AGRI Biz

There are three scenarios which precipitate a trade: Your team needs one specific piece to get over the hump (see: Cleveland) Your club is stuck in a rut (see: half the Western Conference) Another team is suddenly struck by the angel of charity and is willing to part with a premier piece for bread crumbs (see: the 2008 Memphis Grizzlies) The Phoenix Suns are in group number two. Sure, they're better than everyone thought they ...

This was supposed to be the year when the ugliness of Amare Stoudemire's ego would rear its head. The Suns' had just missed the playoffs for the first time since 2004. Given Stoudemire's reduced role with Shaq in the paint, he could have used the situation to demonstrate why he is of immeasurable value, and thus deserves the closest thing to it—a max contract. He could have decided to throw the ...

Week Two has come and gone, unlike the Suns' success, which was predicted to go after a brutal roadtrip (it concludes tonight in Philly). The Suns did drop their first game of the season to an undermanned Orlando team, giving more beef to the rants of the week, but there was plenty to rave about, as well. Phoenix rebounded from its Orlando loss to hand Boston their first "L" of the ...

Welcome to the first edition of Matt's Suns Rant, a weekly venture into Planet Orange. Good and bad points from the previous week will be touched upon, with the reader assuming the writer 1) knows exactly what he's talking about and 2) is always right. With that in mind, here's a look at Week One of the Suns' 2009-10 campaign: Raves 1) Steve Nash is ageless. Last season (and possibly before), the rest of the ...

The 2008 NBA Draft was a welcome change for Suns fans. Instead of auctioning their draft picks for ôcash considerations,ö Phoenix finally used them on actual players. á Suns brass backed the players they picked too. They said Robin Lopez (No. 14 overall) was a big man who would do the little things like rebound and defend the pick and roll. á Internet video circulated of the SunsÆ braintrust breaking out into applause and ...

The Phoenix Suns missed the playoffs for the first time in what seems an eternity. Their head coach took over late last season, and now wants to speed up the pace in his first full season. They're expected to barely make the playoffs, if that. Sound familiar? No, this isn't a re-print of the Suns' 2004-'05 preview. The situation is strikingly similar, however. Entering a season in which outspoken believers are extinct, the ...

Go on. Write the Phoenix Suns off as contenders (if you haven't done so already). The Suns haven't made any big additions to convince doubters of an impending turnaround. Rather, they made Shaquille O'Neal the Big Subtraction in a trade that returned nothing more than salary relief. Steve Nash and Grant Hill are a year further into their thirties. Put another way, they're a year closer to their forties. Amare Stoudemire is coming ...

Some teams are defined not so much by the players, but the kinds of players they feature. NBA clubs are stereotyped in each era. In the '90s, the Knicks were a low-post, grind-it-out team. The word "showtime" evokes images the Lakers in the their '80s glory days. And the Clippers are widely known and accepted as hapless. Teams are also noted (and exploited) by what they don't have. Bulls' critics have lamented their ...