and Lon Babby share a word at practice. Photo Credit: Michael Dunlap, HoopsHabit.com

After an embarrassing 117-86 dismantling at the hands of the lowly Minnesota Timberwolves, the Phoenix Suns have officially been relegated to the lottery for a third consecutive year. This is a franchise that went 332-160 from the 2004-05 season through the 2009-10 season. Since then, they’re just 96-122, including 23-47 this season. Who’s to blame?

Before we start the blame game, let’s take a look at the organization’s five main cogs and their titles.

Owner: Robert Sarver

President, Basketball Operations: Lon Babby

General Manager: Lance Blanks

Head Coach: Lindsey Hunter

The Players

Each part of the organization has their responsibility. Ultimately, every decision goes through Mr. Sarver, from administrative decisions all the way down to player personnel changes. Mr. Babby and Mr. Blanks work hand-in-hand to develop and create a roster for coach Hunter to work with. Hunter has to get his team prepared and must get them to buy into the schemes. He and his staff are the main motivators and teachers. Lastly, games are won and lost on the court, where the players are the only ones who can actually make it happen.

So with that said, who’s to blame for the severe downfall of the Phoenix Suns?

Is it the owner, Robert Sarver?

If you’re a believer in the structure of a corporation or organization, then you believe that the head of that organization is ultimately responsible for any success or failures. In basketball, it’s just not that simple. Mr. Sarver has put people in place that he believes will usher in a new era of Suns basketball.

With major changes come major growing pains. The departure of Steve Nash and the mid-season replacement of coach Alvin Gentry threw a major kink in those plans.

Over the years, Mr. Sarver has developed a reputation as a businessman first and a basketball man second. I can’t agree with that sentiment. Specifically, people have panned Sarver for his trading of first-round draft picks for cash. In fact, the NBA adopted a new rule, where teams can’t trade first-round picks in consecutive years, in large part because of this practice.

It’s not wise to be rash with decision making and Sarver has shown willingness to be patient. The current state of the Suns is unfortunate, but the blame doesn’t lie with Sarver. The blueprint goes well beyond one season.

Is it the president of basketball operations, Lon Babby?

Babby works hand-in-hand with the general manager in deciding who to bring in as members of the staff and the roster. As a former player agent and attorney, Babby knows the business side of things as well as anyone. While the casual fan doesn’t think about it in this way, Babby has done an excellent job of watching payroll while still bringing in talent.

It was Babby who stole Marcin Gortat from the Orlando Magic during the 2010-11 season. It was Babby who brought in Goran Dragic, who has been one of the best point guards in basketball since the all-star break. It was also Babby who tried to make a big splash by bringing in Eric Gordon this offseason.

The Suns have to be thanking their lucky stars they missed on Gordon. Photo Credit: Mark Allison, Flickr.com

It’s no secret that the roster isn’t meshing very well right now. However, it’s not because they’re hamstrung with bad contracts and don’t have any flexibility. If anything, the Suns are in a very desirable position because of Babby. They have cap room in 2013-14 and have a very valuable expiring contract in Gortat.

Babby can provide the canvas, paint and the brushes, but he can’t actually paint the picture. He’s done his part. They’ll be evaluating some major positions shortly, as per this tweet from Scott Bordow:

Asked Suns’ prez Lon Babby today about Lindsey Hunter’s future. He laughed and said I was trying to trick him. I am a sneaky sort. — scott bordow (@sbordow) March 21, 2013

Is it the general manager, Lance Blanks?

Player evaluation is a very tricky science because players tend to perform differently depending on their surroundings. It’s not like one can take a player from one organization and expect him to produce at exactly the same level with a new one.

Such is life with a player like Michael Beasley. As one of the Suns’ free agent acquisitions during the summer of 2012, Beasley has really struggled to get comfortable. He’s averaging career lows in minutes, points, rebounds and field goal percentage.

