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Suns camp nothing but smiles

October 3, 2007 by Mike Olbinski

Paul Coro wrote a chipper little report from camp this morning, reporting that Shawn Marion is all smiles and having fun getting back into shape. Steve Kerr reportedly had a great talk with him about the issues he had with the “team”.

And Mike D’Antoni seemed okay despite revealing that “It is not dead that he [Shawn] still wants what he wants, but that’s okay.”

It’s still hard to fathom that this could linger all season, at least until a trade is made or it’s just never mentioned again and totally forgotten. Will Marion being back in camp slowly change his desire to leave? Or will he still feel like leaving all year?

I have my doubts about that still. I don’t see how a player who isn’t 100% committed to a team and a championship run, can play like he is capable.

On the surgery front, Coro also reported that Amare Stoudemire compared himself to a Phoenix bird, who will “rise from the ashes reincarnate myself.”

Amare’s confidence has always been the thing of legends, so overcoming this minor surgery doesn’t appear to be an issue. The fact that nothing further was found or needed to be done is encouraging.

Other Notes

During a scrimmage already on Tuesday, Coro said that Grant Hill made some “eye-catching” plays, while D.J. Strawberry was overall impressive, from shooting to defense. (By the way, how great does Hill look in a Suns uniform (pictured left)? I still forget how giddy I was when the Suns signed him)

I hope Strawberry continues to play well, since I wrote about him in my season preview being a factor this year.

Check out the article on Boris Diaw and how the Suns want him to improve this year and be more aggressive. The East Valley Tribune is also reporting that he’s in great shape.

Away from camp, I found an interesting article about Baron Davis and his summer. Looking to be a better leader for his team, he sought out two people who might give some great advice: Jerry West and Steve Nash.

“I had a chance to play with [Nash in a charity game] in China and we became good friends over the trip,” said Davis (pictured right), who, along with the rest of the Warriors, opened training camp Tuesday in Hawaii. “Just to have a conversation with him and kind of pick his brain about how he gets his guys going and everything he does as a leader.”