The Phoenix Suns are a professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Their home arena is the US Airways Center in downtown Phoenix.

The Suns have been generally successful since they began play as an expansion team in 1968. In forty years of play they have posted seventeen fifty-win seasons, and made eight trips to the Western Conference Finals, advancing to the NBA Finals in 1976 and 1993. Despite their successes they have yet to win an NBA title.  The team won the 2006 NBA Europe Live Tour.

On January 22, 1968, the NBA awarded expansion franchises to an ownership group from Phoenix and one from Milwaukee. The primary investors in the Phoenix franchise at its inception had close ties to Tucson, Arizona's second largest city. They were:

    * Richard L. Bloch, investment broker/real estate developer and former Tucson resident (no relation to the Richard Bloch who was the co-founder of tax preparation provider H&R Block).
    * Karl Eller, owner of a major outdoor advertising company and one of the Phoenix area's most influential business leaders at that time. He was a former football player for The University of Arizona;
    * Donald Pitt, a Tucson-based attorney;
    * Don Diamond, Tucson-based real estate investor who eventually replaced Eller on the ownership managing team.

All four men were alumni of The University of Arizona. According to the history section of the Suns website, other investors in the Suns included Block's entertainment law firm Rosenfeld, Meyer & Susman, along with several of their prominent entertainer clients, including Andy Williams, Henry Mancini, Bobbie Gentry, Ed Ames and others. The original logo was designed by Stanley Fabe, owner of a Tucson printing company, for $200. The new Suns ownership group hired former Chicago Bulls executive Jerry Colangelo to be general manager (he was 28 years of age when he took the position). The Suns began their time in Phoenix at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Colangelo in turn hired Johnny "Red" Kerr (as of this writing a broadcaster with the Bulls) to be the first head coach of the Suns. The Suns finished their first season with a humiliating 16-66 record. Kerr was forced to resign midway through the 1969-70 season, and Colangelo himself coached a few games. Cotton Fitzsimmons replaced Colangelo as Suns coach for the 1970-71 season. He took the team to their first winning season, with a final record of 48-34.

Fitzsimmons would return to the head coaching job in the late 1980s; he would go on to be greatly loved by Suns fans, wildly popular (and successful) as a coach, broadcaster and executive with the Suns organization.

In the 1970s the Suns experienced mild success, combining the talents of such players as Dick Van Arsdale (The Original Sun), his twin brother Tom Van Arsdale, Hall of Famer Connie Hawkins, Leonard "Truck" Robinson, Alvan Adams, and center Neal Walk. In 1976, the year the movie Rocky was released, the Suns proved to be a real-life basketball version of Rocky. They finished the season with 42 wins and 40 losses, but shockingly they beat the defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors in the playoffs and went on to play the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals, giving the Celtics a tough battle before falling in 6 games. Game 5 was a triple-overtime classic that is considered by many to be the greatest game in NBA history, with Suns forward Gar Heard hitting a buzzer beating rainbow jump shot ("The Shot") to send the contest into the third overtime at Boston Garden.

Currently, the Suns franchise owns the fourth-best all-time winning percentage among NBA teams (55.8 percent; all-time win-loss record listed below). They trail only the Los Angeles Lakers (.613), San Antonio Spurs (.595; not counting their win-loss percentage in the original ABA), and the Boston Celtics (.587) in win-loss percentage. The Suns are also the winningest franchise without an NBA championship, despite their two Finals appearances.

In the late '70s and early '80s, the Suns enjoyed several successful seasons, making the playoffs for 8 seasons in a row. Problems arose however, on and off court, in the mid '80s. In 1987 the Maricopa County Attorney's Office indicted 13 people on drug-related charges, three of whom were active Suns players (James Edwards, Jay Humphries and Grant Gondrezick). These indictments were partially based on testimony from star player Walter Davis, who was given immunity. No defendants ever went to trial: two of the players went into a prosecution diversion program, while another received probation. Nevertheless, the scandal, although now perceived in many respects to be a witch-hunt, tarnished the reputation of the franchise both nationally and within the community. The scandal did provide an opening for general manager Jerry Colangelo to lead a group that bought the team from its owners for $44 million, a record at that time.

