What a crazy sick time. In this paper, you will learn that you can run an NBA franchise as you run a club on Football Manager, fifteen minutes before going to order a pizza to stuff it in front of an Angers SCO – FC Sochaux Montbéliard in the Coupe de France. Criticism is a bit hard but this reversal of jacket made in Robert Sarver hurts our Cartesian minds as managers. We sit down and debrief.
Even when it has been a few seasons that an institution has been rather well managed, oscillating between sporting success and bright management choices, it naturally happens that some of its members miss the boat when it comes to making the right decision. We remember this Thursday, June 21, 2018, draft night for Trae Young, Marvin Bagley and other Luka Doncic. Many questions, most of which question the ability of the Slovenian to evolve at the highest physical level, This is why the Suns have also preferred the security card to him by spending their first pick for the benefit of the dominant Deandre Ayton. Without beating the bronze while it is still warm, the interior of the University of Arizona then represented this long silhouette completely suitable for the workforce of Phoenix, which was sorely lacking a post 5 knowing how to cut wood. But today, three seasons after this very controversial evening, Robert Sarver would be reluctant to extend Deandre Ayton up to his salary demands. Much like his classmates in the 2018 class – Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Trae Young, Luka Doncic and Michael Porter Jr. – he is eligible for that famous $ 172.5 million contract over 5 years, not to mention the performance bonuses that can increase the amount up to 207 plates. The hesitation of the prez ‘is therefore very astonishing, even more when one relies on the recent words of Tim MacMahon – journalist for ESPN – in the podcast of Brian Windhorst in the company of the Hoop Collective.
“Several people who were part of the Phoenix organization told me that it was a total decision of Robert Sarver (choose Deandre Ayton, editor’s note). It was certainly not Igor Kokoskov (the coach of the Suns at the time, note). He obviously wanted them to get Luka and put a big offer on the table for Clint Capela. – Tim MacMahon, editor for ESPN
-Draft Deandre Ayton over Luka Doncic
-Watch Doncic become a superstar
-Watch Ayton become a walking double-double who can also play D
-Refuse to pay Ayton his market value
It’s ended up working out as OK as it possibly can after passing on Luka. You can’t screw it up now!
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) October 5, 2021
We recap. The man has made the whole institution sweat in order to favor Deandre Ayton over Luka Doncic, then refuses to extend it to the maximum a few years later? We remind you that the interior is largely the expected job with three consecutive seasons in double-double average and a perfect alchemy with the rest of the team, who – by the way – has reach the NBA Finals last year. From the perspective that he never changed his mind, Robert Sarver would have spent a first pick just to find a lieutenant – almost a role player – without ever considering making it a central part of its roster, both sportingly and financially? All this without calculating the availability of Luka Doncic, and a possible trade to round up Clint Capela? It is in any case not Igor Kokoskov – the coach of the Suns at the time – who decided to let pass Luka Doncic, an incredible talent that he had coached with Slovenia, European champion in 2017. The sounds of couloir say that he has never recovered from the choice of Robert Sarver, that of favoring Deandre Ayton over the chubby little Ljubljana. Now Jason Kidd’s assistant in Dallas, he took advantage of his time at Fenerbahçe during the 2020-21 season to reveal that this funny Draft was the only reason for his departure.
“There I am talking to you in Atasehir in Turkey. If the Suns had drafted Luka Doncic, I wouldn’t be sitting next to you today. “- Igor Kokoskov, in 2020
It’s just that he did a bit of nonsense, friend Robert. That he selects Deandre Ayton before Luka Doncic, it is largely understandable as the interior remains nonetheless a crack. But rare are the pivots capable of existing so properly in our era, which is why Mister Sarver should not hesitate a single second before putting the flouze on his youngster’s desk.
