How difficult is it to be patient in professional sports leagues? Just look at the new boss of the Suns, Ishbia.
In February, Ishbiah said at a press conference officially becoming the boss of the Suns: "I will spend the next 60, 90, 120 days listening more and learning with humility." ”
After saying this, Ishpeare turned around and replaced Kevin Durant, and his aggressive operating style shocked the league. Then, on May 14, Beijing time, just two days after the Suns were out of the second round, Ishpeare fired coach Monty Williams.
In just 60 days, Ishbea, shouting the slogan "listen more, learn more", has made big moves, and the team lineup and coaching staff have changed dramatically, and this may be just the beginning.
Obviously, Monty left class purely as a scapegoat, pot bearer, and he is no different from Frank Vogel last year. The two core players can't fight in the life and death battle, and Monti can't be blamed for this. But no way, this is the law of operation of this alliance.
It should also be considered that since ancient times, it is not new for new bosses to clear the traces of their predecessors after taking office and replace them with their own. Monty has already left class, and the next ones may be general manager James Jones, as well as Jones' introduction of Chris Paul and other players.
What's wrong with the sun?
The Suns were promoted from lottery to championship team, Monty's coaching value is immeasurable, his tactical arrangement on the offensive end has been well received, and the Suns have played the blocking offensive tactics to the end. Over the past two seasons, the Suns have ranked in the top five in the league for offensive efficiency.
Admittedly, Monty was responsible for last season's Western Conference semifinals defeat to the Lone Ranger, who himself admitted that "it was my fault for failing to prepare the players." But this season, if you want to find someone responsible, it shouldn't be Monti. From the offseason to the end of the season, the Suns were in a mess that was sparked by management. Coupled with the "natural disaster" of injury, Monti lost control of the team's fate.
Last offseason, Savor, then the owner of the Suns, was heavily fined by the league for scandals such as racism and misogyny, and he was forced to sell the Suns.
A few days later, the Sun and Claude had a complete disagreement, and the Sun officially announced that it would find a new home for Claude through a trade.
High-level scandals have undermined the cohesion of the Sun and caused the Sun to be distracted quite a bit. The Crowder farce weakened the Suns' forward depth, a hidden danger that was thoroughly exposed when Cameron Johnson suffered a knee injury.
The Suns had embarked on a new season in a mess, and injuries were out of place. In early November, Paul missed 14 consecutive games due to injury, and Booker desperately led the team to a 9-5 record. In December, Johnson was injured, playing just two of his 32 games, leaving the Suns front with one less absolute workhorse. The worst thing is that during Johnson's recuperation, Booker was also injured, and after retiring from the year-end game and the Nuggets, Booker missed 21 consecutive games, during which the Suns suffered a wave of 6 consecutive losses, and then suffered a wave of 3 consecutive losses, all the way down the rankings.
Then came the trade deadline, and Ishpea decided to play a big game after taking office, and he contacted Nets owner Tsai Chongxin directly to negotiate a Durant trade. The Suns traded Durant, Warren, and Crowder to the Bucks. In the buyout market, the Suns harvested Terrence Ross. At that time, the sun sacrificed depth, but upgraded the top combat power and the upper limit was raised.
The problem is that Durant arrived recovering from a knee injury and could not play. Durant played three games after his comeback, and the Suns won all of them, but on March 9, the Suns played the Thunder, and Durant sprained his ankle during the warm-up before the game, and he missed 10 consecutive games. In the end, Durant only played 8 games for the Suns in the regular season, and although the Suns won all of them, the problem of not running in place was obvious.
The Suns had good luck in the first round of the playoffs, the Clippers lacked Paul George, Leonard played 2 games and was reimbursed, and the Suns beat their opponents 4-1 to advance. But in the second round, it was the Suns' turn to be hit by injuries, with Paul straining his groin in Game 2, Ayton injured in Game 6, and Suns losing by 16 and 25 points in Game 6.
Firing Monty was just the first step
For the Suns, firing Monty was just the first step. The new official takes office with three fires, in exchange for Durant is Ishbea's first fire in office, the second fire is to fire Monty, and the third fire is likely to burn general manager James Jones.
In March, Ishpeare hired Josh Bartelstein, 33, who had served as assistant general manager to the Pistons, as team president, and Ishbea's intention to nurture his own staff was clear. Jones is a legacy of the Sun's previous generation of management, and he may be purged.