With a drug scandal and the loss of promising young center Nick Vanos, who was killed in the crash of Northwest Airlines Flight 255 after taking off from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, the franchise was in turmoil on and off the court. The Suns' luck began to turn around in 1987, however, with the acquisition from the Cleveland Cavaliers of Kevin Johnson, Mark West, and Tyrone Corbin for popular power forward Larry Nance. In 1988, Tom Chambers came over from the Seattle SuperSonics as the first unrestricted free agent in NBA history, Jeff Hornacek a 1986 second round pick continued to develop, "Thunder" Dan Majerle was drafted with the 14th pick in the draft, which they obtained from Cleveland in the Kevin Johnson trade, and the team began a 13-year playoff streak. Kurt Rambis was added from the Charlotte Hornets in 1989, and the team (coached by Fitzsimmons), in a shocking upset, beat the Los Angeles Lakers in 5 games that season before falling to the Portland Trail Blazers in the Western Conference Finals. In 1991, The Suns stormed to a 55-27 record, however they lost in the first round to the Utah Jazz 3-1. In 1992, the Suns cruised to a 53-29 record during the regular season. While having sent four players to the all-star game in the last two years (Chambers, Johnson, Hornacek and Majerle), the Suns were poised to make a serious run at the NBA Finals. They showed their poise by sweeping the San Antonio Spurs in 3 games in the first round of the 1992 NBA Playoffs. But once again the Suns fell in five games to the Trail Blazers in the conference semifinals, however the series was punctuated by an electrifying game 4, in which the Suns lost in double overtime 153-151 (the highest scoring game in NBA Playoff history to date). The Suns were yet again denied a shot at a title, but in subsequent seasons enjoyed even greater success than ever before.

In 1992, the Suns moved into their new arena in downtown Phoenix, the America West Arena (now US Airways Center). The arena was not the only new arrival into Phoenix though, as flamboyant all-star power forward Charles Barkley was traded from the Philadelphia 76ers for Jeff Hornacek, Andrew Lang, and Tim Perry. Barkley would go on to win his first and only MVP his first year with Phoenix in 1993.

In addition to Barkley, the Suns added some key players to their roster including former Boston Celtic Danny Ainge and drafted players in University of Arkansas center Oliver Miller and forward Richard Dumas (who was actually drafted in 1991 but was suspended for his rookie year for violating the NBA drug policy).

Under rookie head coach Paul Westphal (a former Suns assistant and, as a player, member of the 1976 Suns squad that went to the NBA Finals), the Suns squad consisting mostly of Barkley, Majerle, Johnson and Ainge won 62 games that year. In the first round of the playoffs, they defeated the eighth-seeded Lakers, coming back from an 0-2 deficit in the five game series. The Suns went on to eliminate the Spurs and Sonics, advancing to the Finals for the second time in franchise history. They eventually lost to the Bulls, led by Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen. This series included a triple-overtime game (Game 3) that along with game 4 of the 1976 series are the only triple overtime games in the history of the NBA finals. Approximately 300,000 fans braved the 105 degree heat to celebrate the memorable season in the streets of Phoenix.

The Suns continued to be successful in the regular season, going 178-68 during the 1992-93, 1993-94, and 1994-95 seasons. They continued to bolster their roster adding players such as A.C. Green, Danny Manning, Wesley Person, Wayman Tisdale, and Elliot Perry. Despite a Pacific Division title in 1995, the Suns ended up being eliminated in consecutive Western Conference Semifinal rounds by the Houston Rockets. One of the big reasons the Suns lost to Houston in 1995 was the fact that Danny Manning injured his Anterior Cruciate Ligament right before the All-Star Break. In both years the Suns led the series by two games at one point (2-0 in 1994, 3-1 in 1995) only to see the Rockets come back to win each series in seven games.

At the end of the 1994-95 season, Phoenix Suns general manager, Bryan Colangelo (son of Jerry) initiated what proved to be a very costly trade, sending all star guard/forward Dan Majerle and a first round draft pick, to the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for John "Hot Rod" Williams. Majerle was a favorite amongst the fans in Phoenix as well as the Suns locker room. The trade was made to address the Suns' desperate need of a shot blocking center, but proved frustrating as Majerle's presence was sorely missed, and Williams's production never met expectations.

