If they could have just won a home game or two they would have took it because they took two out of three in Chicago couple shots here and there we could have got it oh well.
years later and this video had me in tears 😭 we loved Dan. What a horrible trade. Loyal Suns fans know he was a valley sports icon. Also RIP Paul Westphal
I'm glad Barkley finally said, "When Dan got traded, it was over." That's just the truth. They were never serious after that. People think basketball is a superstars game, but people don't realize you can take one guy out of the nucleus and it destroys the entire unit in one fell swoop.
TRJ2241987 - That suns team peaked in 93, and was on a serious decline with or without Dan. The trade was just a desperate attempt to stop the negative trajectory of the team
I've always been a Bulls fan, but I really liked watching those Suns teams. I was always a Barkley fan, thought KJ was underrated, and wanted the same game as Majerle. I always wanted to be a shooter who could occasionally dunk.
Dan Majerle almost came back to Phoenix when he was a free agent in 1996. He played one season with the Cleveland Cavaliers as their 6th Man backing up Chris Mills.
I had NBA Live 96 on the Sega G! Thunder Dan was later cooking for the Miami Heat! This is what made the trade even more shocking! Cleveland had that pick up steal!
I 'll never forget that Phoenix Suns team with Dan, Barkley and my personal favourite KJ. No other team moved me that much ever and made me such a huge fan of their game and their style as well as their personalities. And I had no other reason to connect and be a huge Suns fan, since I've always lived in Greece! I love Dan, all the rest of KJ's Suns and especially the legend KJ who for me is better than any pg of his era!!!
@@lucaz3707 I don't know about the off court stuff enough to be sure what really happened, neither did I try to follow it much, so I am talking strictly basketball here. Anyway, if he did hit on a 16yo it's terrible but... it's hard when you are young and rich and famous the amount of temptations you have, I am sure many men now turning their heads off would do much worse in secret. I am not saying it's alright to kiss or take a shower with a 16 year old who could be my sister or whatever happened, but to be honest if I was 20 something and a really hot and physically mature 16 year old (some of them in 16 really look like women and nature has them ready for giving birth in terms of their period, some of them are extremely provocative and hot, so the limit of 18 is a number placed by people for good reason, but what is it 17 and 360 days a crime and after a week all fine? practically its a little relative to the individual when it comes closer to 18) came to me on a moment I was vulnerable and horny and she was smart and hot and more mature looking and speaking than 16, I would maybe fall in the trap to develop feelings or be fond of her, talk to her etc and not be strong and mature enough as I am now to stop it right away and go off her and send her away, as the right thing to do definitely is. So I wont crucify him for that. I dont know details though from his accusation cases, so maybe I would change my mind if I knew more, but not assumptions arbitrary but evidence and facts.
@@lucaz3707 especially the mayor stuff I am completely unaware of (I live outside usa) did he steal money or something, I will have a look on that, ok man
I have a funny personal story about him. Back in Summer of 1993 to be exact, my family and I did a vacation cruise to the Caribbeans. This was when Majerle was at his prime and killing it with Barkley, etc... My sister had the biggest crush on him and out of luck he happened to be on the same cruise with us. When she found out she did everything to spot him. Finally, she saw him on the ship and got a picture taken with him. Keep in mind this was back when disposable cameras were the primary source of picture taken. Well about a week later after she got the camera roll developed it turned out to be a bust! She was clearly visible in the picture but the lighting on Dan was so bad that it cast an entire shadow over him. Let's just say she was bummed!!!
back then here in europe was this big MJ-Bulls-NBA hype. as kids we were watching the playoffs. i remember most of my friends were rooting for the Bulls, one was for Ewing and the Knicks, one for David Robinson, one for Hakeem. i was for the Suns, and the guy i liked most was Dan Majerle, i didnt know why, didn't understand english or know anything about him, just watched some games. Now 25 years older, watching this by chance, seeing what kind of person and teammate he was, i like the fact that as a 13 year old he was the player i chose to like
I was and am a die hard Pistons fan since 88, being from Michigan that's a given. But from 1993 to 1995 all my shirts and jackets were Phoenix Suns and it was because of this guy right here. Loved Majerle to death. I would have given anything to have his game. I am so glad I got to see the man play and even got to see him play one time against the Pistons in person. He was grit an determination personified. The day he got traded to Cleveland didn't change me as a fan but even as somebody not from Phoenix it broke my heart when I found out where he was headed.
I was born in detroit I watched him play against the pistons with 2 different teams. Gary Payton and thunder Dan are the best 2 players I ever got to see play against us.
As a fan of the Lakers at the time I remember my friends and I heard about this and said "wow, the Suns are giving up on the season already!" We knew as rivals that their team was going to have a huge dropoff without Majerle - it didn't even matter who they got in return. I can't believe the front office actually thought it would improve their team.
