--Jay Humphries, the only member of last year's coaching staff who wasn't retained by the Suns (Alvin Gentry) or offered a job by Mike D'Antoni in New York (Dan D'Antoni, Phil Weber), has landed in the NBA Development League as the coach of the Reno Bighorns.
Humphries said in a statement on the league Web site, "I am very excited for the opportunity to establish a winning tradition here in Reno and put a quality brand of basketball on the court." Humphries was in a difficult situation in Phoenix. The former Suns/Milwaukee Bucks guard was hired to replace Marc Iavaroni, who coached the Suns' defense and big men. He wasn't the first choice of D'Antoni, and Suns' management wanted a defensive specialist (Tom Thibodeaux), but he made the best of a no-win situation in his first NBA gig.
--C Shaquille O'Neal has been, according to a Suns insider, "fairly diligent" with his off-season conditioning, and as of late August was only "eight to 10 pounds heavier" than where the team would like to see him by the Oct. 30 season opener in San Antonio.
That might go a long way toward cutting down the number of games he would miss during the regular season, although Phoenix is heading into training camp figuring he could miss up to a third of the games if his recent track record is any indication.
O'Neal missed 20 games last season, 42 in 2006-07 and 23 in 2005-06, when the Heat won the NBA title. He has played more than 67 games only once in the last seven seasons and has missed more than 20 games in six of his 16 NBA seasons.
The Suns are hoping that with O'Neal staying in decent shape and the Phoenix medical staff keeping his hip in good shape, he will play 60-plus games again this season.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "I'm ready for intense practices. I'm prepared to do whatever is necessary. I want to be the guy the other teams have to fear as a defender." -- Amare Stoudemire.