From the Suns' several operations in the middle of the season, it can already be felt that Ishbea's personal traces are too thick, the Durant trade is he personally came forward to negotiate with Tsai Chongxin, the recruitment of Terrence Ross is also Ishbea, and general manager Jones seems to be a decoration.
Whether Jones stays or not, the Suns' intention to continue building teams around Durant and Booker this offseason is clear, and the focus is on how Paul and Ayton should handle.
Ayton's new contract has only been on for a year, and he is still on guaranteed contract. Originally, the possibility of Ayton being traded was extremely high, but after Monty left class, Ayton's future became even more uncertain. Last year, the Western Conference semifinals were seven hits, and Ayton was abandoned by Monty at a crucial moment, and the relationship between the two was rifted. This season, the two have had several arguments. But now that Monty is out of class, Ayton is likely to stay. Unless, there is a team that makes an offer that impresses the Suns.
The focus is on Paul, who has $15.8 million guaranteed on his contract for the 2023-24 season and non-guaranteed for the 2024-25 season. The Suns should explore the trade market to see if they can send Paul away before deciding whether to convert his 2023-24 contract to a guaranteed contract.
Paul, who is 38, is averaging 13.9 points, 8.9 rebounds and 4.3 assists this season while shooting 44 percent from the field and 37.5 percent from three-point range. I thought that Paul would be the biggest beneficiary after Durant joined, and Durant's strong output can help Paul reduce the burden and extend his sports life. Who would have thought that Paul couldn't even shoot in the playoffs, averaging 12.4 points and 7.4 assists per game, but shooting only 41.8% from the field and 32.1% from three-point range.
Perhaps more worried about Paul's horrific playoff injury curse than Paul's declining competitive form.
How can the sun save itself in the future?
After the Durant trade, the Suns are already in a danger of not going back, we all know that the Suns should be strengthened, but how can the Suns be strengthened? Let's start with the problems facing the sun:
If Paul's contract is converted to a guaranteed contract, Booker, Durant, Paul, and Ayton will account for 87% of the salary space next season, and their total salary is likely to exceed the $179.5 million super tycoon line increased by the new collective bargaining agreement. In addition, in the mid-term buyout market, they can no longer sign players who were bought.
The Suns lacked draft picks to trade, and in the Durant trade, the Suns have hollowed out their families, sending first-round picks in 2025, 2027 and 2029 and first-round swaps in 2028. At present, the solar power is only the first round of swaps in 2024 and 2026 and 5 second-round picks.
Trading by the Suns will also be restricted, and according to the regulations, the salary of a team with an explosion of salaries like the Suns can be exchanged in the trade from 125% to 110%, which directly compresses the Suns' trading space.
Sign before you change? Think too much. Assuming the Suns wanted to sign the Lone Ranger and then trade Kyrie Irving, the Suns sent Paul and Ayton, and the Lone Rangers sent Irving and Tim Hardaway Jr., the deal would not be completed because the Suns would trigger a $169 million hard salary cap.
Give up Paul with a partial guaranteed contract and Payne on a non-guaranteed contract? The Suns' total wages still exceed the cap, and they can only use $12.2 million in full middle-class exceptions and $4.5 million in biennial exceptions.
With these contexts clear, what the sun should do next, and the conclusion is clear:
Peddle Paul, Payne, and Shamet, and exchange them for useful chips as much as possible to substantially reinforce the No. 1 position. Considering that Booker has developed organizational attributes, the No. 1 Suns can use a 3D type, and even consider letting Booker play the main control and put a more reliable and taller 3D player in the No. 2 position, which can also help Booker share the defensive pressure.
Consider trading Ayton, exchange Ayton for a more cost-effective center, it is best to trade more and at the same time strengthen the depth of other positions, because the Suns really have no chips to strengthen other positions, only the base salary can be used.
Go all out and follow the example of the Warriors, Lakers, and Heat. These teams have already given the Suns management a sample, when your salary space is insufficient, whether you can use the base salary Taobao to dig up the immediate combat power, whether you can dig out the draft, the second round pick, this is extremely critical to the depth of a team. It is worth mentioning that the number of two-way contracts will increase next season. At this stage, the Suns must find their own Austin Reeves, Otto Porter, and Gary Payton Jr.
epilogue
In Game 6 of the Western Conference semifinals, when the Suns trailed by a big margin, Ishbia left his sideline seat and walked to his private room, and the Suns fans in the stands booed him. At that moment, Ishbia was a little embarrassed, and he was in the same situation as Rakob, who had just become the owner of the Warriors.
Racob conquered Warriors fans with 4 championships, can the equally ambitious Ishbiah do it?