The 1995-96 season turned into a very disappointing year for the Suns (despite drafting future All-Star Michael Finley) in which they posted a 41-41 record, and were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs to the San Antonio Spurs. It should be noted that Finley, the team's second-leading scorer, went down with an injury shortly before the start of the playoffs leaving Barkley as the Suns' only reliable option. Westphal was fired mid-way through the season and replaced once again by Fitzsimmons. A combination of front office unrest, along with the dwindling possibility of winning a championship lead to turmoil in Barkley's relationship with Jerry Colangelo who both spurned each other publicly. This led to Barkley being traded to Houston for Sam Cassell, Robert Horry, Mark Bryant, and Chucky Brown, a the trade turned out be unproductive for either team. Although Barkley helped lead the Rockets to a 57-25 record and a trip the Western Conference Finals in 1997, that turned out to be the only time Houston advanced past the first during his time there, as age and declining physical ability quickly caught up with Barkley and an already aging Rockets team (Hakeem Olajuwon, Clyde Drexler, Kevin Willis). As for the Suns, three of the four players were not with the franchise just one year later, and furthermore the two most talented players (being Horry and Cassell) constantly clashed with the coach and seemed to be a negative influence in the locker room. (The feud between Barkley and Colangelo has since been repaired, and Barkley has appeared at a number of Suns home games in the years since. He was also present to see his number retired into the Suns "Ring Of Honor" in 2004.)

In the 1996 NBA Draft, the Suns used their 15th pick for guard Steve Nash, of Santa Clara University. Upon hearing the draft announcement, Suns fans booed in disapproval of the relatively unknown player (destined to win at least two Most Valuable Player awards with the Suns), due to the fact that he had not played in one of the major college conferences. During his first two seasons in the NBA, he played a supporting role behind NBA star point guards Jason Kidd and Kevin Johnson. On June 25, 1998, Nash was traded from the Suns to the Mavericks in exchange for Martin Muursepp, Bubba Wells, the draft rights to Pat Garrity, and a first-round draft pick which was later used to select Shawn Marion.

After the Barkley trade, the Suns began the 1996-97 season miserably starting 0-13 which was a franchise record for the worst start. During the 13 game losing streak Fitzsimmons stepped down as coach and was replaced by former player Danny Ainge.

After an on the court altercation between Ainge and Horry, Horry was traded to the Lakers for former Sun and NBA all-star Cedric Ceballos. Cassell was later traded to Dallas for all-star guard Jason Kidd. With a mostly small lineup, the Suns put together an 11 game win streak that put them in the playoffs, in a series that almost upset the highly favored Sonics.

In the off-season prior to the 2000 NBA season the Suns traded for perennial All-Star Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway stirring a large amount of hype by creating the tandem of Kidd and Hardaway, which was called "Backcourt 2000." However, the combination of Hardaway and Kidd was never fully realized as Hardaway would miss a number of games during the middle of the 1999-2000 season and Kidd would break his ankle going into the playoffs just as Hardaway began his return to the court. As the Suns, now led by the returned Hardaway entered the 2000 playoffs, they shocked the favored San Antonio Spurs by ousting them from the playoffs 3-1 in the best of five series. However, even with the return of Kidd at Hardaway's side in the next round, the Suns fell to the eventual champion Los Angeles Lakers in a 4-1 series.

The Suns continued to make the playoffs until the 2001-02 campaign, when they fell short for the first time in 14 years. That season marked the trade of Jason Kidd, partly due to a publicized domestic violence episode, to the New Jersey Nets for Stephon Marbury. Lottery-bound, however, the Suns were able to draft Amare Stoudemire.

The 2002-03 campaign saw the emergence of Amaré Stoudemire a graduate from Cypress Creek High School (Orlando, Florida). He became the first ever high school player to win the NBA Rookie of the Year in the 2002-03 season, during which the Suns posted a record of 44-38 and returned to the playoffs. The Suns were eliminated in the first round once again by the San Antonio Spurs, but only after a six game series with the eventual NBA champions.

In the 2003-04 season, the Suns found themselves out of the playoffs. The Suns made a blockbuster mid-season trade sending Stephon Marbury and Penny Hardaway to the New York Knicks.

