In the continuing soap opera that is the Phoenix Suns season, the ArizonaRepublic is reporting that head coach Terry Porter could be fired as early as Monday.

“…No final decision has been made, but there are strong indications that the Suns will fire coach Terry Porter on Monday.

Due to financial concerns, his replacement is expected to come from within, and assistant Alvin Gentry a likely successor…”

I’m not sure this has much impact on the Sun’s future plans in terms of who gets traded and who doesn’t, but letting Porter go is a step in the right direction for the Suns.But Steve Kerr has to get some serious blame here. It was clear that Kerr was no believer in Mike D’Antoni’s fun and gun system and his goal was to recreate more of a traditional offense and felt Porter was the right teacher.

He was wrong. The players hate the system and don’t think they can win so, as you’ve already heard, Kerr is planning a major shakeup.

But does that change now that Kerr has removed the head coach? Does he give Alvin Gentry the chance to win with the same players in a more uptempo system?

We’ll see.

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I’ll touch further upon two points that were discussed in yesterday’s chats as one has taken a hilarious turn.

First, it appearing more and more likely that Amar’e stays in Phoenix. As we said, and based on his agent’s comments, any deal for Amar’e has to include an extension, which in this economic climate, will be difficult. How many teams are ready to commit long-term money to Amar’e? I can’t think of that many. Sure, the Knicks can, but Kerr is not dealing the Big A to the Big Apple.

The second thing is that I hold off rumors like this next one for a reason. Earlier in the year this blog had a rumor that made national waves, except we never confirmed it in any way. Yesterday in the chat, I mentioned hearing rumors about a possible deal between Portland and Milwaukee, which was catching fire out west. I had my sources on it and, again, couldn’t confirm anything so we kept it on the hush.

Turns out some guy named John Canzano made the rumor up as an experiment to show how ridiculous trade rumors are these days. He goes into it on his radio show, but in essence he made up the rumor to see who would run with it. Apparently, it was his attempt to prove how ridiculous speculation is and how the blog-o-sphere can take things and blow them out of proportion. He kills hoopshype for posting it, then kind of pats himself on the back for his super sleuth work and a job well done.

Good for you John, and good for TKB for being responsible and for not falling for it. But here’s the thing. Journalists make up rumors all the time, so what did this experiment actually prove? Sensationalism sells in Portland as much as it does New York.

Hoopshype’s job is to post all rumors and let fans decide for themselves. That’s their niche. It’s a one-stop shop for, well, hype and I visit it all the time, but I know what I’m reading isn’t always true. If I see a deal that makes sense (like, say, Shawn Marion for Jermaine O’Neal) then there maybe some truth to it.

But who said “hype” always has to be true?

I mean the proposed “deal” was of Raef LaFrentz’s contract, Sergio Rodriguez, Travis Outlaw, and a draft pick to the Bucks for Richard Jefferson and Luke Ridnour i didn’t believe it, which is why I wanted confirmation from my source out there. It was a lopsided offer that Portland would never do, I feel,  as the pick would be too much. It didn’t make sense to me, so I didn’t buy it.

But again, had John not told anyone of the hoax would he have been any different than the million other “respected  journalists” (who hate bloggers) that happen to get a trade wrong? Trades go from being done to being not done all the time, so if a reporter gets a scoop that a deal is “close,” that deal could be dead by the time the writer hits “publish,” or the story is sent to the printer.

In fact, do you notice that over the past few years there are less rumors because MORE people have access and information and are paying more attention? Journalists have to be careful what they print now in terms of rumors because more people can raise the bullshit flag.

Those “people” are also “bloggers.”

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First that dope from “Cold Pizza” then Reggie Miller. I mean, how much do we have to hear people mention that Nate is really short? Fellas, the guy’s been in the league for years, where have you been?

Enjoy your Sunday everyone, and remember to check into to my Chat Wednesday night at 9 pm.