The Suns GM is, understandably, a man under quite a bit of duress these days. His head-scratching decision to trade for Shaquille O’Neal put his job on the line in a very literal sense, and his team’s (all too predictable) failure to incorporate the lumbering big man into their schemes has resulted in a free-fall in the hyper-competitive Western Conference standings.
Not only are the Suns losing, but they also couldn’t acquire Brent Barry to shore up their outside shooting, and Kerr found it all quite fishy when San Antonio re-acquired the bony vet.
Kerr suggested on a Phoenix radio station it seemed to smell of an illegal, prearranged deal with Seattle GM Sam Presti, a former Spurs executive. “I think maybe there was something behind the scenes there,” Kerr told KTAR-AM 620. “If I’m Seattle, I’m not going to let Barry go, I’m going to let Donyell Marshall go. Brent’s a guy who is much more productive. Donyell Marshall doesn’t have much more left in the tank. Sam Presti used to be in San Antonio as an assistant. Who knows? I don’t have any proof.”
It’s entirely possible that Presti and the Spurs worked something out, but that misses the point entirely: Barry wasn’t going to save the Suns (and by extension, Kerr’s job). You’ve made your bed, Steve. Time to lie in it.
