The Suns will likely be without 29-year old center Marcin Gortat for the rest of the 2012-13 season due to a Lisfranc injury to his right foot.  Gortat has played in 61 games (all starts) for the Suns so far this year and he is averaging 30.8 minutes, 11.1 points, 8.5 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.6 blocked shots per game.  Gortat has 17 double-doubles so far this year and he is shooting 52.1% from the floor, which is impressive.  Gortat has now played in 182 games (139 starts) in his first three years with the Suns and he is averaging 30.9 minutes, 13.3 points, 9.3 rebounds, 1.0 assist and 1.5 blocked shots per game.  This is a big blow to the Suns as Gortat is one of their best players.

The Suns have acquired 23-year old forward Marcus Morris from the Houston Rockets for a 2nd round pick in 2013.  Morris played in 54 games (17 starts) for the Rockets this year and he averaged 21.4 minutes, 8.6 points, 4.1 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game.  He has now played in 71 games (17 starts) in his first two years in the NBA and he is averaging 18.0 minutes, 7.1 points, 3.3 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game.  This was a rock solid move for the Suns as is reunites the Morris brothers, as they already had Markieff on the team.  The best thing around this deal is that the Suns didn’t give up much (a second round pick) to get a player (Marcus Morris) who will move right into their playing rotation.

The Suns have fired head coach Alvin Gentry. The Suns were only 13-28 (31.7%) under Gentry in 2012-13 at the time of his firing. Gentry was 158-144 (52.3%) during the regular season in his five years in charge. He was also 10-6 (62.5%) in the playoffs for the Suns. The Suns have hired 42-year old Lindsey Hunter to replace Gentry as the new head coach. He has a lot of playing experience in the NBA, but not much coaching experience.

29-year old power forward Channing Frye is going to miss the entire 2012-13 season due to an enlarged heart. Frye played in 64 games (59 starts) for the Suns last year and he averaged 26.1 minutes, 10.5 points, 5.9 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.1 blocked shots per game. He has now played in 222 games (164 starts) in his three years with the Suns and he is averaging 28.8 minutes, 11.5 points, 5.9 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.0 blocked shot per game. The Suns are going to miss Frye in 2012-13. They hope he gets back to getting healthy and resuming his NBA career down the road.

The Phoenix Suns have signed 33-year old center Jermaine O’Neal. O’Neal played in 25 games (24 starts) for the Celtics last year and he averaged 22.8 minutes, 5.0 points, 5.4 rebounds, 0.4 assists and 1.7 blocked shots per game. He has now played in 911 games (680 starts) in his first 16 years in the NBA and he is averaging 27.9 minutes, 13.7 points, 7.4 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.9 blocked shots per game. This was a good pickup for the Suns, as O’Neal is still a very physical player who can block some shots.

The Phoenix Suns have acquired 25-year old SG/SF Wesley Johnson (from the Timberwolves), 36-year old center Brad Miller (from the Hornets), 25-year old guard Jerome Dyson and a lottery protected first round pick from the Timberwolves. The pick is protected until the 2017 season, when it turns into a 2nd round pick and cash (it originally belonged to the Memphis Grizzlies). The Suns dealt 24-year old center Robin Lopez and 30-year old forward Hakim Warrick to the Hornets and a 2nd round pick in 2014 to the Timberwolves as part of this year. The Timberwolves also get 2nd round picks in 2013 and 2016 from the Hornets as part of this deal.

Wesley Johnson will likely be one of the first players off the bench for the Suns in 2012-13. He played in 65 games (64 starts) for the Timberwolves last year and he averaged 22.6 minutes, 6.0 points, 2.7 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game. Johnson has now played in 144 games (127 starts) in his first two years in the NBA and he is averaging 24.6 minutes, 7.7 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game. The Suns hope that a change in scenery helps spike Johnson’s production. Brad Miller played in 15 games (1 start) for the Timberwolves last year and he averaged 9.7 minutes, 2.3 points, 1.3 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game. Miller has now played in 868 games (598 starts) in his first 14 years in the NBA and he is averaging 28.3 minutes, 11.2 points, 7.1 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. It’s assumed that Miller will retire, but if he decides against it, he could help the Suns off the bench behind Marcin Gortat. Jerome Dyson played in 9 games (1 start) for the Hornets in his first taste of the NBA last year and he averaged 20.0 minutes, 7.4 points, 2.1 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.2 steals per game. He should help the Suns off the bench in 2012-13.

Robin Lopez played in 64 games (0 starts) for the Suns last year and he averaged 14.0 minutes, 5.4 points, 3.3 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game. He played in 242 games (94 starts) in his four years with the Suns in which he averaged 14.4 minutes, 5.8 points, 3.3 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game. He was a big disappointment for the Suns. Hakim Warrick played in 35 games (0 starts) for the Suns last year and he averaged 14.4 minutes, 6.4 points, 2.6 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game. Warrick played in 115 games (6 starts) in his two years with the Suns in which he averaged 16.7 minutes, 7.8 points, 3.4 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game. Wesley Johnson should be able to replace Hakim Warrick’s P.T. in 2012-13.

This was a good deal for the Suns as they acquired Wesley Johnson, Jerome Dyson and a first round pick for two players they didn’t want anymore.

UPDATE: (8/15/2012) - The Suns have released Brad Miller and Jerome Dyson.

The Suns have signed 27-year old shooting guard P.J. Tucker. Tucker has been playing overseas for the last few years. His only NBA experience came back in 2006-07 with the Toronto Raptors. Tucker played in 17 games (0 starts) for the Raptors in 2006-07 in which he averaged 4.9 minutes, 1.8 points, 1.4 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game. The Suns hope that Tucker will be able to help them off the bench in 2012-13.

The Phoenix Suns have re-signed 26-year old SG/SF Shannon Brown to a 2-year deal. Brown played in 59 games (19 starts) for the Suns last year and he averaged 23.7 minutes, 11.0 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. He has now played in 315 games (35 starts) in his first six years in the NBA and he is averaging 17.7 minutes, 7.7 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. Brown should help out the Suns will instant offense off the bench.

The Suns have waived 29-year old SG/SF Josh Childress using the amnesty clause, clearing $21 million dollars off the cap for them over the next three years. Childress played in 34 games (0 starts) for the Suns last year and he averaged 14.4 minutes, 2.9 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game. He amazingly only shot 0 for 2 from the foul line last year in 491 minutes on the court as he was softer than a roll of Charmin. Childress played in 87 games (3 starts) in his two years with the Suns and he averaged 15.9 minutes, 4.3 points, 2.9 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game. He only shot 5 of 40 (12.5%) from three point range and 29 of 61 (47.5%) from the free throw line in his two years with the Suns. This is no loss for the Suns as Childress is not the same player he was early on in his career.

The Suns have claimed 32-year old power forward Luis Scola off amnesty waivers, likely costing them around $13 million bucks on a 3-year deal. This is a big time bargain for the Suns as Scola will start at power forward for them in 2012. Scola played in 66 games (all starts) for the Rockets last year and he averaged 31.3 minutes, 15.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. He has now played in 386 games (343 starts) in his first five years in the NBA and he is averaging 30.2 minutes, 14.5 points, 7.7 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game. This is another outstanding move for the Suns, who are rebuilding themselves into a good team right away.