The Suns have waived veteran forward/center Eric Moreland, the team announced today in a press release. Assuming he goes unclaimed on waivers, Moreland will become an unrestricted free agent on Saturday.
Moreland, 27, signed with Phoenix last month and appeared in just one game for the team, playing five minutes in a blowout loss to Golden State on New Year’s Eve.
Moreland was leaned on as a rotation piece in Detroit last season, averaging 2.1 PPG, 4.1 RPG, and 1.2 APG in 67 contests (12.0 MPG) for the Pistons. However, he was cut by in July before his salary for 2018/19 could become fully guaranteed, and spent training camp with the Raptors. He also participated in the latest round of World Cup qualifiers, helping Team USA clinch a berth in this year’s event.
Before releasing Moreland, Phoenix had been carrying 14 players on standard NBA contracts, which is the league-mandated minimum. Teams are allowed to dip down to 13 players for two weeks at a time, so the Suns will have until January 17 to replace Moreland on their roster.
Because Moreland’s contract was non-guaranteed, the Suns will only be on the hook for a prorated portion of his minimum salary. The big man earned approximately $239K during his time in Phoenix.
That’s a nice quick way to make $240k.
$47,800/minute. Sign me up.