Suns president of basketball operations Lon Babby began work on the team's search for a new general manager this week.

Babby insists that Phoenix isn't in a rush to fill the position and Thursday night he denied a report by Yahoo! Sports that Cavaliers assistant general manager Lance Blanks was the front-runner for the position.

"It's not a horse race," Babby said. "There are no frontrunners. We're going to have a thorough and systematic process, and it'll be at the end of that process that we'll move to evaluations.

"I've committed to myself and the candidates that I wouldn't move forward to a decision until I've completed the interviews. Therefore, there can't be a frontrunner."

Blanks has been Cleveland's assistant general manager for five years.

"The job hasn't been offered to anybody," Babby said. "The process has just begun this week. To this point, nobody has expressed any concern about the structure of the front office."

Lance Blanks, currently with the Cavaliers' front office, has emerged as the frontrunner to become the next general manager of the Suns, according to sources.

Dell Demps and Jeff Weltman both previously passed on the Suns job.

Suns president of basketball operations Lon Babby won't officially start work until next week, but he's already started the process of looking for a general manager.

Dell Demps was a candidate for the job, but opted to accept the same position with the Hornets.

"I'm taking my time to get it right," Babby said of the general manager search. "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."

It doesn't appear as though free-agent big man Louis Amundson will return to the Suns for a third season.

"It's too bad Phoenix didn't value me enough to keep me around," Amundson said. "I felt like it was a great situation and I gave everything I have. It's a business and I'm trying to have a thick skin.

"I was always concerned (about the chances). Knowing they signed Hakim Warrick and Channing for that much money ($30 million over five years), that was not a good sign."

Amundson said that the Bobcats, Raptors and Warriors have shown interest in signing him.

"We're talking pretty seriously with a lot of teams," said Amundson's agent, Mark Bartelstein. "He's the best big on the market."

The Phoenix Suns have waived forward Taylor Griffin, the team announced today.

Griffin appeared in just eight games for the Suns as a rookie in 2009-10, averaging 1.3 points in 4.0 minutes.

Suns center Robin Lopez will not play for Team USA this summer.

Lopez wants to continue rehabbing his injured back.

"I think it's just a precaution. His back is doing fine. Just precautionary," Robin's bother Brook told Chris Tomasson of FanHouse.

The Phoenix Suns today named Lon Babby the club?s president of basketball operations.

"Our organization is fortunate to have someone of Lon's experience and talent to head-up our basketball staff," said Suns Managing Partner Robert Sarver. "He brings with him a unique set of skills and a great reputation in the business."

With almost 35 years as a practicing attorney with Washington, DC-based Williams & Connolly, LLP, Babby brings a wealth of experience as an industry leader in sports and contract negotiations.

The Raptors will face the Suns in an exhibition game in Vancouver and also hold part of the training camp in the former NBA city.

The game against Phoenix will be Oct. 6. Suns point guard Steve Nash grew up in nearby Victoria.

It will be the first time the Raptors have come to Vancouver since the NBA left in 2001.

The Suns have hired agent Lon Babby to head their basketball operations, according to a source with knowledge of the situation.

The source said Babby would be introduced during a news conference in Phoenix on Tuesday.

Babby emerged in recent days as the leading candidate in Suns owner Robert Sarver's search for a replacement for general manager Steve Kerr.

He is one of the most respected agents in the business. He has represented Tim Duncan, Grant Hill and Ray Allen.

Babby also represented two of Phoenix's offseason acquisitions, Hedo Turkoglu and Josh Childress.

Hedo Turkoglu underwent minor gall bladder surgery in his native Turkey last week.

The Arizona Republic first reported the story.

Phoenix coach Alvin Gentry said the procedure was "not a big deal."

"We checked with the doctors, and it's a minor procedure. He [was] just having some gallstones removed," Gentry said. "He's supposed to be playing in three to four days and has been cleared to travel next week."