Lampe Makes Strong Push for Increased Court Time

It may have seemed like a mirage when Maciej Lampe leaped to aggressively rip down the first of nine rebounds in Wednesday's Suns preseason opener.

The sleeker Lampe proved it in Friday's practice. Lampe had an open baseline with only Amaré Stoudemire defending under the basket. They went up and Lampe jammed over Stoudemire, prompting teammates' whooping and assistant coach Alvin Gentry's chest bump for Lampe.

Order was quickly restored. On Lampe's next touch, he put up a 6-foot air ball with Stoudemire closing. In a blip, Stoudemire was at the other end filling a lane for a slam.

The series typified how far Lampe has come since arriving in January and how far he is from starting, something the 19-year-old wanted this season.

Lampe went from 290 pounds to 265 in 10 months. He still looked like he could fall out of the rotation once Phoenix signed center Steven Hunter and drafted power forward Jackson Vroman. But Lampe returned to the mix in the post with a strong camp and preseason debut.

"He told me he was going to start," coach Mike D'Antoni said. "I'm not there yet. Right now, he's definitely earned some time. It's an evolving situation. He's impressed the coaches and is doing well."

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"I feel a lot quicker," Lampe said. "I have more energy. I can run better and it shows.

"I've just got to do it every night. I'll do whatever it takes for my team to win."

No movement on J.J.

Contract extension talks with Joe Johnson have not progressed this week with his agent, Arn Tellem, in China for exhibition games.

Johnson will become a restricted free agent next summer if an extension is not hammered out this month.

"Obviously, Joe is a big priority," Director of Basketball Operations Rex Chapman said. "He's playing extremely well. He's worked his butt off the past couple seasons and gained a ton of confidence. We're hopeful he's going to be a Phoenix Sun for a long time."

Kobe exaggeration

Excerpts from Phil Jackson's upcoming book on his final season with the Lakers mention that he sought to trade Kobe Bryant for Shawn Marion and Jason Kidd during the 1999-2000 season.

"There was never any discussion between the two teams," said Suns President and General Manager Bryan Colangelo, who was "quickly rebuffed" on Bryant inquiries.

Free throws

Steve Nash did not join the team on the trip to play Seattle tonight. He will stay home to be with his newborn twins, Lourdes and Isabella, and to recover from a groin injury.