So Inner, what can you tell me about the 1995 season and the 1996 draft?
OUCH! The Suns could be telling a whole different story if you had Finley or Garnet with AI and O’Neal right now…Bill, that 1995 season was a very tough season, but it all really started in 1994 and the 1995 draft. We had the 3rd pick going into the lottery, and we were very excited to get one of the following (this was our draft board)
1. Kevin Garnett
2. Michael Finley
3. Rasheed Wallace
4. Antonio McDyess
5. Damon Stoudamire
After the lottery, the Suns were awarded with the 5th pick. The organization was demoralized with having to settle for Damon Stoudamire in a 4 person draft, and what I didn’t know then is this was just the beginning.
So, back to my original question… Can you tell me about the fateful 1996 draft?Yea Bill, rub it in, you dick.
So the lottery, what were your feelings when the lottery was over?Yes, fine… here we go.
So 1995 was a season that started with us missing out on free agents like Gatling, Dale Davis, Macon, but in all honesty we didn’t want those free agents we were targeting the 96 draft as this organization’s turning point, so we acquired two picks and were hoping for the best come lottery time. Why did I fall for that again?
Well the season ended with a 21-61 record. Good for the 4th and 6th picks going into the draft lottery on a loaded draft that included the likes of Kobe Bryant, Ray Allen, Steve Nash, Camby, Iverson, O’Neal, Marbury. I was beyond excited at the options we had.
So who were you targeting in the draft. How disappointed was the organization that a division foe drafted Camby at 5. I heard rumors, the Suns were looking to take Camby at 2. Any truth?Obviously super excited. We just got the 2nd and 6th pick in the lottery. We felt the “hard” work of the 95 season was going to pay off and our two picks were going to turn this team around.
Well at this point it looks like the team was well on its having one of the great young cores of the league with Armstrong, AI, and O’Neal. Obviously the 1996 season was marred with inconsistent youth players not understanding the NBA, but ending the 1996 season with the #1 pick going into the lottery, the entire NBA was scared of you combing O’Neal and AI with someone like Tim Duncan or Tracy McGrady. How did the 1997 draft create what looks like to be the first crack in the foundation?Well our board didn’t have Camby at 2 at all. Not sure where you got that info… probably from Mr. Sources himself Chris Broussard.
What I can tell you is we wanted Camby at 6, but O’Neal’s youth and potential was just as exciting that he could become a player at the same caliber or better than Camby. Womp Womp.
Was there ever a point where you questioned the path of building through the draft?Well, Bill, just as the organization thought the 96 season was going to be the turning point, the 97 draft was the first sign of weakness. We just lost the biggest opportunity of the decade. 3 young potential stars on rookie deals growing with abundant potential. Instead, the lottery gave us the 4th pick. THE WORST MATHEMATICALLY POSSIBLE OUTCOME.
In a 3 person daft… this killed us.
So going into the 98 draft, I LOVED the pickup of Jason Williams at #7, currently it’s not paying off well. What happened?After that 97 draft, yes. We went to FA and grabbed some very solid and good vets in Dee Brown and Brad Daugherty, brought back Scott Skiles, and the team improved in 97 but still a 32-50 team. Growing, but it was moving slowly in the right direction.
Inner, many would say the 1998 season was the point where your franchise was starting to make noise. Got to the playoffs. Over .500 winning percentage. The team LOOKED great. I sense you have a very different perspective.Bill, to avoid too much controversy, let’s just say this: Jason Williams never wanted to be a PG and he came into TCs with this team as a distraction. We thought having a very nice defensive and pass first knockdown 3 PG to pair with freak athlete Iverson was going to be our dynamic guard duo for the next decade.
1997 O'Neal:Yes, Bill. The 98 season was when I started to sense something was off with this team. It just didn’t feel right after training camp.
1998 O'Neal:
LIKE HOLY SHIT!!! This is when we decided JO was getting a super max...
1997 KVH:
1998 KVH:
1997 AI:
1998 AI:
AI looks like a future MONSTER at this point
JW 1997:
JW 1998:
LOOK AT THAT Fryeing POTENTIAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
KVH had a average camp. We were expecting a big jump for Keith. O’Neal and AI were growing, and Williams was looking to be a star at PG, but the team never seemed to gel. KVH regressing hurt the entire team, as we were forced to bring in aging Mr. Ego ‘Michael Jordan’ to fill the void. He was not the mentoring type, and long-term was the wrong decision on my part.
Then the fateful 1999 season…
JO 1999:Iverson regressed, Jason’s personal issues was starting to affect him, his relunctancy to play PG for the betterment of the team cuased a major rift in TC. Jermaine continued to grow, and at this point, we were very close to traiding away everyone but O’Neal to start this team over, but the 2000 nba draft was very weak, and I decided to try and make this team work, and we got back to the playoffs (another sweep).
Still on track to be a great player, but goodbye all that potential...
KVH 1999:
KVH staying stagnant
AI 1999:
Fryeing hell...
JW 1999:
Why me!?!?!
Present Day:
Inner, here we are. The start of the 2000 NBA season, and all we can do here is think of what could have been for your team. After another tumultuous offseason, any final words on what you expect this year? The 2001 draft looks good… just sayin.
Yes Bill, I do have some final words. Life is tough, get a god damn helmet.
JO 2000:At this point, I don’t have any expectations. O’Neal has regressed to a bench player, AI is still an elite athlete and scorer, KVH has bounced back and looks like a very nice all-around wing player. Probably a very nice #3 piece to a championship team. Jason Williams is a shell of himself.
Bill, it’s sad, and I guess the Suns are looking forward to the 2001 draft (two picks) and the 2003 draft. Starting this 6 year train ride all over again thanks to bad lottery luck and terrible training camps.
This game hates me... It Fryeing hates me
KVH 2000:
A SURVIVOR
AI 2000:
This is AI and it's still worth a max at least
JW 2000:
Go look at 1997 Jason Williams - This might be the biggest shot in the gut the Suns have faced over the past 6 seasons....
Current Team:
Looks like a graveyard
That’s the story of the Phoenix Suns – Broken and Defeated.
