Phoenix Suns Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Suns Trade David Roddy To Hawks For E.J. Liddell

July 29th, 2024 at 11:55am CST by Dana Gauruder

JULY 29: The trade is now official, according to a press release from the Suns. As we detailed in separate stories, Phoenix isn’t expected to retain Liddell into the regular season, since the team has 16 players on guaranteed contracts after signing Tyus Jones.

JULY 26: The Suns and Hawks have agreed to a minor trade, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who reports (via Twitter) that Phoenix is sending forward David Roddy to Atlanta in exchange for forward E.J. Liddell.

It’s a cost-saving move for Phoenix, which is above the second tax apron and cannot take in more salary than it ships out in a trade.

Liddell has a $2.1MM contract and a $2.3MM team option for 2025/26. Roddy has a $2.8MM salary and a $4.8MM team option for 2025/26. Atlanta has until October 31st to exercise its ’25/26 option on Roddy, ESPN’s Bobby Marks notes (Twitter link).

Roddy was shipped from Memphis to Phoenix in a three-team deal at last season’s trade deadline. The 23rd overall pick of the 2022 draft will be entering his third season. He started 13 of 48 games for the banged-up Grizzlies last season, averaging 8.4 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 23.7 minutes per contest. He saw less action in a Suns uniform, appearing in 17 games off the bench and averaging just 3.7 minutes in those outings.

It remains to be seen how Roddy slots in to the Hawks’ plans, since they have a number of options at both forward spots. It stands to reason they value him over Liddell, since they’ll add some salary in this transaction. Indeed, Lauren Williams of the Atlanta Journal Constitution (Twitter link) reports via a source that the Hawks view Roddy as a better roster fit than Liddell.

Liddell, a 2022 second-rounder out of Ohio State, has only been under contract with Atlanta since July 6. He was thrown into the Dejounte Murray blockbuster with New Orleans for salary-matching purposesl

Liddell had his rookie season delayed by a devastating right knee injury in July 2022. Last season, he appeared in just eight games off the bench for New Orleans. He played 26 games for the Birmingham Squadron in the G League, averaging 17.6 points, 7.9 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per contest.

Tyus Jones Signs With Suns

July 29th, 2024 at 10:14am CST by Luke Adams

JULY 29: Jones’ deal with the Suns is official, according to NBA.com’s transaction log.

JULY 27: Free agent point guard Tyus Jones has agreed to sign with the Suns, agent Kevin Bradbury tells Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. According to Wojnarowski, Jones will sign a one-year, minimum-salary contract.

Jones confirmed his decision in a statement to ESPN, as Wojnarowski relays (via Twitter).

“The chance to play for the Phoenix Suns made the most sense on a lot of levels to me and my family – beginning with the way (Suns owner) Mat Ishbia and the front office recruited me to how coach (Mike Budenholzer) showed me how I can significantly impact a team that has a real opportunity to challenge for an NBA title as their starting point guard,” Jones said.

“My agent (Bradbury) walked me and my family through multiple free agent offers and sign-and-trade proposals at a number of different financial levels but the Suns’ opportunity is where I can best maximize my value for a return to free agency next year as well as give myself a chance to be part of what I think will be a special team and season.”

A nine-year veteran, Jones was long considered one of the NBA’s top backup point guards while playing in Minnesota and Memphis. He got the chance with the Wizards in 2023/24 to become a full-time starter and made good on that opportunity by establishing new career highs in field goal percentage (48.9%), three-point percentage (41.4%), points per game (12.0), and assists per game (7.3) while continuing to take excellent care of the ball (he has never averaged more than 1.0 turnover per game).

We ranked Jones 15th overall on our list of top 50 free agents entering the offseason, but it quickly became clear that there wouldn’t be an opportunity for him to be the starting point guard on a contending team while earning a salary in the neighborhood of the $14MM he made last year in D.C.

Jones’ statement to Wojnarowski, which mentions that he expects to start in Phoenix, suggests that he’ll at least meet two of those three criteria. While he’s accepting a major pay cut, he’s in position to play a significant role on a team that has championship aspirations.

The Suns’ three stars – Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal – are all relatively ball-dominant, but none of them are true point guards, so the team entered the offseason seeking a veteran who could organize the offense. Prior to signing Jones, Phoenix – which could only offer minimum-salary contracts while operating above the second tax apron – also added point guard Monte Morris on a one-year deal.

