Phoenix Suns

Goran gave some informations to the Slovenian audience about recent season in NBA and his predictions for Eurobasket, which will be held in Slovenia in September. There are some interesting points for fans, I assume. First, I thought to translate Q&A, but because of the copyright (Made by Primož Salmič, published in Ekipa), it's better to summarize. (Sorry for grammar mistakes.) Goran thinks, that this was his best season, but in the NBA nothing is guaranteed for future, so he must always fight for his position - next season is new chapter for him. Statistically he had better performances in Huston, but it was just 20 games compared with 77 this year. He was warned about fluctuations – if you are a starter – and he thinks, he was the most constant player in the Suns team, so he is pleased with his performance. Actually, this was essential for him. He also enjoyed authorization from both coaches to play his own basket, to show his quality. He prefers this style over European, which resembles more on robot. But, on the other side, he also mention, that in Huston he knew all the time where his team-mates will be, where the action will end. In Phoenix he could never be sure about that. There were more fluctuations, less discipline. First lineup was relatively successful, but when changes began, everything went down. He repeated old news about problem with the team chemistry. It was a lot of new young, talented players, but the team was not functioning as a team. He had good relationship with Scola, Fry, Dudley and at the end also with Johnson. But now he heard rumours, that only three or four old players will be retained. He was in the contact with McDonnough. He was asked about his opinion about the future of the Suns, what would be good for them. As future Suns coach he would like to see Kevin McHale. On coaches. Alvin was better for established players. He knew, when to give them off, all was more in the “communication level”, there were a lot of joking. But, this year team was different. They needed a coach like they were in former Yugoslavia [more dominant, aggressive]. And they got it in Hunter. He was more strict, they trained more. Obviously, he was more suitable for current roster, but Alvin was more experienced and led games better. They both had pluses and minuses. He played better under Hunter, but he didn’t give the reason. They both nurtured fast play – what he likes – although this year a bit slower then previous. They had a lot of meetings, where they discussed about possible improvements. That is advantage of NBA comparing to Europe, where you get bad looks (minimal) from coach, if you are critical or you make just “suggestions”. He likes golden State Wariors, because they have young players, also Memphis. But Miami will easily became champion :) The other half is about Eurobasket and Slovene players. Goran gave some informations to the Slovenian audience about recent season in NBA and his predictions for Eurobasket, which will be held in Slovenia in September. There are some interesting points for fans, I assume. First, I thought to translate Q&A, but because of the copyright (Made by Primož Salmič, published in Ekipa), it's better to summarize. (Sorry for grammar mistakes.) Goran thinks, that this was his best season, but in the NBA nothing is guaranteed for future, so he must always fight for his position - next season is new chapter for him. Statistically he had better performances in Huston, but it was just 20 games compared with 77 this year. He was warned about fluctuations – if you are a starter – and he thinks, he was the most constant player in the Suns team, so he is pleased with his performance. Actually, this was essential for him. He also enjoyed authorization from both coaches to play his own basket, to show his quality. He prefers this style over European, which resembles more on robot. But, on t

