Posts tagged AmareStoudemire at FanHouse - AOL Sports Blog

Crystal Ballin' takes a team-by-team look at what should, could, and probably will happen in the June 26th NBA Draft.

The Suns were arguably the biggest disappointment of the post-season, when you consider the fact that the blockbuster deal for Shaquille O'Neal resulted in just five first round playoff games. With a new coach and rumors of more roster shake-ups, this is a team in search of an identity.

Picks: #15, #48.

Needs: A general manager whose intent isn't to destroy the team. Ohhhh, on the court needs. Right. A backup point guard to run the team when Nash is on the sidelines, and believe it or not, one more big to back up Shaq and Amare.

Best case scenario: That Roy Hibbert or Chris Douglas-Roberts would drop into their lap. Either of those guys would likely crack the rotation immediately.

NBA Essentials ranks our six favorite stories of the day.

1. Deadspin: Photos of Charles Oakley getting his shirtless party on.

2. The Sporting Blog: The Celtics aren't a realistic model for success.

3. Chad Ford, ESPN: Draft approaching, rumors flying: Anderson Varejao, Leandro Barbosa, Linas Kleiza are some of the names in play.

4. Mike Bresnahan, L.A. Times: Lakers are in no hurry to sign Andrew Bynum to a contract extension.

5. OC Register: Clippers secretly worked out O.J. Mayo.

6. Paul Coro, AZ Republic: Amare Stoudemire declines an invitation to play in the Olympics.

Jeff Hornacek just seems like he should be an NBA coach. And he also seems like he would be the ideal kind of candidate for Steve Kerr to hire. He would stress fundamentals and defense and probably require little to no meddling in the front office.

I guess that is why he is interviewing for the head coaching gig in Phoenix.

Hornacek will be interviewed this week by the Suns for a head- or assistant-coach job. He always figured to join the profession while growing up as a high school coach's son.

'Everything my dad said seemed to click,' Hornacek said. 'I've had those thoughts in my head since I was 5.'

Hornacek slowly has entered coaching, waiting for his kids to grow up before re-engaging in the NBA grind. Danny Ainge asked Hornacek to be among three candidates for the Boston Celtics' head-coaching job in 2004 but he passed because he had just moved to the Valley.

Hornacek is plugging himself for this gig too, pointing out that better coaching can get you 'two to four points per game' and that he and Kerr 'see the game the same way.'

Both of those are true, but they are still self-promotional. With good reason too -- a situation with a friendly GM, a slew of veteran leaders and a ready-made contender is a pretty good way to kick off a head coaching career.

If Hornacek lands the job though, and I would probably throw money on decent odds for him to get it, it will be interesting to see how his coaching style, having mentored/played under Jerry Sloan, fits in with a crew of veterans. And Kerr will get a guy that fits his style; the real question will be how much input Nash, Shaq and Amare have in the decision.

Good times all around in 2008 for Dwyane Wade!

The NBA announced the All-NBA teams tonight, and really, there wasn't anything shocking within all three squads chosen. Naturally, Kobe Bryant and Chris Paul led all vote getters, with Mamba the only member unanimously chosen (although I'd love to know who was pounding the Haterade by picking Steve Nash and Tracy McGrady over Paul for the first team).

Rounding out the first team were second tier MVP candidates LeBron James and Kevin Garnett, neither of whom was a shock at the forward slots. Dwight Howard was named first team center, in the only reasonably close voting race with Amare Stoudemire. Personally, I give the nod to D-Ho, based on defense and the value of five rebounds a game over five points per.

First he was out. Then Steve Kerr wanted him to stick around.

Now it looks like he's on his way out again.

According to a report by KTAR in Phoenix, the Suns have granted head coach Mike D'Antoni permission to speak to other teams about their vacant head coaching positions, including the Chicago Bulls and New York Knicks.

And so the drama begins anew.

ESPN reported on Friday that Chicago was the most likely destination for D'Antoni if the lunch planned for that day between owner Robert Sarver, General Manager Kerr and D'Antoni did not yield an acceptable resolution. It would appear that it did not.