My dad went to Majerle's in Phoenix and they have a no autograph policy. He went up to Dan Majerle and he said l, "Sorry but I know there's no autographs but my son is stationed in the military over in Germany." So he signed a drink coaster for me and my dad sent it to me. I just thought that was a really nice thing for him to do.
back then I had to ask my uncle who was traveling to the US to buy me the #9 suns jersey as it was nowhere about to find it here in Italy. no internet, only few catalogues and none had it in store. still have it and still keeping it as a precious thing. those suns meant, and means, so much to me.
Yup. That's easily the primary reason they declined so quickly. KJ, Manning, etc. took turns on the injury list, but that had happened the previous 2 years and still won 56 and 59 respectively. Dan was the glue that held it all together.
One of my fav 3pt shooter.. I remember playing with my friend nba live and ive got the suns and he got the sonics i think tht was 96 and it was a showdown between dan and shrimp and i lost with only 1 pt... Hahaha.. the heat was a contender when dan was there but still rooting for them zo tim dan jamall pj but jordan was pain in the ass...
I went to Central Michigan and played Football during Dan's years there. We loved the guy. He brought so much excitement to Rose Arena. Back then the dynamic duo was Dan "Thunder" Marjerle and Ervin "Lightening" Levy. It was the thunder and lightening show. They would both rain bombs from far beyond where anyone else would consider shooting from. After the first basket of each game, the tradition was to bring several rolls of toilet paper with you, and launch a stream on to the court. They had to shut down the game for 5-7 minutes every homegame to clean it up....those were the days!!!
He was like Pippen equivalent of the Suns. He rebound, defend, shoot .. everything you want him to do. Unselfish. His shooting stroke was a sight to behold is book.perfect. He is the teammate you want to have around.
one of my favorites all time suns......i mourned when he was traded and the guy we traded him for got injured in a car accident on the way to phx, what an omen
First Great Deep 3 shooter in the league. Way before Steph would chunk em 5 feet behind the line. Dan was knocking em down. Which is great since he also made his name driving hard and dunking.
Kept reading the comments to find someone who remembered lol. He was a hustle and drive guy off the bench, then around 92, just came out bombing and hitting and never stopped.
Suns scout Dick Percudani said to the sun's draft Greg ostertag in 95 but the sun's brass choose Mario Bennet because ostertag supposingly did something in college to a girl and that girl's father knew colangelo and told colangelo that his daughter had a bad experience with ostertag!! Well ostertag had a successful career in Utah!! The sun's would of not had to trade marlegh if they drafted ostertag!! Barkley could of had one more chance that year with ostertag! Finley was there 19th pick! The sun's brass just made one dumb move after another after losing to bulls in 93! Maybe they should of given the gm job to Percudani! Brian colangelo wasn't ready and to young!
Pharoewise Thegemini Lol. Ostertag was horrible. Better than that Mario guy, but still a scrub. You set ur post up as if the suns passed on the Greek freak or kawhi or something
I thought Finley was the #21 pick in 1995? One of the all time great steal picks.The Suns had some pretty good scouts back in the day.Hornacek, Ceballos, Dumas in the 2nd rd.Getting Steve Nash at #15.
I love when Tom chambers is describing Dan and it shows Dan goofing around playing tennis. If you look at his guns and the way he swings his racket, you know you wouldn't want to fight him, he could throw one hell of a sucker punch
Thunder Dan I’m Miami Heat ... when he was with the Heat he’s a reliable 3 point shooter & played hard defense but unfortunately when rain into the Chicago Bulls
Thunder Dan is and was my only fav players only back in the 90's, strenght, agilty, overall understanding of the game. That dude was hard to compete in those days, that's for sure.
I remember a NBA on NBC game between Phoenix and Orlando and they played an interview with Charles about having a dominant center and how only a few teams had guys like Shaq, Hakeem, and Ewing. The trading of a core guy like Majerle for a, let's be honest, non difference maker in Hot Rod (RIP) didn't make sense then and doesn't now in hindsight.
Suns shot themselves in the foot in 95', letting Richard Dumas go again. He would've been the perfect fill-in for having lost Cedric Ceballos after the previous yr. He was giving the Suns back that athleticism from the wing that they missed since losing Ced. Especially considering that Danny Manning had torn his ACL, was done for that yr, and that the Big-3 of Majerle, KJ & Barkley were getting older, Dumas would've been the perfect added-punch moving forward late in the yr.
