Why University of Tucson alums should be banned from the NBA (or any other professional sports league)

With the firing of head coach Terry Porter today after about 50 games, I embark on a long overdue rant on the Suns. Below is an excerpt from the Suns' 2008-09 media guide with some of my commentary in bold integrated into it:

"On June 30, 2004, Robert Sarver, a banking and real estate executive, AND a University of Tucson graduate, purchased the club from Jerry Colangelo after Colangelo set into motion a plan to ensure the team’s legacy by seeking out a new owner who shared his vision and commitment to both the game of basketball and community. That "commitment" was put into action when Sarver wanted to save a few million and chose not to re-sign Joe Johnson. An injured Johnson was unable to play in the conference finals against the Spurs that year and probably was the reason the Suns fell short in that series.

In the four seasons since Sarver, an Arizona native (did I mention that he graduated from Tucson), took ownership of the Suns, Phoenix has won 50 or more games each season and enjoyed the winningest four-year period in the franchise’s proud history (232 victories). Yes, the Suns did indeed win a lot of games during the regular season under the guidance of head coach Mike D'Antoni and thanks to a couple of MVP seasons from Steve Nash. The key thing is that under D'Antoni, the team was competitive, exciting to watch and was one of the top seeds in the Western Conference every season. The span includes two 60-plus win seasons (franchise-record tying 62 in 2004-05 and 61 in 2006-07) and three Pacific Division titles. Over the last four seasons, the Suns have complied (sic) a 232-96 (.707) regular season record, which trails only the Dallas Mavericks (236-92, .720) and San Antonio Spurs (236-92, .720) for the NBA’s best record in that stretch." So what was D'Antoni's reward for the team's best four year stretch ever? Sarver and fellow Tucson alum Steve Kerr pushed him out the door. Granted, D'Antoni was not officially fired but the Tucson Terrible Two made it clear he wasn't welcome back.

In addition to letting Joe Johnson leave, pushing D'Antoni out the door, Sarver also made it clear that he wanted to erase the Jerry Colangelo influence from the Suns franchise. Colangelo is the guy who most recently helped resurrect USA Basketball, you know, those guys who won gold medals this past summer in Beijing. His first step in scrubbing the franchise of Colangelo's influence was to nudge 2005 NBA Executive of the Year Bryan Colangelo to leave during the 2006 season for the Toronto Raptors:

From February 26, 2006 USA Today:

Bryan Colangelo's relationship with Sarver soured amid reports that the two men had been unable to come to terms on an extension of Colangelo's contract. Sarver said Colangelo had to go through an "adjustment" in dealing with a new boss who wasn't his father.

Brilliant move Wildcat, kick the reigning NBA Executive of the Year to the curb. Oh btw, Colangelo won the award again in 2007 with Toronto. Look, I know Sarver paid a few hundred million for the franchise and it's his team, he can do what he wants with it and hire who he wants to run it, but at some point, common sense should come into play.

Unfortunately Sarver brought his boy Kerr, who prior to joining the Suns as GM, had as much NBA front office experience as I do. That would be zilch in case anyone is keeping track. Now he did have a nice 15-year NBA career, which is 15 more years than I played in the NBA, but bringing in a rookie GM with no front office experience to call the shots for one of the best teams in the league? Really? Again, there's that lack of common sense thing again. Oh, and he let Kerr work from San Diego during his first year at the helm. Yeah, don't bother building chemistry with your coach or anything sensible like that.

Here are Kerr's moves during his tenure that have led to the Suns playing at the mediocre levels you see today.

• Shawn Marion for Shaq. Full disclosure here, I fully supported trading Marion. The guy was a malcontent and he didn't want to be in Phoenix anymore. However, I'm pretty sure he could have scored better than the Diesel and his overweight and overpaid self.
  
• Not supporting Mike D'Antoni and letting him go to New York. A team most league watchers feel is overachieving this season, largely due in part to D'Antoni's run and gun system.
  
• Terry Porter. Guy was fired today after four and half months. That one speaks for itself.
  
• Trading Boris Diaw and Raja Bell to Charlotte for Jason Richardson. Bell was the best defender the Suns had but apparently he didn't fit in Terry Porter's system which emphasized what? Oh yeah, defense. He's been such an upstanding citizen thus far for the Suns, he recently earned himself a day off.
  

Yes folks, life on Planet Orange kind of sucks right now. All of this drama with Porter getting canned and rumors of Amare Stoudamire and Shaq getting traded happened during what was supposed to be a great weekend for Suns fans in Phoenix as they hosted the NBA All-Star activities.

Fortunately, Phoenicians didn't have to travel far to watch good hometown hoops as the Sun Devils swept the SoCal schools this past weekend and are back in the Top 15. This of course means they will promptly lose and drop like a rock again.