Jeff Hornacek, new coach of the New York Knicks (Photo : Doug Pensinger | Getty Images Sport)
The Phoenix Suns have devolved from a possible playoff contender to arguably the worst team in the NBA.
When you lose to a team that's trying to lose, you definitely have a problem in your hands. This is more evident when your team owner blames an entire generation for your problems.
To place proper context, Phoenix Suns' owner Robert Sarver's infamous millennial rant referred to Markieff Morris, perhaps not the best poster boy of his generation.
The full quote from Arizona Central: "I'm not sure it's just the NBA," Sarver said. "My whole view of the millennial culture is that they have a tough time dealing with setbacks, and Markieff Morris is the perfect example. He had a setback with his brother in the offseason and he can't seem to recover from it."
The Morris debacle has emerged months ago, during the off-season and for a while, it seemed like the organization made the right decision not to panic-trade and let the situation settle down so they can deal with a position of leverage.
It's January, and Markieff Morris just got suspended and yet, that is not their biggest problem. The team has fired their assistants and head coach Jeff Hornacek's seat just got hotter, as SI.com describes:
"Hornacek, in a lame-duck year and now stripped of his assistants, is completely at the mercy of his team, stuck without his top talent (Bledsoe) and without real help from his main veteran presence (Chandler)," SI's Ben Golliver depicted. "Morale is at an all-time low, now that a season that began with moderately positive expectations is slipping away in early January."
To be fair, Sarver does not absolve himself of responsibility. In the Arizona Central interview, he is also quoted: "My job is to find the right people and the right culture to eventually be one of those organizations, and it starts with me. I'm not shirking responsibility. The blame is to be shared from the top down."
Firing Jeff Hornacek seems to be the obvious move but will it solve the team's problems? Sarver's impatience and his trades that were allegedly done to cut corners are more to blame than Hornacek, who had to play with the cards he is dealt.