The beginning of 2004 saw the departure of the face of Suns management since the team's inception, when Jerry Colangelo announced that the Phoenix Suns were to be sold to an investment group headed by San Diego-based business executive (and Tucson native) Robert Sarver for $401 million. However, the 2004-05 season marked the Suns' return to the NBA's elite, with the Suns finishing with the best record in the NBA at 62-20, tying their franchise record that was set by the 1992-93 team. This feat was made possible by the off-season unrestricted FA signing of All-Star point guard Steve Nash from Dallas. Nash would go on to win the MVP award that season. Amare Stoudemire and Shawn Marion were named All-Stars this year and first year coach, Mike D'Antoni, was named NBA Coach of the Year.

In the 2005 NBA Playoffs, Phoenix was the first seed in the Western Conference, and because it owned the NBA's best record, it was guaranteed home-court advantage throughout the playoffs. The Suns swept the Memphis Grizzlies 4-0 and defeated the fourth-seeded Dallas Mavericks in the second round 4-2, Steve Nash forcing Game 6 into OT with a 3-pointer in the dying seconds. In the Western Conference Finals, the Suns played the San Antonio Spurs who won the series 4-1, ending Phoenix's outstanding season, partly due to Joe Johnson missing the first two games of the series. Joe Johnson went on to start the remaining games where he averaged 40 minutes per game and 18.3 PPG. The Suns lost the first 2 at home, fell behind 3-0 in the series but escaped with a win in Game 4 at San Antonio 111-106 but were eliminated at home 101-95. Amare Stoudemire averaged a staggering 37.0 ppg, the highest ever by a player in their first Conference Finals.

The 2005-06 NBA season began negatively when Amare Stoudemire underwent micro-fracture surgery in his knee on October 18, 2005. He missed all but three games that year. Along with that, promising shooting guard Joe Johnson demanded a trade to the Atlanta Hawks, in which the Suns got Boris Diaw along with two future first round picks. Other acquisitions this year included Raja Bell and Kurt Thomas. Despite the turnover in players, the Suns were once again able to win the Pacific going 54-28 and capturing the second seed in the Western Conference. Steve Nash was awarded his second consecutive NBA Most Valuable Player Award, becoming the second point-guard (Magic Johnson was the first) to win the award multiple times. Also, Boris Diaw was named NBA Most Improved Player.

The Suns began the 2006 Western Conference Playoffs as favorites against the Los Angeles Lakers. After winning Game 1 in Phoenix, they found themselves trailing in the series 3-1 after impressive performances by Laker shooting guard Kobe Bryant. However, the Suns went on to win three straight games. They won Game 5 easily at home. With 7:33 left in the game, Suns guard Raja Bell grabbed Kobe Bryant around the neck and threw him down as the Lakers star drove to the basket. Bell earned a technical foul, his second of the game, and an automatic ejection. The Suns took game Game 6 in OT, their first OT win all season despite 50 points from Bryant and Raja Bell out serving a one-game suspension (for a flagrant foul against Bryant in Game 5) with last second help from mid-season acquisition Tim Thomas. On their home court, the Suns won Game 7 121-90, eliminating the Lakers for the first time since 1993. The Suns became only the eighth team in NBA history to win a playoff series after being behind 3-1.

In the second round, the Suns faced the Los Angeles Clippers. The series was played closely, with both teams trading games on each others' courts. The series was 2-2 and The Suns faced a huge deficit in Game 5 but fought back and won in double OT and after a Game 6 loss finally won the series in the decisive seventh game on their home court at US Airways Center, winning by a margin of 20 with an NBA record 15 3-point FG's May 22, 2006.

They went on to play the Dallas Mavericks in the Western Conference Finals. Underdogs this time, The Suns took Game 1 in Dallas by a single point and their May 30 victory in Game 4 marked the most wins thus far for the franchise in a Conference Finals series since the 1993 season. Many credit this success (despite losing Stoudemire) to the emergence of Diaw, Bell (out for two games of the series due to injury), and Barbosa as clutch playoff performers; and an overall team depth they did not possess at all last season. The Suns fought hard in Games 5 and 6 but clearly were no match as they were blown out by a combined 25 points and eliminated from the series on June 3, 2006 in Game 6. It was yet another disappointing end for the Suns.