I worked customer service for an insurance company many years ago and he happened to call and I got the call. Needless to say I had to keep my excitement down when he gave me his name and I knew who he was
The rumored deal was Pippen for Majerle, Wesley Person, and draft picks-not simply Pippen for Majerle. Moreover, Pippen was apparently the one who created the rumor, meaning that there was no truth to it. www.deseretnews.com/article/404164/PIPPEN-TRADE-TALK-TOOK-CENTER-STAGE.html www.upi.com/Archives/1995/02/11/Pippen-subject-of-trade-rumors/5229792478800/ community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19950219&slug=2106001 Once he became healthy, Williams gave the Suns the improvement that they needed at center, especially defensively. The truly costly decision, in my view, was Phoenix's refusal to re-sign Danny Ainge after the 1995 playoffs, thus forcing the thirty-six-year old sharpshooter into retirement. Ainge could still play-in Game Seven of the 1995 Western Conference Semifinals versus the Rockets, he scored 19 points on 8 field goal attempts in 27 minutes off the bench. In the fourth quarter of that game (which started with Houston leading by two points and ended with the Rockets winning by one point, 115-114), the leading scorers ranked as follows: Hakeem Olajuwon (Houston): 16 points Kevin Johnson (Phoenix): 13 points Danny Ainge (Phoenix): 13 points So to shed a player like that in exchange for nothing really represented a detrimental decision and a waste for Phoenix, especially given Ainge's leadership and championship experience. When healthy, the Suns' '95-'96 roster could have looked as follows: Starters: G Kevin Johnson G Wesley Person F Michael Finley (rookie) F Charles Barkley C John Williams Reserves: G Elliot Perry G Danny Ainge G Chris Carr (rookie) F Danny Manning F A.C. Green F Mario Bennett (rookie) F Wayman Tisdale C Joe Kleine That roster could have provided the correct balance of experience and youth, perimeter shooting and athleticism. But instead of Ainge, the Suns inked veteran reserve guard Tony Smith on the eve of the season. Smith was a defensive specialist with little offensive skill, and in February, Phoenix traded him to Miami for rookie Terrence Rencher, who made his way into two games for the Suns and then never played in the NBA again.
You actually believe that?? Everyone knows not to take interviews like that seriously, especially from the Suns head coach, because if the trade doesn't happen, you don't want a broken locker room, you can simply keep denying it as a rumor. Truth is, Scottie was close to being a Sun, even at the All-Star game, Charles Barkley said so. A head coach can't admit that LOL he would break up the team. The only reason the deal never went through, in simple terms, a man said the words "IM BACK", Michael Jordan. That killed the deal, since Michael wanted Scottie back. I honestly think that if the Suns had Scottie that year, no way Houston would of won the championship.
I think seeing Majerle hustle and bust his butt Barkley finally realized he had a legitimate shot to win the championship. He finally had players on his team that gave a damn and he didn't have to do it all.
Man the Phoenix suns making awful trades is a tradition this is one of the worst not sure if it’s worse than trading marion and banks for shaq or joe Johnson for diaw
Diaw turned out to be a good player.In fact, I think he's a bit underrated.Super high IQ & great facilitator.Type of guy who helps you win games.Loved him with the Spurs
Phoenix did need a centre badly though. They had been knocked out two years in a row by Hakeem Olajuwon and the Rockets. I agree they meddled too much with the team and it didn't work out. I could see the rational though. Dan Majerle previous season he was coming off the bench at times. And Wesley Person had overtaken him as starting shooting guard, so Majerle was viewed as expendable.
The 1993 Suns would have won a title if not for that 23 guy. That team was explosive. The closest thing to the Golden State warriors of today. Everyone could shoot the 3 ball.
Different era i was fan of Dan same for Price and Schrempf there was so many others i can remember Radja and Eddie Jones guys who use to be a stars not the franchise player but star you know that if they got hot even MJ can't stop them .The 90's was the golden era of basketball 89-99 after that boring no offense to the Lakers and other teams who won the title but i was not able to get invested till the Mavericks won in 2011..
Thunder Dan Majerle y'all! Him and Larry Bird, easily the flyest White guys in NBA history y'all!⚡🦅 They inspired me as a baller growing up. And put Thunder Dan with The Bird Man, And you get a 'Thunderbird'... Ya heard me
Dan was the reason I both got into basketball, and became a Suns fan. Lil 13 year old, mesmerized by this ripped white guy dunking all over people and bombing from half court. Been a Suns fan ever since. Would've rather we rided it out with that core and taken our hits instead of breaking it all up and seeing it dwindle. Was absolutely crushing losing to Hakeem and the Rockets 2 years straight though, so I totally understood why they went and got a center, even if the return was abysmal lol
Had a missionary companion in Guatemala by the name of Andy Toolson who was a brother of Gov.Jan and all he bragged about was Dan Ainge and that he was his brother in law and I saw thunder Dan,dunk on Dan the 👨 man from 4 times and he got slammed
Funny how the gm Brian colangelo never went upstairs to that meeting! Percudani I am sure was pissed off about the sun's trading marlegh! But the sun's after losing the finals made one bad move after another! Cebbollos went to LA and was a force! West was traded to leave the sun's no center except Tisdale!! In 95 not drafting ostertag was a mistake and if they did sun's prob don't trade marlegh
- Scottie Pippen. - Charles Barkley. - Dennis Rodman. PS: how come the 3rd comes without the 4th. Well...the fourth is for sure "The" David Robinson Or Reggie Miller
