Sebastian Telfair ‘absolutely’ wants chance to run a team
Jul 3, 2012, 7:42 PM | Updated: 8:48 pm
With each passing day, it appears unlikely Steve Nash
continues his NBA career in a Phoenix Suns uniform.
So, if we have seen the last of #13, then the question
becomes who will we be seeing mining the point guard
position next season?
The Suns have shown interest in unrestricted free agents
Goran Dragic and Raymond Felton. Plus, they just drafted
Kendall Marshall, North Carolina’s floor general, with the
13th overall pick in last week’s draft.
But might there be another option, one already on the
roster?
Suns President of Basketball Operations Lon Babby said
after signing Sebastian Telfair last year, “I think we’ve
got a chance to catch lightning in a bottle.”
The problem — at least initially — was that Telfair
hardly produced anything that amounted to a storm.
He began the season as the team’s third point guard. It
wasn’t until after the All-Star break — 7.9 points per
game and 2.9 assists per game while shooting 45.8% — that
he really came into his own.
“Second half of the season I came out played with a lot of
confidence, got a lot better, was a lot more consistent,”
the eight-year veteran said the day he and his teammates
cleaned out their lockers.
And it’s how he closed the season, scoring double figures
in eight of the final 11 games, including two 20-point
performances, that has the 2012 Dan Majerle Hustle award
winner believing he is ready to lead a team.
“Absolutely. Absolutely,” said Telfair. “I think I’ve
been waiting for this opportunity to lead a team and be in
the playoffs and get an opportunity to play for the gold
with me being the guy out there contributing to getting
them wins.”
With his play late in the season, Telfair earned the full
confidence of head coach Alvin Gentry going into next
season. But whether that means Gentry will hand over the
keys to the offense is still to be determined.
“Steve here or if it’s another guard here, I think my role
here is going to be huge: back up point guard, starting
point guard,” said Telfair. “It means a lot at that
position as far as what you do for the team to be
successful.”
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