Jones will earn $3,003,427 on his minimum-salary contract, while the Suns will carry a cap hit of $2,087,519. John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7, who confirmed earlier today that the Suns were eyeing Jones, tweets that the 28-year-old chose Phoenix over the Hawks and Grizzlies.

The expectation is that, after trading David Roddy for E.J. Liddell, the Suns will waive Liddell in order to create room on the projected 15-man roster for Jones. As Bobby Marks of ESPN points out (via Twitter), Phoenix is saving about $727K in the Roddy/Liddell swap and would remove another $1.41MM from its cap if Liddell is waived using the stretch provision.

Those two moves would essentially cancel out the impact of Jones’ deal on the Suns’ 2024/25 cap, providing crucial savings for a team whose salary is so far over the luxury tax line.

Kevin Durant Discusses Olympic Return, Opener Performance

July 28th, 2024 at 7:03pm CST by Tristan Tucker

Suns and Team USA forward Kevin Durant made his return to the U.S. Olympic team after missing the exhibition slate of games with a calf injury. He impressed right away, scoring 23 points while making eight of his nine shot attempts in under 17 minutes of play on Sunday, as detailed by Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press.

Team USA head coach Steve Kerr planned on easing Durant in the rotation, but the star forward forced Kerr’s hand with his strong play. He scored five three-pointers in the first half and didn’t miss a shot until the fourth quarter. The Americans defeated Serbia 110-84.

Durant opened up about his return, including how he felt after his outstanding game.

“I was tired, I’m not gonna lie to you,” Durant said after the game. “My lungs were getting used to that, the intensity of the game, but it felt good to make some shots. I think everybody played their role pretty well tonight. My role was to come and provide spacing and shot making for the team and glad I was able to knock them down.”

Below are more highlights from Durant’s comments to reporters, as gathered by The Athletic’s Sam Amick and BasketNews.

On coming off the bench in the Olympic opener:

“I’ve [come off the bench] a couple of times in the NBA — three times. That’s enough for me to just kind of lean on those times. You know, that’s what I thought about as I was coming in, just staying ready mentally, staying focused on what the game plan is. And when I come in, don’t make the game about myself. Try to add to the team. And tonight I was able to [do that].

“I told Coach [Kerr], whatever he needs from me, I’m willing to do anything and adapt to anything. So it’s always been fun trying to figure out new roles and just adapt to whatever the game tells you to do.”

On having LeBron James back on the Olympic Team:

“I’m so grateful to have him back. We missed him in the last two Olympics. He puts fear in the other team. I think that goes a long way, the psyche of the game, so he’s running downhill, making the right plays on the offense and defensive end. He’s just insane, and I’m glad he’s on our team.”

On whether today’s win is the best game Team USA has played this summer:

“I just think all of those games and those practices leading up until today prepared us. Coach has been doing a great job of keeping us on our toes and letting us know how important each day is, so we try to come together pretty quickly I think the beauty of tonight is we played a lot of random basketball on the offensive side.

“Defensively, we were talking to one another throughout the whole game, so that communication and that random basketball made us tough to stop. So we continue to build on this and see where we can go.”

On playing in front of fans and how it compares to the Tokyo Olympics that took place during the COVID-19 pandemic:

“[It was] incredible. 27,000 [fans]. I looked around, and I saw so many different NBA jerseys in the stands. I just love when the game of basketball can bring people from all over the world, different walks of life together like this. [Tokyo] seems like so long ago. The era of the world seems like it was just 20 years ago, and also to see so many people in here supporting the game of basketball.”

Western Notes: Morant, Clark, Stackhouse, Suns

July 28th, 2024 at 5:38pm CST by Tristan Tucker

Grizzlies star guard Ja Morant only made nine appearances last season after missing the first 25 games of the year due to a suspension and then his final 48 with a shoulder injury. Speaking to reporters on Thursday (Twitter link via WPSD’s Logan Whaley), Morant asserted he was about 75% healthy ahead of next season and sent a warning to the rest of the league.

“I feel like that’s still scary for whoever’s in front of me,” Morant said.