Stability hasn’t been there for the Phoenix Suns. The franchise has essentially required turnstyles just to keep their coaching and front office staffs in relative order. And for Michael... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Centers/Power Forwards: Measurements: Name Height W/O Shoes Height With Shoes Weight Wingspan Standing Reach Body Fat Hand Length Hand Width Gorgui Dieng 6' 9.75'' 6' 10.75'' 229.6 7' 3.5'' 9' 3.5'' 5.35 9 10 Rudy Gobert 7' 0.5'' 7' 2'' 237.6 7' 8.5'' 9' 7'' 4.4 9.75 10 Alex Len NULL NULL NULL 7' 3.5'' NULL 6.4 9 10.75 Nerlens Noel 6' 10'' 6' 11.75'' 206.4 7' 3.75'' 9' 2'' 4.15 9.5 10 Kelly Olynyk 6' 10.75'' 7' 0'' 234 6' 9.75'' 9' 0'' 6.65 8.5 10 Mason Plumlee 6' 11.25'' 7' 0.5'' 238.2 6' 11'' 9' 0'' 6.15 9.75 9.5 Cody Zeller 6' 10.75'' 7' 0.25'' 230 6' 10.75'' 8' 10'' 4.75 8.5 10.5 The seven bigs listed above all have a chance of being lottery picks (along with Anthony Bennett who didn't attend), though some of their performances may have hurt those chances. Judging by the measurables alone, Rudy Gobert from France was by far the most impressive. Gobert has a massive standing reach of 9'7" and a 7'8.5" wingspan. However, when speaking of players you've actually heard of, Gorgui Dieng, Alex Len, and Nerlens Noel measured out the best. Dieng and Len edged out Noel in the standing reach category, but Noel has a slightly longer wingspan than Dieng. It's also worth noting that Alex Len only participated in a couple of these events because of a freshly repaired stress fracture, so with his wingspan and height, his standing reach would have been second only to Gobert. Kelly Olynyk and Cody Zeller were the least impressive of the group, with shorter arms/reaches compared to other players their height. We knew Zeller's reach wasn't that great, but an 8'10" standing reach for a 7-footer is pretty low. The same can be said for Olynyk and his reach which is actually one inch shorter than his height. Therefore, Olynyk earns the T-Rex distinction of the group for this year's group of prospects. Results: Name 3/4 Court Sprint Time Lane Agility Time Modified Time Standing Vertical Max Vertical Gorgui Dieng NULL NULL NULL NULL NULL Rudy Gobert 3.57 12.85 3.19 25 29 Alex Len NULL NULL NULL NULL NULL Nerlens Noel NULL NULL NULL NULL NULL Kelly Olynyk 3.59 11.42 2.99 24.5 29.5 Mason Plumlee 3.29 10.89 2.76 30.5 36 Cody Zeller 3.15 10.82 2.69 35.5 37.5 Just when you thought Cody Zeller was finished, he comes storming back to relevance by showing just how underrated his athleticism was this year. Everyone knew how skilled he was offensively, but super athletic? I have mentioned it many times before...Zeller is a much better athlete than his brother and was very underrated in that respect, but even I was surprised by his results. Zeller not only had the best standing vertical of any big at the combine, it's the highest standing vertical by any player over 6'9" in the history of the NBA Combine. If you don't think this is important, ask yourself how many times bigs have to jump straight up from a stand still to grab rebounds or putbacks. Not only that, but his speed at running the floor and his lane agility were all tops as well...very impressive numbers overall for a big. Although Zeller lacks in wingspan, his agility and hops more than make up for it...which could really help his case among scouts and front offices who may have been leery of him otherwise. Mason Plumlee also showed off his expected agility and athleticism which could possibly help him to become a late lottery pick as well. As for Gobert who was highly touted as being very athletic for a man his size, well...maybe not so much. Gobert came crashing back down to earth on the second day with some less than impressive numbers across all categories. I still think he moves well for a big and seems to play more athletically than he tested at the combine, but I think these numbers significa

At the time, it seemed audacious even to Paul Westphal, the first-year head coach who had guided the Phoenix Suns to the best record in the NBA during the 1992-93 regular season. But in the first round of the 1993 NBA playoffs, the Suns lost the first two games of the best-of-five series against the Los Angeles Lakers, at home no less. No team in NBA history ever had escaped from such a fix.

CHICAGO -- The Suns have a better chance of landing the No. 1 prize in Tuesday's NBA draft lottery than they had of winning Saturday's $600 million Powerball lottery prize. The draft lottery determines the top three picks in the June 27 draft, which seem to have a rare consensus for the trio of Kentucky center Nerlens Noel, Kansas shooting guard Ben McLemore and Georgetown small forward Otto Porter Jr.

Sitting in an Italian restaurant in Manhattan back in 1988, Jerry Colangelo listened intently as Commissioner David Stern outlined for NBA owners how the league's new unrestricted free-agency rules would work and which players would qualify. Colangelo glanced down the table at Barry Ackerley, the owner of the Seattle SuperSonics at the time.

