The Suns are holding a free agent minicamp Wednesday to take a look at their first-round pick, Markieff Morris, and a mix of undrafted rookies as well as pros who have competed in Europe or the D-League.

The most well-known name in the group is Sean Williams, the former first-round pick of New Jersey whose talent was offset by troubles that date back to when he was Jared Dudley's teammate at Boston College.

Williams, 24, reportedly improved his attitude and off-court behavior this past year with Nancy Lieberman's Dallas Legends D-League team.

He averaged 14.4 points, 9.4 rebounds and 2.9 blocks while shooting 56 percent but most of the evaluation on him will have to be about his maturation.

The Phoenix Suns have extended a qualifying offer to restricted free agent Aaron Brooks, the team announced today.

The 6-0, 161-pound Brooks was acquired by the Suns from the Houston Rockets at the 2011 trade deadline on Feb. 24 in exchange for Goran Dragic and a 2011 first-round draft pick. The 26-year-old Brooks appeared in 25 games (five starts) for Phoenix, averaging 9.6 points and 4.2 assists following the trade.

An established NBA point guard who owns career averages of 12.5 points and 3.6 assists in 272 games (129 starts), Brooks was originally selected by the Rockets with the 26th overall pick (first round) of the 2007 NBA Draft.

The Phoenix Suns and guard Vince Carter have agreed to modify the date on which Carter’s contract becomes fully guaranteed, the club announced today. Originally, the Suns had until Thursday, June 30, but that date has been changed to the start of NBA free agency for the 2011-2012 season.

“This change gives us additional time and flexibility to make a decision on Vince’s contract,” said Suns President of Basketball Operations Lon Babby.

The 6-6, 220-pound Carter was originally acquired by the Suns from the Orlando Magic on Dec. 18, 2010, along with Marcin Gortat, Mickael Pietrus, a 2011 first-round pick and cash considerations in exchange for Hedo Turkoglu, Jason Richardson and Earl Clark. Carter appeared in 51 games (41 starts) following the trade, and averaged 13.5 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.6 assists in a Suns uniform.

The Suns have explored discussions of a trade involving Steve Nash to the Wolves in a package that would include the No. 2 overall pick, according to sources.

The talks haven't advanced beyond the exploratory stage because of what sources described as a "mutual conclusion" by both teams that such a deal would ultimately not work for the Wolves.

The Suns covet Derrick Williams, according to sources.

Suns President of Basketball Operations Lon Babby had an emphatic response to a Wednesday morning espn.com report that the Suns have discussed trading Nash to Minnesota in a package for the No. 2 pick in Thursday's draft.

It came on the heels of denying another espn.com report that the Suns explored sending Marcin Gortat to Minnesota.

"We are not trading Marcin Gortat. Period. End of sentence," Babby said Wednesday morning. "We are not trading Steve Nash. Period. Exclamation point."

The Phoenix Suns are working on a buyout with Vince Carter, per the Arizona Republic's Paul Coro.

Carter averaged 14.0 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game this past season.

Carter signed a four-year, $61.8 million deal in 2007. He's entering the final year of the contract, which will pay him $18.9 million next season.

Agent Bill McCandless would not have been doing his job had his client, Suns swingman Mickael Pietrus, opted out of his contract this summer and declined a $5.3 million option to be a free agent.

Pietrus waited to decide on the option until Monday afternoon but he is no fool. McCandless said Pietrus will opt in. That does not necessarily mean that he will remain a Suns player for the final year of his contract, given Phoenix's overabundance of wing players.

McCandless said he and Pietrus are aware of the possibility of a Suns trade to better balance their roster.

"I'll be surprised if Lon (Babby, Suns president of basketball operations) doesn't make a couple deals on draft day or later," McCandless said. "If you have a surplus in one position and a need in another, guess what?

Suns president Rick Welts wanted to make one thing clear: He'd talk about the nature of the Phoenix sports market and its fans, but not in reference to a possible trade of point guard Steve Nash.

"That's ridiculous," he said.

From a basketball standpoint, that can be argued. Nash is 37. The Suns no longer are a championship contender. Why not trade him while he still has significant value and begin the rebuilding process?

From a business perspective, however, there is no debate. Trading Nash would be disastrous.

"Phoenix can be a tough market," Welts said.

Charles Barkley does not want to be a distraction to the Suns but he would not mind being one of the team's silent minority owners, if you can believe the silent part.

Talking about Philadelphia's ownership situation during a media conference call about next month's American Century Golf Championship (he is considering play lefthanded!), Barkley also mentioned his in-season hometown.

"I don't have enough money to be like a Michael (Jordan) and take complete control of an organization," Barkley said of his friend's status as Charlotte's managing partner. "But it would be fun to, like whether it was in Philadelphia or Phoenix, to put a few million dollars in and be not a speaking owner but just a fun, good investment."

Suns general manager Lance Blanks and coach Alvin Gentry talked shop after the team's first meaningful workout, one of a few in the two weeks leading up to the June 23 draft, in which the Suns  have the 13th overall pick.

"I think up front we need to get better and a little more physical," Blanks said. "On the perimeter, we have a surplus of threes (small forwards) but the off-guard position is something we'd like to inject. After that, it's a little bit of a free for all in terms of who the player might be and what the situation might be on draft night."

Friday, the Suns' workout will include two candidates for the No. 13 spot in swingmen Jordan Hamilton of Texas and Klay Thompson of Washington State, as well as Pittsburgh's Gilbert Brown and Gary McGhee, Seton Hall's Jeremy Hazell and Virginia Tech's Jeff Allen.