Memphis suffered a litany of injuries last season, with 33 players seeing playing time for the organization after various hardship signings. Morant, Desmond Bane and Marcus Smart played just 71 combined games and only two Grizzlies players appeared in 60 or more games.

If Morant comes back healthy, the Grizzlies will almost certainly factor into the Western playoff picture. The team won 50 or more games in the two seasons prior to 2023/24 and while last season was disappointing, the openings created by the injuries allowed young players like Vince Williams and GG Jackson to emerge as rotation options.

We have more from around the Western Conference:

Timberwolves two-way guard Jaylen Clark missed all of last season with an Achilles injury, but the UCLA product was all smiles even amid a tougher-than-expected first summer league with the team, Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic writes. The 53rd overall pick in the 2023 draft, Clark might not see much playing time on a contending Wolves roster, but he’s happy to simply be back on the court. He earned praises from his coaching staff in Las Vegas. “What I like about him is he picks up early and he’s very strong,” Wolves assistant and summer league head coach Chris Hines said. “He stands up guys. For him, it’s just finding how to drive and kick and get back to respace, set his feet and shoot the ball.“
Jerry Stackhouse was expecting to sit out a year from coaching after exiting from Vanderbilt, but the Warriors called him and he impressed Steve Kerr, The Athletic’s Anthony Slater details. “I don’t think the timing could’ve been more perfect for me,” Stackhouse said of joining the team as an assistant. The Warriors are reportedly excited to be bringing in a former player and plan on having Stackhouse run the team’s defensive schemes.
The Suns‘ ’23/24 season went far from expected, as the team bowed out in the first round of the playoffs following the formation of a “big three” consisting of Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal. In a subscriber-only story, Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic breaks down his predictions and projections for next season. The Suns improved by adding Tyus Jones and generally did well in addressing their depth but as Rankin observes, it will be difficult to climb the standings if the likes of Minnesota, Oklahoma City and Dallas continue on their current trajectories along with mainstays like Denver.

Tyus Jones Expected To Start At Point Guard For Suns

July 28th, 2024 at 11:01am CST by Arthur Hill

Tyus Jones is expected to take over as the Suns‘ starting point guard after reaching an agreement with the team on Saturday, writes Kellan Olson of Arizona Sports.

Jones will earn $3MM on a one-year, minimum-salary contract, opting to take less money for the chance to play for a contender. In a statement to ESPN on Saturday, he indicated that he expects to start in Phoenix.

In the same story, John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports hears that Grayson Allen will likely be moved to a bench role to open up a starting spot for Jones. Allen was the NBA’s top three-point shooter last season, connecting at 46.1% on 5.9 attempts per game.

Jones, who has led the league in assist-to-turnover ratio for the past five seasons, will bring a steadying presence to a Phoenix team that played without a true point guard last season. He’ll take some of the ball-handling duties away from Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal, allowing them to focus on their traditional roles on offense.

The Suns also signed Monte Morris this summer and added Collin Gillespie on a two-way deal, giving new head coach Mike Budenholzer plenty of depth at point guard.

Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic examines Phoenix’s options in the wake of the signing, noting that a team with Jones, Beal and Booker in the starting lineup would have issues with both size and defense. That’s a greater concern because Jusuf Nurkic isn’t really a shot blocker in the middle, Rankin states, and Durant would be counted on to be the best defender on the starting unit at age 36.

Rankin suggests that another option is to start Royce O’Neale, who excels as a perimeter defender, but that would likely mean bringing Beal off the bench. Beal could provide instant offense in a sixth-man role, but it might be hard to sell him on it since he’s making $50MM this season and has been a starter throughout his career.

Suns Unlikely To Retain E.J. Liddell, Eyeing Tyus Jones

July 27th, 2024 at 12:58pm CST by Luke Adams

The Suns‘ trade of David Roddy for E.J. Liddell is a financially motivated deal, as Roddy wasn’t on track to be on the team’s regular season roster and Liddell likely won’t make the cut either, tweets John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7.

According to Gambadoro (Twitter link), whether Liddell’s $2.12MM is stretched across three seasons or applied solely to the 2024/25 cap, the expectation is that the forward will be waived at some point after he’s officially acquired by Phoenix. That would open up a spot on the team’s projected 15-man regular season roster.

