[ShuHanGuanYu]

2006 Phoenix Suns Offseason

Front Office Changes

1. Vinny Del Negro has been promoted to Director of Player Personnel. He has worked for the past two years as a KTAR Suns radio analyst, and it was the intention of former President and General Manager Bryan Colangelo that when they brought in Del Negro they would slowly ease him into a job in the organization. Although Colangelo is no longer with the Suns, Robert Sarver made good on the expectation. His longest stay as a player in the NBA was six years with the San Antonio Spurs, and Vinnie played the final 36 games of his NBA career in a Phoenix Suns uniform.
2. Todd Quinter has been promoted to director of scouting, and remains an assistant coach under head coach Mike D'Antoni. He has been on staff with the Phoenix Suns for 20 years, since he joined in 1986 as a video coordinator. He has been a talent scout for the Suns for 14 years.

[*] Ann Meyers Drysdale, Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer and award-winning broadcaster, has been named a Vice President of basketball operations for the Phoenix Suns. She made history in 1979 when she was signed to a free agent contract by the Indiana Pacers. Though she never played in a regular season game, she is the only female to have ever signed a contract for an NBA team.[/list]

Trades

1. Phoenix Suns traded the draft rights to the #21st pick in the 2006 NBA Draft, Rajon Rondo, along with Brian Grant to the Boston Celtics for a 2007 NBA first round draft pick (obtained from Cleveland, top-ten protected) and cash considerations. Brian Grant is reported to be retiring. Link
2. Phoenix Suns traded the draft rights to the #27th pick in the 2006 NBA Draft, Sergio Rodriguez, to the Portland Trailblazers for cash considerations. Link

Free Agency

1. Marcus Banks has signed a 5 year, $21 million deal with the Suns.
2. Jumaine Jones has reportedly agreed to a one year contract for the veteran minimum, which in his case is slightly under $1 million.
3. Eric Piatkowski, 6'7 guard forward who played the majority of his career with the L.A. Clippers, was signed to a two year $2.4 million dollar contract. Since he is a long-time NBA veteran, the NBA will pay a large portion of his salary.
4. Sean Marks has signed a deal with the Suns.
5. Pat Burke has exercised his player option and will remain with the Phoenix Suns.
6. Tim Thomas has left the Suns and signed a four year, $24 million contract with the Los Angeles Clippers.
7. Dijon Thompson will not be resigned by the Phoenix Suns.
8. Nikoloz Tskitishvili has been waived by the Suns. The Portland Trailblazers had claimed him off waivers, but also waived him just days later.
9. Eddie House has opted out of his current deal through his player option and has sign a contract with the New Jersey Nets.

Summary of Roster Changes

<table border=2 align=center>
<tr align=center><td>IN
<td>Player
<td>Position
<td>Relevant Statistics
<tr align=center><td>
<td>Marcus Banks
<td>PG
<td>2005-06: 30.7mpg, 12ppg, 4.7apg
<tr align=center><td>
<td>Jumaine Jones
<td>SF/PF
<td>10.5ppg, 4.9rpg
<tr align=center><td>
<td>Eric Piatkowski
<td>SG/SF
<td>Career 39.9% 3ptFG
</table>

<table border=2 align=center>
<tr align=center><td>OUT
<td>Player
<td>Position
<td>New Team
<tr align=center><td>
<td>Tim Thomas
<td>SF/PF
<td>Los Angeles Clippers
<tr align=center><td>
<td>Brian Grant
<td>PF/C
<td>Boston Celtics, Retirement
<tr align=center><td>
<td>Nikoloz Tskitishvili
<td>SF/PF
<td>None
<tr align=center><td>
<td>Dijon Thompson
<td>SG/SF
<td>None
</table>

