Many teams use 10-day contracts as tryouts of sorts for players they’re interested in signing for the rest of the season and beyond. That evidently hasn’t been the case for the Suns this year, who’ve cycled through six players on 10-day contracts this year without signing any of them for the balance of the season. It remains to be seen what they end up doing with Alan Williams, who’s on a 10-day deal that expires after Thursday’s game against the Jazz, but the five other Phoenix 10-day signees have since moved on.
Two of them — Jordan McRae and Orlando Johnson — are with other NBA teams. The Cavs took a much different approach with McRae, signing him to a deal that covers the rest of this season and next after he completed just one 10-day contract, dispensing with the conventional practice of doing a pair of 10-day deals before committing for a longer stretch.
Injuries have surely played into Phoenix’s strategy, as the Suns are missing Eric Bledsoe and T.J. Warren, and they’ve been without Brandon Knight and others for significant stretches of the season. Still, it’s unusual to see a team go through this many 10-day contracts without keeping at least one of the players. Here’s a look at what has happened with each of the players the Suns have had on 10-day deals, with an assist from our 10-Day Contract Tracker:
- Lorenzo Brown, two 10-day contracts (January 8th, January 19th) — What happened next: Returned to the D-League affiliate of the Pistons on February 2nd.
- Cory Jefferson, one 10-day contract (January 21st) — What happened next: Returned to the D-League affiliate of the Suns on February 2nd.
- Jordan McRae, two 10-day contracts (January 29th, February 8th) — What happened next: Returned to the D-League affiliate of the Sixers on February 23rd. Signed a 10-day contract with the Cavaliers on February 28th. Signed two-year deal with the Cavaliers on March 9th.
- Orlando Johnson, one 10-day contract (February 5th) — What happened next: Returned to the D-League affiliate of the Spurs on February 20th. Signed a 10-day contract with the Pelicans on March 9th.
- Phil Pressey, two 10-day contracts (February 20th, March 1st) — What happened next: Reportedly plans to rejoin the D-League affiliate of the Jazz.
- Alan Williams, one 10-day contract (March 8th) — Still with the Suns. Contract expires after Thursday’s game.
RealGM was used in the creation of this post.