As they famously said in the movie Mr. Mom "You're doing it wrong". That is the best way to currently describe what is going on with the Phoenix Suns.
Friday, the Suns resigned Grant Hill to a one year $6.5 million deal. The Suns will be better this season with Hill in the fold, but what does it mean for their future?
I would be shocked if Hill re-upped with Phoenix without a guarantee Steve Nash was going to be on the team for the entire season. This means for the second time in three years Phoenix is going to lose the best player on its team and get nothing of significance in return.
By re-signing Hill and keeping Nash Phoenix is preventing themselves from bottoming out and instead will battle it out for the eighth seed in the Western Conference and that is a best case scenario.
Is it worth it?
The answer is an emphatic no.
The quicker Phoenix moves on from their past the quicker they can get back to contending in the West. Without Hill and Nash the Suns would most likely be in position to get a top eight pick and a legitimate piece to build around in addition to Jared Dudley, Markieff Morris, Marcin Gortat, and Channing Frye.
They should have another 1st round pick and Goran Dragic added to that core, but the front office sent them away for 25 games of Aaron Brooks -- pure genius that was.
The Suns would also still have the cap space (projected to be about $30m) they covet for next season to make other additions.
Suns fans do not be tricked by the propaganda being put out, Phoenix is not getting Deron Williams, Chris Paul, or Dwight Howard even if they have the cap space to sign two of the three. It's not happening. That doesn't mean you can't use that space smartly and efficiently to improve the team.
The key to putting it all together is finding the next Amar'e Stoudemire or Steve Nash to build the team around. The most likely way for that to happen is to have a top ten pick like they did when they drafted Stoudemire with 9th overall pick. They lucked out reacquiring Nash in free agency after Mark Cuban gave up on him.
Being a middling team in the NBA is the worst possible position you can be in. Phoenix was in this situation last year and is bringing it upon themselves again. It is time to move and accept they are not going anywhere. Once they do, the Phoenix Suns might actually begin the process of really competing again.
Head over to Bright Side of the Sun where a similar discussion is taking place on this topic.