What this means for former MVP Steve Nash, former MVP Shaquille O'Neal, and MVP hopeful Amare Stoudemire will of course be of heavy debate this summer, particularly considering the offensive fireworks D'Antoni's system provided Nash and Stoudemire. Avery Johnson is allegedly a leading candidate for the Suns' gig if D'Antoni does move on.

Chicago is a tremendous choice for D'Antoni if he takes it, who can implement his run and gun style into a team of young, athletic players who already have solid defensive instincts in place. With Joakim Noah, Tyrus Thomas, and Andres Nocioni, he has a bevy of interior players that can get up and down the court, a serviceable point guard in Kirk Hinrich, scorers in Larry Hughes (well, kind of) and Ben Gordon (just go with me here), as well as a high draft pick, D'Antoni has the elements to build a winner from the wreckage.

The end of one era and the beginning of a new one in both Phoenix and ... somewhere else, yet to be decided.

I guess the phrase is ... "Don't let the depressingly unrealized potential hit you on the way out."

(HT: Bright Side of the Sun)

If that headline seems negative, it's only because I think that if Steve Kerr doesn't plan on keeping Mike D'Antoni as head coach of the Phoenix Suns -- and that's t he way I'm leaning right now -- then why lead him on? On the other hand, he's already gotten D'Antoni to wave his hand and claim the Shaquille O'Neal trade, so with the Daddy on the hook for another $20 million next year, maybe he wants a scapegoat.

Or maybe Steve Kerr isn't evil and I'm just being paranoid. But he's admitted -- and it's obvious -- that he and D'Antoni have significantly different philosophical approaches to winning in the NBA. Which may be why the two of them and Managing Partner Robert Sarver are having a little get-together this weekend. Of course, before they sit down and talk, they had to clear up the rampant rumors that D'Antoni was already out in Phoenix.

'There's no truth to that,' Kerr said. 'I asked Mike when the story came out, and he denied it. Mike's our coach and has done a great job for four years.'

Kerr, D'Antoni and Sarver will meet by the weekend after taking some time for emotional separation from Tuesday's first-round playoff elimination at San Antonio. 'We'll make a decision, and hopefully we go on and get this team over the top,' said D'Antoni, who has guided the winningest four-year run in team history.

Asked if he wanted to return as Phoenix's coach, D'Antoni evaded the question, saying, 'We'll sit down and talk and evaluate everything and see where we are.'

There's the other twist. Maybe D'Antoni wants out. Would it be that shocking to see an architect walk away from a project early because the guy in charge of buying supplies decided to go a different direction? Of course not.

In another of our continuing series, five things to keep an eye out for tonight in the Suns-Spurs game tonight.

1. What You Currently Feel Is The Wall Against Your Back. Yes, Still: Okay, let's get this out of the way. I don't think there's any way the Suns beat the Spurs tonight. We've seen San Antonio suck the life out of too many teams, in too many series, to believe they'll even allow the possibility of something exciting to happen. But since I don't want this column to read just about keeping an eye on how many empty seats there are in San Antonio (and there will probably be a few, knowing this crowd), I'll humor the idea. The Suns are against the wall, again. They've been here many times this season, and every time, they've responded. But they also responded last game, and back to back responses is a whole other matter. Especially in San Antonio, versus an embarrassed Spurs club. If the Suns want to win, they can't hold anything back. It all has to be on the floor. No other option. For a Suns team that's known to coast, we'll see if they can hold a consistent energy.

2. Full French > Half-Hill?: The rave on the internet this week is about how Mike D'Antoni finally wised up and started Boris Diaw, and how he's the new savior of the Suns. I got news for you. I'm not buying it. It's fine that Diaw got some good numbers in a blowout game in Game 4. And it's fine that the Spurs let him back down whatever small forward was guarding him in the post. But he won't find that tonight. He's going to find Tim Duncan. At home. Angry. Unless Boris fully embraces the 3, he can't be effective. And even if he does, everyone was so impressed with him guarding Tony Parker. But who guards Manu Ginobili? You really think both of them are going to have back to back bad games? Diaw is not the answer. Someone who can effectively play consistently is.

