Ten Candidates for the Phoenix Suns’ new General Manager
With it being rumored that the Phoenix Suns are now searching for their next full-time General Manager, let’s take a look at who should get an interview.
John Gambadoro of 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station said the Phoenix Suns have begun the process of interviewing candidates for their general manager job.
Since Ryan McDonough was fired on October 8th, only nine days prior to the season, the Suns have been operating without a full-time GM. James Jones and Trevor Bukstein have been serving as co-interim GMs. It is believed that they will stay with the team in one role or another but it’s past time for someone to step 100 percent into the GM role and the search is on.
Phoenix currently has a 12-50 (.194) record, worst in the NBA and on pace for worst in franchise history. They need help and in the form of someone that actually knows what they’re doing. As ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said, “This is an organization that is in a spiral in almost every way and it is a concern in the NBA.”
Phoenix Suns
One responsibility of a GM is to get scouting done, especially on a team like this that has been having to build from the draft, and Jones is not on the road a lot and didn’t seem to understand much about how scouting even works when asked. It’s well known that the Suns haven’t even hired scouts to fill out that side of the front office for a while now.
The next general manager in town will have a rough task, as he will need to turn a once proud franchise around. This team needs to make a complete turn back to being respectable and needs to make progress towards being a winner again (they’ve only had one winning season in the last nine years).
The playoffs seem so far out of sight as the last time the team made it to the post season was in 2009-10 and the new chief will need to get the Suns back in there.
Robert Sarver is so hands on that it’s been detrimental to the franchise, to say the least, and many qualified candidates may refuse to come over just so they won’t have to deal with the headache. If Jerry Colangelo was here, there would be much more and much better options but that just isn’t the case with Sarver.
A former player like “Thunder” Dan Majerle would be great for fans but he likely isn’t leaving Grand Canyon University for a coach or GM position as he’s doing so much for them and isn’t quite finished yet.
However, the team needs to knock on all doors and see if maybe some surprise hero decides to answer.
Here’s an interesting thought. What if the Suns were to trade this year’s pick, unprotected, to acquire Elton Brand from the Philadelphia 76ers as their new GM while making Philly take on Sarver to get the deal done? Yeah, you’re right. That’s too far fetched and wouldn’t ever happen but I’d do it in an instant after seeing what he’s starting for the Sixers.
Back to those interviews, let’s take a look at who I believe Phoenix would be wise to at least make a phone call to. Keep in mind that not all of these candidates can come over right away as they may be in a front office position for another team currently and the Suns would have to get permission to reach out to them. Others are free agents after this season while the rest are available to step right up.