While the Big Four of the NBA's Western Conference appear to be even better than ever, and the Minnesota Timberwolves have made enough moves to warrant consideration of making it the Big Five, the Suns are patiently sticking to their plan.

"Our situation is a little different," Suns President and General Manager Bryan Colangelo said. "We felt going into the off-season like we have the makings of a good young core. We've talked about keeping it together, and we've added a couple of new pieces via the draft.

"From what we saw in the summer league, it looks like we've added a couple of nice pieces (Zarko Cabarkapa and Leandro Barbosa). And we were able to keep two important pieces in Scott Williams and Jake Voskuhl. Patience is the key with our team."

Coach Frank Johnson concurs.

"Our improvement will come with time together and experience," he said. "Amare Stoudemire is coming off an outstanding rookie year. Shawn Marion and Stephon Marbury had outstanding individual years.