Matt Barnes a Sun, but who’s next?
The Matt Barnes signing was a pleasant surprise in what has been a dull start to free agency for the Suns. Too bad that’s about all it was.
Barnes is a nice addition for the Suns and will be able to be Shawn Marion lite for the 2008-2009 squad. The real issue is that in no way does this signing address the key concerns of the team.
At 6′ 7″ and 226 lbs, Barnes won’t play the role of back up big man and he most certainly isn’t going to give Steve Nash a breather, unless the plan is to move Grant Hill to the point when Nash leaves the court (and if that’s Kerr and Porter’s big plan it’s time to hit the panic button).
I applaud Kerr and Porter for finding a way to convince a guy with Barnes’ skill set to settle for the veteran minimum but where was that panache when it came to convincing Tyronn Lue that Phoenix is a better place to play than Milwaukee (honestly all it would have taken was going to weather.com and showing him the difference between Milwaukee and Phoenix in January or showing him Phoenix women compared to Milwaukee ladies)?
Sure it is tough to judge the Suns before the entire off-season has unfolded but there isn’t much left the Suns can do in free agency. The addition of Barnes could be the first domino to fall in a much larger plan to make the Suns a legitimate contender. If it’s the only domino to fall though it is like putting lipstick on a pig. Sure it makes it a little prettier but it still doesn’t change the fact that it’s a pig.
It’s nice to know that the Suns won’t be completely shut out this off season and at least one new face will don a Phoenix uniform this season. The problem is that this is the last stand for the Suns and their fans. Forty years of frustration are manifesting themselves as anger and impatience and unfortunately for Steve Kerr and Robert Sarver, it’s all heading their direction.
That’s why they should start asking themselves… Matt Barnes is in the fold but who’s next?
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Posted by Greg Esposito
Co-founder of AzSportsHub.com. Greg provides the sometimes serious, sometimes sarcastic and always interesting takes on Arizona sports (at least we hope). Whether it’s on In The Zona with Matt or in his column Greg reports, rants and raves about whatever is in the news for Arizona Sports.
http://www.azsportshub.com/author/espo
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