The Phoenix Suns, post-Joe Johnson

If this was NBA 2K9 Association Mode, the owner expectations of the Suns would be 'Saving Money' while the Mavericks would be 'Win Games'.  So it isn't surprising to see the amount of talent that has passed through the Valley of the Sun over the years.  The Suns front office has taken some flak for their approach.  They were roasted by Bill Simmons after the loss to the Spurs in 2008.  But with the team about to play their first Western Conference Finals since they were beaten by Dallas in 2006, have the lean years since then been a success?


The team went through three coaches.  Mike D'Antoni left after the latest heartbreaker to the Spurs in 2008, and was replaced by Terry Porter who served half a season.  Alvin Gentry entered after the All-Star break in 2009, and has proven that his tutelage under D'Antoni was well spent.  Gentry's record with the team is 72-41, a percentage of .637 - looks like the Suns have themselves a winner.  Gentry also has that special skill of knowing exactly when a well-timed angry outburst at the refs and his own subsequent ejection will fire up the team.  One of the luxuries of having Steve Nash and Grant Hill on the court is that his ejection is not fatal to the team, as it would be to say, the Knicks with D'Antoni or the Bucks with Skiles.

On August 19, 2005 Joe Johnson requested a trade and was dealt to the Hawks in exchange for Boris Diaw and two first rounders.  The 2006 pick became Rajon Rondo, and the 2008 pick became Robin Lopez.  Not a bad deal for a star SG who wanted out.

But on June 28, 2006 Rondo was sent in a draft day trade along with Brian Grant's corpse to the Celtics for cash and a 2007 first rounder, which turned out to be Rudy Fernandez.  This is a bit of a head scratcher, and was a pure money-saver for the Suns.  They saw a chance to get rid of Brian Grant's $1.9 million contract, and gain some cash for it in the process.  They never thought they were giving away an all-star, franchise PG, because MLB GMs think like that, not NBA GMs (Rondo's pick did significant mileage before settling in Phoenix - from the Lakers to the Celtics to the Hawks before being used by the Suns and then traded back to the Celtics - 13,747 kilometres).

Then on June 11, 2007 Rudy Fernandez, along with James Jones, was traded to the Blazers for cash.  So Rondo, Fernandez, Grant, and Jones all became cash.

The other pick acquired from Atlanta was Robin Lopez, which - Shock! Horror! - the Suns decided to keep.

On December 10, 2008 Boris Diaw was traded to the Bobcats with Raja Bell and Sean Singletary - Jared Dudley and Jason Richardson came to Phoenix, as well as a second round pick.  The trade was seen as an aggravated robbery by the Suns, but turned out to be good for both teams.  Boris Diaw and Raja Bell became good scorers for the Bobcats until Stephen Jackson turned up, while Jason Richardson kept up his efficient three-point shooting.

On July 27, 2006 the Suns made their best move yet, signing free agent Sean Marks.

In July 2007 the Suns in quick succession signed Grant Hill, turned Fernandez (still overseas) into a stack of cash, and traded Kurt Thomas and TWO first rounders (2008 and 2010) for the Sonics' 2009 second rounder and $8 million.  The second rounder became Emir Preldzic (who?), while the 2008 first rounder became Serge Ibaka.

Then came the failed Shaq experiment, which cost Shawn Marion, Marcus Banks, Mike D'Antoni, Terry Porter his job, two years of Nash's life, and the Suns' worst two finishes since 2004.  But not a worry, Shaq was traded away for two cadavers (Ben Wallace and Sasha Pavlovic) and a 2010 second rounder, saving the Suns a cool $5 million in salary difference (Wallace was also bought out for $4 million less than what he was owed so he could go play for Detroit, so Shaq's disastrous Suns tenure ended up saving Robert Sarver $9 million).

Draft day 2008, the Suns were in 'looking to the future' mode, drafting Robin Lopez and Malik Hairston, then trading Hairston plus a 2009 second rounder (which became DeJuan Blair, but really, who was to know that) for the Spur killer, Goran Dragic.

In the 2008 offseason, Lou Amundson was signed as a free agent, but unfortunately Sean Marks departed to the greener pastures of Louisiana.

