National Basketball Association

This Week in Phoenix Suns History - September 5-11

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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The Phoenix Suns are one of the most historic organizations in the NBA. How they’ve become this storied franchise is something that takes years to breakdown. Here is this week in Phoenix Suns’ history.

September 5-11

September 5, 1989 – Suns trade Steve Kerr – In a trade of two players who had very little lasting impact on the court, the Phoenix Suns traded their future General Manager and exceptionally successful Head Coach, for a player who would never score a point in the league.

Two weeks after re-signing Steve Kerr as a free agent, the Suns traded him to the Cleveland Cavaliers for a future 2nd round pick (’93) who would turn out to be Mark Buford. Mark, unfortunately, would never play a game for the Suns, or anyone else in the league, for that matter, and the move would prove to me a very minor one for the franchise.

September 7, 2004 – Suns sign Yuta Tabuse – Signed by Dallas and Denver but dropped before the regular season before coming to Phoenix, Yuta was the first Japanese-born player to ever play in an NBA game.

In four total games, Yuta scored seven total points, grabbed four rebounds and recorded three assists. On a very bright side, Yuta never missed a free throw in the NBA, going 4-4 in his career.

September 8, 1994 – Suns sign Danny Manning – In the Barkley Era, the Suns were a destination location. Following the ’93 Finals run, the Suns signed PF and double-double machine, AC Green. In ’94, they signed athletic scoring wingman, Danny Manning.

After losing to the Bulls in the Finals and blowing a 3-1 series lead to the Houston Rockets in the Semi-Finals, in the rush to finally get over the top, the Suns made two significant free agent signings in the off season of 1994, the first being Danny Manning.

After a mid-season trade in 1993 from the Los Angeles Clippers to the Atlanta Hawks for Dominque Wilkens, Manning became a free agent and chose Phoenix as his destination of choice.

The legend goes that Jerry Colangelo could not afford the contract Manning deserved, so signed him to a one-year, one million dollar contract, with a handshake deal to sign him to a larger contract the following season.

After a spectacular season and playing exactly as the Suns needed, he blew out his knee and the Suns eventually lost to the Houston Rockets in the Semis for the second year in a row. In the end, Colangelo signed him to the contract that he deserved, Manning returned from injury, though not to his former self, Barkley forced a trade one year later, and the era of woulda, coulda, shoulda, ended without a Championship victory.

September 10, 2004 – Jerry Colangelo inducted into the NBA Hall of Fame – In 2004 the NBA gave recognition to Phoenix Suns’ owner, Jerry Colangelo, one of the best owners in NBA history.

Of course lifelong Phoenix Suns fans were elated because this recognition was final vindication of what we already felt about Colangelo. But not only fans had this positive emotion.

In a special Suns press conference celebrating his bosses selection, as recorded by Suns.com, Cotton Fitzsimmons said that, “The lights are shining bright in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame today and better than they’ve ever shined as far as I’m concerned,” Fitzsimmons said. “I don’t know why it took so long with everything he’s done.”