Winning over on-the-fence Phoenix Suns fans: Stop doing stupid
I had a boss at my real job whose number one credo was the following: Don’t do stupid.
He would call employees out in meetings and have them recite this mantra aloud. It is something I scoffed at as overly-cheesy at first, but I grew to appreciate how publicly vocal he was that, above all else, we should not do anything that most people would consider stupid under his watch.
I think it is fair to say that Phoenix Suns owner, Robert Sarver, does not share that credo.
This is listed as number four on the list, but perhaps the number one way the Phoenix Suns can win over on-the-fence fans is by stop doing stupid.
Of course, no team is going to make every pick perfectly and there are some aspects of the NBA that are simply out of small-market teams’ control (i.e. under no circumstance is Anthony Davis going to sign with the Phoenix Suns when he becomes a free agent after this season).
However, before every decision the Suns make, they should first ask themselves, “Is this stupid?”
Most recently, a glaring example of a time when asking this question might have thwarted a poor decision was the sale of the Northern Arizona Suns, the team’s G-League affiliate. In a clear cash grab during trying financial times, Sarver essentially ended the primary option for his players, the youngest roster in the league, to develop.
Say what you want about the nuances of player development and the G-League benefit, the move looks incredibly foolish on its face.
Now, I don’t think the Phoenix Suns lost too many, if any, fans because of the sale, but it reinforced the eye-roll-worthy perception so many on-the-fence fans have about Sarver: he cares more about his wallet than the success of the team, which does not envoke excitement.
The Suns have to be better than this.