HoopsHype.com Rumors

Today's NBA is filled with owners who paid through the nose for their teams, and have years of red ink in front of them before they ever see a return on their investment. The list includes Joe Lacob and Peter Guber (Golden State, purchased in 2010 for $450 million), Robert Sarver (Phoenix, 2005, $400 million), Dan Gilbert (Cleveland, 2005, $375 million), Wyc Grousbeck and Steve Pagluica (Boston, 2002, $360 million), Ted Leonsis (Washington, 2010, $300 million -- an estimated price that does not include another $250 million in debt on Verizon Center and the Wizards that Leonsis also has to assume) and Mikhail Prokhorov (New Jersey, 2009, $200 million for 80 percent of the team and 45 percent of the new Barclays Center in Brooklyn in which the Nets will play beginning in 2013). NBA.com

Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers, Golden State Warriors, New Jersey Nets, Phoenix Suns, Washington Wizards, Dan Gilbert, Mikhail Prokhorov, Wyc Grousbeck, Robert Sarver, Joe Lacob, Ted Leonsis, Owners, Peter Guber 

The Suns will wear their notorious "Los Suns" jerseys again. As part of the NBA's 5-year-old Noche Latina game marketing, the Suns will wear the "Los Suns" jerseys for a March 25 home game against New Orleans. They have worn them for Noche Latina-themed games previously, but it was Suns Managing Partner Robert Sarver's decision to have the team wear them again on Cinco de Mayo last season that stirred controversy. Sarver wanted to make a public statement to protest a state's new immigration law that ultimately had vital parts of it blocked in federal court. Arizona Republic

Phoenix Suns, Robert Sarver 

Marc Stein: Checked w/Suns owner Sarver one last time to ask if PHX might surprise us and deal Nash today like Utah did w/DWill. Got another emphatic NO Twitter

Phoenix Suns, Trade, Steve Nash, Robert Sarver 

When the NBA owners and players joined for a brief, acrimonious meeting on All-Star weekend a year ago, Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver had a big idea: Why don’t the commissioner and the union reps leave the room, and let the owners and players speak directly on the matter of a collective-bargaining agreement? The suggestion was met with resounding rejection from Players Association executive director Billy Hunter, but commissioner David Stern spared his anger until union officials and players left the room. With the rest of the NBA’s owners watching, sources told Yahoo! Sports that Stern berated Sarver with an expletive-riddled diatribe demanding that he never, ever ask him to leave one of his negotiating sessions again. This was the Stern mostly hidden from the public eye: belligerent, controlling and forever staking his territory. Yahoo! Sports

Phoenix Suns, CBA, David Stern, Lockout, Billy Hunter, Robert Sarver, NBPA, Owners 

Nash still swears he has no intention of making that request, as forecasted back in December right after Phoenix shook up its roster. Asking to be dealt is not in the works as a birthday present to himself and not something Nash is plotting to spring on the Suns before the Feb. 24 trading deadline. Nash insisted again this week, as he lunched on five-bean soup and the healthiest of chopped salads at one of his go-to temples for food purity, that he won't be lobbying Suns owner Robert Sarver and new team president Lon Babby to send him to a contender. "Maybe I'm old school," Nash said, "but I signed a contract to play here and I want to honor it. I feel like I owe it to my teammates and the city and everybody to keep battling until they tell me it's time to go." ESPN.com

Phoenix Suns, Trade, Steve Nash, Lon Babby, Robert Sarver 

The Suns found a way to have a common center at practice on Thursday. Players and coaches gathered at midcourt and sat in a circle with Managing Partner Robert Sarver and President of Basketball Operations Lon Babby. Each took a turn sharing what he and the next man could do better to help this 20-24 Suns team. "Keep plugging away and keep trying to get better, compete a little bit harder," coach Alvin Gentry said of the messages. Arizona Republic

Phoenix Suns, Lon Babby, Robert Sarver, Alvin Gentry 

The flip side to all that, of course, is that Sarver wouldn't consider trading Nash now whether or not he makes a formal request. Teams that call about him these days are always met with a stern and discouraging no. If that ever changes, figure that Sarver would only dare give in during the offseason, when the Suns' already on-edge fan base isn't quite as tuned in. ESPN.com

Phoenix Suns, Trade, Steve Nash, Robert Sarver 

Sarver scoffed at the mere suggestion of trading Nash and starting over when reached Saturday by ESPN.com, insisting instead that the acquisitions of mobile big man Marcin Gortat and defensive specialist Mickael Pietrus were made largely to make the Suns bigger and better defensively and make his point guard's life easier. Said Sarver: "This deal has nothing to do with [trading] Nash. We have no intention to trade him." ESPN.com

Phoenix Suns, Trade, Steve Nash, Robert Sarver 

Nash’s agent, Bill Duffy, also said Suns owner Robert Sarver told him the team doesn’t have any intention of dealing its All-Star point guard. Nash has one year left on his contract after this season at a reasonable $11.7 million. “He’s a treasure to the fans there,” Duffy said. “He’s revered there. There is enough of a relationship between Steve Nash and the Suns that if something were to transpire we’d be sure Steve would be involved in the process. Sarver has called me to tell me that nothing is going on with Steve. “He’s everything. He’s the identity of the organization.” Yahoo! Sports

Phoenix Suns, Steve Nash, Robert Sarver, Bill Duffy 

Marc J. Spears: Agent Bill Duffy tells Y! Sports Suns owner Robert Sarver has assured him that "nothing is going on" trade wise with Suns star @Steve Nash. Twitter

Phoenix Suns, Trade, Steve Nash, Robert Sarver 

Marc Stein: Suns owner Robert Sarver tells ESPN.com: “This deal has nothing to do with [trading] Nash. We have no intention to trade him.” Twitter

