Suns News

Nash set to keep playing into 2012
0 Comment
October 7
Arizona Republic
 
"It was as if the Steve Nash retirement ceremony plans were under way the moment the Suns landed Goran Dragic, Nash's heir apparent. Until Suns broadcast analyst Scott Williams asked Nash last week about his plans beyond his current contract, many had begun to assume Dragic would take over for Nash in 2010. Nash's plan is to play through 2012, at least. People forgot where Nash drew motivation from after signing a six-year, $66 million deal in 2004, sparking a club turnaround. Nash was driven to live up to the Suns' expectations for him, but he also was motivated to earn his next deal after Dallas owner Mark Cuban passed on matching the Suns' offer, explaining in his blog that "it was only ..."
Nash enters the twilight of his career
0 Comment
October 7
Toronto Sun
 
"With the sun beginning to set on Steve Nash's career, Canada's most famous and most productive hoopster is taking stock of his future. As last spring's post-season showed, Nash relies more on guile and guts, watching as Chris Paul and Deron Williams take centre stage as the NBA's top point guards. No one is saying that Nash is done, but even the Phoenix Suns attempted to address an obvious need by trying to give Captain Canada some help, an effort that went fruitless when a bona fide backup could not be lured to the desert. Under new head coach Terry Porter, the Suns aren't likely to run as much and Nash isn't likely to play as many minutes. The two-time league MVP always has privately ..."
Nash not planning on retiring soon
0 Comment
October 6
East Valley Tribune
 
"Grant Hill celebrated his 36th birthday with the final two-a-day workout of training camp that included a public scrimmage Sunday night at US Airways Center. Meanwhile, Steve Nash is just four months away from turning 35. But the two-time MVP has no plans to hang up his sneakers in the near future. Nash, who has an all-but-guaranteed team option for next season, said he knows he wants to play two more seasons beyond that contract - which would take him through the 2011-12 season and his 38th birthday - and he might play longer if he still feels healthy and passionate about the game. "I know I want to play four more years. That's my goal, to sign another two-year contract. After that, I'll ..."
Porter has more plays to implement
0 Comment
October 6
Arizona Republic
 
"Suns coach Terry Porter said he has installed all of the offense's sets but has more plays to include. The plays will be called often, as Porter wants to call a play after most made baskets by opponents and often call the play himself. As Steve Nash becomes engrained, Porter said he would give him freedom to do so but will wait to see how Goran Dragic's feel for the game and matchups develops. "There's more sets than they've seen (in the past)," Porter said. "They're used to taking it out and throwing it up to half-court and trying to attack right away. We're not going to be in that type of mode." Porter hopes improved defense increases the tempo, which has been slower in the first ..."
Bell adjusts to Suns' new system
0 Comment
October 6
Arizona Republic
 
"Nobody had a more inquisitive Suns training camp than guard Raja Bell, whose inquiring mind was emblematic of how much the Suns' inner workings have shifted under new coach Terry Porter. "Everything is different," Bell said. "If you don't know, you better ask. When everything changes on you, sometimes you've got to ask questions to make sure you're on the same page. "It's a 180 but that's what we've decided we need to do to win. Now, it's about us all understanding the way we're going to play and the schemes." Bell was frequently the player Mike D'Antoni couldn't bring himself to take off the floor in recent years. He averaged a team-high 35.3 minutes last season because D'Antoni needed ..."
Suns know off-court fouls can end up on YouTube
0 Comment
October 5
East Valley Tribune
 
"Shaquille O'Neal. Steve Nash. Amaré Stoudemire. Raja Bell. Grant Hill. The Suns have some of the most famous and recognizable basketball players in the world. All have their own fan clubs and their own charities that give back to their communities. All have their own Web sites where they can dispense information and control their Internet image. But elsewhere on the World Wide Web, they are stars of a different kind - with no control over where or when the cameras are rolling. The age of YouTube.com and similar Web sites has changed the game off the court. More than ever, people with a modicum of fame know to be on guard when they are in public - even in places that used to be private. ..."
Defense shines in low-scoring scrimmage
0 Comment
October 5
East Valley Tribune
 
"Last October, the run-and-gun Suns wound down Mike D'Antoni's final training camp here with the annual Orange-and-White scrimmage. In typical fashion, the Suns put up 188 points in just 40 minutes and the White team prevailed in a 97-91 track meet. Friday, Terry Porter's initial Tucson boot camp ended with a scrimmage that went 48 minutes (with no clock stoppages). Final score: Orange 59, White 57. Any comments? "Please let everyone know that it was running time," Suns GM Steve Kerr said, joking. The Suns were not only pressed for time, they were missing two of their more potent offensive cogs in Amaré Stoudemire (eye injury) and Leandro Barbosa (family illness). And after three hard days ..."
Dragic gets plenty of help at camp
0 Comment
October 5
Arizona Republic
 
"Goran Dragic has Steve Nash tutoring him on how to play point guard, and Alando Tucker teaching him American slang. Dragic has Shaquille O'Neal yelling at him from the baseline to call the plays louder and coach Terry Porter putting a hand on his shoulder to point out what he missed. Dragic is getting help from all directions, a good thing considering everything he must digest. The 22-year-old Slovenian is adjusting to America, hot weather, new plays, new terms, distance from family and friends and relying on his fourth language, English. Dragic admits to being confused at times. More often, he is exhausted. "My legs were like stones," Dragic said of when he fired an airball in a recent ..."
Porter setting the pace for Suns
0 Comment
October 5
Arizona Republic
 
"Every aspect of a Terry Porter training camp last week came away with his stamp on it, but none more than the Suns' scrimmages. It was not just that the Suns' famous pace had changed like a diver going underwater. The scoreboard looked a step slow. In step with the new Planet Orange slogan, "Make it your world," this was Porter making it his. As part of his aim to change the culture of a team that is annually panned as having an indifference or inability for defense, defensive stops were scored but made baskets were not. In this world, Steve Nash races up court before braking and telling his teammates, "Wait," so that they can run a set play amid an emphasis on more half-court structure. ..."
Suns' Stoudemire out 5 to 10 days
0 Comment
October 4
Arizona Republic
 
"Amare Stoudemire has just begun his college education at Arizona State but you can understand his growing uneasiness with the University of Arizona. Stoudemire has missed the past three Suns scrimmages at UA for health issues with the latest being a torn right iris that will keep him out of some preseason games. S