Suns are taking a risk with Alvin Gentry

The Phoenix Suns have not exactly made a habit of making
sure their top free agents stick around.

Whether it was Joe Johnson bolting in 2005, Tim Thomas in
2006, Amare Stoudemire in 2010 or likely Steve Nash in
2012, the team has seen countless contributors skip town
in search of more money or a better situation once their
contracts with the team expired.

Unfortunately it appears they are willing to risk the same
thing happening with head coach Alvin Gentry.

“First and foremost there is not even a scintilla of a
moment, of an instant where anyone is questioning about
whether he is going to be our coach next year – obviously
he is going to be our coach,” President of Basketball
Operations Lon Babby said at a gathering of local media
this week.

Babby admitted, when talking about his team, that it
lacked “top talent.” A 33-33 record would indicated as
much, though no one has really questioned Gentry’s job
security for this next season because of what happened in
the last one.

But with his contract set to expire following this next
season the idea of giving a contract extension to Gentry,
who Babby said the team is pleased with, would make sense.

“My view is if a person has a three-year contract you
assess it at the end of three years,” Babby continued.
“That’s how I’m going to be judged, I’ve talked to Alvin
about it, he’s perfectly fine with that.”

Babby’s words sound reasonable enough, as the idea of
judging Gentry’s performance upon the completion of his
contract would prevent the team from possibly extending
him only to fire him when the team starts to struggle.

Except, you know, for the fact that Gentry has already
proven himself to be a very good coach, and there’s always
the possibility he decides to leave on his own accord,
finding a better situation for himself.

That is the chance the Suns are taking by allowing
Gentry’s contract to expire, because while he’s only been
the team’s boss for three full seasons, the coach has
shown deftness for getting the most out of what he has,
and save one season, that hasn’t been much.

Guiding the team to the Western Conference Finals in 2010
may have been Gentry’s most noteworthy coaching job, but
coaxing a respectable record out of his most recent squad
may be his greatest accomplishment to date.

My colleague Vince Marotta
who feels like Gentry deserved
recognition for what he did this season, and I agree.
However, I do not agree with Babby, who apparently feels
like there is little reason to show appreciation for the
coach in the form of a new contract.

In short, Gentry will have options if Phoenix decides to
go in a different direction. But maybe that’s the idea.

It may be a little conspiracy theory-y, or possibly just
making something up out of thin air: but is the franchise
waiting to see how Gentry does this upcoming season their
way of saying “if the team stinks then you’re out?”

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