Scottie Pippen, Isaac Austin and Brent Barry are bonded by a
simple daydream: to sign with the Suns when they become free
agents this summer. Tom Gugliotta can opt out of his
Timberwolves contract on July 1, and while Minnesota can offer
him more money than any other team, the one that beckons is—who
else?—Phoenix.
In recent years the Suns have snagged Rex Chapman, Cliff
Robinson and Hot Rod Williams even though they all received more
lucrative offers elsewhere. They will be free agents this
summer, and Phoenix will try to keep them for less again.
Chapman has already said that he'll stay. "I don't think anybody
says, I hate Phoenix, I'm not going there," says Suns coach
Danny Ainge, who signed with the team as a free agent in 1992.
"When I played with the Celtics, we'd be on one of those awful
Western trips, but when we landed in Phoenix, we'd be saying,
'All right. Now we're talking.'"
With its glorious climate and abundant golf courses, Phoenix has
become the NBA's fantasyland. "It's a safer, cleaner
California," says agent Steve Kauffman. As a franchise the Suns
offer plenty of enticements too: a team with a chance to win it
all, state-of-the-art facilities, ardent fans and an energetic
coach who gives his players leeway.
Most important, the front office has credibility. In October
1995 Phoenix re-signed forward Danny Manning to a six-year, $42
million contract while he was rehabbing from a torn anterior
cruciate ligament in his left knee. He had suffered the injury
eight months earlier, in the midst of his one-year, $1 million
free-agent deal. Opposing teams seethed, sensing that Manning's
new contract must have been promised when he signed the one-year
deal, a violation of the collective bargaining agreement.
Free-agents-to-be smiled, seeing an organization reward a star,
rather than dump him, when he was hurt. "Players weigh that
big," says Sonics forward Vin Baker.
Players also love point guards who pass first and shoot later,
which is why Jason Kidd should become a selling point on July 1.
Then there's Ainge's up-tempo style of play. "He puts 90 percent
of the responsibility in your hands," guard Steve Nash says of
his coach. "And he's not afraid to smile when we make mistakes."
Ainge has flourished despite a potentially devastating incident
in January 1997 in which forward Robert Horry angrily threw a
towel in his face after being taken out of a game. As replays of
the blow-up aired over and over, the Phoenix front office worked
to unload Horry (which it did, to the Lakers, four days later).
"In retrospect, Danny handled it perfectly: He played it down,"
says team president Jerry Colangelo.
With his Suns 39-21 through Sunday, Ainge's biggest worry has
been parceling out time in a crowded backcourt that includes
Chapman, Kidd, Nash and veteran Kevin Johnson. While most expect
KJ to retire this summer, Phoenix would consider bringing him
back—but only at about half his $8 million salary.
That's one of many decisions facing the Suns, who should be $16
million to $17 million under the cap this summer. League and
team sources say Phoenix has interest in Pippen, and while
Colangelo & Co. like Austin, they don't feel he's worth his
asking price of $8 million a season. If Nash, an Ainge favorite,
could bring a top-flight big man in a package deal, Phoenix
would likely pull the trigger. Forward Antonio McDyess is a
keeper, but for $80 million or so over seven years, not $100
million. Williams and Robinson? Depends on what they want and
how much money is left. "To try and figure it out at this point
is nonsense," says Ainge. "There are too many variables."
One thing is clear. The Suns have a leg up on signing some of
the league's best free agents, and with that edge comes the
pressure to add the lone element missing from their glistening
franchise: a championship.
Issue date: March 16, 1998
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