The Wrong Guy Is Getting Fired In Phoenix!

Cliches become cliches for a reason, because they are true! One cliche in professional sports that started surfacing sometime in the late 1970’s or early 1980’s is particularly true, especially this year in the NBA. “Coaches (or managers) are hired to be fired !” Since the regular season ended in the NBA, we have seen six NBA coaches fired, and another Pat Riley give his coaching position up to concentrate on his front office duties. That’s seven coaching changes out of 30 teams, and still some more heads may roll before all is said and done!

Out of the six coaches that were fired five of them can be justified by the teams, whether you agree with them or not. Let’s take them in chronological order of dismissal starting with Jim Boylan in Chicago. Let me make a Public Service Announcement to any NBA assistant coaches that may be reading this; if you are offered the head coaching position with your team in the middle of the season because they fired your boss, don’t take it! That is unless you are sick of the organization, and are looking to move on at the end of the year. Because 99 times out of 100 you will be fired at the end of the season, through no fault of your own. Now Jim Boylan is no “Spring Chicken” he probably thought this was his one chance to grab the brass ring, but he was doomed from the start! Jim Boylan was over his head with the Bulls, no contest here firing justified.

Larry Krystoiwiak was fired after his first full season as coach in Milwaukee, he took over last year for Terry Stotts who had been fired in March. Krystowiak was also over his head in Milwaukee, firing justified. Isiah Thomas in New York was the next to go. Zeke of course got the double-whammy fired as Team President and coach. Now they are playing games with him money wise which is bush league, but again firing justified. Sam Vincent in Charlotte was more a victim of circumstances. The Charlotte Bobcats had a chance to go from a coach just finishing an unsuccessful rookie year, to coaching legend Larry Brown. Whether the move will pay off or not remains to be seen, but firing understandable.

Part of the reason that “Coaches are hired to be fired” is even with the best coaches the message starts to get lost, or ignored after a certain time period. Now there is no specific shelf life on coaches, just look at Jerry Sloan in Utah, and Gregg Popovich is San Antonio. They have been their since Nixon was President (of course I’m exaggerating, but not by much!) But those two are the exceptions, most coaches find the message stops being heard sometime between their third and fifth season. That seems to be the case with Avery Johnson in Dallas, firing understandable.

Which now leaves us with the latest firing as the Phoenix Suns reportedly are on the verge of dismissing their head coach Mike D’Antoni after losing in the first round of the NBA Western Conference Playoffs. The team’s most recent statement is that it is not true, but Jack McCallum of Sports Illustrated does not allow his name to be linked to reports lightly. McCallum is one of the best writers on the NBA on the planet! Firing ludicrous, ridiculous, flat out wrong! Yes there should be a firing in Phoenix, but Mike D’Antoni should not be the victim. Phoenix Suns General Manager Steve Kerr was the reason that the team was knocked out in the first round. Kerr should be the one searching for work right now not D’Antoni!

It’s one year later, and I’m still trying to figure out exactly why the Phoenix Suns hired Steve Kerr as their General Manager. What qualifications did he have? He was a journeyman one trick pony as a player, a shooting guard that had a decent outside shot, but that was it. He couldn’t create off the dribble, or penetrate, he was basically a fourth option, kick out to Kerr if his feet are planted, and he’s open. He just was fortunate to be in the right places (Chicago and San Antonio) at the right times. From there he went to the broadcast booth where he was an okay analyst, but no Doug Collins (If it were up to me, all NBA TV broadcasts would feature either Dick Stockton, or Marv Albert as play by play guy, and Collins and Hubie Brown as analysts. In my opinion there is a drop off after that. Fratello used to be very good, but has become a parody of himself. And don’t get me started on that refugee from “One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest” Jeff Van Gundy! He adds nothing to to any broadcast, and his sense of humor is just plain annoying!) What did the Phoenix Suns see in Steve Kerr that said to them he’s General Manager material? Why did they think that this man could bring them the elusive Championship that this team has been tantalizingly close to, but never won?

The Suns were in first place, when Kerr decided to roll the dice, and made a deal that effected the rest of the Suns season. Kerr decided that the Suns needed a half court presence to match up against the San Antonio Spurs in the playoffs. With that in mind he traded one of his starters and key components Shawn Marion to the Miami Heat for Shaquille O’Neal. Not the Shaquille O’Neal of the Los Angeles Lakers, not even the one that won a Championship with Miami in 2006. No a broken down shell of a Shaquille O’Neal who had not played for over a month due to a bruised left hip. You probably remember the “Big Cactus” tried to get a loose ball in late December, and slid into the scorers table, bruising his hip. Shaq tried every remedy in the book and still got no better.

After the trade the Phoenix trainers said they had figured out what the problem was, and got Shaq back on the court. But the chemistry was off, and the team went into a downward spiral. They went from first place in the Western Conference to the sixth seed. They ended up playing the Spurs in the Playoffs in the first round as a matter of fact. Kerr’s theory, did not work after all. Summer comes early for the Phoenix Suns once again.

If these reports prove to be true, and again knowing McCallum, my gut says yes, this is a travesty! As Steve Rhodes wrote in the initial report on Slam Dunk Central Report: D’Antoni Out As Suns Coach D’Antoni will be a hot commodity this Summer, he may end up better off in the long run. But the wrong man is being punished in Phoenix. Steve Kerr is the root of the problem not the coach.