Camp is about to start. Cardinals, that is. The Suns go camping in San Diego in two months. Until then, the Suns information comes in morsels. Such as:
* It sounds like Steve Nash will be making things official on his extension Monday. There was the obvious paperwork to sign and some physical examination to do. The latter is probably a safeguard, considering that the extension is uninsured because of his age.
* Their returns were likely anyway but would you have felt stronger about Alvin Gentry getting a head coach contract done and Grant Hill getting a new contract done if you knew they had become investors in the third Majerle's Sports Grill in Goodyear? The third establishment with Suns assistant coach Dan Majerle's name is opening Monday west of Dysart and McDowell. The second one, in Chandler, included Suns broadcast analyst Scott Williams as an investor. The downtown one was once ranked by Sports Illustrated as one of the nation's top 25 sports bars.
* Lots of names get tossed around for the Suns' 13th roster spot (well, 14th until Sasha Pavlovic is waived or traded). It's probably going to be a while, unless some quality player steps forth and says he wants to play in Phoenix for the minimum. The expectation is that the Suns will go with a point guard or center when they do make a choice, with a big seeming more likely. Goran Dragic was not fabulous in his first NBA Summer League appearance but all they want is to be able to rest Nash for 18 minutes a game. Of course, that's all Mike D'Antoni, Terry Porter and Alvin Gentry have wanted to do. Gentry has some the closest, getting him down to 33.2 per game after the All-Star break with the aid of being out of it at the end. The Suns might need an emergency banger, who can throw a big body against post-up players and rebound because Lou Amundson is the only Suns frontcourt player who is considered to be a strong rebounder. The interesting dynamic to consider is whether they land a quality guy and try to wedge him into the rotation or aim for a role player who will not be an issue if he is not playing. The Suns could bring some non-guaranteed guys, like summer point guard Zabian Dowdell, to camp and preseason and see who gets waived elsewhere before opening night. Taylor Griffin, 10 for 32 in Vegas, didn't seem to help his cause for the spot.
* Is it too late to talk summer league? It ended a week ago tonight but perhaps not enough was said about the job Earl Clark did on top pick Blake Griffin in that last game on Sunday. The best thing Clark showed all week was his defensive versatility but he saved his best defense for last. If Griffin made a shot, it was a tough contested one or it was against someone else because Clark was rotating to another man or resting on the bench. He didn't let Griffin get where he wanted. He stopped his attempts to drive. He blocked a lean-back jumper. He fronted him on the post. He denied and thwarted alleyoop tries. On the other end, Clark averaged 11.3 points and shot 38 percent. He still showed a propensity to take long two-point jumpers and to get stuck in the air when he drives. Well-coach defensively, Clark might have a bigger transition coming offensively as he moves from the Louisville system, albeit a fast, pro-style one, to the freedom Phoenix's system will give him.
* All that said about Clark, a lasting summer league memory will be Clark inbounding the ball in backcourt to a referee, who had to dodge it as it rolled out of bounds. It wasn't like he didn't know the ball was live. The ref had just given it to him. It's right up there with Lopez hoisting a 3-pointer at the end of the last game and getting it counted because Kevin Pinkney intentionally goaltended it. Lopez called for the ball at the line and looked over to the bench for Majerle's approval but the coach was shaking hands with Anthony Houston, one of his assistants. The shot did have more of a chance than the 10-foot lefthanded hook Lopez tried earlier. Summer league is a place to experiment.
* Even though he did not start playing well until the second half of summer league, Dragic still ended up ranked fifth in assists per game (5.4). He also averaged 12.0 points, the best among the Suns' regulars (Alando Tucker led but only played one game by design to show his good health). On the flip side, Dragic was 0 for 6 on 3-pointers and averaged 3.2 turnovers per game. Dragic is in Slovenia now to train with his national team, which will play in the European Championship in September. We'll see how his court time works out now that Sasha Vujacic has joined a team that already had Beno Udrih.
* Matt Barnes landed in a good place. He will back up Rashard Lewis in Orlando and maybe get some other minutes in a smaller lineup. He will be on a better team and make more than he did with Phoenix, getting about $1.6 million with a player option for a second year. Barnes gives a team versatility and effort but just how many facial cringes will his on-court decisions draw from Stan Van Gundy? And who will Gentry yell at now when Nash messes up?