During the 2009 season, after Shaq and Terry Porter were gone, four important transactions were made.  Grant Hill was re-signed to a two year deal, Channing Frye was signed for a bargain, Steve Nash was extended through 2012, and, most importantly, Amare Stoudemire was not traded.

That left the team with a starting five of Nash-Jason Richardson-Hill-Stoudemire-Frye/Lopez.  And, more importantly, a second unit of Dragic-Barbosa-Dudley-Amundson-Frye/Collins.

But could it have been Nash-Quentin Richardson-Johnson-Marion-Stoudemire (the '04 roster), with Rondo, Fernandez, Blair, Ibaka, and Lopez?  And would the fans want that instead?  Would that team be in the same position?

Well apart from being on fire sporadically from three, Quentin Richardson is past his prime.  Unpacking and packing again four times in two months will take it out of you.  Q-Rich covered 10,402 kilometres.  J-Rich only covered 3,287 kilometres.  Advantage, '10 Suns.

Here is 2010 Joe Johnson.  Here is 2010 Grant Hill:


Advantage, '10 Suns.

Sure, Shawn Marion may be a perfect fit for the Run 'n Fun Suns, with his athleticism and speed, but Robin Lopez is quickly becoming the best young big man in the game, with post moves that annihilate opposing Cs.  Oh, that's Brook Lopez?  Robin is the fuzzy haired one that blocks shots and doesn't rebound?  Ah.  Advantage '04 Suns.

On the bench, aside from the fact that the Suns wouldn't have all three of Johnson, Rondo, and Fernandez (since they were traded for each other), take a look at these two per-36 minute lines:
Rondo: 13.5 pts, 9.6 asts, 4.4 rbs, 2.3 stls, 0.2 3PM, .508 FG%, .630 FT%
Dragic: 15.9 pts, 6.0 asts, 4.3 rbs, 1.2 stls, 1.8 3PM, .452 FG%, .736 FT%

Clearly the first line is better overall, but Dragic is no scrub.  I'm not saying the Suns would rather him than Rondo, but a young Dragic over a Joe Johnson who wanted no part of the team, and a Fernandez who doesn't seem to understand basketball outside of Spain?  This one is a tie.

Let's play again!
11.4 pts, 10.7 rbs, 2.3 blks, .551 FG%

Can you guess who that is?  It's more boards and blocks per-36 than 2010 Shaq (10.3 and 1.8), Tyson Chandler (9.9 and 1.7), Al Jefferson (10.3 and 1.4), Andrew Bynum (9.9 and 1.7), and a whole heap of other players.

Its Lou Amundson, who was signed off the wire and is being paid $855,000 this year.  Now, DeJuan Blair also has a huge per-36 line, but Lou's fit with the second unit is just so much more...Suns.  During a small portion of game when most people are getting food or going to the toilet (start of the 2nd, end of the 3rd) Lou is running the floor, snatching boards in traffic, and being a nuisance in the middle so the hot-shooting second unit can hit the outside shots.  Ibaka may be a beast for the future, but for this Suns' second unit, Lou is perfect.  '10 Suns get this one.

Jared Dudley over Rudy Fernandez?  Only one stat is required here, since most of Dudley's work is not in the numbers.  .458.  That's Dudley's 3P%.  Fernandez's is .368.  Dudley is ideal for the system - he is the guy that runs down on the break and stops at the three point line near the sideline, waiting for the kickout from Dragic or the cross-court pass from Barbosa.  Almost half the time, he hits that shot.  He doesn't need to take more shots in this offense - he needs to hit those icing threes, get those long rebounds (he has a rebound % of 8.0, better than Paul Pierce and Kobe Bryant), and be the energy guy for the Suns that fires their second unit each game.  I think the Suns would much rather have Dudley in that position than Fernandez - '10 Suns again.

This 'analysis' seems ridiculous - that a team would prefer Grant Hill over Joe Johnson, and it is.  But these Suns are not all about the talent of the parts - they are about how the whole fits together seamlessly.  They are back to the pre-Shaq Suns that won the Division title three years in a row through running and gunning.  Nash is as good as ever, and the team that he has around him is good enough to beat anyone when they are on.  This playoffs, they have been on.