Suns center making Big Man Camp's biggest impression

By Michael Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer

Through two days of his Big Man Camp, Pete Newell said a few players have already made a positive impression.

"(Phoenix center) Jake Tsakalidis improves every hour it seems," Newell said. "He seems more sure of himself. He's a big guy, about 275 pounds, and I think he's a potential star."

The second-year center was the subject of an intense legal battle last year between the Suns and AEK, the Greek basketball club to which he was once contracted. A London court last week rejected a challenge by AEK seeking to invalidate Tsakalidis' current contract with the Suns.

Two other players who caught Newell's eye were Detroit Pistons Ben Wallace and Rodney White.

"You can see the great potential there," Newell said.

Pistons head coach Rick Carlisle knew all about Wallace's skills, but White, selected with the ninth overall pick in June, has been a pleasant surprise.

"He's willing to work on his defense," Carlisle said. "Everybody knows it's fun to score but he's shown me that he's a competitive guy and he likes the challenge of stopping people."

• Spurred on: How serious was David Robinson about leaving San Antonio during this summer's contract negotiations?

"I got the sense that he really could have left," said teammate Malik Rose. "He was really upset with some of the things the Spurs said and the way he's been treated. I'm just glad things worked out and he's still with us."

Robinson, who has spent his entire 12-year career with the Spurs, had reportedly been asked to accept the team's $4.5 million exception to give the team more salary cap flexibility. He recently signed a two-year deal worth a reported $20 million.

The Spurs, who were embarrassed by the Lakers in last year's conference finals, have had a tumultuous off-season. Unable to come to terms with guard Derek Anderson, they sent him and Steve Kerr to Portland for Steve Smith in a sign-and-trade deal. They also lost point guard Avery Johnson and forward/center Samaki Walker to free agency, and could lose small forward Sean Elliot, who has been contemplating retirement.

"D.A. and I were really close and I'm sorry to see him go," Rose said. "But if Steve Smith can stay healthy I think he can really help us. We're going to miss that athleticism that (Anderson) brought, but I think Steve gives us another option as a deadly 3-point shooter which we can always use to open things up for David and Tim, and he can post up a little bit and use those mismatches at the 2-position."

The Spurs have also added free agents Stephen Jackson, Bruce Bowen, Amal McCaskill, Cherokee Parks and Mark Bryant.

• Who's the boss?: Kiki Vandeweghe, who last week was named general manager of the Denver Nuggets, said he expects to have a good working relationship with the team's president and its coach, both of whom happen to be Dan Issel.

"I've known Dan Issel for going on 25 years now and we have a very close relationship," Vandeweghe said. "Really, my job is to take the pressure off of him. He wants to focus on coaching and be the best coach he can be and I'm in there to make sure he can do that."

So who has the final say?

Owner Stan Kroenke.