NBA: The fish stinks from the head

There’s trouble at the Phoenix Suns. Eric Bledsoe caused a stir through social media, and a few hours later Head Coach Earl Watson was dismissed after just three games. What’s the next step in Arizona and where does this continuing failure come from? A search for causes.

You could have almost forgotten it. After all the hustle and bustle, the team also had a game to play. With 117:115, the Arizona side beat the Kings to claim their first win of the season,”We have shown real character,”said a delighted Rookie Josh Jackson,”the last 24 hours have opened our eyes. I’m proud of the reaction from our team,”Devin Booker agreed. However, two protagonists were missing: Eric Bledsoe and the dismissed head coach Earl Watson.

“I don’t wanna be here.” That bledsoe tweet hit like a bomb on Sunday. A short time later, Watson was dismissed after 18 months of service. After just three bankruptcies, the Suns pulled the rip cord. After embarrassing performances against the Blazers, Lakers and Clippers, the management had enough.

Jay Triano, former Canadian national coach and assistant to the Suns, will coach the team on an interim basis until the end of the season. Watson got the papers; never has a coach been dismissed since the merger with the ABA earlier in the season.

These occurrences naturally raise questions. Why didn’t this cut take place during the off-season? In contrast to owner Robert Sarver, General Manager Ryan McDonough presented himself to the media and stated soberly:”In the summer we talked a lot about our direction, our style of play and player development, just about everything it takes to develop and win games,” according to the GM, these changes were not visible on the field.

Already the prelude ended in a debacle. The young team was shown in the local arena according to all the rules of the art and had to swallow the highest bankruptcy in franchise history (74:124). Phoenix presented itself frighteningly, without any tuning, defensive and actually all that is needed to play serious basketball.

It would be far too easy to blame the coach alone,”two 40-point defeats against the coach is wrong,”said Booker,”It’s about pride, dedication and love for the game. The designated franchise player was considered a big proponent of Watson.

Bledsoe, on the other hand, showed his dissatisfaction with the now infamous Tweet. The explanation that he wasn’t referring to the Tweet as his team, but rather to a hairdresser’s salon where, according to McDonough, he was with his girlfriend, sounds very original, but not too credible. The GM announced that Bledsoe was very likely not to run for the Suns any more and was sent home.

There’s a lot of fallow land in the Arizona desert. In a radio interview last summer, Sarver said that the team could win far more victories than last season and attack the playoffs. As a reminder: The Suns play at the Western Conference, where even good teams like Denver, Portland, Utah or Memphis have to stretch themselves to reach the top eight teams in the West.

The Suns, on the other hand, are one of the youngest teams in the league. Six players in Arizona are unlikely to buy a beer, 11 players are 24 or younger. In the recent past, it has been shown that without good veterans, there are a lot of defeats – see Philadelphia, see Minnesota. In Phoenix, the only routiners in Phoenix are Tyson Chandler (old), Jared Dudley (felt even older) and Eric Bledsoe (see above), who all carry their own parcel with them.

Especially the problems with Bledsoe could have been solved with a trade. The Guard wanted to leave already in the summer and made this clear in a meeting with McDonough and Sarver, but Phoenix demanded too much for the willing Guard. For example, Kyrie Irving did not land in the desert. Now the Suns have a player who will no longer play and whose trade value is as low as Danny DeVito’s centre of gravity.

It is very striking that only a few players have left the franchise in good health. After the Suns 2013/14 played a great year with the two-headed Guard monster around Bledsoe and Goran Dragic and almost tragically missed the playoffs with 48 victories, one player after the other went into battle and demanded a trade. Dragic, Isaiah Thomas, the Morris brothers, now Bledsoe. IT even called his “salvation” a Christmas present. Brandon Knight is still in the squad, but he was scared long before his injury.

So the fish seems to stink from the head. ESPN reporter Brian Windhorst agrees:”When you talk about Phoenix in the league, no matter whether you’re a coach or a player, it’s always the owner who’s the first to be talked about. There’s been damage there that can’t be repaired for a short time.”

Significantly, that Sarver did not appear before the press on Monday and apologized for having to attend an important meeting. In his 14 years as an owner, the businessman built up a reputation as a saver fox, who made the Seven-Seconds-or-less-Suns around Steve Nash and Amar’ e Stoudemire a real chance to win the title.

In the front office, Sarver turned every penny over. For this reason, the contracts of GMs Bryan Colangelo (2006) and Steve Kerr (2010) were not renewed, although the teams had reached the Conference Finals. After Kerr’s departure, the franchise is still waiting for another playoff. Only Sacramento (11 years old) and Minnesota (13 years old) are still waiting for games in the postseason.

All the more astonishing was Sarver’s decision in the summer to extend the McDonough contract – despite the longest play-off abstinence in the franchise history – “Constance is important. I’ve learned that in my 14 years. With Ryan, we will stick to our plan to play for the championship in a few years’ time,”the owner explained his decision.

It doesn’t fit the picture that Watson had to take his hat off after only three games. In addition, McDonough did not always prove to be a good hand in his four years of work. With Booker (13. Pick 2015) he managed a real steal, but otherwise his draft and trade decisions were not always the best. However, the GM must also be credited with the fact that it often had little room for manoeuvre with trades.

Bledsoe’s behavior will be similar. Numerous teams are said to have already expressed their interest, the trade seems to be only a matter of time. For the Suns, this season can only be about damage limitation. Of course, the season is still bleeding young, but it seems very unrealistic that Phoenix will still play a halfway good role.

Another year deep in the Lottery, another young player will join us:”It’s time for a new voice, a new direction,”McDonough announced at the presentation of interim coach Triano. He still has 78 games left to recommend himself. If Sarver doesn’t change his mind.