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NBA : Phoenix suns NEWS |
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| --F Louis Amundson signed a one-year deal with the Suns. Amundson averaged 6.2 points and 5.4 rebounds for Golden State in summer league play.
--TNT will broadcast the Oct. 11 outdoor preseason game at Indian Wells, Calif. against Denver.
--Other home games of specific interest on the Suns schedule include:
The Lakers make the first of two visits to Phoenix on Nov. 20 and also come to Phoenix for an Sunday afternoon game on March 1. |
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| The wife of Phoenix Suns center Shaquille O'Neal said Thursday that her marriage to the NBA star is on the mend.
During an interview about the launch of her new video-sharing Web site, Shaunie O'Neal told The Associated Press that the couple plans to stop divorce proceedings soon.
"Neither one of us could probably answer why we were getting one in the first place," Shaunie O'Neal said. |
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| Suns fans who have already seen enough of the Spurs won't like the highlights of Phoenix's schedule this season.
Phoenix not only opens the regular season in San Antonio -- against the Spurs team that ended their season for the third time in the last four years last April -- but those Grinches will pop up at US Airways Center for a Christmas Day matinee, Phoenix's first home game on Christmas since 1996.
The Suns-Spurs season opener is the first of 20 nationally broadcast Suns games. |
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| --TNT will broadcast the Oct. 11 outdoor preseason game at Indian Wells, Calif. against Denver.
--Other home games of specific interest on the Suns schedule include:
The Lakers make the first of two visits to Phoenix on Nov. 20 and also come to Phoenix for an Sunday afternoon game on March 1.
Shawn Marion plays his first game in Phoenix in a visiting uniform when the Miami Heat come to the Valley on Nov. 28. |
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| With the flaws from Athens fixed, Charley Rosen says the Americans should win gold. That should make U.S. basketball nervous. |
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| The Suns put a shot of energy into what had been a sleepy free agency period by signing ex-Golden State small forward Matt Barnes to a one-year contract.
Barnes signed for the league's veteran minimum contract ($1.2 million, more than $400,000 of which is paid by a league fund) and will immediately step into the rotation as either a starter or bench player on the wing. |
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| --Suns general manager Steve Kerr said that, because Matt Barnes can play so many positions, the Suns now have the luxury of using their 13th and final roster spot on any type of player instead of a backup post player as assumed. If Goran Dragic winds up in Phoenix this season, that spot will almost certainly be used on a veteran with point guard experience.
--The Suns struck out on their first wave of free agent point guard targets. |
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| Well-traveled sharpshooter Matt Barnes signed a one-year contract with the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday.
The 6-foot-7 forward spent the last two seasons with the Golden State Warriors, averaging 8.5 points and 4.5 rebounds. His best season came in 2006-07, when he averaged 9.8 points and 4.6 rebounds, then had 11.1 points and 5.7 rebounds in 11 playoff games.
Barnes, 28, joins his sixth team since leaving UCLA. |
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| With their noses pressed against the luxury tax, the Suns are watching the big names go elsewhere and hoping the money runs out across the league before the all players they have targeted are signed.
Grant Hill is using the bi-annual exception, and while the Suns can use a portion of the mid-level exception to spice up an offer, even contracts at or near the minimum will make them a taxpayer over the $71 million luxury level. |
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| --How bad does Goran Dragic want to play for the Phoenix Suns?
The weekend before the draft, he got on a plane in his native Slovenia and flew 17 hours to Los Angeles. After a two-hour layover, he arrived in Phoenix just before 10 p.m. Then next morning he was up before seven and on the practice court at U.S. Airways Center at nine -- where he spent an hour and a half playing two-on-two with three other draft hopefuls.
A few hours later, he was back on another plane -- headed home. |
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| Tyree's catch. Mario's shot. Tiger's win. There's been plenty to love in '08. Kevin Hench says it's already the best year in sports history. |
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| DRAFT PICKS:
Robin Lopez, C, 7-0, Stanford: He is not nearly as offensively-gifted as his twin brother Brook, but Robin offers the defense, shot-blocking ability and high-energy motor the Suns have lacked in the middle. Perhaps the pick-and-roll against the Suns won't be an automatic two points with him in the post. |
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| While the rest of the top rookies assembled in New York had their fingers crossed hoping to be drafted as soon as possible, Stanford center Robin Lopez followed a different tack.
"I was almost hoping that I would drop," Lopez said after Suns selected him with the 15th overall pick. "I was probably the only person in the draft room that was hoping I would drop a few spots to end up on this team."
The Suns had their fingers crossed as well. |
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| --Dan Majerle still works out like a maniac. He plays several competitive sports all out. He spent four years as a color analyst for Suns television broadcasts, keeping him a part of the franchise that holds him among its shining lights in the Ring of Honor.
