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PHOENIX — Once they moved past some preseason carping from now-departed star Shawn Marion, the Phoenix Suns arrived in Tucson a year ago with little to do but keep oiling then-coach Mike D'Antoni's scoring machine.

So they practiced twice a day at McKale Center, opened a scrimmage to the public and made their rookies sing during a team dinner at a Foothills restaurant.

"It was very mild," forward Alando Tucker, a rookie last season, said of the light hazing. "It was all in fun."

But this week, as the Suns arrive at McKale for two-a-day drills and a Friday scrimmage, they have a bit more work on their hands. Among other things, they must:

● Adjust to new coach Terry Porter's more defensive-minded scheme.

● Work in five newcomers, including former UCLA forward Matt Barnes, Slovenian point guard Goran Dragic and rookie center Robin Lopez of Stanford.

● Start deciding on potential rotation moves, among them whether to start Barnes ahead of Grant Hill and how best to lessen point guard Steve Nash's minutes.

● Take advantage of having Shaquille O'Neal's MMA-trained, 325-pound body around for his first Suns training camp.

● Get Amare Stoudemire to absorb as much as possible, even as he sits out some contact drills this week because of a sprained ankle.

● Sing. Or at least bond in some form.

"That's all part of it," Porter said. "It's very important to building team unity. Sometimes, when you're home, it's harder to do that because guys are taking off and going back to their families.

"I've always been a believer that that part of it is really good on the road or training camp. You slowly start to build up that trust."

Trust is not only something that can help the Suns play well together overall but especially, Porter says, on defense. They need to believe that each other will be there to rotate in on defense, and they also need to believe in Porter.

To Suns general manager Steve Kerr, the former UA star who once teamed with Porter on the San Antonio Spurs, that is what this week of camp is mostly about.

"Any time you have a new coach, that first week of training camp is critical," Kerr said. "You really lay down the law, the groundwork and the foundation for what you expect them to be."

As of Monday, when the Suns held their annual media day at US Airways Center, many players still had plenty to learn about the new system.

"I can't really tell you what it's going to be like," Nash said. "But he's bright and extremely talented as a coach. I'm eager to hear what his thoughts are and what his beliefs are, and do the best I can to provide that for him."

Even O'Neal, as ready as he claims to be after spending a summer doing Mixed Martial Arts workouts, remained uncertain about his new marching orders.

"He's our newly appointed president," O'Neal said of Porter, "and as vice chairman, general of the team, whatever orders come down from the 'Pentagon,' I'm just gonna obey 'em. I'm one of the leaders on this team, and everybody has to be on the same page."

As of now, the most clued-in guys may actually be the young players who played for the Suns in the Las Vegas Summer League under new assistant coach Dan Majerle.

"A lot of the vets are actually asking me because I played in Vegas, and Terry Porter implemented the style" used there, Tucker said. "So I kind of have a heads-up of what's going to go on. Everyone's anxious to see what's going to happen."

So is Porter. The longtime point guard, who also has two years of experience as a head coach with Milwaukee, said he expects to learn much about his players and what kind of shape they are in this week. But he said he knows the transition will continue long after Saturday, when the Suns will return to Phoenix.

This is just a start. An important start.

"There's definitely going to be progress," Porter said. "But obviously, it's still a yearlong thing as far as what we want to try to accomplish, and for building that trust. Defense is something that's a trust factor.

"It's just not going to happen in a week's time. This is some thing that's ongoing."