Shooting Guards/Small Forwards: Measurements: Name Height W/O Shoes Height With Shoes Weight Wingspan Standing Reach Body Fat Hand Length Hand Width Shooting Guards C.J. McCollum (SG) 6' 2.25'' 6' 3.25'' 197 6' 6.25'' 8' 0.5'' 8.6 8 9.5 Ben McLemore (SG) 6' 3.5'' 6' 4.75'' 189.2 6' 7.75'' 8' 4.5'' 5 8.75 9.5 Victor Oladipo (SG) 6' 3.25'' 6' 4.25'' 213.2 6' 9.25'' 8' 4.5'' 6.55 8.75 9.25 Small Forwards Shabazz Muhammad (SF) 6' 4.75'' 6' 6.25'' 221.8 6' 11'' 8' 8.5'' 9 9 10 Otto Porter (SF) 6' 7.5'' 6' 8.5'' 197.6 7' 1.5'' 8' 9.5'' 6.65 8.75 9.25 For the shooting guards, Oladipo stood out the most overall with his 6"9.25" reach, making him the longest guard in the draft. While McLemore is technically the tallest, it's hard to call that a win for him being that he is only one-quarter of an inch taller than Oladipo, when many scouts thought he was 1"-2" inches taller. McLemore is the leanest with only 5% body fat, but Oladipo isn't much more at 6.55%, and when you couple that with his weight of 213 lbs, it shows that he has the strongest, most NBA-ready body by far. As for the small forwards, it's a two-man competition for the prospective lottery players with Dario Saric not participating in the NBA Combine. Porter wins the measurabes with ease as he registers nearly three inches taller than Shabazz without shoes. Although Muhammad's 6'11" wingspan is very impressive, Porter still manages to one-up him here registering a 7'1.5" measurement. Muhammad does win the size contest weighing in at 221lbs compared to Porter at a svelte 197.6, but he's also at 9% body fat compared to Porter at only 6.65%. Still, Shabazz calculates to around 20lbs of total body fat compared to Porter at around 13lbs....only a 7lb difference. So Muhammad's weight advantage is still mostly muscle...which is good. Results: Name 3/4 Court Sprint Time Lane Agility Time Modified Time Standing Vertical Max Vertical Shooting Guards C.J. McCollum (SG) 3.32 11.02 2.91 (14th overall) 32 (15th overall) 38.5 (14th overall) Ben McLemore (SG) 3.27 (20th overall) 11.87 3.11 32.5 (13th overall) 42 (Tied 2nd overall) Victor Oladipo (SG) 3.25 (17th overall) 10.69 (11th overall) 3.14 33 (11th overall) 42 (Tied 2nd overall) Small Forwards Shabazz Muhammad (SF) 3.32 10.99 2.93 29.5 37 Otto Porter (SF) 3.4 11.25 3.06 27 36 The story here for the guards is Oladipo's athleticism. While McLemore proved he is no doubt an elite athlete, Oladipo proved he is even more so. McLemore and Oladipo tied for 2nd place overall with 42" max verticals (only PG Shane Larkin registered higher at 44"). While Oladipo registered slightly higher in the standing vertical and 3/4 court sprint, the difference was very minor, so they are both fairly comparable in these regards. The biggest difference was in the lane agility drill, where Oladipo showed his lateral quickness and ability to move side-to-side, forward, and backwards with a substantial advantage over McLemore...who actually fell down at the conclusion of the drill by losing his balance. In contrast, Oladipo stayed very low to the court and showed terrific agility and body control...this was apparent just by watching him. As for the small forwards, Muhammad ran the table on Porter here, but didn't really set himself apart from the rest of the pack in any substantial way. Porter is not an elite athlete, and while Muhammad is more athletic, he isn't considered high-level or elite by any means either. Tim Hardaway Jr. was actually the most impressive small forward in this regard, but is not considered a lottery pick by most accounts, so he was not part of this comparison. Conclusion: If the Suns are going to draft a wing with their first round p

