OCTOBER 23: As expected, Phoenix has officially waived Johnson, head coach Frank Vogel confirmed today (Twitter link via Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic).
“Hope to be able to coach him again someday,” Vogel said of Johnson.
OCTOBER 22: The Suns plan to waive third-year shooting guard Keon Johnson as they deal with roster crunch, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
Cutting the 21-year-old will allow the team trim its standard roster to the required league maximum of 15 players on standard contracts, Woj adds. Johnson was acquired in the club’s three-team deal with the Trail Blazers and Bucks that landed Jusuf Nurkic and Grayson Allen in Phoenix.
As Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets, Johnson had two years remaining on his deal, though his contract for the 2024/25 season was a team option. Should he clear waivers without being claimed by a rival team, Phoenix will be on the hook to the tune of a $2.8MM cap hit.
Johnson would be eligible for a two-way contract with a new team, but not with the Suns, since his contract was guaranteed for more than $75K (the maximum two-way protection amount).
The 6’5″ swingman out of Tennessee was selected with the No. 21 pick in the 2021 draft, and his rights were acquired by the Clippers in a draft-night trade agreement. Across 77 career NBA games logged between L.A. and Portland, Johnson boasts career per-game averages of 5.9 points, 1.8 assists, 1.6 rebounds, and 0.6 steals, with a shooting line of .362/.343/.659.
Haha Phoenix dumb asf
I doubt he’s doing much boasting with those averages
He’s great defensively and is a capable 3pt shooter. He’s only 21. The Suns upper management team aren’t the brightest bulbs in the box. Keon will get picked up. He’s be a good fit on several teams.
He would be a nice catch if he could play lead guard
The Suns need to keep the Vets but Keon will be on an NBA roster again.
Maybe they good bring him back on a two-way
They aren’t allowed to do that.
Why not?
Surprised Wainright and Johnson didn’t get spots over a couple of their redundant guys