Brad Cesmat
May 29th, 2010 was the last time the Suns were in a playoff game. With that as the backdrop, here’s the big news! Earl Watson is the teams new head coach…
Watson has been given the keys to the car. No more learners permit. Is he Terry Porter? Is he Lindsey Hunter? Could he be the next Mike D’Antoni or Alvin Gentry? Robert Sarver likes to think out of the box. Just look at some of the moves he’s made with the organization over the years. It’s very rare that he hired the most qualified or biggest name…
Anyone who hails the hiring of Watson as a “brilliant move” is simply either on the Suns payroll or too close to the franchise to be objective. He coached the team to 9 wins in 33 games. A year ago he was an assistant in the D-League. Now he’s running an NBA franchise. Luke Walton didn’t pick up the phone? Tom Thibodeau would rather coach in Minnesota? David Blatt in New York? The facts are that the odds of success for Watson aren’t great. The organization has been a disaster in so many ways for such a long period of time. The narrative about the players wanting Watson to be the head coach is borderline laughable. There are no superstars in Phoenix. There is no reason to get feedback from players when the team hasn’t played one game in late April since 2010. In this day and age, players only care about their minuets and their next contract. What else are they going to say? “No I don’t him as our coach” C’mon…
Devin Booker MAY be a future star in this league. Eric Bledsoe MIGHT not have any more knee problems, Brandon Knight MIGHT accept the role of sixth man, Alex Len could POTENTIALLY turn into a solid, dependable, big man, TJ Warren has shown FLASHES of being a very good player. I could go on and on. Facts are the organization hasn’t won ANYTHING in six years because there’s always something hiding right around the corner. Injuries, arrests, malcontents, stunner (Dragic wanting out). Funny how San Antonio never has these types of problems. The Suns spent a first round pick on Markieff Morris in 2013, two picks LATER the Spurs landed Kawhi Leonard (through a trade). Leonard was just named NBA defensive player of the year. He would’ve looked pretty good here in Phoenix…
So, I don’t know if this is a good move or not. I don’t wish anything but success for Earl Watson. It would be a nice change of pace to have a basketball team playing relevant games in the Spring. Robert has overseen this mess, now he’s tabbed Watson as the next guy to try to clean it up…
