When the 2008-2009 NBA season came to a close the Phoenix Suns failed to gain a playoff berth for the first time since Steve Nash came to Phoenix before the 2004-2005 NBA season. The addition of Shaq at the previous season’s trade deadline proved to be a failure as the Suns offense stagnated in Terry Porter’s halfcourt, grind it out system.
When Porter was fired and replaced by Alvin Gentry midway through the season, the Suns reinstated their running game and again became one of the league’s best offenses, though continuing to be an ineffective defensive squad.
Steve Nash and Grant Hill are both past their primes and can't push the Suns to a championship level.
Heading into the offseason, the Suns needed to find a new identity. Nash is 35, Shaq, 37 and Grant Hill, 36. They promptly traded Shaq to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Ben Wallace, who they waived, Sasha Pavlovic, who they will buy out soon, cash and a 2010 second round pick.
With Shaq gone, the Suns turned their attention to both Grant Hill and Steve Nash. With Hill being an unrestricted free agent and getting an offer from New York, Phoenix decided to extend a two-year, $6 million offer, which Hill accepted. The Suns followed this move shortly thereafter by giving Steve Nash’s a two-year, $22 million extension.
For fans looking for any hope of a return to glory in the near neither of these moves delivered. Nash is still an effective point guard, capable of setting up teammates for a number of easy shots with his pinpoint passing, not to mention his ability to score, but at 35 it is clear he is now slowing down. He was never a good defensive player to begin with, but over the last 2 seasons it has gotten even worse, with Nash incapable of stopping nearly any opposing point.
Hill put up solid numbers last year, but has not been a true difference maker since prior to the multiple surgeries he’s underwent on his knees. To make matters worse, the Suns only other addition this offseason has been former first round pick, Channing Frye who’s only skill, perimeter shooting, will be useful in playing with Nash, but once again will not give the Suns a serious boost to make them any kind of contender in the West.
Additionally, Amare Stoudemire has been hinting at leaving from Phoenix after his failed attempt this offseason to get a contract extension. GM Steve Kerr has stated they want to see how Amare holds up after undergoing serious surgery on the retina in his right eye last season.
Amare Stoudemire may be looking to get a new contract elsewhere after negotiations with Phoenix for an extensions proved futile.
Looking to the future, the only player who they can hope to develop into a star would be this year’s first-round pick, Earl Clark. Both Leandrinho Barbosa and Jason Richardson at this point in their careers are know quantities as prolific scorers, that provide little else. Even if the Suns were to keep Stoudemire, with the Lakers and Spurs on top in the West and a number of teams that figure to make big moves in the upcoming seasons in Portland and Oklahoma City, it figures to be awhile before the Suns rise again as a power.
This is disappointing, because going into this offseason, the Suns were poised to free up cap space in the summer of 2010 and armed with an expiring contract in Steve Nash that could have fetched them some youth or expiring contracts and draft picks at the deadline. Now the Suns merely look like a team doomed to be too competitive to lose enough to be at the top of the lottery, but not good enough to make the playoffs.
Two years ago re-signing Nash and Hill would have been prudent, but with the decline in both players’ skills and abilities, the Suns look to be stuck in the middle of the pack. The Suns will still run and put up well over 100 points a game next year, especially with Stoudemire looking to up his value on the open market, but with Nash, the engine of their offense getting older the Suns figure to be stuck in mediocrity.