SAN ANTONIO - When Dan Majerle took off his broadcast headset two years ago to join the Suns' coaching staff, becoming a head coach was not in his plans.
Because of how well he has taken to it, it is now on his radar - and that of other teams.
Philadelphia general manager Ed Stefanski will be in Phoenix today to interview Majerle for the 76ers' head coaching position.
"My goal was to see if I liked it and if it was something I wanted to do," Majerle said. "From the beginning, I knew I enjoyed it. I never really thought about being a head coach, but that's the natural progression. Not that I'm in a hurry to become a head coach or that it's something I need to do right away. I'd like to gain some experience, but if the opportunity comes along, you never know."
Majerle played 14 NBA seasons for Cotton Fitzsimmons, Danny Ainge, Paul Westphal, Mike Fratello and Pat Riley but has learned a new side of coaching from Alvin Gentry.
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"He lets the coaches have a lot of freedom and express our views and I've learned a lot from him about how to manage players," Majerle said about Gentry. "He has a great personality to do that with guys. That's something I didn't really think about before coaching. I thought it was more Xs and Os.
"It's all about relationships with players and managing players and those kinds of things and (Gentry) does a great job of that."
Even as his fellow assistant at the start of last season, Gentry hailed Majerle as a coach on the rise in his first year on the bench.
"He knows the game," Gentry said Sunday. "Either guys have it or they don't have it.
"He's got a really good feel of players," Gentry added. "He knows what he wants to do offensively and he was a hell of a defensive player so he's got a handle on that.
"He's still in touch with players and how to put them in the best situations to be successful."
Lopez needs time
Suns center Robin Lopez went through a third full-court scrimmage in a week on Saturday but needs more of those to be ready to play, Gentry said.
"He's just not ready," Gentry said. "He had no pain so that's a good thing but he just needs more work before we throw him out there."
Lopez has not played a game since March 26, when a bulging disk sidelined him.
The right leg weakness from a pinched nerve also is an issue but has improved enough to the point that it is a secondary concern to conditioning.
"He doesn't have his endurance," Suns head athletic trainer Aaron Nelson said. "Combine that with any kind of weakness, it could set up something else like knee tendinitis."
Movie night
Led by resident movie critics Jared Dudley and Louis Amundson, 12 Suns players and about as many staffers went to see "Iron Man 2" together Saturday night. It was not an isolated outing. Groups of players have gone out to dinners and movies since training camp.
"It reminds me of college," Suns guard Jason Richardson said.
