Fans from the Valley of the Sun thought it couldn't get any worse after yet another playoff exit courtesy of the San Antonio Spurs.

Think again.

Offensive revolutionist Mike D'Antoni is officially on the coaching carosel, and the future of a franchise that's been "on the cusp" is in serious doubt at this point.

To add insult to injury, other teams either are or will soon be making Phoenix appear foolish for their ineptitude at fulfilling their once vast potential.

Hornets have no trouble where Suns had no answers

In a highlight from the Hornets Game 2 victory over San Antonio, Tony Parker attempts to knife his way into the paint, something he did with pathetic ease and consistency against the Suns in round one.

The only difference is that instead of a Suns defender (if you could call him that) letting Parker race by and then half-trying to block the layup from behind, Tyson Chandler actually (no joke) stays in front of Parker, and then blocks the shot. This isn't revelatory, considering that the idea of defense is to stay between the man and the basket (not to mention the fact Chandler has a foot's worth of altitude on the Frenchman).

Considering the basic principles of defense involved, it's even more mind-boggling as to why Phoenix was simply unable to stop Parker from dissecting them for over 29 ppg in round one.

* On a positive spin, the Suns did figure out that allowing Manu Ginobili to drive left is a bad thing. Miraculously, when the Suns forced him to go right, Ginobili couldn't do a thing. It was like they heard all the Phoenicians screaming at the TV, "Don't let him go left!!!" That right there was the Suns biggest defensive improvement. It's just a shame it took them two-and-a-half series' to figure it out.

Offensively, the Hornets are beating the Spurs using a formula the Suns should be better at: using their All-Star point guard to penetrate and finding shooters. Either that, or they created for their versatile power forward, David West.

You ask anyone, anyone who keeps up with basketball, and they'll say Amare Stoudemire should be able to tear the Spurs apart twice as bad as David West. But it's the Hornets who have the Spurs figured out, while the Suns are still trying to.

The worst part of this is the fact that New Orleans is doing this against the Spurs on their first try. For all the blathering about playoff experience, the Hornets are showing more poise and making the Suns look like they were the playoff novices.

D'Antoni to Bulls would be ironic

There once was a team that was playoff regular for a few years before hitting one bad year. One. Lots of good pieces that simply underachieved. A few roster tweaks, enter Mike D'Antoni as the new head coach and BAM! Hello, contender status.

That was the Suns in 2004-05. In 2008-09, it could very well be the Bulls.

If anyone can get Kirk Hinrich out of his below-potential funk, it's D'Antoni. Hinrich is probably one of the few point guards who could do a fair Nash imitation in D'Antoni's system. Remember, the guy played for Team USA, and not because he was the token white guy on the roster (that role belonged to Brad Miller).

With Hinrich running D'Antoni's show, suddenly Ben Gordon becomes the most dangerous streak shooter in the league. Green light-BANG! Luol Deng will be the new Shawn Marion, the 6'7" does-everything-guy who is always labeled underrated. Tyrus Thomas will suddenly tap into his monstrous potential.

The worst part for Suns fans? D'Antoni's sixth man goes from being the psychologically-soft Brazilian Leandro Barbosa to the hard-nosed Argentinean Andres Nocioni. Yeah, the league needed another guy from Argentina to be a thorn in other teams' sides.

The Raptors? Please. Suns East will be in the Windy City.

*Actually, that wouldn't be the worst. What if Chicago gets lucky in the lottery, drafts Michael Beasley and wins a championship in the next three years with D'Antoni as coach. John Paxson sits in his office reminiscing about his '93 three-pointer that eliminated the Suns in Game 6 of the Finals. He'd smile and say, "Got 'em again."

Who coaches the old men?

The Suns are at a crucial juncture. Four fifths of their starting lineup are over 30 (Three fifths over 33). D'Antoni is leaving because of philosophical differences between him and management.

What coach wants to try to change the philosophy of 30-something-year-old players? Especially when two of them are former MVP's?

"Look, Steve, I don't care how many behind-the-back passes you make to Stoudemire on the pick-and-roll, play some [expletive] defense!" Yeah, that'll go over real well.

And Nash is the nice guy. Shaquille O'Neal openly supported D'Antoni. How will he react to a new coach hoping to instill discipline into the Big Ego?

There are so many things that could've kept a premature ending to the Suns Era from happening. Being in the East, playing anyone but the Spurs, not having a key injury in the playoffs every year since Nash arrived.

The harsh truth is that those are all excuses. True champions win. Wannabes go home, and either get farther next year or disband. It looks like the latter for the Suns. Unfortunately for them, the rest of the league is and will be reaping the benefits.