It was never enough.
But "Thunder Dan" said officially joining Terry Porter's staff as an assistant coach will finally put him back in the game, chasing his goal of a championship and back in the world he feels most comfortable. |
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| There's more than just Derrick Rose to this class of guards. Peter Schrager probed the many prospects on the eve of the draft. |
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| For one night, a new batch of rookies will be touted as the next great NBA stars. Mike Kahn says most of 'em won't live up to the hype. |
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| A video has emerged from TMZ.com of Shaquille O'Neal trashing Kobe Bryant in a freestyle rap that took place at a club on Sunday night. |
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| Shaquille O'Neal will lose his special deputy's badge in Maricopa County because of language he used in a rap video that mocks former teammate Kobe Bryant.
Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio said the Phoenix Suns center's use of a racially derogatory word and other foul language left him no choice. Arpaio made Shaq a special deputy in 2006 and promoted him to colonel of his largely ceremonial posse later that year.
"I want his two badges back," Arpaio told The Associated Press on Tuesday. |
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| Just in case anybody had forgotten that Kobe Bryant has never won an NBA title without Shaquille O'Neal, the big man sent out a reminder.
The Phoenix Suns center can be seen rapping that "Kobe couldn't do without me" in a video posted online at celebrity news and gossip site TMZ.com
During the two-minute video, a grinning O'Neal lurches through an improvised rap in which he skewers the Lakers' star, with whom he won three straight NBA titles from 2000-2002 while with Los Angeles. |
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| Eric Gordon is like many prospects in this draft — full of potential, but not a sure thing. NBADraft.net breaks it all down. |
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| The Phoenix Suns hired Alvin Gentry, Bill Cartwright, Dan Majerle and Igor Kokoskov as assistant coaches to Terry Porter.
Gentry, a 29-year coaching veteran, is the lone holdover from Mike D'Antoni's staff. Gentry will return for his fifth season with the Suns.
Majerle, a former Suns player who is in the team's Ring of Honor, hasn't coached before. He had been a Suns broadcast analyst for the past four seasons. |
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| The Phoenix Suns hired Alvin Gentry, Bill Cartwright, Dan Majerle and Igor Kokoskov as assistant coaches to Terry Porter.
Gentry, a 29-year coaching veteran, is the lone holdover from Mike D'Antoni's staff. Gentry will return for his fifth season with the Suns.
Majerle, a former Suns player who is in the team's Ring of Honor, hasn't coached before. He had been a Suns broadcast analyst for the past four seasons. |
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| Will DeAndre Jordan be the next Dwight Howard ... or Kwame Brown? NBADraft.net looks at the riskiest picks in the upcoming draft. |
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| It took two minutes and two questions into his first press conference as head coach of the Phoenix Suns for Terry Porter to get a firm grasp of what he's walking into.
"Coach, are we going to have a world's champion team next year?" The inquisitor shouted. "Or at least beat San Antonio?"
The zinger came from Phoenix mayor Phil Gordon, but was asked on behalf of Suns fans everywhere.
"Thank you, mayor. |
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| --Suns broadcaster Dan Majerle, who played against Porter in many Suns playoff battles with the Portland Trailblazers and was his teammate for one season with the Miami Heat, said Porter is the perfect hire for the job.
"Terry's a winner, a solid guy who hit a lot of clutch shots, one of the guys you hated playing against," Majerle said. "But when I played with him in Miami, he quickly became one of my favorite teammates. He's a really good guy, the guy you want to go into battle with. |
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| When Arizona resident and TNT analyst Doug Collins appeared likely to be headed to Chicago to coach the Bulls, the Suns seemed to be the only NBA team still looking for a head coach. But then Collins pulled out of the Bulls' coaching derby just as the Suns were confirming that Terry Porter will be their new head coach.
Porter was one of four candidates who received second interviews -- Elston Turner, Tyrone Corbin and Mike Budenholzer were the others. |
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| --Amare Stoudemire is still uncertain about playing for Team USA this summer. The team is counting him in, but Stoudemire may choose to take the rest and the time to prepare for next season.
--Assistant general manager Vinny Del Negro is a good bet to wind up on the new coaching staff after a strong interview with GM Steve Kerr. Del Negro has never coached at any level.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "Brian would do a wonderful job. Brian was the one I always looked up to in Orlando and in L.A. |
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| It didn't take Terry Porter long to understand the expectations facing him as he takes over the Phoenix Suns.
One of the first questions at Porter's introductory news conference on Monday came from Phil Gordon, a Suns fan who also happens to be the mayor of Phoenix.
"Coach, are we going to have a world champion team this year?" Gordon asked. |
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| Terry Porter will be the Phoenix Suns' next coach, ending the club's monthlong search for a successor to Mike D'Antoni.
