GM Kerr goes for tweak, not teardown, to bring Suns back

Steve Kerr hears the talk, reads the projections and, quite frankly, understands why much of the basketball world thinks the Phoenix Suns have taken a huge step backward out of the Playoff picture.

In short, they traded Shaquille O'Neal for a handful of beans.

"I think that move was looked at as a white flag of surrender," said Kerr, the Suns' president and general manager. "We didn't get anything back in that trade in terms of bodies, of players that we intended to keep. But the truth is that move gave us the financial flexibility to move forward and improve in a subtle way."

What was not so subtle was Amar'e Stoudemire's absence from the lineup last season as the result of a detached retina. Even without Stoudemire on the floor for 29 games, the Suns still won 46 games and finished just two out of the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

Yet even if Stoudemire had been able to play, the Suns didn't see themselves as a true championship caliber club.

"We thought we had the potential to be good, maybe very good," said Kerr. "But we thought we were in the next group below the Lakers, with teams like Houston and Denver and Dallas. Barring Amar'e's injury, maybe we could win a round or two in the Playoffs.

"But if you're not a championship team -- and that, obviously, is what prompted the deal to get Shaq -- then it made no sense to have a $20 million player clogging the payroll when you know that you're not going to get over the hump."

While many expected the Suns to blow up their roster and start over in a full rebuilding mode, Kerr's goal was to infuse the roster with youth while keeping old hands Steve Nash and Grant Hill around to provide guidance and stability.

The transition actually began in the middle of last season when Alvin Gentry replaced Terry Porter as coach and got the Suns back to playing their more open-court style of offense.

"Alvin has a great feel for our players, their abilities and their styles and they all love playing for him," Kerr said.

After dealing O'Neal and promptly buying out the contract of Ben Wallace (they also plan to let Sasha Pavlovic go), the Suns then had the money to sign forward Channing Frye to a $3.8 million free-agent contract and also got the 36-year-old Hill to return to the fold. Then 35-year-old former two-time MVP Nash was locked up with a two-year, $22 million contract extension.

"I guess, in the eyes of some, it seemed a little funny to be so committed to going forward with an older Steve Nash," Kerr said. "And when Steve and I talked about the future, maybe at first he had those kinds of questions, too. But I'm not looking at just having Steve Nash around to play out the string on his career. I think that with what he can do and what Grant Hill can do, these veterans can lift up a young team and do some big things."

No one, of course, is bigger in the picture now than Stoudemire, who listened to his name bandied about in trade talks from Houston to Golden State and everywhere in between.

Now, after getting back onto the court to begin his latest comeback, Stoudemire insists he wants to be in Phoenix and believes the Suns can make noise in the West. While he'll miss the defensive presence of Shaq in the middle, the truth is that Stoudemire will be freed

Frye gives the Suns a big man with excellent length who can space the floor and hit the outside shot. Jason Richardson gives them another offensive weapon who can be a finisher on the fast break. And Leandro Barbosa still keeps the pedal down to the metal with his speed and slashing ability.

With Jared Dudley, Robin Lopez and Goran Dragic, the Suns already had a core of young players before adding Earl Clark and Taylor Griffin in the draft. At 6-foot-10, Clark is a solid defender, can handle the ball, has a good touch from the outside and likes to run the floor, which will fit well with the Suns, who can to carry on their open-court tradition with Nash at the helm while turning over the roster at the same time. Of the 13 players on the roster, only Hill (36), Nash (35) and Richardson (29) are older than 26.

"I really like our mix," Kerr said. "We could have blown things up. I don't think that was necessary. If people ignore us for a few weeks or a few months when the season starts, that's OK."

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