| 16 June 2010
This might come across like I'm speaking ill of the dead, but as a Suns fan I'm not sad to see GM Steve Kerr leave the organization. Besides the fact that I enjoy him as a television commentator far more than a basketball executive, I never had confidence in him that he had a feasible plan for the team or was even a competent GM, for that matter. Sure, the team had a great season this past year, far exceeding expectations, but the success seemed to be in spite of Kerr.
Perhaps I'm still bitter that Kerr helped break up the run-and-gun "dynasty" that Phoenix had in place when he arrived, forcing Mike D'Antoni and Shawn Marion out of town. The whole brief Shaq and Terry Porter experiment seemed to prove my notion that Kerr didn't really have a solid plan in place for the team and was sort of flying around by the seat of his pants. Or perhaps Kerr really was nothing more than a puppet for owner Robert Sarver, handcuffed financially and forced to follow Sarver's plan for the team. Do GM's really have any input on the makeup of a team nowadays anyway, what with all the micromanaging owners dominating the sport?
With all that being said, Kerr's departure is troubling for a couple of reasons. The most obvious being the timing of it. With a little over a week until the NBA Draft and two weeks until free agency kicks off on July 1st, this is not the time that a team wants to be in the business of looking for a new GM. To compound matters, the team is in the process of trying to negotiate a contract extension for Amar'e Stoudemire before he hits the free market in two weeks (plus Stoudemire is apparently a fan of Kerr's). So the timing could not have been worse for this - you can decide whether or not Kerr intentionally timed it this way to be a slap in the face of the organization.
The other troubling aspect comes down to money. Apparently Sarver was asking Kerr to take a pay cut in his next contract. This isn't the wisest move considering the success the team enjoyed this past season, plus it sends the message to potential free agents (like Amar'e) that the team is cheap and not willing to reward you financially for success. Once again, I'll let you decide for yourself whether or not Sarver lowballed Kerr intentionally to force him leave his post.
It just goes to show how quickly things can change in the world of professional sports. A couple of weeks ago the Suns were only two wins away from playing in the NBA Finals. Now their organization is in dissaray, with its top executive gone and its top young talent probably following him out the door. But, then again, every sunrise always ends in a sunset. To be followed by another sunrise ... right?
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