Phoenix general manager Steve Kerr said Saturday he had agreed to terms with Porter, who was an assistant with the Detroit Pistons.
The 45-year-old Porter played in the NBA for 17 seasons and teamed with Kerr in San Antonio.
"He's got a great combination of leadership skills," Kerr said in a telephone interview. "He's a great communicator. |
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| With Arizona resident and TNT analyst Doug Collins likely headed to Chicago to coach the Bulls, the Suns are the only NBA team still looking for a head coach. And since there is still a chance of matching the glitz of hires by New York (former Suns coach Mike D'Antoni) and Chicago, the Suns don't need to worry about style over substance. |
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| The search for a replacement for Phoenix coach Mike D'Antoni apparently is down to four candidates.
While Suns general manager Steve Kerr didn't call them finalists, he praised the four individually and said all remained under consideration.
The last of the group, San Antonio Spurs assistant Mike Budenholzer, was interviewed Tuesday, one day after Detroit Pistons assistant Terry Porter had his second interview for the job. |
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| We've simulated the NBA Finals, but who would win if the all-time greats from both teams met up? WhatIfSports.com is glad you asked. |
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| Michael Jordan isn't basking in Isiah Thomas' ouster from New York, but he tells Marc Berman the Knicks are making good moves. |
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| With Arizona resident and TNT analyst Doug Collins likely headed to Chicago to coach the Bulls, the Suns are now the only NBA team still looking for a head coach. And since there is still a chance of matching the glitz of hires by New York (former Suns coach Mike D'Antoni) and Chicago, the Suns don't need to worry about style over substance.
In order of when they were interviewed, here's a look at the field. |
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| --Amare Stoudemire is still uncertain about playing for Team USA this summer. The team is counting him in, but Stoudemire may choose to take the rest and the time to prepare for next season.
--Assistant general manager Vinny Del Negro is a good bet to wind up on the new coaching staff after a strong interview with Kerr. Del Negro has never coached at any level.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "Brian would do a wonderful job. Brian was the one I always looked up to in Orlando and in L.A. He is a leader. |
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| Detroit can't guarantee a win in Game 5, but it can count on another inspired effort from Antonio McDyess, Mike Kahn says. |
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| While Robert Horry took some heat for his hit on David West, Mike Kahn says it shows the Spurs will do anything to win Game 7. |
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| While Mike D'Antoni is trying to teach everyone with the Knicks how to pronounce his name -- he was introduced as "Mike Dantonio" by Knicks president Donnie Walsh at his introductory press conference Tuesday -- the Suns are pressing forward to come up with the name that will replace him and a staff to put around him.
Longtime NBA point guard and ABC broadcaster Mark Jackson, who finished second to D'Antoni in the Knicks' derby, will get the first interview. |
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| --Two Phoenix Suns finished among the top nine in the voting for Most Valuable Player. Amare Stoudemire placed sixth, the highest finish of his career, collecting three fourth-place votes and 18 fifth-place votes (27 points) from a panel of 126 sportswriters and broadcasters.
Steve Nash, who won back-to-back MVPs in 2005-2006, finished ninth with 18 points (four fourth-place votes, six fifth-place votes). |
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| Isiah Thomas is living the life. While Mike D'Antoni was being introduced at a Garden press conference Tuesday, Thomas was far, far away -- scouting in Europe, The New York Post has learned. |
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| On the brink of elimination (Game 5 LIVE), Dwight Howard will have to be Superman to save Orlando. That's unlikely, Mike Kahn says. |
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| Despite averaging 58 wins over the last two seasons and reaching the Western Conference finals in 2005 and 2006, the Suns of "Seven Seconds or Less" fame have run out of time.
Mike D'Antoni is headed to the New York Knicks after repeated clashes with general manager Steve Kerr over everything from his lack of attention to detail (defense, late game plays), to playing more than eight players every night to accepting suggestions from the rookie GM, who owns five championship rings. |
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| There is "no big rush" to hire a new coach for the Phoenix Suns, the team's general manager said Monday.
Steve Kerr said he plans a thorough search that includes people with teams still in the NBA playoffs.
"We're going to make sure we cover our bases," he said. "There's not a huge rush because we're not one of five or six teams out there looking for someone, so we don't feel like we're competing with other people. |
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| Chicago Bulls club chairman Jerry Reinsdorf will meet with the Phoenix Suns' Mike D'Antoni this weekend in Phoenix even as general manager John Paxson ponders other coaching candidates, The Chicago Tribune reported Saturday. |
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| Even if they rally against the Hornets, the Spurs will have a hard time remaining the NBA's top franchise, Mike Kahn says. |
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