On January 6, 2004 the window of opportunity for the Phoenix Suns franchise to win its first championship officially opened. This was the day that then G.M. Bryan Colangelo engineered a trade which at the time looked like a very bad deal for the Suns. High priced veterans Stephon Marbury and Penny Hardaway were dealt to the Knicks for a bunch of spare parts, and some cash. What the Suns got from that trade was the all important “expiring contracts” and salary cap space to use in the offseason of 2004.

With the money that was available that summer, new coach Mike D’Antoni, and the Colangelos searched for the point guard that would shape the face of the franchise for several years. To find that guy, they looked to the past and signed former Sun and then Dallas Maverick Steve Nash. It was a curious signing at the time, in that Mavs owner Mark Cuban did not match the Suns offer for his starting point guard. The Suns also signed sharpshooter Quentin Richardson to add to their existing core of young and talented players Shawn Marion, Joe Johnson, and Amare Stoudemire.

That season the Suns took the league by storm. Nash emerged as the premier point guard in the league, leading the high scoring Suns to a 62-20 record, the best in the NBA, and captured his first MVP award. Alongside for the ride were Marion and Stoudemire who each made the all-star team, Richardson who became one of the league’s best three point shooters, and Johnson who emerged as a reliable scorer, a good defender, and an excellent ball handler.

The Suns were a high-flying scoring machine, but their defense was a weak point. After sweeping Memphis in the first round of the playoffs, and beating Nash’s old Dallas teammates in the second round, the Suns were eliminated in just five games by the Spurs, who dominated the series. The Suns were without the services of Johnson for much of the series after he suffered a facial fracture due to a dirty play by Jerry Stackhouse against Dallas.

That summer, Kurt Thomas was acquired for Richardson to help improve the defense. The Suns new owner, Robert Sarver, began to emerge as a cheap miserly man only concerned about the almighty dollar when he forced Joe Johnson to be traded to Atlanta. A relatively unknown Frenchman, Boris Diaw was what the Suns received for Johnson. After the Johnson fiasco, the Suns signed Raja Bell, a noted defensive specialist, and James Jones, in order to replace Johnson’s contributions.

The next season started off on a bad note. Budding superstar Amare Stoudemire was lost for the season in training camp with the dreaded microfracture surgery. However, Steve Nash and Shawn Marion picked up where they left off leading the Suns to a second consecutive Pacific Division title, and another appearance in the Western Conference Finals. Nash was again named the MVP, Boris Diaw was named the NBA’s Most Improved Player, and Raja Bell became an offensive force, taking over for Quentin Richardson in the role of three point specialist, in addition to providing tough defense. Backup guard Leandro Barbosa also emerged in that postseason as a scoring option. The Suns survived two gut wrenching seven game series in that postseason, defeating the LA Fakers, and the Clippers before falling to Dallas in six games. The losses of Amare Stoudemire, and Kurt Thomas who was hurt before the playoffs were too much to bear, plus Raja Bell was hurt in the series.

The loss of Amare wasn’t the most significant loss that year, however. In February, Bryan Colangelo, the architect of the team, was offered a job by Toronto to be their General Manager. In a cost-cutting move, Sarver let him walk and named head coach Mike D’Antoni the G.M.

During the summer following the season, cheapskate Sarver sold the Suns two first round draft picks, despite the point guards available with enormous upsides. To this day the Suns still don’t have a backup point guard for Steve Nash.

The next season was met with more optimisim, as the Suns returned the same team that got to the conference Finals, and were aided by the return of Amare Stoudemire, who was fully recovered from his knee surgery.

Again, the Suns ran their way to a third consecutive Pacific Division title, and racked up more NBA awards. Amare Stoudemire marked his successful return with a first team All-NBA selection, while Leandro Barbosa’s speed and scoring ability propelled him to the Sixth Man of the Year award. The Suns again faced the Fakers in the playoffs and took care of them in just five games. The second round featured a matchup with the dreaded San Antonio Spurs, the team who took them out of the playoffs two short years ago.

The Suns lost a tough game one after the Spurs dirty play caused Steve Nash to have a bloody gash on his nose and not be available during the closing seconds of the game. The teams split the next two games and the series was tied going into game four in San Antonio. The Suns won the game going away, but it was marred by another dirty Spurs incident. Robert Horry, a man already hated in Phoenix, hip checked Steve Nash into the scorer’s table in the closing seconds of the Suns victory, and The NBA decided to reward the Spurs dirty play by suspending Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw for game five. Despite a valiant effort, the loss of two key players was too much to overcome and the Suns lost game five at home. They lost the series after being defeated on the road in game six, and were denied a chance at hosting a game seven due to the suspensions. The Spurs* won the championship by beating the Jazz in the conference finals, and a mediocre Cleveland team in the NBA Finals. Most NBA experts as well as Suns fans felt that the Suns should have won the championship if it were not for the unfair suspensions handed down by the incompetent NBA commissioner, David Stern.

That summer, instead of keeping the team intact and trying to win the championship, Sarver made yet more cost cutting moves, selling key reserves James Jones and Kurt Thomas, further depleting their already thin bench. The only key player brought in was Grant Hill, a veteran with a long history of injuries. Hill signed for the veteran minimum. Former University of Arizona star, and then TNT analyst, Steve Kerr was hired as the new General Manager. Obviously, a GM with previous experience would have commanded a larger salary, so again, Sarver made a move based on cost, not on basketball.

The 2007-08 season began just as the previous three seasons had. The Suns had the best record in the tough Western Conference and were a favorite to win a championship. There were some concerning losses to bottom feeder teams like Minnesota and Miami, but the Suns record spoke for itself.

In February, Kerr and Sarver put the final nail in the Suns’ coffin – trading dynamic forward Shawn Marion, a five time all star and the best defender and rebounder on the team, for an immobile, slow, aging Shaquille O’Neal.

Following the trade the Suns fell from their familiar perch atop the Western Conference, all the way down to sixth. Their once powerful offense faltered, as Steve Nash was unable to create for his teammates with O’Neal clogging up the middle. Amare Stoudemire flourished in his new role as a power forward, however most other players, including Nash and Bell saw their numbers fall. Not only was the Suns offense bogged down, but their defense got worse, as the immobile O’Neal allowed smaller quicker players to go by him time after time.

After a first round playoff exit at the hand of the Spurs*, what does the future bring for this team?

What was once a young, exciting, championship contender has turned into an aging team with little depth and a player who is the worst possible fit for their system, yet is impossible to be dealt due to his contract. This fact, added to the fact that several future first round draft picks have been dealt as a result of Sarver’s cheapness, means that the Suns have very little, if any future. We can’t go out and make trades or sign quality free agents due to the salary cap, and it will be difficult to build through the draft with a shortage of picks.

I believe it is safe to say that the championship window has officially been slammed shut, thanks to the poor decision making and cost cutting moves of Robert Sarver.