Phoenix Suns: Lack Of Accountability Lead To Lost 2014-15

The Phoenix Suns suffered a lost 2014-15 season, but it didn’t have to be this way

At 39-43, the Phoenix Suns officially missed the NBA’s second season for the fifth straight year. There are a number of excuses that can be used, from injuries to discontent to a poor roster makeup. The fact that there are so many excuses leads us to the real reason 2014-15 turned out poorly — a lack of accountability.

After the Suns 112-101 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers (their fifth straight and 10th in 11 games), I asked coach Jeff Hornacek what area he wanted to see the biggest improvement in during the offseason.

I asked the question expecting to hear about adding veterans or a backup center — I was really expecting to hear more about the talent aspect and filling those needs. Instead, the answer I got just furthered my season-long belief that there’s a severe disconnect between the coaching staff and the players.

Hornacek’s first thoughts referred to the little things. He mentioned keeping focus at all times, he talked about setting quality screens and he said his team needed to box out better. These aren’t news-worthy items on the surface, but taken in context, it raises a huge red flag for me.

These are all fundamentals. Coach Hornacek was never the most gifted athlete on the basketball court, but he was solid in his fundamentals. He studied under legendary coach Jerry Sloan as a player and a coach — and if you don’t think Sloan hammered fundamentals, you don’t know much about Utah Jazz basketball.

With that, you can bet that Hornacek has been doing the same thing all season long, with this remarkably young roster. He’s harped on his team’s lack of movement off the ball all season long. He’s been frustrated with poor pick-and-rolls, worse communication on defense and a general disinterest from his team at times.

This leads me to one important question — Who is responsible and who should be held accountable for these issues?

IS IT THE PLAYERS?

Ultimately, the players are the ones who are on the court. They are the ones who are tasked with taking the instruction from the coaching staff and implementing it during the game. All too often, coach Hornacek showed his frustration on the sideline as the offense came to a halt or when the defense found themselves arguing with each other over another blown assignment.

Players can choose to work hard — or perhaps I should say work harder — in order to improve. There’s a wealth of information and an enormous vault of video for these players to dissect not only other’s games, but their own.

I look at a guy like P.J. Tucker, a guy who isn’t as athletically gifted as someone like Gerald Green, but he’s a guy who works harder than most people and has carved out his role in the NBA. That attitude and that hustle has earned him three consecutive Dan Majerle “Hustle Awards” and it’s something that should be infectious…but it hasn’t been.

Tucker is more of a silent leader, a guy that tries to lead by example. The problem is, the team doesn’t look to him for his example. With strong personalities like Markieff Morris, Marcus Morris and the aforementioned Green on the team, we have to wonder who’s setting the standard.

Eric Bledsoe is unquestionably the best player on the team, but like Tucker, he’s more of a silent type. He even acknowledged his lack of vocal leadership during exit interviews:

He’s spot on. Someone who has the combination of a strong work ethic and natural gifts needs to emerge as the vocal leader. Bledsoe’s the guy to do it. The fact that he’s publicly acknowledging it is a sign of maturity, growth and accountability.

IS IT THE COACHES?

If the people that work for you consistently ignore your teachings, what do you do? You discipline them and eventually you fire them. Now, this is the NBA — a place where the workers make more than the managers and a place where egos are so big (yet so fragile), that players are often handled gently.

Coach Hornacek isn’t of the same generation as these players. He came from a time when the coaches were revered and respected and the players didn’t have as much power as they do today. If Hornacek sneered at coach Sloan the same way that Green sneers at Hornacek, he’d find himself rotting away on the bench.

This is a different era and as the players change, so must the coaching staff. You simply can’t reach this generation by challenging their manhood the same way you could in a previous era. This is what happens:

Don’t forget the train wreck that was the technical policy, either. Hornacek decided to sit any player who got a technical for arguing with the referees. Nobody was exempt from the rule and it may have cost the Suns a few games. Again, this was an example that Hornacek was a bit out of touch with how to connect with the players.

Although he stopped short of saying it, Hornacek did acknowledge the need for more veterans on the team and mentioned (as did GM Ryan McDonough) how that will be a main focus this offseason. Coach didn’t take the blame, but he acknowledged the issue.

WHAT’S THE SOLUTION?

I’m not suggesting the Suns try to make a trade for Kevin Garnett, but that’s the sort of veteran leadership they need. Players respect players that understand their situation — see Jason Kidd for example — much more than they respect a coach that played decades ago, when the world was a different place.

Bringing in veterans to police the young players and show them how to be professionals is the way to go here. They can act as a conduit between the coaching staff and the younger players, both on and off the basketball court.

I’m thinking of guys who are tough (physically and mentally) and who aren’t going to demand the lion’s share of the offense (eliminating Rajon Rondo, Monta Ellis). Think guys like Luol Deng, David West or Paul Millsap.

This team lacks a player who can act as a coach on the floor, a coach away from the arena and a guy who can better send both the necessary positive and negative messages to the players. There are good options out there, let’s hope Suns brass can lure them to the desert.

Next: Gerald Green: A Career At The Crossroads

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