10:52pm: The Suns have officially waived Smith, the team announced on their official website.
4:50pm: The Suns are waiving Ish Smith this evening to avoid his non-guaranteed contract becoming fully guaranteed for $992,435, reports Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic (Twitter link). Today’s the last day the team can make that maneuver without shelling out for Smith this year, as our schedule of contract guarantee dates shows.
Smith played a prominent role for the Suns this past season, averaging 3.7 points, 2.6 assists and 14.4 minutes per game. It appears to be a numbers crunch at part to blame for his departure, even given Phoenix’s commitment to lineups featuring two point guards. The Suns added point guards Isaiah Thomas via sign-and-trade and Tyler Ennis through the draft to supplement Eric Bledsoe, whom they intend to retain through restricted free agency, and Goran Dragic.