Casey Jacobson, a first round selection out of Stanford is beginning his third year in the league, his final guaranteed year and the Suns remain unclear whether or not they will pick up their option on him for a fourth season.

Suns forward Amare Stoudemire has made it clear in the past he doesn't want to be a center, but with the Suns' best lineup ''on paper'' having the talented bigman at the 5 he slowly appears to be coming around to the idea.

Suns president Bryan Colangelo said he can see a scenario where "our best combination is when he's out there as a small 'five' (center)" flanked by Shawn Marion and Joe Johnson at forward and Steve Nash and Quentin Richardson at guard.

According to the East Valley Tribune the situation has been explained to Stoudemire, and "ultimately Amare's about winning."

And that means if he needs to play a significant amount of time at center, "He'll be fine with it," Colangelo said. Said Stoudemire, "If I have to do it for a couple games, that's cool.

"It's not my natural position. . . but sometimes it will be to our advantage because we'll be quicker (than opponents) and I can still go into the post.
"If I'm called on to play center, I'll play it." How about being the starting center?

"Whoa!" said a surprised Stoudemire. "It depends.

"We have legitimate centers (in Jake Voskhul and Steven Hunter). I don't think I'll be called on to play center that much."

The Phoneix Suns are trying to give themselves every advantage over the rest of the West as the NBA season draws nearer, the return of forward Shawn Marion to Arizona marking a full roster on the America West Arena practice court for the final week of Suns informal workouts.

Training camp begins in Flagstaff in a week.

"It's cool to be back but, dang, I'm hurting," Marion said after pickup games left his feet aching. "I've been trying to recuperate. This is going to be good and exciting. We're all on the same page."

"Our workouts seem to be picking up steam," Suns President and General Manager Bryan Colangelo said. "The level of performance was not only ratcheted up but it looked like the intensity level was too."

The Suns are expected to add veteran guard Derrick Dial and former Bull Phil Shirley to their training camp roster.

Playing on a makeshift basketball court with five other rookies, Jackson Vroman broke his right thumb when he hit a glass wall during a game on an indoor racquetball court.

"I basically wanted to get out of the meetings, so I asked to go to the hospital," said Vroman, who was told by an orthopedic surgeon that he likely would need two screws inserted to repair the damage.

Picked as the Suns only pick at No. 31, Vroman is under a two-year contract that is guaranteed.

It now seems that the Suns might back off of signing the veteran center to a one-year, veterans-minimum contract and just let him retire.  

Phoenix now seems content with Jake Voskuhl and Steven Hunter and might even run Amare Stoudemire at the five every now and than.

With a roster that now stands at 14 players and workouts kicking into their highest gear, the Suns may not have room for center Scott Williams.

Suns president Bryan Colangelo indicated that the team wants to add the center, however they are having trouble getting a hold of him.  Now, Colangelo is leaning toward leaving the roster where it stands.

"Is it realistic to think that somebody else can make the team?" Colangelo wondered. "Whether we add another player is an uncertainty."

Without Williams, the Suns will shuffle Jake Voskuhl, Steven Hunter, and even Amare Stoudemire at the center position.

"Being in this building, is . . . is really unbelievable," said Colangelo, who was inducted as a contributor for 38 years of accomplishments in the NBA.  Mr. Colangelo started of as a scout and promotions manager and finished his career as an owner.

A true rags to riches story, Colangelo?s 40 years of service to the NBA, which included ownership of the Suns, was rewarded with his induction to the hall of fame with presenters like Wayne Embry, Bobby Knight, Connie Hawkins, and Pete Newell.  

"I'm thankful for being in a country where someone can rise from humble beginnings and become a success," he (Colangelo) said.

Yuta Tabuse has signed for the Phoenix Suns, boosting his hopes of becoming the first Japanese to play in the US National Basketball Association (NBA) regular season, the NBA's Tokyo branch said.

The 23-year-old guard, who participated in the Denver Nuggets' pre-season training camp last year, will join the Phoenix club for the start of the season on October 10.

After failing to make the Nuggets' 12-man roster, he helped Long Beach Jam win the independent American Basketball Association league last season.

Tabuse played with Brigham Young University Hawaii for three years before joining Toyota Alvark of Japan's Super League in 2002.

He left the Japanese club last year with his sights set on the big-time American league, taking part in Phoenix's camp in July and playing in summer games.

If Tabuse makes the team, it will be another big victory for the NBA as a global brand.

Scot Williams, popular player and all around great guy is now on the Sun?s radar after being released in January so he could join the Dallas Mavericks.

"We have expressed an interest in doing something with Scott Williams," and the Suns hope to "finalize discussions with him shortly," Colangelo said.

During William?s stint with the Suns he made a lot of friends from the players all the way up to the front office, making him an excellent choice to become a permanent member of the Sun?s organization.

In his previous Suns stint, "I think he was a good influence on the team," Colangelo said. So good that the Suns talked about making him an assistant coach someday.