By Steve Kerr: This Year Will Be More Fun
July 29, 2009 – 9:45 am by Tas Melas
It’s time for your favorite MAD TV skit, ‘Lowered Expectations.’ And, just like the viewers of that very funny routine, Steve Kerr hopes his fans (and players) are smiling all season long. We all know this team is not as good as last year, but, if Amare Stoudemire comes back full bore, they can definitely get close to that 46-win total. This unit will run, that much fans can expect, and like Kerr says, combined with the minuscule chance of a championship run, fans will likely be forced to just soak it all in and enjoy the ride, no matter how quickly that ride may end. Will fans fall in love like they did in the middle of this decade? Will they become everyone’s second favorite team again? That’s all really Kerr can hope for at this point. Kerr joined XTRA 910 to discuss why Steve Nash re-signed, what the future of Stoudemire holds, the Suns’ options this offseason, and his expectations for the team.
Why did Steve Nash choose to remain in Phoenix?
“We’ve obviously talked an awful lot in the last month and I explained my vision for the team to him, which includes he and Grant Hill really taking control of the team from a leadership standpoint and mentoring what is now a very young roster. Besides Jason Richardson, who’s 29, everybody else is 26 or younger, and I think Steve really likes the guys who are on the team. He likes the younger players: guys like Goran Dragic, and Dudley, and Amundson, and Lopez. He really enjoyed those guys last year and I think he likes the idea of helping to bring those guys along, and still be being a competitive team, a good team, and being in an environment he’s comfortable with.”
On what will be different this fall:
“Chemistry wise, we really have a good bunch of guys who are gonna enjoy playing with each other. The expectations will be lower, I think our fans are really gonna enjoy seeing this team play, and yeah, the expectations being lower does change kinda the perception of the team. I think it’s gonna be a much more fun season this year than last.”
On the Suns’ choices this offseason:
“Well, basically, I think we were faced with two options: we could have tried to blow up the team and just start fresh, start over, or we could have gone the route that we’ve gone, which is to tweak things a little bit… We looked in to all kinds of scenarios: trading everybody and blowing up the team and starting fresh, but that’s a tough route to go and I still think we’re good enough to win a lot of games, to be a playoff team, to win in the playoffs. I really believe that.”
On Amare Stoudemire’s contract / injury situation:
“We can’t even consider an extension until he’s on the court, and he’s healthy, and he’s playing well. I think that’s understood by both sides, so we’re now in a position where he’s got two years on his contract, but he does have the opt-out, so he does have some leverage there. We’ve just gotta work together and see where all this goes in the coming year.”
Listen to Steve Kerr on XTRA 910
Tags: Basketball, NBA, Phoenix Suns, Steve Nash
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