Terry Porter to Coach Suns – Fantasy Impact

Terry Porter will be named the new head coach of the Phoenix Suns. Porter will replace Mike D’Antoni who left to become the head coach of the New York Knicks. This will be Porter’s second head coaching job. He coached he previously coached the Milwaukee Bucks for two seasons.

Porter has long be a favorite of Suns general manager Steve Kerr. The two became close when they played for the San Antonio Spurs. The two have remained friend throughout the years.

With Porter as the new head coach, it’s difficult to assess how this will affect the Suns’ style of play. D’Antoni ran a run-and-gun system that relied on scoring more than defense. Porter will undoubtedly stress defense more than D’Antoni did.

However, Porter as a former point guard will likely let Steve Nash keep running the show offensively. Porter was a free-wheeling point guard himself so it’s unlikely that he’ll place too many restrictions on what Nash can and can’t do. The biggest difference for Nash is that Porter will likely require him to play more defense.

The two players who could be in for the biggest change next season are Amare Stoudemire and Leandro Barbosa. D’Antoni let Stoudemire and Barbosa make mistake after mistake defensively. Porter won’t give the same leeway.

Overall, this was a good hire for the Suns. Porter is a respected coach who has paid his dues — most recently as an assistant coach for the Detroit Pistons.

Photo: Newscom