<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Attention, Suns! Roll call! Rookies! Alando Tucker and D.J. Strawberry have been around all summer. STAT! Amaré Stoudemire, like his nickname, was here immediately after the season and has been at his arena "lab" all summer.New guy! Grant Hill moved and showed up in August, before September's voluntary workouts began and before the high temperature each day dipped below 110 degrees. Sean Marks! Re-signed and returned to the court. Eric Piatkowski! Back in the court's corners, hitting three-pointers daily. Marcus Banks! Another early arrival and frequent attendee. Leandro Barbosa! Even with two trips to Brazil, an Olympic qualifying tournament in Las Vegas and a trip to China with Steve Nash, he has been in the building a lot this month. MVP! Nash came back earlier than usual and played when it was just Marks, Hill and the rookies with him. Raja Bell! After hanging out in Miami to keep his new son near his parents and enjoy his 31st birthday, Bell arrived Monday looking lean and mean. Boris Diaw! He is supposed to arrive today after getting a pass to be in Europe with Suns strength and conditioning coach Erik Phillips for France's play in Eurobasket 2007. And that leaves . . . forward Shawn Marion. Even Brian Skinner might be in Phoenix before Marion. The Suns signed the veteran big man Monday, after the free agent weighed a Boston offer against the Suns' partially guaranteed deal. Nobody expects to see Marion, never one to subject himself to a fine, until players are required to report Monday. Well, that is, they would see him Monday if he still is with the Suns. Marion never is one to arrive too early. Last year, he showed up at the arena on Sept. 19 and on Sept. 23 in 2005. By all accounts, Marion is not wearing the grin seen in his furniture-store commercials, but that's hearsay, because Marion and his agent have not returned a call. But according to several Suns sources, Marion seems to be unhappy that the team will not talk about a contract extension. The word is that the four-time All-Star, in his eighth year with the team, wants $60 million over three years. Marion, already the highest-paid Suns player, will make $16.4 million this season and $17.8 million for 2008-09.</div></p> Source: AZCentral</p>
If the Suns are going to be successful this season AND keep Marion for this last year, they are going to have to get him in Phoenix and publically address all of this supposed hostility. They might as well tell Marion they can't afford him instead of having the media do it. There's nothing wrong with being honest and telling a player, "This is your last year in Phoenix. Play the best basketball you've played in your entire life, and you'll get a super huge contract from another team that can afford you." If he just disappears in the playoffs again, he's going to end up resigning for the veterans minimum because nobody is going to want to pay $60M for three years for a guy that can't carry a team.</p>
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Downtown)</div><div class='quotemain'></p> If the Suns are going to be successful this season AND keep Marion for this last year, they are going to have to get him in Phoenix and publically address all of this supposed hostility. They might as well tell Marion they can't afford him instead of having the media do it. There's nothing wrong with being honest and telling a player, "This is your last year in Phoenix. Play the best basketball you've played in your entire life, and you'll get a super huge contract from another team that can afford you." If he just disappears in the playoffs again, he's going to end up resigning for the veterans minimum because nobody is going to want to pay $60M for three years for a guy that can't carry a team.</p> </div></p> </p> that'd be a good mindset to have, if you don't mind losing marion. if i were the suns, tho, i wouldn't want to lose him.</p>
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (peg182)</div><div class='quotemain'></p> <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Downtown)</div><div class='quotemain'></p> If the Suns are going to be successful this season AND keep Marion for this last year, they are going to have to get him in Phoenix and publically address all of this supposed hostility. They might as well tell Marion they can't afford him instead of having the media do it. There's nothing wrong with being honest and telling a player, "This is your last year in Phoenix. Play the best basketball you've played in your entire life, and you'll get a super huge contract from another team that can afford you." If he just disappears in the playoffs again, he's going to end up resigning for the veterans minimum because nobody is going to want to pay $60M for three years for a guy that can't carry a team.</p> </div></p> </p> that'd be a good mindset to have, if you don't mind losing marion. if i were the suns, tho, i wouldn't want to lose him.</p> </div></p> Of course Phoenix doesn't want to lose him, but it comes down to the situation they faced when Joe Johnson was up for an extension. The Suns wanted to keep him, but JJ wanted a max deal and the Suns simply couldn't afford to pay him.</p> Either Shawn Marion needs to back off his request for a megadeal or the Suns need to clear room to afford him by trading some combination of Marcus Banks, Boris Diaw, and/or Raja Bell.</p> Should be an interesting season in the NBA for a lot of teams dealing with similar issues.</p> </p>