In the 2006 off-season, the Suns signed Minnesota Timberwolves PG Marcus Banks to a five-year contract worth $21.3 million. Also, the Suns signed G Leandro Barbosa to a five-year contract extension beginning in the 2007-08 season worth approximately $33 million. Boris Diaw was also extended to a five year deal worth approximately $45 million.

The Phoenix Suns finished second in the Western Conference. They defeated the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round, but lost to the San Antonio Spurs in the Conference Semi-Finals.

On June 6, former TNT analyst and NBA three-point specialist, Steve Kerr, was appointed Suns' General Manager and President of Basketball Operations. Kerr is close to team owner Robert Sarver, and is also a part of the Sarver-led investment group that purchased the franchise from Jerry Colangelo.
On June 28, 2007, Spanish SG Rudy Fernández was taken 24th overall in the 2007 NBA Draft by the Suns, who subsequently traded the rights to the pick to the Portland Trail Blazers for cash. SF Alando Tucker of Wisconsin was taken with the 29th pick.

On July 11, 2007, the Suns signed former Orlando Magic SF Grant Hill on a 1-year $1.8 million deal with a player option for a second season at $2 million.

On July 20, 2007, the Suns traded power forward/center Kurt Thomas and two future first-round picks (2008 and 2010) to the Seattle SuperSonics in exchange for a trade exception of $8 million and a conditional second-round pick.

On August 27, 2007, Maryland guard D. J. Strawberry signed a two-year contract with the Suns that includes a guaranteed first year and a team option for the second season. Strawberry was drafted with the 59th selection in the second round of the 2007 NBA Draft; in the 2007 NBA Summer League, he averaged a league-best 6.4 assists.

On October 1, 2007, the Suns signed free agent center Brian Skinner to a one-year deal.

On February 6, 2008, the Suns traded four-time All-Star forward Shawn Marion, along with Marcus Banks, to the Miami Heat for Shaquille O'Neal.

On March 4th, 2008, the Suns signed guard Gordon Giricek.

On May 11th, 2008, after the Suns lost to the San Antonio Spurs 4-1 in the first round of the 2008 Western Conference Playoffs, Suns Head Coach Mike D'Antoni signed with the New York Knicks, replacing ousted Head Coach Isaiah Thomas, who went 56-108 in two seasons with the Knicks.

On June 9th, 2008, Terry Porter was named Head Coach of the Phoenix Suns, succeeding Mike D'Antoni. Porter was an Assistant Coach of the Detroit Pistons when he was let go after the Pistons were eliminated by the Boston Celtics in the 2008 NBA Eastern Conference Finals, losing 4 games to 2 and Pistons Head Coach Flip Saunders was fired June 3rd, 2008.

During the offseason, the Suns had many difficulties signing free agents because of being well over the luxury tax. They made attempts to sign a backup point guard Tyronn Lue, however, he decided to sign with the Bucks for more money. The two draft picks Robin Lopez and Goran Dragic may be helpful covering the backup center and point guard slots.

The Suns have also been involved in trade rumors consisting of Boris Diaw and Leandro Barbosa. The two players seem to be great trade bait, and may be the keys to fulfilling the Suns' needs in the future.

Getting Inside

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.

The Suns have 19 sets of back-to-back games—two more than last year and the most in recent memory—but play an incredibly balance schedule from a travel standpoint.

Phoenix has two games in October (one home, one road), 16 in November (eight home, eight road), 12 in December (six home, six road), 15 in January (eight on the road, seven at home), 13 in February (seven home, six road), 16 in March (eight home, eight road) and eight in April (four home, four road).

The opener in San Antonio is the start of a tough week for new Suns coach Terry Porter. The New Orleans Hornets will be waiting for them at home the next night (Oct. 30), the only Phoenix appearance by Chris Paul and company all year. Then two nights later on Nov. 1, the Portland Trail Blazers are in Phoenix—featuring first-round pick and Vegas Summer League sensation Jerry Bayless in his first hometown visit.

The NBA All-Star Weekend is also in Phoenix this year (Feb. 13-15), with All-Star Saturday on Valentine’s Day and the All-Star Game on Feb. 15.

The Suns play only three games against four Western Conference foes—Denver and Houston (only one road game) and New Orleans and Minnesota (only one home game).

Notes, Quotes

• 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.