Salary

2006-07 Salary Cap: $53.14 million
2006-07 Luxury Tax: $65.42 million

www.hoopshype.com

Summer League Roster

1. Amare Stoudemire headlines the Phoenix Suns Summer League Roster, and will continue his quest to regain the endurance and strength in his knees that made him a dominate offensive force in the NBA. He is enjoying brief moments of explosiveness, but at this time is not ready to take the NBA court and contribute on a consistent basis.
   <br>
2. Maciej Lampe was the youngest player (18 years, 11 months) in franchise history to play for the Phoenix Suns, taking the record away from Amare Stoudemire (19 years, 11 months). Now, he will play alongside Amare with hopes to return to the first team he played for in the NBA. He has an advantage in that the Suns are in need of big bodies that are able to play Mike D'Antoni basketball. Lampe possesses a fluid shot from the outside, but has played only sparingly during his first three years in the NBA. At 6'11, 275, Lampe was the primary matchup for Amare Stoudemire in the five-on-five scrimmages leading up to the Las Vegas Summer League.
   <br>
3. Romain Sato, former Xavier standout, is a 6'5 shooting guard with a 7'0 winspan, and all signs seem to point toward Sato becoming a member of the Phoenix Suns official roster for the 2006-07 NBA season. He will need to prove he is able to shoot consistently, as a compliment to his athleticism. He was drafted with the 52th pick of the 2004 NBA draft by the San Antonio Spurs, but was waived to make a roster spot for another incoming player. Since then, he has spent his time playing for Sicc Jesi, a second division team of the Italian League. He averaged 25.6 points and 7.5 rebounds per game during the regular season, but brought his game to another level in the playoffs as he averaged 35.0 points and 14.6 rebounds per game. He is ready to prove that he belongs in the NBA.
   <br>
4. Lionel Chalmers, also a former Xavier standout and teammate of fellow summer league player Romain Sato, is a 6'0 point guard who is known for his quickness. He was originally drafted by the Los Angeles Clippers with the 33rd pick in the 2004 NBA draft. He played 36 games for the Clippers in the 2004-05 NBA season, but struggled with his shooting and could not earn playing time. Chalmers recently won the Spanish Cup as part of Tau Ceramica. The Phoenix Suns are actively exploring the free agent market for a third point guard to backup Steve Nash and to allow Leandro Barbosa to play primarily at the shooting guard position, but have thus far struck out. Therefore, Lionel's chances to make the team are better than ever, if he can showcase the skills that the Suns deem necessary to run the Phoenix Suns system.
   <br>
5. Tommy Smith, alumni of Arizona State University, was selected by the Chicago Bulls with the 53rd pick of the 2003 NBA draft. He finished his four year stay at ASU as the second all-time leader in shot blocks (167), and led the Pac-10 conference with 69 in his senior year. At a long 6'10 215, he is a solid athlete who excels at running the floor. However, he was never able to put on the weight that was necessary for the PF position and was subsequently waived by the Chicago Bulls having never played a regular season game.
   <br>
6. Massimo Bulleri, is an Italian League 6'2 point guard who played six seasons for Bennetton Treviso and more recently for Armani Jeans Milano. He was also the starting point guard for the Italian National Team that finished with a Bronze Medal in the 2003 European Championship in Sweden and a Silver Medal in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. He is well known for hitting a big three point shot late in the third quarter of the Italian victory over the U.S. National Team, despite falling backwards and having a hand in his face that belonged to a man by the name of Allen Iverson. Massimo was a part of the two Bennetton Treviso championship teams that were coached by current Phoenix Suns coach Mike D'Antoni. In 2003 and 2005 he won the MVP award in the Italian league. He is a solid outside shooter that also has the ability to create off the dribble. If he were taller, he would be more of a combo guard in the NBA rather than a point guard due to his knack to score the basketball and passing not being the strongest part of his game. He was an average defender in the Euroleague, but like most European players would struggle against the size and speed of today's NBA.

More summer league capsules later.

Summer League Schedule

Summer League Results

Game 1

Game 2

Game 3

Game 4

Game 5

Vegas Summer League Update: It appears that no hopefuls from the summer league team will receive a contract with the Suns at this point.

[Dissonance19]

Wow, damn good job on this.

[Seuss]

Summer league should be fun with Amare participating.

This will be a glimpse of how hes recovering. I hope he dominates.

[BootyKing]

The suns have invited 18 players to the summer league. Sato and Tommy Smith i like. Sato has a great 3 point stroke and can defend.

[Zei_Zao_LS]

Update:

Tim Thomas heads over to the Clippers.

[ShuHanGuanYu]

Should be up to date. If you have anything you want me to add, let me know. I plan to add scores for each summer league game with box score links and maybe a line of stat leaders or highlights, but that's a few days away.

[rdm2]

Roster looks a little thin for some reason, JJones is going to have to seriously step it up.

If not, we may be in really bad shape. Even Barbosa was more of an option off the bench last year and when that happens you need to improve.

[AZBBALLPLAYA]

Originally Posted by rdm2

Roster looks a little thin for some reason, JJones is going to have to seriously step it up.

If not, we may be in really bad shape. Even Barbosa was more of an option off the bench last year and when that happens you need to improve.

I think wed all love to see this guy step it up... I think he can too, if we dont trade him of course

[Ezmo]

wow, fantastic job on this thread shu.

[WildByNature]

Good info...

[ShuHanGuanYu]

Thanks, I'll be making some more additions soon. Let me know if there's anything you guys want me to add. It's here for you.

[ShuHanGuanYu]

Added some summer league capsules for Maciej Lampe, Tommy Smith and Massimo Bulleri; plus a small addition to Lionel Chalmers.

[ShuHanGuanYu]

I resized the semi-official box score because theirs is ugly and I don't like the way the stats are positioned, and then added it.