Phoenix Suns, Trade, Steve Nash, Robert Sarver 

Lon Babby: "It happened in a bizarre way. I had known [Suns owner] Robert Sarver through my dealings with Grant, and when Steve Kerr decided to leave [as Suns GM last spring] I told Grant that it would be important for us to try to participate, if welcomed, in some kind of search for the general manager -- to the extent that Robert was willing to hear a player's point of view, I was happy to vet candidates with him. "So I called Robert and somehow from those conversations evolved a job interview. And one day I said to him, 'This is starting to sound like a job interview, I haven't had a job interview in 35 years.' And that's when I immediately shifted gears and said I need to make sure I'm ethically on solid ground with the players. SI.com

Phoenix Suns, Steve Kerr, Lon Babby, Robert Sarver 

Connected sources pointed to Suns' owner Robert Sarver's affinity towards Nash and said when you're talking about the owners favorite player, there is little room for discussion. Sources said Sarver wants Nash to retire a Sun and there is little that could happen to change that. This is the NBA, so you never say never, but if there is one name you can safely cross off you're not going to be traded list it seems like its Steve Nash. HoopsWorld

Phoenix Suns, Trade, Steve Nash, Robert Sarver 

Phoenix forward Jared Dudley has signed a contract extension with Phoenix for $22.5 million over five years. The deal, first reported by FanHouse, was struck just before the midnight EDT time deadline Monday. "It was literally five minutes before the deadline,'' said agent Mark Bartelstein. "Jared is thrilled.'' The deal, which allows Dudley to opt out of the final year, begins next season and runs through 2015-16.. "I want to thank (Phoenix president) Lon (Babby) and (owner) Robert Sarver for all their hard work in getting it done,'' Bartelstein said. "Jared has worked really hard for this.'' FanHouse.com

Phoenix Suns, Jared Dudley, Mark Bartelstein, Robert Sarver 

Managing Partner Robert Sarver offered him a five-year, $96.6 million contract with $56 million guaranteed and the rest kicking in if Stoudemire logged significant minutes in the third and fourth years. "It was fair from Robert's standpoint," Stoudemire said. "I understand his concerns, which were injuries and health. There are no hard feelings at all. From a security standpoint for myself and with as much work as I put in on the court, I was after a greater goal. It was a fair offer from his standpoint. We still talk and have a good friendship. "The greater goal was to have a sense of security. I didn't want a football deal (with some or all of the money non-guaranteed). I want a NBA deal. That's what I ended up getting." Arizona Republic

Phoenix Suns, Amare Stoudemire, Robert Sarver 

Stoudemire entered his first free agency with two priorities: staying in Phoenix and pursuing a championship. Picking New York was a step away from both. "My goal is to do what I did here in Phoenix - to rebuild," Stoudemire said. "The year we traded Stephon (Marbury), Penny (Hardaway) and Googs (Tom Gugliotta), the next year we rebuilt. "The question ownership asked to me was, 'Who do I want - Jason Kidd, Steve Nash or Kobe Bryant?' I said Steve. Over Kobe. At the time, Kobe had a reputation for being selfish and Steve was the ultimate point guard. I felt like that's what we needed. We had Joe Johnson and Shawn Marion. We just didn't have a PG to control tempo. Kidd was banged up after microfracture (knee surgery)." Arizona Republic

Phoenix Suns, Amare Stoudemire, Robert Sarver 

Despite spending the past decade in Cleveland and San Antonio, Blanks endorsed the Suns' more open style of play. After missing all the off- season action that brought in five new Suns, Blanks hailed the moves that leave him little roster work to do but for adding a big man. "There's a great infrastructure in place to have success," Blanks said. "So part of my job will be staying out of the way and not messing things up." New Suns President Lon Babby hired Blanks three weeks ago to be his "basketball genius." Babby cited Blanks' acumen for the game, locker- room presence as an ex-player and his front-office work with successful teams, including the past five years as Cleveland's assistant GM. "He will have the most influential voice on personnel matters," Babby said, diffusing opinions that the GM role would be watered-down under Managing Partner Robert Sarver and Babby. Arizona Republic

Phoenix Suns, Lon Babby, Robert Sarver, Lance Blanks 

Much of the past two weeks has been consumed with his new role and the first task on his list is to hire a general manager. That process has started anew after Suns Managing Partner Robert Sarver shifted course to have Babby oversee basketball operations, and Dell Demps chose the New Orleans' GM job with more authority over Phoenix's GM role. "I'm taking my time to get it right," Babby said of the GM hire. "It's an important order of business. "I'm looking for someone who can complement my skill set, which means a pure basketball evaluator. That can come in different forms but it's someone who is going to have the most influential voice on talent. It's got to be someone who fits our culture. Everything I do, I'm going to keep an eye on keeping what's already there in camaraderie and culture." Arizona Republic

The Suns took the first step of restructuring their front office Tuesday, introducing attorney Lon Babby as president of basketball operations. It's only the first move, Managing Partner Robert Sarver said, but a significant one. Babby, a longtime sports agent, replaces Steve Kerr, who served as the club's president and general manager before walking away last month to return to a TNT broadcasting job. Babby, who has a three-year deal, will specialize in contract negotiations as well as collective-bargaining- agreement issues. Arizona Republic

But for the most part, the addition of Babby has played to rave reviews around the NBA. He understands the business, Sarver's quirks and the culture of basketball in Phoenix. He has received a solid endorsement from former owner Jerry Colangelo, and that should be most comforting to Planet Orange. "I saw (Spurs coach) Gregg Popovich at the summer league, and even he was telling me what a great hire we made," Sarver said. Arizona Republic