Having already signed Monte Morris earlier in the offseason, the Suns remain on the lookout for point guard help and have their eye on the top option on the market. Gambadoro (Twitter link) hears there’s a “real chance” that the club could land Tyus Jones, adding that a deal could materialize quickly if the veteran free agent decides he’s willing to accept a minimum-salary contract, which is all Phoenix can offer.

As Gambadoro explains, Jones could get more money from at least a couple other interested teams, but joining the Suns would give him the chance to play a significant rotation role for a club with championship aspirations.

Jones’ landing spot has been a popular subject of speculation for a couple weeks, as he’s easily the highest-ranked unrestricted free agent on our top-50 list who remains unsigned. The 28-year-old is coming off a season in which he established new career highs in field goal percentage (48.9%), three-point percentage (41.4%), points per game (12.0), and assists per game (7.3) for the Wizards.

Most of the teams with money left to spend and a roster spot available aren’t projected to be contenders, so Jones may have to decide between accepting a more lucrative offer from a likely lottery team or settling for a minimum-salary deal from the Suns or another would-be contender. If he signs for the minimum, I’d expect him to get a second-year player option so that he’d have the ability to try his luck on the open market again in 2025.

Phoenix’s three stars – Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal – are all relatively ball-dominant, but none of them are true point guards, so the Suns entered the offseason looking for a veteran capable of organizing the offense. They landed Morris relatively early in free agency, but continued to be linked to other point guards, including Kyle Lowry, who ended up back in Philadelphia. Adding both Jones and Morris on minimum-salary deals would be a big win for the organization if it comes to fruition.

Suns To Hire James Posey As Assistant Coach

July 25th, 2024 at 3:13pm CST by Rory Maher

The Suns are hiring former NBA forward James Posey as an assistant coach, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

A native of Cleveland who also played college ball in Ohio at Xavier, the 47-year-old Posey will be joining Mike Budenholzer‘s new coaching staff in Phoenix.

According to Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic, who was first to report the Suns’ interest in Posey, Phoenix now has seven assistant coaches: David Fizdale, Vince Legarza, Mike Hopkins, Chad Forcier, Chaisson Allen, Brent Barry and Posey. The news of former NBA sharpshooter Barry joining the Suns was reported by Wojnarowski on Tuesday.

Posey played in the NBA from 1999-2011, winning titles in 2006 with the Heat and 2008 with the Celtics. Following his retirement, he joined the coaching staff of Cleveland’s G League team in Canton, then became an assistant on the Cavaliers’ staff from 2014-19. He won another championship with the Cavs in 2016.

Posey, who was an assistant coach in 2021/22 for the women’s basketball program at the University of Virginia, was an assistant with the Wizards for the past two seasons. He was let go in April when Washington overhauled its staff.

Northwest Notes: Trail Blazers, Mitchell, Topic, Nuggets

July 24th, 2024 at 9:55pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Trail Blazers’ rebuilding process is happening at a fortunate time in light of the NBA’s new restrictive apron provisions, writes Sean Highkin of The Rose Garden Report. With so many young players on the roster, Portland doesn’t face the immediate decisions that other teams have to deal with, but it’s only a matter of time until its recent draft picks become eligible for extensions.

Highkin doesn’t believe the Blazers would have gotten nearly the same return for Damian Lillard if they had waited another year to trade him. Teams are placing a greater value on draft picks and are becoming less willing to gamble on older players with multiple years remaining on expensive contracts. Highkin points to Dejounte Murray, whom Atlanta traded for far less than it gave up to acquire him two years ago, along with Trae Young, Brandon Ingram and Zach LaVine, who may all have been dealt by now if the old rules were still in effect.

Highkin also notes that max extensions for rookie scale contracts don’t seem as automatic as they used to be. He states that Orlando’s Paolo Banchero and Oklahoma City’s Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams appear to be the only “locks” to get those extensions next summer, when Portland will have to decide whether Shaedon Sharpe is worthy of a long-term commitment in excess of $200MM.

