The Suns are reportedly looking to add a point guard to help ease the burden on Steve Nash, according to The Arizona Republic.

"One thing we'd like to do with Steve is not just cut down on his minutes but maybe cut down on his games, too," Suns General Manager Steve Kerr said. "He's played about 80 games almost every year. I'd like to see that go to 70. I think it'd help Steve to get a night off occasionally."

Phoenix could target Tyronn Lue, who considered signing with the Suns before agreeing to terms with the Mavericks this past season.

Anthony Johnson and Chris Duhon also appear to be options.

Kobe Bryant is taking the high road and will not respond to the sledging handed to him by former teammate Shaquille O'Neal in a recent rap, the L.A. Times are reporting.

"I didn't take it any kind of way whatsoever," Bryant said Saturday, before declining to take any more questions on the topic.

A buyout will cost Goran Dragic, a second round pick, more than $1.5M US dollars after the Suns kick in the allowed $500,000, making it unlikely that Phoenix will see their newest point guard next season, the East Valley Tribune is reporting.

?We?re going to try. We?ll do what we can,? David Griffin said. ?This year, we can only do what we can do. It?s a lot of money, and the exchange rate doesn?t help. Maybe it takes a year.?

General Manager Steve Kerr, who had never seen Dragic before the workout, would rather not wait.

?We?re going to roll up our sleeves and see what we can get done,? he said. ?After what I saw, the sooner he gets here, the better.?

Both Phoenix and Portland were looking to acquire T.J. Ford from the Raptors before Bryan Colangelo took an offer that included Jermaine O'Neal from Indiana, according to The Toronto Star.

The Raptors also reportedly had a deal on the table that would have sent Ford to Charlotte for swingman Gerald Wallace, but the Bobcats refused to add a second rounder to sweeten the deal.

Grant Hill has decided to exercise his player option for the 2008-09 season, according to The Arizona Republic.

He signed with the team as a free agent in July of 2007, and appeared in 70 games for the Suns this past season.

Grant Hill will be back with the Phoenix Suns in 2008-09 after exercising his player option, the East Valley Tribune is reporting.

Hill appeared in 70 games for the Suns, his most in a single season since 1999-00, including starts in 34 consecutive contests to open the season.

The Suns talked about trading Leandro Barbosa to Portland, where he has high interest, for Martell Webster, the No. 13 overall pick and perhaps Finnish point guard Petteri Koponen.

But the Blazers were keying on other options Wednesday, including ones with New York and New Jersey.

Phoenix has tried to trade up in today's NBA draft, using Leandro Barbosa and Boris Diaw as their main pawns, but as the hours count down to crunch time, the Suns may end up having to stay where they started, the East Valley Tribune is reporting.

The most likely destination for Diaw appeared to be Toronto, but that may be shelved now it looks as though the Raptors will acquire Jermaine O'Neal from Indiana.

Phoenix did not want to accept T.J. Ford in return from the Raptors because of the length and cost of his contract.

Meanwhile, Barbosa has been linked to Portland, who claim that the 13th pick has never been on offer in a deal involving the speedy guard.  A proposal of Channing Frye, Martell Webster and a second-round pick was shot down by Portland.

The Blazers acquired pick 27 from New Orleans on Thursday and are believed to be trying to trade up with New Jersey for the 10th overall selection, with D.J. Augustin their target.  Augustin, however, may not be available at this point.

Shaquille O'Neal has been asked to give his special deputy's badge because of the language used to mock former teammate Kobe Bryant in a rap video recently, the Associated Press is reporting.

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio said the Phoenix Suns center's use of a racially derogatory word and other foul language left him no choice. Arpaio made Shaq a special deputy in 2006 and promoted him to colonel of his largely ceremonial posse later that year.

"I want his two badges back," Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio told The Associated Press on Tuesday, "because if any one of my deputies did something like this, they're fired. I don't condone this type of racial conduct."

The Suns and Clippers are reportedly discussing a deal that would send the No. 7 pick and Corey Maggette to Phoenix for the No. 15 selection and Leandro Barbosa, according to ESPN.com.

The deal can only be approved if Maggette decides not to opt out of his contract. If he does decide to opt out, he cannot be signed-and-trade until mid-July.