Whatever your personal feeling for Steve Kerr is, or your thoughts on the personnel moves he’s made to the Suns, you gotta respect the guy.
Keep in mind, I’m writing this as a depressed Suns fan, with a man-shrine to Steve Nash. I recently wrote a post stating the end is near and proposed (out of loyalty and respect) to trade Nash to get him to a contending team because we owe that to him…needless to say, I’ve hit rock bottom. Yet, I sit here objective enough to still respect our GM.
I’m not saying you have to agree with every move he’s made, or even like him as a human being (I happen to genuinely like him as a person). But, I truly believe he’s done what he thought best for the team, and I can’t fault him for that.
Look, hindsight is 20/20. Who knows if we would’ve been a better team with Shawn Marion instead of Shaq. It is my sincere belief that we wouldn’t have. Remember, Suns fans, Marion wantedto be traded! Or, maybe now with Bell/Diaw instead of J-Rich. Or D’Antoni instead of Kerr. Who knows, and at this point…who cares?
I’ve not agreed with every move he’s made, but he has my utmost respect for three reasons.
Ownership
He’s taken ownership of everything he’s done, and not once tried to pass it off on a player or coach. That is something I respect more in a person than anything. If you screw up, take the blame for it, accept it, and try to make it better. Has he acknowledged the results haven’t been what he thought they’d be? You bet. Has he blamed anyone else other than himself? Never.
“We’ve got to keep pushing forward and pushing ahead. We have to figure it out. If the pieces don’t fit, then that’s on me. And I’m willing to take that blame if that’s ultimately the case. We have to determine that and go from there,” Kerr said to Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic.
But he’s always maintained that responsibility from taking the job in 2007, that he’s willing to take the blame and criticism if things didn’t work out. Setting everything that’s happened aside, and even as a passionate Suns fan, I respect that in a human being.
Vision Was Right
He’s done what many of us wanted him to do – try and make the Suns a more balanced team and a better defensive team. His ideas were spot on; even if they haven’t turned out like he (or we) thought.
Don’t forget that the Suns needed to make a change. No if’s, and’s, or but’s about it. Just like this year, something needed to happen to invigorate the Suns and Marion was unhappy with his role. We had, presumably, went as far as we could in the playoffs with the current format. We needed a defensive/inside presence and Kerr pulled the trigger. Was it the right move? At the time, I think it was. Now? Depends on how you look at it.
I read countless blogs/articles after our loss in the playoffs against the Spurs, and even into the 07-08 season that we needed a defensive presence. People were getting fed up with our defense and the points we allowed in the paint. Ultimately, that was one of our biggest reasons for losing in the playoffs like we did!
Seemingly, it worked out last year when we won 17 of the final 24 games. We were favored in the 1st round. The loss of Grant Hill’s defense on Parker, along with Duncan’s shot, really deflated us. Is that Kerr’s fault? Nope.
Willing to Gamble
I also respect that he’s willing to take a chance, just the Colangelo’s. Did you agree with every move the Colangelo’s made? Unlikely. But their visions and moves (Barkley, Kidd) weren’t that different than Kerr’s. The only difference is that the results were a bit more successful – but is that really Kerr’s fault?
Charles Barkley was a gamble and the results were phenomenal. Shaq has certainly not been the one to blame for the Suns recent demise.
What is clear to me now, and to every Suns fan, is that the current team and style of play doesn’t fit well with our coaching style. In defense of Kerr, he hired Porter to bring a defensive presence…and that hasn’t happened. Kerr never wanted to stop running; he wanted an improvement on the defensive end, especially via our presence in the lane.
Again, I’ve not agreed with every personnel move he’s made. But I sure as hell respect the guy.
