Grant Hill will be signing with the Phoenix Suns for next year. I guess all the talk about wanting to be a part of the Magic and help the young guys grow was too much responsibility in the end. Hill has decided he rather be a small part of a better team that might make it to the finals instead of showing class and leadership for developing team. A shot at a ring is more important than helping the next wave of NBA All-Stars grow. I guess my impression of Grant Hill was slightly off a bit. I always said that I thought Hill was too smart for basketball. Maybe he's just a normal basketball player after all.
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4 Comments on "Grant Hill to the Suns"
I'm a big fan of your blog and understand your hardcore loyalty but this post reeks of selfishness.
At what point does Grant Hill owe it to *himself* to try to win a ring?
Come on now, be better than that.
_ryan
I'm not sure I fully understand your statement.
"At what point does Grant Hill owe it to *himself* to try to win a ring?"
I don't know, but if it had already been about basketball - then Grant Hill would have stayed with the Magic to help the NBA's next generation of talent develop. If it was always about getting paid and getting a ring, like most NBA players, then fine. I personally just thought Grant Hill was more of a person that would give back to the game, instead of take. Just my opinion.
Also, just my opinion - he has no better chance to play for ring in Phoenix than in Orlando. Phoenix will have a hard time getting past San Antonio, Dallas and Houston. And if the Magic make the right moves, they'll be 3-5th seed in a much weaker conference for the next several years.
Tj, Suns fan here. Indeed, the Suns haven't been able to get past San Antonio as of yet, but you have got it wrong regarding Dallas and Houston. Phx split the regular season with Dallas the past few seasons and beat Dallas in the 2004-05 playoffs and then were beaten by Dallas in the 2005-07 playoffs, so they are pretty even with Dallas. As far as Houston, the Suns regularly beat them and it's fun to see Yao Ming sucking wind within the first 5 minutes of tipoff and then have to rest. Also, the Suns haven't played Houston in the playoffs since Houston never makes it to the 2nd round,
As far as Grant Hill, I would have prefered the Suns get a big defensive-minded player rather than a player whose ankle could go at any moment, but Grant Hill is what they've got so far this off season. Finding a guy who can stop Tim Duncan is what they need, but who that guy is and how Phx gets him is another matter.
Ric Flair used to say, "Son, to be the man, you got to beat the man." And Suns, you haven't beat the man yet. Dallas has lost two conference finals in '05 and '06, and lost in the semi finals last year ('07).
Adding Grant Hill doesn't change the team very much. So, you still have to get past Dallas and then San Antonio. And Houston is getting better. Grant Hill wanted to go to a team that had a chance at winning a ring. On a two year contract - I don't the Suns are that team. Detroit has a better shot at a tittle or at least getting to the finals.
My prediction, the Suns are on a downward swing and won't make it out of the first round next year. A 35 year old shooting guard with a bad ankle and a 33/34 year old point guard with sporadic back problems isn't exactly a recipe for a championship run in the years to come.
That's just my opinion. I would have preferred that Hill stay with the Magic and help a few young NBA players learn how to play the game the right way and be a role model to the community. That would be giving back to the game of basketball. Instead, he's chasing a ring. All I am saying about the guy is that my opinion of him has changed dramatically. I always thought he was too smart to be a basketball player. As it turns out, he's just another basketball player.