--Suns fans who already see owner Robert Sarver as an "outsider" compared to patriarch Jerry Colangelo have more fuel for their fire with word that the team is considering moving its training camp out of state for the first time. Sarver and general manager Steve Kerr both live in San Diego, and that could be where the Suns will be headed, too.
The Suns trained in the cool pines of Prescott and Flagstaff in the Colangelo years but moved to Tucson, when Sarver, a University of Arizona graduate bought the team and instilled Kerr, the former Wildcat all-American, in the front office. The school has just completed a new training facility -- thanks in part to a sizable donation from former Wildcat Richard Jefferson. But that doesn't appear to be enough to keep Phoenix from setting up shop at the University of San Diego, where Suns investor and another San Diego resident, diet queen Jenny Craig, built the new basketball facility affectionately known as the "Slim Gym."
--Not only does a Shaquille O'Neal deal to Cleveland make sense for LeBron James and the Cavs, but it might be the best option for the Suns as well. The Suns need to cut payroll and get younger, and even at 37, O'Neal might be more marketable right now than Amare Stoudemire, who is coming off serious eye surgery.
O'Neal proved last year that he is in great shape -- thanks to Aaron Nelson and the Phoenix training staff -- and that he is still an every-game player. But if the Suns are a .500 team again, the boredom factor will set in full force and he might do more harm than good.
The Suns don't have a backup ready to replace Steve Nash. They don't have a forward who comes near the offensive skill of Stoudemire. But in Robin Lopez, the Suns have a big man who shined at the end of last season and is capable of giving Phoenix at least the hint of a defensive presence inside.
--The Suns had their fingers crossed that Terry Porter would land a spot on the staff of another ex-Suns coach, Paul Westphal, in Sacramento. But it appears Westphal will be looking elsewhere and Porter, who was also talked about in relationship with Tony Bennett's old job at Washington State, will still be drawing a paycheck from the Suns while plotting his next move in basketball.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "That's pretty funny, Dave." -- Suns guard Steve Nash, who was a correspondent for the "Late Show with David Letterman and answered sheepishly when Letterman asked if Nash's trip to the Orlando/Los Angeles NBA Finals was his first.
