As the Suns Turn...

Steve Kerr is officially a fantasy basketball GM. He may not realize it, but the goal of the game is to assemble a team in which the pieces fit together in a way that allows them to best compliment each others skills, and top that by hiring a coach that can best utilize these cogs, not to stare at your roster on paper and think to yourself, "Damn. I think they could all get 25 points tonight!"

It's arguable that the Phoenix Suns of 2004-2007 were one of the most geniusely assembled rosters we've seen in decades. The players all had a defined role and enabled Mike D'Antoni and Steve Nash to hit the gas as though they were driving a brand new Bugatti. Granted, they were limited by their style of play in terms of being able get past the Spurs in the playoffs and injuries derailed them against the Mavs in 2006, but they were unquestionably a team with one of the most concrete identities in the league. They ran their asses off, let shots fly from all directions, and paid just enough attention to defense to win an average of 58 games over the past 4 seasons.

That is all gone now. As they take the court agianst the Lakers tonight, they will only have three players on their team from their "Seven Seconds or Less" days: Steve Nash, Leandro Barbosa and Amare Stoudemire. With today's trade for Jason Richardson, the Suns gave up the only two guys on their roster that didn't demand the ball, Boris Diaw and Raja Bell, as well as their lone remaining player with any grit who even knew how to spell "defense" in Bell.

It is now a squad featuring a gaggle of incredibly ill-fitting parts. Nash is still a run-first point guard, but Terry Porter wants them to play more traditionally. Shaq demands the ball down low and clogs the lane, while Amare is in his prime and has obvious designs on being The Man. Not only that, but one of Stoudemire's primary advantages over the years has been the fact that, without using a conventional center, opposing 5's had to try and stick Black Jesus, and he tore them up with his athleticism and versatility. With Shaq on the floor, Amare is covered by quicker players, is forced to guard better offensive players who routinely light him up and with Shaq parked in the lane so much, STAT now relies on 17 foot jumpers.

As for the rest of the team, Grant Hill is barely a shadow of his former self. Matt Barnes is a nut who thinks he's the primary offensive option and shoots with impunity. There is no backup point guard for an aging-before-our-eyes Nash. And now they add another alpha male in Jason Richardson, who is averaging nearly 20 points a game this year, but doesn't help them play "more traditionally" in any way. J-Rich would've been perfect for this team 3 years ago, but now? All I see is Amare, Shaq, Richardson and Barnes/Barbosa yelling at Nash that they're open and fighting for the ball. And not ONE of them can play any defense.

On paper, J-Rich is the best player in the trade by a mile, but the Suns didn't need another big name offensive star. However, if you're gonna play loose and wild with trades and throw shit against the wall, this is the year to do it as the Lakers have clearly distanced themselves from everybody else in the Western conference and Phoenix wasn't going anywhere anyway.