Phoenix Suns Were Wrong to Hire Terry Porter; Even More Wrong to Fire Him

The Phoenix Suns may or may not have fired head coach Terry Porter. Because the NBA doesn't want anyone dumping on the All Star Game, league business tends to take the weekend off.

So, tomorrow, Porter will be fired by the Suns. Thanks for that! The Suns have absolutely no stones. None.

Don't get me wrong: Porter isn't a great head coach. He's a good guy who does a good job and all, but he just doesn't enough produce wins. I'm not saying this now that he's gone ... I was saying that when he was hired.

Porter never should have been head coach of the Suns. But GM Steve Kerr was busy running Mike D'Antoni out of town and into a gazillion dollar offer from the Knicks. He wanted a defensive minded guy, so hiring Porter seemed like a good idea.

The problem is that Porter wasn't inheriting a defensive minded team. Phoenix has long been a run-and-gun team that hid their bad defense by outscoring opponents. That usually isn't a trademark of championship teams, but Porter was supposed to add that defensive dimension to go with that potent offense.

Problem was two things: The potent offense left with D'Antoni and Kerr deals away Porter's only stallions. And by stallions, I mean he traded away the two guys Porter had to have to push his defensive stance: Raja Bell and Boris Diaw. Those were the Suns two best defensive and most versatile players. Kerr dealt them to Charlotte for Jason Richardson ... who would have thrived in that run-and-gun style of D'Antoni's.

That doesn't even mention the square peg of Shaq anchoring the rounded Steve Nash and Amare Stoudemire.

Porter inherited all of this and was asked to create ... what? What was the goal? What was the standard? Yes, being the 9th place team in the Western Conference is a problem, but what did you expect when you didn't let the man coach his team. Even if he was going to stink at it, let him do his job.

If not, then why did you hire him in the first place?

Porter will probably never be a head coach again unless he takes an interim role when a coach he is assisting is fired (like Alvin Gentry, who will be replacing Porter in Phoenix).

Meanwhile, Kerr marches on to make more bad decisions.

Hey Phoenix: I Hope Shaq Was Worth It

Just because something is better than expected, that doesn't make it valuable. That point has never been more evident than what the Phoenix Suns have been going through over the past year.

One year ago, Steve Kerr and the Suns dealt away Shawn Marion for Shaquille O'Neal. And aging Shaq who was sitting due to injury.

The Suns were a team that was winning Pacific Division championships and were one of the elite teams in the NBA. No, that didn't equate to Finals appearances, but this was far from a team that needed to be imploded.

Shaq has surprised many people by having an All-Star season. The last time he looked anything like this, the Miami Heat were winning their championship. It would seem that slowing the Suns down and actually having a half court game would put them over the top.

The problem is that the Suns aren't championship caliber anymore. Odd when you think that Shaq is playing at such a high level on a team that was one of the NBA's elite. And it isn't as if Marion is doing anything of importance in Miami.

Since the deal was made, Mike D'Antoni flew the coup to New York (the Suns weren't very angry about that). Phoenix's lack of offense led to them dealing Raja Bell and Boris Diaw ... two of their best defenders ... to Charlotte for Jason Richardson. Steve Nash has gone from MVP to non-All Star. Amare Stoudemire wants out. Fans wish head coach Terry Porter would follow him.

And now the Suns want to deal Shaq.

There are two parts to this story: what has happened and what could have been. What has happened is the Suns are fighting just to get into the playoffs and get run out of the first round by the Lakers or Spurs. They are trying to deal Amare Stoudemire and Shaquille O'Neal in order to salvage some payroll and some prospects. The problem is that Amare can be a free agent in 2010 and Shaq holds a $20M price tag next season. Tough sells.

What could have been is up for debate since we really can never tell. If the Suns stayed pat and never made this deal, they would probably still be trailing the Lakers in the Pacific and most likely a No. 5 to 7 seed in the playoffs. However, it would be easier for them to make a move now. Marion has an expiring contract which would be worth something ... or just let him walk and his contract is off the books. Guys like Nash and Stoudemire are more attractive bargaining chips if you wanted to deal them as well.

Instead, the team is actively trying to deal the one player (Amare) they shouldn't be shopping. They probably can't deal Shaq right now unless Cleveland gets desperate. They aren't dealing Nash. However, neither Nash nor Shaq will be in the Suns long-term plans. If you are going to implode the team, it would make more sense to build the new Suns around Amare.

Shaq has been a force this year and an All Star. Not a bad catch considering you dealt away that isn't an All Star this year. But the biggest measure is sports are wins and losses and that is where the Suns have suffered the most.

There Really Aren't Many NBA All-Star Snubs

For the most part, the NBA coaches got it right. In voting for the reserves for each conference's All-Star team, I really cannot find too much of a problem with the votes.

The Eastern All Stars are Allen Iverson, Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, Kevin Garnett, Dwight Howard, Danny Granger, Chris Bosh, Devin Harris, Rashard Lewis, Jameer Nelson, Joe Johnson and Paul Pierce.

Ray Allen is a tough one and probably more deserving of a spot than either Kevin Garnett or Paul Pierce. I don't think that Rajon Rondo is such a gross omission. He's a fine player and all of that but he isn't one of the 12 best players in the Eastern Conference.

I'm also not understanding why people are thinking Mo Williams got snubbed.

There is a bit of difference in the West. Their team features Chris Paul, Kobe Bryant, Amare Stoudemire, Tim Duncan, Yao Ming, Shaquille O'Neal, Tony Parker, Dirk Nowitzki, Pau Gasol, Brandon Roy, Chauncey Billups and David West.

West is an All-Star type player and all, but Al Jefferson deserved his spot. I know that there is this whole thing about "rewarding winning teams" but there is talent all over this league and a one man show doesn't equate to winning. After all, Danny Granger made it on the East side.

I'm just glad that the coaches didn't buckle and vote Steve Nash in the game since it's in Phoenix.