FanHouse Steve Kerr

PHOENIX -- Every team comes to training camp with a renewed sense of optimism. But the Suns might be as happy as any to begin this season with a clean slate.

Phoenix is trying to rebound from a season where it traded two rotation players, fired its head coach at the All-Star break, then had its best player suffer an eye injury shortly thereafter that kept him out for the rest of the season.

All that, and the team missed making the playoffs by only two games. But for the first time in a long time, there are virtually no expectations of success. And for a team that struggled with so many issues last year, they seem more than happy to enter the season pressure-free, while searching for consistency and a renewed sense of identity.

The deal that sent Shaquille O'Neal to the Cavaliers last week had been rumored since the trade deadline back in February, so it wasn't exactly a huge surprise. But had Shaq gone to another team -- like, say, the Portland Trail Blazers -- that would have been a pretty shocking development, mainly because we hadn't heard even a whisper of that being a possibility.

Apparently, though, the Blazers were indeed in talks with the Suns to bring O'Neal to Portland. This semi-bombshell comes from Shaq himself, who also says that the talks came to an end once he informed Steve Kerr he wasn't interested in being sent to the Blazers.

The trade of Shaquille O'Neal to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday was more than just a contract dump for the Phoenix Suns.

It also was done to satisfy point guard Steve Nash.

According to an NBA source, Nash expressed his displeasure with O'Neal during a meeting last week in New York with general manager Steve Kerr.

Nash, still one of the best point guards in the NBA, will become a free agent after this season if the Suns can't sign him this summer to a contract extension.

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This is the time of the year when NBA executives earn their salaries, making the decisions that often determine the success or failure the following season.

They make the trades, draft the players, and sign the free agents that set the stage. They can make or break a season long before it actually begins. The winning and losing generates the enthusiasm or leads to the apathy that surrounds your favorite team, but it's the executive decisions now that can give you a glimpse into the future.

The general managers usually sleep well during a season while the coaches fret every minute. In the summer, the GMs don't sleep at all, and with good reason today. When the economy is booming, NBA owners can be a little forgiving when things don't go their way. In an era of economic hard times, dwindling ticket sales and shrinking salary caps, there is no room or patience for mistakes. Here are five GMs on the hot seat in a very hot summer.

The offseason is likely to be a lot like the regular season was for the Phoenix Suns. As you may recall, rumors involving both Amar'e Stoudemire and Shaquille O'Neal swirled around the club up until the trade deadline. And even after a coaching change that took place right after the All-Star break, the team was in a constant state of flux that most would admit was at least partially responsible for the club missing the playoffs.

In an attempt to solidify the Suns' immediate future, Steve Kerr made a quick trip to New York to meet with Steve Nash, with hopes of beginning to convince him to sign a contract extension now, instead of waiting until the end of next season, when he would become an unrestricted free agent.

But Nash will certainly want some assurances before doing so, and I believe there's one word he wants to hear from the organization most of all: Consistency.

It's been such a wild year for the Phoenix Suns that the trade deadline rumors that swirled around Amare Stoudemire almost seem like they didn't even happen. But happen they did, and the fact is that the Suns were openly trying to deal their young All-Star to anyone who would listen -- including the Memphis Grizzlies.

There were plenty of unsubstantiated rumors about where Stoudemire could possibly end up, but Memphis was apparently a legitimate possibility, at least from the Suns' standpoint. The Memphis Commercial Appeal has the details of how it all could have gone down.

PHOENIX -- I have this funny little device called The Jordan Tax. Anybody who comes in contact with Michael Jordan and benefits disproportionately from him, in context with the rest of that person's career or life, should be taxed accordingly and pay up. It could be an owner, a general manager, a teammate, a media person, a public address announcer, a gambler, an ex-wife, Ahmad Rashad, anyone.

Rumors about Terry Porter's job security in Phoenix have been running rampant since Wednesday, but so far everybody -- from team owner Robert Sarver, GM Steve Kerr and Porter himself -- has denied there's anything to it. Until Saturday night, that is.

Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic reported Saturday that "there are strong indications that the Suns will have a new head coach" come Monday. In response to the report, Kerr gave an extremely telling non-denial to the AP: "We haven't made a decision. There are a lot of things we're working on this weekend."

Earlier this week, Ken Berger of CBS Sports reported that the Suns' stance on trading Amare Stoudemire "has advanced from accepting calls to placing them," an indication the team is serious about moving him.

But today, Yahoo's Adrian Wojnarowski reports that Suns owner Robert Sarver is now personally involved, as well, reaching out to at least two fellow owners in an attempt to get a deal done. Stoudemire has told reporters numerous times that the team's motivations for trading him were purely financial, and after hearing how eager Sarver is to part with the All-Star big man, it's not hard to believe him.

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Amare Stoudemire knows he's on the trading block, and he knows we know. While most athletes would dodge questions about rumors with trite cliches, Stoudemire was refreshingly honest following Sunday's win in Detroit.

"I know about the rumors. I know what teams are looking. I know what teams want me," Stoudemire said. "I pretty much know everything -- I know what's going on. I'm definitely in the loop on what's happening."