It was Super Bowl Sunday, about four hours before kickoff, and all was not well in the Cardinals' hometown. While the city's football team was about to air-it-out on the sport's grandest stage, its once-envied basketball team was airing out grievances in the locker room.
The Suns had lost seven of their last 10 games, their latest at home to the bumbling Bulls. A lengthy clear-the-air meeting and video session was now taking place, just hours after Steve Nash and Grant Hill huddled with team officials following their Chicago debacle.
Out came Jason Richardson, walking down the hallway behind Shaquille O'Neal. Out came Matt Barnes, whizzing by on a unicycle.
The ex-Warriors thought it would be paradise in the Valley of the Sun.
Turns out their new team is struggling much like their old team.
"I was thinking about that the other day," Richardson said. "When we used to play them with the Warriors, it was a free-for-all offensive battle, first to 140 points, pretty much. Now? It's a little different."
Now, when Richardson and Barnes return to Oracle Arena tonight, they'll serve as dual reminders of how quickly both Golden State and Phoenix have fallen from their heyday.
The Warriors are 15-34, a year after winning 48 games and two years removed from "We Believe."
The Suns are 26-20, a year after winning 55 games and three years removed from the conference finals.
Neither looks remotely like its run-and-gun predecessor. Neither has fit its new pieces together.
Asked about Golden State's descent, Richardson only can shake his head.
"It's crazy what's going on, stuff with the front office and with Monta (Ellis') situation," he says. "It's like, man, what happened? Just two years ago we were up and climbing, and now they're starting from the bottom again.
"I can just imagine what the fans are going through, going from bottom of the cellar for 10 years to finally making the playoffs and having a really good year last year."
For Richardson, it's a sympathetic trip down memory lane. After spending his first six seasons with the Warriors, finally making the playoffs in his last, he's on his third team in less than three years.
He was traded to Charlotte for Brandan Wright on draft night in 2007, then traded to Phoenix on Dec. 10 for Raja Bell and Boris Diaw.
Barnes, who had signed with the Suns as a free agent, was among the first to text Richardson and welcome him to Phoenix.
Their reunion, though, has had its bumps.
Barnes, who celebrated the birth of twin boys in November, has had his minutes and effectiveness diminish after beginning the season as the Suns' starting small forward.
Richardson was cited on suspicion of DUI two weeks after his arrival, and his three-point percentage, once tops in the league, has dipped to 38.9 with the Suns.
Despite fielding two future Hall of Famers in Nash and O'Neal, Phoenix is only six games over .500.
"We're struggling right now," Richardson says. "We're having some hard times, but we have a great team. We're just trying to find our stride right now. Once we get started, we'll be pretty good."
And no matter what, they'll always have "We Believe."
"That was history," Barnes said. "Everyone says your team is your family, but at Golden State, that was really the truth. We all loved each other, and it was hard because they broke it up so fast."
"We both talk about it like, 'What if they just had that whole team for a whole other year?' " Richardson added.
"I mean, we know the money situation with Monta and with Baron (Davis), but if they could have just put it aside to give our team one more chance, if we would have had a whole season with everybody healthy, playing together the way we played, it would have been amazing to see the things we would've done."
Thursday Night Hoops
4th Grade @ S.V.D.P. 5 p.m. (2350 Green St)
8th Grade @ Holy Name 6:15 p.m. (40th Ave and Lawton)
And we wish this guy...a Happy Birthday to...do you know who he is?
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