Kings a cautionary tale for Suns fans

A team with four seasons of fifty-four wins or more. Numerous Pacific Division championships over that time span. Trips to and losses in the Western Conference Semifinals and Finals. A high scoring offense created by an outside-the-box thinking coach, run by an top notch point guard and a power forward who can give you twenty points and ten rebounds a night. Five years of hard work and league-leading play and no NBA championship to show for it.

All those things could be associated with the Phoenix Suns from 2004 to the present. They also are the same things Sacramento Kings fans were saying about their team in the early 2000’s. The parallels between the current Phoenix Suns and the Kings from earlier this decade are uncanny. Over a five-season span, 2000-2004 for the Kings and 2004-2009 for the Suns, the two teams had almost identical win totals. The Kings earned 280 victories and the Suns netted 278. The Kings were a team with a fast-paced offense built around solid point guard play, Mike Bibby, and a power forward, Chris Webber, who could take over a game with his scoring and rebounding. The Suns were built in much the same fashion. A high-powered offense predicated on strong point guard play from Steve Nash that relied on Amare Stoudemire, and for one season Boris Diaw, to score and rebound from the power forward position. Neither team ever made the NBA Finals; the Kings couldn’t get past the Lakers. while the Suns could never conquer the Spurs.

From 2000-2004 the Kings were at the top of their game. They made the Western Conference Semifinals or Finals four seasons in a row and averaged 58 victories a season. Every season during this run they were looked at as one of the favorites to win the west and even the title (sound familiar Suns fans?).

After the 2004-05 season, things began to unravel for Sacramento like they did for the Suns in 2008-09. The team would win fifty games in the 05-06 season and 44 games in 07-08, never advancing past the first round of the playoffs. As their window began to shut, the Kings slowly dismantled the team. They traded away Webber in February of 2005, their talented shooting guard Peja Stojakovic was dealt to Indiana in January of 2006. The final piece they would say goodbye to was their veteran point guard Mike Bibby.

While the team’s front office embarked on a rebuilding plan, their product on the court failed to earn wins. After a five-year span that saw them win 280 games the Kings following five seasons have earned them 99 fewer victories and only once did they finish higher than 4th in the Pacific division.

With the draft just a day away and free agency right around the corner, the decisions Steve Kerr and the Suns’ brass make will go a long way to shaping the future of this organization. As they make these decisions they need to look to the Kings as a cautionary tale. Just as fast as things turned around for the Suns in 2004, they could head south just as fast. They need to make smart draft choices, something they haven’t shown a propensity for over the last few years, and add cheap but valuable talent through free agency. When exploring trade options, especially for Amare Stoudemire, they need to get young talent that is equal or greater value for him rather than expiring contracts. If done right, the Suns could reload rather than completely rebuild. If not, a long playoff drought could be on the horizon. Just don’t panic until the team deals away its veteran point guard and the last piece of the “good old days”.

Don’t believe me? Just ask Sacramento fans.

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