The Phoenix Suns players have begun to return to Phoenix for the abbreviated NBA season. The season will start on December 25 with five games. The Suns are not scheduled to play in a game that day. The opening day for their schedule has not yet been announced.

Fans will have an opportunity to see the Phoenix Suns play in two preseason games, on December 20 and December 22. Both games are against the Denver Nuggets. The game on December 20 will be in Denver, while the December 22nd game will be at the US Airways Center in Phoenix. The start time for both games in 7:00 pm Arizona time. Currently, that is the equivalent of Mountain Standard Time.

Most of the current Suns players have reported to Phoenix to begin practice for the upcoming season. Zabian Dowdell, Robin Lopez and Steve Nash reported to US Airways Center on Thursday; Josh Childress, Channing Frye, Grant Hill, Markieff Morris, Garret Siler and Hakim Warrick all reported on Friday. Forward Gani Lawal is currently in Poland, but he will join the team in Phoenix as soon as he is able. Guard Aaron Brooks, who is currently obligated to the Chinese Basketball Association until at least mid-February of 2012, will not be with the team when preseason begins.

The 2011-12 roster is not finalized and are looking at several free-agents to help close the gap that will be left by Brooks. However, the Suns are dealing with some spending limits since they have kept the rights to Brooks, putting a $5 million salary cap hold on the books. This hold has narrowed the Suns' options a bit, leaving some highly sought-after free agents like Sacramento's Marcus Thornton out of reach.