Daily Links AND Practice Report: A Double Whammy Of No Trade Talk

That's not entirely true. There's no way this story ends without trade talk coming up somehow/somewhere even though I can swear to you that right now, I have no intent or specific trade related thing to say. And yet....we all know what's coming.

Practice Report:

Busy day, so I've not had a chance to transcribe the Nash or Gentry scrums and there were some good things in there like:

Nash is picking the Colts to which Paul Coro joked, "Offense wins championships" to which Steve responded, "The Colts defense is improved and it's not like the Saints are any better." Or something like that. Funny exchange

Nash talked about Kurt Warner retiring and said that while he's not close to that point he understands what Warner is going through (went through as of 1pm MST). He also talked about getting how guys like Brett Favre and Michael Jordan could think they were done but realize how much they miss the game.

Warner retiring can't help but make you flash forward to the day when Nash hangs them up. I am pre-sad.

Basketball-wise, Nash went back to the "having the right mentality and spirit card" as being the key difference between playing good and playing not good

Gentry was complementary to Payton Manning and sounded like his head was with the Colts, he said he is pulling for the Saints as the feel-good story.

Regarding Jason Terry's half-time comments to Cheryl Miller on TNT about the Mavericks being able to score on the Suns because they (Suns) don't play defense. Gentry said the Suns heard the comments and he (Gentry) would have been mad if they (comments) weren't true. He wouldn't admit to it, but one has to assume it fired up Gentry to pull out all of his defensive guns in the fourth after giving his starters a chance to respond in the third.

After the road trip the Suns will have only one game over a period of 10 days that includes the all-star break. Gentry said the Suns are looking forward to that opportunity to recharge.

The team was understandably in a better mood. Channing Frye even messed with me by flicking my microphone while we were talking to Nash. That's the second time he did that to me while talking to Nash. The last time was in November after running some poor team out of the gym.

[Note by Seth Pollack, 01/29/10 6:42 PM MST ]

Gentry Practice Audio

Nash Practice Audio

Coolest Links EVER! (no hyperbole....which is like saying 'no homo' after saying you want to lick your buddy's toes)

• Earl Clark's role becoming more significant for Suns
  "I can slow the best player they've got on their team down a little bit," Clark said. "We struggle a lot defensively. I can be a link in the defense. Sometimes we have a couple links that aren't there." Clark's minutes still are limited, but they have come at more-important junctures recently. "We'd like to get him out there for a few minutes and see if he's making progress," Gentry said. "We think he's getting a little bit better. The only way he's going to be able to do this is a little bit like Goran (Dragic). You're going to have to stick him out there and let him have the growing pains and mistakes. "At the end of the day, we still have to work on developing our young players because they are going to be the future of our franchise."
• Game Recap: Suns too Hot as Mavericks Fizzle, 112-106 - Mavs Moneyball
  Jason Terry’s quote at halftime was seemingly the Mavericks kiss of death. I am unsure if Phoenix saw that in the locker room but they turned up the defensive pressure so much so that the Mavericks couldn’t toss the ball into the ocean during the fourth quarter. Couple that with the Suns continuously running the pick and roll and you have a recipe for disaster.
• Phoenix Suns 112, Dallas Mavericks 106 " The Two Man Game
  Until a night like tonight. The defense we’ve come to expect from the Mavs’ strong start has been nonexistent in their last two contests, and any offensive momentum the Mavs have built in the past week was exhausted in the first three quarters against the Phoenix Suns. By the time the fourth came around, Dallas’ offense could do little other than sputter.
• Stoudemire Spends 4th Quarter on the Bench as Suns Beat Mavericks -- NBA FanHouse
  If the Suns are serious about trading Amar'e Stoudemire out of town before next month's deadline, they sure didn't do themselves any favors on Thursday. Playing a nationally televised game on TNT against the Dallas Mavericks, with the whole league watching, Phoenix pulled out a gritty, come-from-behind 112-106 victory.
• Daily Dime - ESPN
  "I'm 50-50," Stoudemire said before the Suns played the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday night. "They've shopped me around for two maybe three years. It's not a great feeling to feel that way. I feel like the confidence in me is not quite there within them, for them to want to shop me around so much."
• KTAR.com - Suns Spotted Around The League
  The Suns have had discussions with the Philadelphia 76ers - particularly interested in Andre Iguodala. The shooting guard is averaging 17.5 points per game this season and has three years left on his current contract. The deal with Houston would be difficult if they hold on to Carl Landry and don't want to give him up.
• NBA Talking Points: Where The NBA Needs A Redzone Channel - SB Nation
  NBA Talking Points is a weekly series that runs down some of the top stories in basketball, and some that aren't being talked about enough.
• What is Phoenix thinking with Amar'e? - Ball Don't Lie - NBA Blog - Yahoo! Sports
  Perhaps the idea that the Suns won't be able to sign Amar'e after the season is just a ruse. They might very well be fearing a Carlos Boozer-styled, unexpected opt-in. And as it is with the San Antonio front office, I trust the Suns front office to have best handle on what means most ($$$) to Amar'e. - It's a funny thing. I generally like what Kelly has to say but almost always disagree with everything he writes that's Suns related. No exception here.

[Note by Seth Pollack, 01/29/10 4:55 PM MST ]

You all know I am a big Goran Dragic fan going way back to last year when many people....weren't.

But this is not acceptable, kid.  (h/t Jared Dudley twitter)