The changes in the Suns have only just begun

Sporting News, The, Oct 21, 1996 by Shaun Powell

Now that Charles Barkley isn't around, you'd think the Suns would have a rather quiet training camp, right? "Not quite," coach Cotton Fitzsimmons says. "Sam Cassell runs his mouth quite a bit."

Maybe the Suns aren't completely free of trash-talkers. But the upcoming season will kick off a new era for the Suns, who begin Life After Barkley. "It'll be a different team totally," Fitzsimmons says. "Anyone who has watched the Suns play over the years with Charles knows it's got to be a different team."

Phoenix probably will turn a few revolutions over the course of the next two years. The Barkley trade officially ended the Suns' run at a championship, but it also put the franchise in position to make another run, if they make the right personnel decisions in the near future. By next summer, the Suns will have only five players under contract--Michael Finley, Wesley Person, Danny Manning, A C. Green and Steve Nash--giving them flexibility to sign free agents. They're trying to create even more salary-cap room by trading Green, who makes $6 million a season. But an aging role player with a high price tag is proving to be a difficult sell; the Trail Blazers refused to give up Clifford Robinson in an even exchange.

The catch: Next summer there probably will be fewer than one-fourth the number of quality players who were available last summer. But one of the best free agents-to-be is a Sun--Cassell.

In the meantime, the Suns must learn to cope with lower expectations. The Suns don't have a megastar, and the AllStars on the roster, Manning and Kevin Johnson, are coming off injury-prone stretches and have not indicated they're capable of returning to form. Manning must pack both knees with ice after each practice. Johnson is recovering from an abdominal hernia.

The Suns don't have a dominant center in a conference with David Robinson, Hakeem Olajuwon and Shaquille O'Neal. And their most aggressive big men, Hot Rod Williams and Mark Bryant, are hurting. In an effort to spread the offense around, Fitzsimmons is experimenting with the triangle offense. Rex Chapman gives him another outside threat. But Fitzsimmons' main emphasis is on the other end of the floor.

"We don't have the scoring punch, so in order for us to be successful, we'll have to be good defensively," Fitzsimmons says. He knows that's a rather tall assignment for a club without an inside stopper and with a history of having poor defenders.

The Suns won't experience changeover only in the roster. Fitzsimmons is expected to relinquish the coaching seat after this season to assistant Danny Ainge. Whether he will inherit a better team is debatable. This much is sure, though: He will inherit a different one.

Around the league

The league had to be embarrassed by the two-week saga of an ex-Sun, 6-10 forward Jerrod Mustaf. He's still under investigation for the murder of his pregnant girlfriend; lawyers representing her say Mustaf arranged to have his cousin (now serving a life sentence for the crime) commit the killing. First, Mustaf was signed by the Hornets, who released him four days later, but only after the Charlotte media brought the entire issue to light. Then Mustaf was picked up on waivers by the SuperSonics, who claimed ignorance of his predicament. But the league disallowed the move, saying the Sonics were over the salary cap. ... As expected, the bashing between Shaquille O'Neal and the Magic has begun. O'Neal told the Los Angeles Times he had problems getting along with Nick Anderson and, to a lesser extent, coach Brian Hill. The Magic revealed O'Neal began demanding preferential treatment. Orlando still hasn't decided whether to file tampering charges against the Lakers. Don't hold your breath.