Shawn Marion plays his first game in Phoenix in a visiting uniform when the Miami Heat come to the Valley on Nov. 28. It’s also the first meeting between Shaquille O’Neal and his former team since the trade last February.

Former head coach Mike D’Antoni returns with his New York Knicks on Dec. 15.

Rookie head coach Vinny Del Negro and Rookie of the Year candidate Derrick Rose (the No.1 pick in the 2008 Draft) lead the Chicago Bulls to town on Jan. 31.

Quote To Note:   “It’s a lot of luck and not much else. When the league asked us to submit Christmas Day as an available date, we figured we’d be playing… but being home is much preferable to being on the road like we were last year (at Los Angeles Lakers).”—Suns president Rick Welts, on the team’s 2008-09 schedule.

Roster Report

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.

Goran Dragic, G, 6-4, Slovenia: Kerr said the 22-year-old, left-handed Dragic, who is under contract to a team in Croatia for at least next season—although the Suns will revisit his contract situation in the coming days—could be the long-term successor to Steve Nash.

Most Valuable Player:   His defense remains a disappointment and his attitude is still in need of a monkey wrench. But Amare Stoudemire once again (post-micro fracture) established himself as a scoring machine (25.2 points per game, fifth in the league) and ended the season with a string of 18 straight games of at least 20 points.

After moving to the power forward spot when Shaquille O’Neal hit town, Stoudemire averaged 28.5 points, 8.8 rebounds and 1.66 blocks. If O’Neal comes back in shape and Stoudemire can maintain those numbers over a full season, the Suns will have a dominant Kobe/LeBron/Carmelo-type scorer.

Most Disappointing Player:   Lots of candidates here. Raja Bell wasn’t healthy much of the season. Steve Nash faded in the second half of the season. Boris Diaw didn’t come close to living up to his $9 million contract.

But the winner has to be Leandro Barbosa, went from Sixth Man of the Year and the toast of Phoenix to likely trade bait after a disappointing season in which his shooting percentage dropped, his defense again failed to improve to NBA level and his third chance to serve as Nash’s backup at point guard again fell flat. At season’s end, the forever smiling, affable Barbosa had turned moody and sometimes sullen. With his biggest cheerleaders—the D’Antoni brothers—headed elsewhere, his time in Arizona could be up.

Biggest Needs:   With Boris Diaw now penciled in at small forward and Shaquille O’Neal and Robin Lopez in the middle, the Suns’ three most pressing needs are a big two-guard with a defensive mindset and three-point shooting ability (keeping Gordon Giricek is a possibility), finally filling the gaping need for a backup to Steve Nash at the point guard spot.

Free-agent Focus:   After signing Matt Barnes, the Suns still have two roster spots left. The most important opening remains at point guard, where a backup to Steve Nash must be located. The final spot could go to a second backup point or to a post player to provide depth behind injury and foul-prone Shaquille O’Neal and rookie Robin Lopez.

Player Notes: 

• The Suns confirmed report that they made inquiries about a possible sign-and-trade deal with the Atlanta Hawks for F Josh Childress before he decided to leave the NBA and sign a deal to play in Greece.

The Suns had the $8 million exception from the Kurt Thomas trade with Seattle to work with (which expired on July 21), but the deal almost certainly would have included either G Leandro Barbosa or F Boris Diaw in an attempt to balance the contract and keep the Suns from taking a further luxury-tax hit.

But Childress was looking for a contract similar to the one he got in Greece (well in excess of even the nearly $7 million a season offered by Atlanta), which was more than the Suns had anticipated. And the Hawks appeared to have little interest in a sign-and-trade deal, figuring they were still in the power position to sign the restricted free agent with the number of NBA teams with cap space shrinking around the league.

• After showing his chops in a dramatic role in his new Nike commercial during the spring, G Steve Nash teamed with new Clipper Baron Davis to try his hand at comedy in a spoof of the movie “Step Brothers” last month in Santa Monica. The video, making the rounds on the internet, features some impressive dance moves by Nash.

• G Allan Houston, who has been working out in Phoenix and working closely with the Suns medical staff much summer, feels his surgically repaired knees are 100 percent and he expects to return to the NBA at age 37.

But the Suns, who can always use another shooter and have seen his comeback attempt close-up, don’t appear to have serious interest at this time.