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One key player was traded, another wanted to be, and the star center with a history of knee problems needed more surgery.

No sweat, right?

Not to the Phoenix Suns, who say none of their off-season issues was worth fretting over and have spent the early part of the NBA season proving it.

"To be honest with you, those are things I don't worry about, because I can't control them," Suns coach Mike D'Antoni said. "So I don't spend time on that. There's so much stuff I can worry about, can control, that I don't have time to worry about those other things. If it's meant to be, it's meant to be."

"And I knew that we had a lot of talent ... no matter what, we were going to be good."

The Suns sure have been, surging to their usual spot atop the Pacific Division with one of the NBA's best records. But there was a time when that didn't seem to be guaranteed.

Phoenix traded forward Kurt Thomas to Seattle in July, a move designed to cut salary that also left the Suns without their best — perhaps only — defensive option against San Antonio's Tim Duncan.

Two months later, four-time All-Star Shawn Marion told two local reporters he wanted to be traded, even though he's the Suns' highest-paid player. Then All-NBA center Amare Stoudemire, who missed almost all of the 2005-06 season after surgeries on both knees, had an arthroscopic procedure done on his right knee the day training camp opened and missed a few weeks.

Through it all, the Suns apparently just shrugged their shoulders.

"We have a brain trust that knows what they're doing and some of the guys that were involved in some of that stuff are good guys at heart, so I never really thought that there would be a situation that got to be too much of a distraction," guard Raja Bell said. "You can't help but see it on 'SportsCenter,' but other than that I didn't really follow it." ...

Rashard Lewis knows opposing teams will no longer be caught off guard when Orlando comes to town. Not after the Magic's NBA-best 11-2 start away from home, including a thrilling 123-117 overtime win at Golden State on Monday night before returning to Florida.

"It's good to win a lot of games on the road," Lewis said. "I don't think they're surprised now."