We're definitely all over this Celtics-Hawks series, and why not? If Boston should somehow manage to drop two of the next three games to a team that snuck into the playoffs with a losing record, it would be arguably the biggest upset in NBA history. While that's still a long way from happening, the league could certainly make things easier for the Hawks, depending on how they interpret what went down during that little altercation between Kevin Garnett and Zaza Pachulia.

The Boston Globe points out the fact that there might be a few suspensions handed down from the league for Game 5. And if it goes down the way they think it might, the Hawks would have to like their chances for the next game in Boston.

To make matters worse for the Celtics, it's possible that Garnett and Kendrick Perkins could be suspended for Game 5 for their involvement in a second-quarter skirmish last night. Hawks forward Marvin Williams also is in jeopardy.

Replays showed Garnett shoving referee Ed Rush, and Perkins and Williams went on the floor from the bench, which usually means an automatic one-game suspension.

Garnett can be seen "shoving" Ed Rush at about the 15 second mark of the clip (in Matt Watson's original post), and, as stated there at the time, there's no question that both Kendrick Perkins and Marvin Williams technically "left the bench" by stepping onto the court, which, by league rule, is an automatic suspension.

In last year's playoffs, Amare Stoudemire went no further off the bench than Perkins or Williams did, and he was suspended for it, which ultimately cost his Suns the series. Perkins and Williams should both be given a one-game suspension, period.

As for Garnett? Well, he did shove the referee to try to get back into the confrontation. But there's no way the league suspends him for that, right? Although if they did, anyone who's an NBA conspiracy theorist would need to find a new occupation. Because no one concerned with television ratings wants the Celtics ousted by Atlanta in the first round of the playoffs.

34-13 is all you need to know about the whoopin' that the Phoenix Suns put on the San Antonio Spurs Sunday afternoon. That was the score after the first half, and even Gregg Popovich acknowledged that it was not so much what the Spurs weren't doing as it was what the Suns were doing. That would be getting ridiculously aggressive and, to use the classic boxing analogy, punching the Spurs hard enough that they didn't get back up and crawl into the ring again.

It reminded me a lot of the Carolina - Kansas Final Four game, honestly, only if Tim Duncan had freaky bug-eyes and an unstoppable Will.

The Suns won 105-86 and the general consensus at the NBA 'Haus is that if there is one team that has a shot at pulling off a comeback down 3-0 to the defending NBA champions, it's these Phoenix Suns. Oh, and by "consensus", I think I actually mean "a few of us delusional enough to hope that evil won't kill good this week."

In another of our continuing series, five things to keep an eye out for tonight in the Spurs-Suns game today.


1. This Ain't Baseball: 3-0 is fine in baseball. It's got the capability to wrestle momentum in a single inning. It's got a much more random set of variables. In basketball, it comes down to matchups. Your five guys versus my five guys. And the Spurs five guys have been phenomenally better than the Suns' five guys in this series. There's a reason the 3-0 deficit is considered a death knell. The question today is simply how much pride this Phoenix team has. While it might be better to end the Suns' fans misery and get the San Antonio Spurs' slow killfest off of national television, to get swept in the first round would be pretty embarrassing for a team that was supposed to contend for a title. Of course, losing 4-1 won't be much more dignified.

2. Which One Goes Off: Game 1: Tim Duncan. Game 2: Manu Ginobili. Game 3: Tony Parker. How about Game 4: Fabricio Oberto? Or Bruce Bowen? Which player for the Spurs are the Suns going to let torch them this time? The Suns have been completely unable to do anything defensively, and now they're turning on their coach. Shaquille O'Neal can't defend Parker's speed or Duncan's range. Nash can't keep up with Parker and can't rotate effectively to cover the shooters. And Amare always seems to make the wrong decision in key situations. That's to say nothing of the offensive and defensive liabilities that are Leandro Barbosa and Boris Diaw, despite their pleasant boxscore. Maybe it's Jacque Vaughn day in Phoenix.