There have been no reports of Steve Nash trade talks, just speculation that there could be some. Suns coach Alvin Gentry took an ax to that seed before it sprouted. “Steve’s not going to be traded, that I can tell you,” Gentry said. “If he’s getting traded, I’m going along with him, OK? Have you looked at the way he’s playing? He’s playing at a real high level. Why would we trade him? I don’t understand that. That’s nothing that’s been discussed here.” Nash said he “would love to stay here” and called the speculation “chatter, not really substantial.” Facing another reconstruction, he noted that he signed a contract extension after the Suns missed the 2009 playoffs. “Now we’re kind of starting at the bottom again but let’s see what we can do,” Nash said. “Let’s see how good we can get.” — Arizona Republic

With Robin Lopez’s confidence eroding and Channing Frye’s shot reeling, the position is the center of the issues for the 3-4 Suns.

- have shot 34 percent, worse than any NBA center tandem entering Tuesday except for Minnesota’s Darko Milicic and Anthony Tolliver.

- have taken more shots than two-thirds of the NBA’s center duos.

- are in the bottom 10 for scoring and rebounding – and neither grabs as many rebounds as forward Grant Hill (6.9). — Arizona Republic

Robin Lopez must because the Suns likely will keep the roster as it exists for a while, without adding Erick Dampier or any other free-agent big man in the near future. Lopez said assistant coach Bill Cartwright is asking him to change his approach from last season.  — Arizona Republic

Are the Suns a playoff team? “To be honest, if I was outside this picture and a betting man, I would probably pick us to be outside of the playoffs considering all the changes and the new guys,” team leader Steve Nash said after Sunday’s team practice. — SB Nation

Phoenix is high on the list for free-agent center Erick Dampier, who is expected to pick a team before opening-night rosters are set Monday. “We are continuing to explore ways to improve our roster,” Suns President of Basketball Operations Lon Babby said. The Suns waived Zabian Dowdell and Dwayne Jones after Tuesday’s game. The two were in roster battles with rookies Matt Janning, a guard, and Garret Siler, a center who could be affected if Dampier chose Phoenix over other suitors. The Suns have 14 players but can carry 15. “Phoenix is certainly one of the top teams he’s considering,” said Dampier’s agent, Dan Fegan. Dampier is friends with former Golden State teammate and Suns guard Jason Richardson, who is also represented by Fegan. — Arizona Republic

Suns guard Jason Richardson is represented by Dan Fegan. Richardson is eligible for a contract extension. “We’ve had a number of preliminary discussions regarding Jason,” Fegan said. “We expect to resume talks to determine a direction in the near future.” — Arizona Republic

Jared Dudley is eligible for a contract extension through October but the Suns might let him become a restricted free agent after making long-term commitments to Josh Childress and Hedo Turkoglu. “It would be nice,” Dudley said of an extension. “I’m not optimistic. My mindset is to go out and play my last year and go as far as we can. At the end of the year, I know if we win, I’m going to have a good year. I do a pretty good job of keeping healthy. My goal is to come out and have a better year than last year and have the team better. When a team is successful, everybody usually does pretty well. Look at Channing (Frye). $30 million. Tell him (to) let me get a little bit of that.” — Arizona Republic

Louis Amundson has generated little buzz on the open market. He’s slipped through the cracks of free agency while role-playing big men such as Tony Battie, Kwame Brown, Brian Cook, Juwan Howard and Johan Petro switched teams. Amundson may be the most attractive low-post option left unsigned. Amundson doesn’t fill up the box score — his 4.7 points, 4.4 rebounds and 14.8 minutes were career highs last season — but his worth goes beyond simple numbers. “I really like him,” Steve Kerr said. “Guys like him are hard to find.” Especially if teams aren’t looking. Bartelstein said several situations need to shake out before Amundson settles on his next team. The waiting game could go up to the eve of camp.   — NBA.com

The latest venture sprouting forth from Madison Avenue is a marketing consultancy armed with a $20 million investment fund to take stakes in start-up companies. But beyond its bankroll, the firm has serious drawing power at the helm: Phoenix Suns basketball star Steve Nash and a widely respected agency executive, Deutsch’s Michael Duda. The company, dubbed Consigliere (insert your “Godfather” impersonations here), wants entrepreneurs to consider marketing not as an afterthought, but as a strategic part of the growth process. It’ll focus on investing in budding firms in only a few sectors, such as e-commerce, sports and durables. — Ad Week

The DVD arrived at Suns offices with a paper cover that read “Reaching for a Dream.” It was a reach all right. On the video, a sunset-silhouetted figure approaches and says, “Here we go, let me show you I can play.” In an unedited half-hour video, the man sells his basketball wares like a Times Square hawker trying to push knockoff Rolex watches or Coach purses. With a cameraman saying, “Go,” on each take, the applicant stumbles on defensive slides across a Valley park court, kicks the ball during dribbling drills (asking once, “Were you rolling on that?”), misses layups, falls over backward on defense, shows six clips of missed dunks before making one and pitches, “You can train me to be the best I can be and, from there, it’s all uphill.” It sounds like a gag, but if this man’s intent isn’t as serious as it appears, then he is a more convincing actor than Denzel Washington. The Suns spliced his work into the 2007 training-camp video, warning their rookies that someone always was ready to take their spots. Players thought it was fabricated. “I know it sounds like a prank, but he was dead serious,” Suns assistant director of basketball operations Amin Elhassan said. “It was a passionate plea. When he was shot down, he was so heartbroken.” … As for the video applicant from the park, then Suns executive Vinny Del Negro called him back. The man was 25, worked at Safeway and was not interested in a D-League tryout because he did not want to move his family. Reminded that half of NBA games are away, he told Del Negro, “Yeah, I was hoping I could only play home games.” — Arizona Republic

In Suns President of Basketball Operations Lon Babby’s first pressing business, his search for a new general manager who was a “basketball guru” and “cultural fit” who is “associated with winning” came up Blanks – Lance Blanks. Babby declined to reveal contract terms but said Blanks “will be here as long as I am.” He got to know Blanks when Blanks was in San Antonio and Babby, a longtime player agent, was representing Tim Duncan, Bruce Bowen and Malik Rose. He credited Blanks with identifying Bowen as a fit for the Spurs, as well as having a voice in the drafting of Tony Parker and Luis Scola in San Antonio and J.J. Hickson in Cleveland. — Arizona Republic

*Blanks played for the Pistons and Timberwolves over three seasons and averaged 2.0ppg, shooting .436% from the floor.