Suns’ Babby: ‘These are challenging times for us’

Lon Babby did not see this coming.

The Suns’ President of Basketball Operations joined
Arizona Sports 620’s Doug and Wolf Wednesday — one day
after his team was destroyed by the Derrick Rose-less
Bulls 118-97 — and didn’t mince words when it came to his
disappointment with where the team is at.

“Honestly…I’m disappointed that we’re not more
competitive,” he said. “The plan was to stay as
competitive as possible and continue to rebuild.”

The Suns are learning how difficult accomplishing both at
the same time can be, as most teams have to get really bad
before they can get really good again.

Babby said the team has done the second part of that plan,
especially with rookie Markieff Morris’ production and the
cap space the team is set to have in the summer, but the
hope was the team would be better on the court than it is.

“On the other hand, we’ve only played 13 games. We’ve had
a very tough schedule, as a lot of teams have,” he said.
“We’ve missed some opportunities, but I’m hoping we can
remain competitive — or become competitive.”

No matter how this road trip finishes, Babby said it will
be important for the organization to stay the course,
which means they won’t actively look to shake things up
by, you know, trading a certain 37-year-old point guard.

No, contrary to what some fans might think — or hope —
the recent losing skid will not prompt the team to part
with Steve Nash.

“He can stay as long as he wants,” Babby said of Nash,
noting the player’s impending free agency. “I have nothing
but the greatest regard for him, for his character, for
his thoughtfulness, and whatever choice he makes at the
end of the day, it’s going to be his choice.”

Things could always change, and at some point the Suns
could decide trading Nash is the best option for them. No
matter what happens, Babby said he understands these are
not easy times for the Suns or their fans.

“These are challenging times for us and I know fans are
anxious to see us get better as soon as possible, and
we’re working every day to do that, but sometimes you do
have to go through a cycle in this league, and that’s the
reality of it,” he said.

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