On the flip side, the Suns also snatched up Luis Scola through the amnesty auction and he’s been a godsend for this team. Scola has acted professionally at every turn and always brings the energy and hustle that the team so badly needs to compete.

Scola has been a professional from start to finish in Phoenix. Photo Credit: Michael Dunlap, HoopsHabit.com

Additions like P.J. Tucker and Jermaine O’Neal have proven to be both low-cost and highly effective.

Don’t forget that the Suns turned Robin Lopez, Hakim Warrick and Sebastian Telfair into Wesley Johnson, Hamed Haddadi, a first-round pick and a second-round pick. It’s those little shrewd moves that really make a big difference in the long run.

The Suns have a plethora of picks, including four picks from the Nash trade, that they can use to build their talent base. Blanks and Babby have given the Suns a lot of flexibility for the next few seasons.

Is it the head coach, Lindsey Hunter?

Coach Hunter is 10-19 as the leader of the Suns. While that’s nothing to get excited about, it’s a better winning percentage than Gentry had before he was replaced (13-28). More than the actual win-loss record, it’s how they’re winning and losing that starts setting off red flags.

Watch some of the veteran coaches in the league. Take a look at Gregg Popovich or Rick Adelman during timeouts. The team is dialed in to what they’re saying and he’s the only one talking. They command respect in the huddle. Now, take a look at Hunter’s timeouts and you’ll see much more back-and-forth.

It’s not a bad style, but it is different. Hunter gives the players a lot of rope and a lot of say. That might work for a team that’s tight-knit with lots of veteran leaders. For a team like the Suns that has so much youth, it’s just not working.

I have no doubt that Hunter and his staff are working day and night to get the team prepared for each and every game. I have personally witnessed the extra work being put in after practice. However, it’s hard to shake the feeling that this team needs more monarchy and less democracy.

This quote from Adelman sums up the confusion going on right now:

Wolves coach Rick Adelman on the #Suns: “They play a lot of people. From night to night, you don’t who’s going to play.” #SunsVsWolves — Paul Coro (@paulcoro) March 23, 2013

Has Hunter “lost” the team? The players are saying no, but watching their games recently says something entirely different. Nobody expects them to cry and pout for days about every loss, but there’s a noticeable lack of fire and emotion on the court and on the bench right now.

If the hammer had to fall today, it would be Hunter that got the lion’s share of the blame (whether he deserves it or not).

Is it the players?

At the end of the day, no matter how good the preparation, no matter how great the coaching and no matter how talented the roster, it’s on each individual player to go out and perform their best.

There’s no question that guys like Dragic, Scola and Tucker are setting a great example with their hard work and determination on the court. They put in extra work at practice, they do the right thing off the court and they stay focused regardless of the situation during games.

Still, some tough love is in order. If the players aren’t going to respond to the coaching staff, certainly they will respond to each other. With all of the work that these men put in together, the last thing they want to do is let each other down.

A big reason O’Neal was put on this team was for this kind of situation. They need him to mentor the young guys and to help them work through these tough times. O’Neal has been working with Marcus and Markieff Morris a lot in practices, but the fruits of those labors are yet to be seen.

O’Neal has happily taken the mentor role with the Morris twins. Photo Credit: Michael Dunlap, HoopsHabit.com

Players definitely need to be held accountable, but the work is there. The hustle is there and the desire is there. There’s just a major lack of in-game leadership.

Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic made a very astute observation:

“The Suns’ two captains were home sick Friday night. Lindsey Hunter’s messages from the week had not resonated in the Suns’ worst first half on the season. Just before the second half started, Luis Scola huddled up the team on the court. It was better from there. It may or may not have been Scola’s impact but it was a reminder that Scola should have been a captain from the beginning.”

So who’s to blame? It would be easiest to point the finger at coach Hunter and his staff. To be fair, it takes time to build a new culture with consistency and trust. This team hasn’t had that time yet. The best part about growing pains is that, well, at least you’re growing.