Like so many veterans before him, Jermaine O’Neal came to Phoenix in search of rejuvenation. He had spent his previous two seasons languishing in Boston with seemingly insurmountable injury woes. The... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Since the current iteration of the Phoenix Suns is on vacation during these playoffs, we at Bright Side thought it would be fun to relive the Suns' exciting 1993 playoff run with recaps of each game, starting with Game 5 of the Western Semis. Revisit yesteryear while we wait for the Suns to rise again. After a thrilling come-from-behind first round series win over the Los Angeles Lakers ("and everyone's gonna say what a great series it was"), the Phoenix Suns faced an equally big opponent in the San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs had just beaten defending Western Champ Portland Trailblazers in round one, and saw the smaller Suns as their next step on a Finals run of their own. David Robinson was a beast surrounded by role players that made them greater - and more frustrating - than the sum of their parts (where have I heard this one before). Avery Johnson. Sean Elliot. J.R. Reid. Antoine Carr. Dale Ellis. All good players, but all role players around a Hall of Fame center. The smaller Suns had led the league in scoring, by a wide margin, and boasted a passable defense (9th in efficiency vs. 18th in points allowed) to win a club record 62 games before the playoffs started. (again, where have I heard all this before?) Charles Barkley was the Suns Hall of Famer in 1993, putting up 25.6 points, 12.2 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.6 steals per game, along with a block for a good measure. Charles had truly an historic season, one that has not been topped in the valley - either in terms of raw stats or raw impact - since. You could argue that Steve Nash made the same, if not bigger, impact (and certainly a more long-lasting one) but Nash never guided the Suns to the Finals and never in the way that Charles did. The Suns supporting cast was a who's who for Suns fans: PG Kevin Johnson (MIP, 3-time All-Star, 5-time All-NBA). SG/SF Dan Majerle (3-time All-Star, 2-time All-Defensive). F Tom Chambers (4-time All-Star, 2-time All-NBA). Danny Ainge (1-time All-Star). Ced Ceballos (1-time All-Star). Mark West. Oliver Miller. Richard Dumas. Tim Kempton. 4th-quarter Frank Johnson. Man, that was an exciting team. The Suns painted the town orange that year. Chambers, Kempton and West still work for the Suns to this day. Ceballos was their in-game entertainer for years. Majerle was a TV guy, then coach. Barkley still lives in the valley. In many ways, the 1993 team is still part of the franchise fabric. May 18, 1993: Suns beat Spurs 109-97, take 3-2 series lead Boxscore - courtesy of basketball-reference.com The Suns returned home for Game 5 after letting the series get tied up 2-2. "It's never very hard to play on the road," shooting guard Danny Ainge quipped. "It's just hard to win on the road." Feasting on home cooking and a rocking home crowd, the Suns muddled through three tight quarters before Charles Barkley lit up the night with 19 fourth-quarter points, including 16 in a 6-minute stretch. Barkley put the Suns on his back and carried them home when they needed it the most. Barkley finished the game with 36 points (on 16 shots and 15 free throws) and 12 rebounds. He got great support from Kevin Johnson (15 points, 12 assists, 6 rebounds) and Dan Majerle (17 points, 4 rebounds). As a team, the Suns shot 59.7% for the game, a huge improvement over shooting less than 42% in each of the losses in San Antonio. The crowd was electric. The Suns attendance ranked 5th in the league that year, with every single game sold out and playoff tickets really hard to come by. My dad went to every game and will never forget that series. Up next: another showdown in the Alamo for Game 6. Could Barkley and the Suns step up on the road?

Mark D. Smith – USA Today Sports Images The Phoenix Suns, based on their performance during the 2012-2013 NBA season, are in a bad place and don’t seem like they’ll be getting out of it anytime soon. They finished the season winning just 25 games and finishing with the worst record in the entire Western Conference. Obviously, they were a far cry from successful this past year. The bad news for the franchise and their fans is that their roster for the 2013-2014 season is largely going to be the same as it was this past season. They have no notable free agents that will be leaving the team and they don’t have as much flexibility with the salary cap as a team in their situation would like to. If they make any improvements next season, it is going to have to come from players already in-house. One player that came on towards the end of the season that could play a much larger role for Phoenix next season and could be big for their improvement is 28-year-old P.J. Tucker. Overall, Tucker played in 79 games on the season and got 24.2 minutes per game of playing time. In that role he averaged 6.4 points, 1.4 assists, 4.4 rebounds and 0.8 steals per game while shooting 47.3 percent from the field. Over the last month of the season, though, Tucker started seeing an increase in his minutes and he absolutely capitalized on the opportunity. In his last 16 games he played 30.6 minutes per game and averaged 10.8 points, 1.9 assists, 5.8 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game while shooting 53.8 percent from the field and showing the ability to knock down the occasional long-range jumper as well. Tucker isn’t the caliber of player that’s going to dramatically alter the course of this franchise, but he is a player that will be incredibly valuable to them as they try to improve and rebuild the best they can. He’s a high-IQ player that makes smart decisions on the floor and always seems to give maximum effort. The Suns would be wise to continue to give him more opportunities next season and see what happens. Chances are that the team will benefit from that happening. Cody Williams is a Senior Writer with Rant Sports. Follow Cody on Twitter @TheSizzle20 and like his Facebook page.