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Phoenix Suns' Marcin Gortat (4) tries to defend Los Angeles Clippers' Blake Griffin under the basket during the first half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, Dec. 23, 2012, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ralph Freso)

As the Suns continue to rebuild during the post-Steve Nash Era in Phoenix, they are finding the process to be a long and arduous one.

With an 11-17 record, the Suns' focus isn't so much on contending for a title as it is getting back to the playoffs after a two-year absence.

"Our job is to get better every day and there are a number of ways to do that. The first and foremost is to develop the players that we have and now we've put a lot of time and energy into doing that and I think there are signs of progress," Suns President of Basketball Operations Lon Babby told Arizona Sports 620's Doug & Wolf Wednesday. "You never move as quickly as you'd like, though."

When Nash bolted for Los Angeles, he took the Suns' remaining star power with him. Babby said that kind of top-tier talent is hard to come by.

"It's challenging to find a player of that caliber and I think the vast majority of them actually come through the draft," Babby said. "I think if you look team-by-team as to where those star players come from they often come through the draft and they don't always have to be top five picks and quite often they aren't top five picks.

"I think we have to continue to do a great job of drafting, scouting both pro players and college players and just be ready to jump and seize the opportunity and take a risk here and there and try to develop the guys that we have."

Babby said the Suns are dedicated to helping along their young talent and cites Marcin Gortat, Sebastian Telfair and Shannon Brown among the current players who have shown improvement since coming to the Valley.

While the Suns are still in search of their next franchise face, Babby said they also pride themselves on finding ways to win from within.

"I think there's a tremendous benefit of saying it's great to be able to go out and get the finished product but at the same time you've got to take the products you have and refine them," Babby stated.

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    Jdanielson wrote...
    Pants on fire
    After saying that tanking to get better via the draft was not something Babby believed in, he is no saying the only way to get a star is through the draft. Is that because no one wants to play for the current front office, hmmmmm...?
  • Abuse
    azgbayfan wrote...
    Patience?
    The problem is ( though not really Babby's fault) is that Sarver let Kerr go because they didn't see eye to eye, and thought that he and the rest of his team were savvy enough to do what needed to be done and they failed miserably! Now Babby is asking for patience from fans while they try to right the ship. That is BS! The price of this game is to expensive to watch a product that is barely able to compete. The Suns don't deserve patience. Sarver needs to Manup and and take his medicine.
  • Abuse
    rdgroce wrote...
    Seriously Babby? Listen to what he just said;
    1) do a great job of drafting, like our DLeague guy? 2) do a great job of scouting, you mean like Beasley and Wes Johnson? 3) be ready to jump and take risk, like Gordon or Harden? 4) develop guys like Gortat, Brown, and Bassy? Gortat is a backup center, whose stats are going backwards, and by the way,he was a backup talent when we traded for him and still is, same with brown, yet they make then starters and look at the results. I like Bassy's hustle but come on, when you are the suns backup PG that alone says it all.
  • Abuse
    BirdmanKickedYourAZ wrote...
    The Suns are top 5 all time wins franchise
    Do you expect them to be good every year, forever? NOT resigning Amare was one of the smartest things sarver did. Kerr doesnt want to be a GM - he is doing TV. Babby did NOT say that the draft is the only way, or that we need to tank. See "they dont have to be TOP 5 PICKS and quite often arent." Amare, nash, marion. Not a single one was a top 5 pick. Give them a chance. Marshall can play - nash needed time too. He is not an athlete, he is a cerebral player.
  • Abuse
    BirdmanKickedYourAZ wrote...
    Fans can never tell me
    Who should they have gotten in free agency? Mayo? There WERE NO SUPERSTARS. Mayo = Mediocrity. We have nice players - we need to add 2 stars - mayo is a #3 at best, and has a poor attitude. If you are going to complain about what has happened, please suggest the superior alternative. That is a key component of a bad decision - that a BETTER ONE exists.
  • Abuse
    dennis schumer wrote...
    rebuilding
    Forget the draft. In the 10 years since they drafted Stoudemire,not one draft choice made the starting lineup before they were traded elsewhere.Only two stayed with the team more than one year.Last night with Dragic hurt we had no one to spell Telfair whereas New York had Kidd and Prigioni in the absence of Felton AND Schumpert even though we had the 13th pick in the draft last year. Other teams keep starting rookies who p;ay well from the get-go and who were lower draft choices! Our scouting must be ranked # 30 in a 30 team league.
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