Phoenix Suns pick up option for Robin Lopez, not for Earl Clark

The Suns have made the easy decision to pick up the 2011-12 contract option on third-year center Robin Lopez's  contract and apparently a tougher decision to not pick up the 2011-12 team option for second-year forward Earl Clark's contract.

The Lopez announcement is expected to come today, showing how much they believe in his future as he begins a season as a starter for the first time. The Suns are not announcing that they will pick up Clark's option and likely will not do so before the Nov. 1 deadline.

Lopez, 22, became the Suns' starting center last season and his improvement made it a simple call for the Suns to have him finish out his rookie deal at a 2011-12 salary of $2.87 million.

Clark, 22, also has the standard four-year rookie deal with the third and fourth years being team options. His third-year option would guarantee him a salary of $2.03 million for 2011-12. Clark, the 2009 draft's No. 14 pick, played fewer minutes than any rookie first-round pick in the NBA last season, but for Oklahoma City's B.J. Mullens, and has not earned a rotation spot in the Suns' top 10 this preseason.