Originally Posted by
Xist2inspire
J. Felders: FINALLY! Someone asks the PG Question. I thought I'd have to do it myself......
Xist (trying to ignore the annoying reporter): Bill, that's a complaint we've heard many times. On the matter of Point Guards, we have found that there is a lack of quality Shooting Guards in the league. Most are considered franchise players and are difficult to obtain outside of free agency or high draft picks, and those who are not considered as such have various issues, such as underachieving or a hefty contract, that make them a risky choice to acquire. As such, we have been forced to get creative in our attempts to gain a SG. In the case of Devin Harris, we did our research. Devin has drawn comparisons to Dwayne Wade of the LA Clippers, another hybrid PG/SG. Eric and Ron are vets, they won't be here forever. Of the trio of Harris, Nelson, and Allen, we hope to have two start for us when Eric and Ron's time is done. We are hoping that this time, we have found the players that will define our backcourt for years to come.
Now, on the subject of assets. I have become of the mindset that when assembling a team, there are two major types of athletes: Players & Assets. A Player is a fixed quantity, a set number. You either create a gameplan around a Player, or you acquire a Player to fit your gameplan. But when something goes wrong, a Player can only do so much, for after all, he is usually limited to a particular function. Trading him will be hard, because since Players are fixed quantities, they have fixed value. And as such, if no one offers their fixed value, in order to rebuild, you must take less. Assets, however, are flexible, shifting pieces, the wild cards in your deck. Assets can change, can surprise, can adapt. But inevitably, they turn into Players, whether by trading some for one, or by developing into one. But they provide balance, they can be the glue that holds sinking ships together, the surprise ingredient that adds new flavor to a dish. We have had teams here in Phoenix with many Players, but few Assets. And when we started sinking, we had no Assets to trade, none to evolve and adapt. We were essentially one-trick ponies. We traded Players for more Players, and Assets for more Players, and failed because of our inability to adapt. So now we are a team of Assets, but we're also a team coming off of a terrible season. We're a team with an unclear direction. We're a team that needs to rebuild from the ground up, and that starts with finding out what we're worth. There are no shortcuts to rebuilding, no quick fixes. We've tried quick fixes. Now, we shall start off like our current champion, the Hornets, did. We start with many unproven Assets, but a few Players as well. We play. We experiment. We adapt. We let our performance, on the hardwood, under the dim lights of practice and the bright lights of gameday, determine our gameplan, our identity, who we are as a franchise. Those who flourish will stay on. Those who do not will not be here for long. It may be next season that we solidify, it may be two seasons from now, it may be more. But we are built to be flexible until that season comes. We WILL develop. Our Assets WILL become Players. Our identity WILL be formed. We WILL become a team, we WILL become a playoff team, we WILL become a contender, and if God be willing, we WILL become a champion and bring a title to this great city of Phoenix. And it WILL happen, one step at a time.
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