not being fired, I didn't mean that he shouldn't eventually be replaced. But the article stated that the rumor is that he wouldn't be fired but demoted instead (which I'm ok with). And I don't think it is crucial to fire him now and then do a GM search immediately either, it's better to do it after the all-star break or at the end of the season.

On the other hand I'm not convinced Kerr is the absolute best when there's a very long list of qualified candidates. Kerr pulled a great trade by getting J-Rich and promoting assistant Alvin Gentry but he had a poor trade with Shaq and hiring Terry Porter. He did well in the draft and was instrumental in making the bench mob but the coach and the players deserve credit too. If you look at the other possibilities on the list (not to mention there's more than what's listed, I just thought of the guys who had track records), Pfund was there when the Heat won their 2006 championship, Warkentien was exec of the year in 08 before getting pressured out, Pritchard's exploits in Portland are well known, etc. Each of these guys has their plusses and minuses and I'm not gonna just grab Kerr out of all the potential choices.