There’s more from the Northwest Division:

Ajay Mitchell‘s Summer League performance showed why the Thunder were willing to trade up to the 38th pick to acquire him, observes Joel Lorenzi of The Oklahoman. The Santa Barbara guard, who recently signed a two-way contract, showed an ability to change speeds and finish around the basket, posting an 11-point, 10-assist double-double early in Las Vegas. First-round pick Dillon Jones displayed “flashes and flaws” in his first Summer League experience, while 2022 lottery pick Ousmane Dieng was held out of the games in Vegas after playing in Salt Lake City.
Nikola Topic could turn out to be a steal for the Thunder at No. 12 when he returns next season from his partially torn ACL, Rylan Stiles states in a Sports Illustrated piece. Oklahoma City was willing to wait a year for Topic to get healthy, and he could develop into a lead guard for the second unit.
The Nuggets will open their preseason schedule with a pair of games against the Celtics Oct. 4 and 6 in Abu Dhabi, tweets Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports. Denver will host the Suns Oct. 13 and the Thunder Oct. 15 before traveling to face the Timberwolves Oct 18.

Suns Hiring Brent Barry As Assistant Coach

July 23rd, 2024 at 10:59am CST by Luke Adams

Brent Barry is moving from a front office role in San Antonio to Phoenix’s bench for the 2024/25 season, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link), who reports that the Suns are hiring Barry as an assistant coach.

A former NBA sharpshooter who played in the league from 1995-2009, Barry made 40.5% of his career three-point attempts and won a pair of championships with the Spurs in 2005 and 2007.

Following his retirement as a player, Barry initially transitioned into the media space, serving as an analyst with TNT from 2016-18.

He was hired by San Antonio in 2018 as the team’s vice president of basketball operations and has spent the last six seasons with the organization. In addition to his VP role, he was the general manager of the Austin Spurs from 2022-24. However, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype reported last month that Barry was expected to move on from the club this offseason.

Barry’s move to the sidelines doesn’t come out of nowhere. He previously interviewed for the Trail Blazers’ head coaching job in 2021 — that position ultimately went to Chauncey Billups.

Barry represents the latest addition to a new-look Suns coaching staff under head coach Mike Budenholzer, who was a longtime Spurs assistant earlier in his career and overlapped with Barry in San Antonio from 2004-08. David Fizdale, Chad Forcier, Mike Hopkins, Chaisson Allen, and Vince Legarza are among Budenholzer’s other assistants.

Team USA Notes: Durant, James, Embiid, Holiday

July 22nd, 2024 at 10:44pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Kevin Durant didn’t participate in any of Team USA’s exhibition games due to a right calf strain. Regardless, his spot on the 12-man roster is not in jeopardy as the team heads to Paris for the Olympics, according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN.

“There’s no thought of replacing Kevin,” coach Steve Kerr said. “I was hoping he would get a game in here, but it just didn’t work out that way.”

The current plan for Durant is to practice with the team several times when it gets to France later this week. Kerr said he wants Durant to have some contact and go through a scrimmage before the Suns superstar suits up. His availability for Sunday’s pool play opener against Serbia is uncertain but Durant practiced last week and ramped up his activity level over the weekend.

We have more on Team USA:

After its stunning close call against South Sudan, Team USA had another tough challenge in its exhibition finale against Germany on Monday. LeBron James came to the rescue, supplying 20 points, six rebounds and four assists. He made several clutch plays and baskets down the stretch of a 92-88 win, scoring the team’s last 11 points. “Just putting the team on his shoulders,” said Jrue Holiday, per Windhorst.
Joel Embiid had his best exhibition outing on Monday, as he contributed 15 points, eight rebounds and five assists. “People who watch me know that every season it takes me a couple of games to get going, and this is no different,” Embiid said. “That’s the reason we’ve got preseason games. I feel like myself and I’m going to keep going and I’m going to be playing at that MVP level I’ve played for the last five or six seasons.”
Holiday is appearing in his second straight Olympics. He had 10 points, six rebounds and four assists on Monday. “Plug into the gaps where I can,” Holiday told Mark Medina of Sportskeeda.com, explaining how he expects to contribute. “Knowing that because of the caliber of the team that we have, the minutes might not be there. Or we might not even play in some games. Whenever you get the chance to shoot, you might just get one or two shots. I feel like somebody like me, it’s not about the shots. It’s about going out there and experiencing the game and doing the things that is a little bit of the dirty work. You can impact the game without scoring. I’d like to think I’ve always been that type of player.”