Be Careful of False Hope

Before anyone accuses me of being a pessimist or giving up, please read the entire post - it’s not meant to be that way.

Hope is certainly something that Suns fans have become accustomed to over the past 41 years.  And rightfully so.  Always the bridesmaid, never the bride.  To be a Suns fan, isn’t that a requirement?  Hope.  Support.  Eternal optimism.  And I will ALWAYS have hope when it comes to the Suns.

However, I won’t continue to let myself have false hope…

*Ben’s Admission/Confession:  Over the years, I’ve tried to bargain with God many times…that if he just lets the Suns win or find a way to put a magical run together that I would literally do anything he wants.  Needless to say, that hasn’t worked….yet.  And although I’m probably doomed to Hell for all eternity, I’m not giving up.

/Ben prays

“There’s always next year!”  “Just one more piece, and we’re right there!”  “If it wasn’t for ______ we would’ve won!” Hey, I’ve said those things too.  And this post isn’t meant to criticize, or be a downer - it’s just meant to be a little warning to look at the facts this year instead of what could be.

One day, I’m hearing a lot of resentment for our organization as a whole, our players, our personnel, and the direction it’s heading.  The next day (usually after a Suns win), I’m hearing the anger/criticism go down.  If I’m honest, I’ve done the same thing.

However, this year, there are things I cannot ignore - which lead me to have no hesitation in saying that a trade must be made.

Facts

• Our team, through over 45 games, has not found a sufficient amount of chemistry to warrant keeping this current squad together, or that makes anyone feel comfortable about a long run in the playoffs.
• The person that is supposed to be our biggest star, and someone to build around, has recently said that he should not be blamed for the Suns struggles, that he’s not the captain, and always has excuses for why he didn’t play well.
• We have an old center who is making 20 million dollars this season, and 20 million dollars next season.  Though he’s had a recent resurgence, has it come at the expense of the team?
• Our two-time MVP point guard is unhappy, has too many mouths to feed, and recently called this the hardest year of his career by far.
• The youth we attained this year, have not panned out like we’d want, or has contributed (thus far) at the level we expected.
• Our coach has been maligned and criticized for (attempting) to have a more balanced system, focusing more on the defensive end of the floor, and spreading the play-making around.  People are already calling for his dismissal.
• The Nuggets, Hornets, Lakers, Rockets, and a few other teams on the rise all have pieces they feel comfortable building around, and have established an identity.  This is not to say a move couldn’t be made by one of those teams, but it’s not as if they don’t have several well-established pieces to be around for the future.
• The Suns are in a state of flux with their future - not only financially, but with the players they want to build around.

All of these facts, lead me to believe we need to head in a new direction.  And that should start with Amare.

It would be different IF….

• The Suns had shown consistency.
• Amare had displayed the necessary characteristics of being a leader and our future, rather than blaming others.  That’s not a leader.
• The Suns really had shown an improvement on the defensive end, that separated them from other teams.
• We displayed a balanced system, with all of our “mouths to feed.”
• We had an established identity and felt confident making a long run in the playoffs (if we get there).
• The Suns had the correct players for that identity.
• The Suns were in a different financial situation.
• Other teams in the West were not established to be contenders for years to come.
• We had an ounce of chemistry.

However, those “if” statements lead to false hope.  We MUST look at the body of work, instead of changing thoughts after a win. Let’s say the Suns win tonight and tomorrow, do we all of a sudden not make a move?  Has there been anything this season that would lead us to believe that not making a move is the right thing?  In my humble opinion, no.

Look, this is hard for me to write.  I’m the type of person that looks at brick walls as challenges, and wants to find a way around them.  However, to do that takes resilience (something the Suns have shown in recent years, but not this year), determination, commitment, and effort.  Can anyone really say those factors have consistently been there this year?

Yes, I frequently think of how freaking awesome this team could be.  How much fun they could be to watch.  How much noise they could make in the playoffs.  But, I also have to bring myself back to reality and look at the facts, rather than the shoulds/coulds.

As Phoenix Stan eloquently summarized, there is plenty of blame to go around - and it’s not fair to place the blame solely Kerr or Porter.  At some point, players have to take responsibility.  And it doesn’t work when a few of our players do (sometimes even when it’s not their fault) and other players blame the rest of the team.

If you look at the other contenders (Lakers, Celtics, Cavs, Spurs etc.) they all have an identity, and that identity was established early on with everyone buying in.

While the Suns could/should be one of those teams, the fact is that with the current squad…they’re not.  And it pains me to say that.

I would have absolutely no problem if every player gave their all every game, played their ass off, was there for each other and took responsibility…and they lost all 82 games.  Would I be depressed?  Yeah, probably.  But I couldn’t be angry - they gave all they had and took ownership when things weren’t going well.  Again, that’s not the case.

Will a trade/move solve all of the problems?  No way.  But making the right trade could.  Look at what it did for the Pistons a few years back…the Lakers last year…and the Celtics last year.  Those pieces fit with the system, there was buy-in, and the chemistry improved - thus, setting the teams over the hump.

I’m not ready to give up on this team, not by a long shot.  I still whole-heartedly believe that the right move could jolt us to the top of the second tier of teams.

And when I look at the facts, instead of the shoulds/coulds, there really is no other choice (unfortunately).

And I’ll still love the damn Suns.  : )

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