Phoenix Suns Rumors | Hoops Rumors

COVID-19 Updates: McGee, Buchanan, Hill, Wanamaker, More

December 31st, 2021 at 11:49am CST by Luke Adams

JaVale McGee is the latest Suns player to enter the NBA’s health and safety protocols, as Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic writes. McGee joined Deandre Ayton, Jae Crowder, and Abdel Nader in the protocols on Thursday evening.

On the plus side, the Suns did get Elfrid Payton out of the protocols for the second time this week — Payton was placed in the protocols on Sunday and Wednesday, but quickly cleared both times, so it’s possible he has registered multiple false positive tests in recent days.

Here are a few more protocol-related updates from around the league:

Shaq Buchanan, signed by the Grizzlies as a hardship replacement player, has now entered the health and safety protocols himself, according to the team (Twitter link). Buchanan’s 10-day deal runs through Tuesday night, so it may expire before he clears the protocols.
The Hawks‘ COVID-19 outbreak continues to spread, as Malcolm Hill – a 10-day hardship addition – has entered the protocols, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Hill, who had appeared in three games since signing with the team last Wednesday, is one of a dozen Atlanta players in the protocols.
Brad Wanamaker signed a 10-day deal with the Wizards on Wednesday, recorded seven points and seven assists in his first game with the club on Thursday, and has now entered the health and safety protocols on Friday, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. He’s one of seven Wizards players affected.
Kenyon Martin Jr. exited the COVID-19 protocols and practiced with the Rockets on Thursday, says Danielle Lerner of The Houston Chronicle (Twitter link).
We continue to update our health and safety protocols tracker several times per day. It can be found right here.

Paris Bass Signs 10-Day Deal With Suns

December 30th, 2021 at 8:46pm CST by Rory Maher

8:46pm: Bass has signed his 10-day contract with the Suns, agent Daniel Kazan tells Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). Bass will be available for Friday’s contest versus the Celtics, Haynes adds.

6:44pm: The Suns plan to sign forward Paris Bass to a 10-day contract via the hardship exception, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Bass has been playing in the G League with the South Bay Lakers.

Bass was productive in 14 games with South Bay, averaging 17.9 PPG, 8.4 RPG, 1.4 APG, and 1.1 SPG in 27.5 MPG. The 26-year-old spent two years in college with Detroit, putting up 18.4 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 2.0 APG, 1.4 SPG, and 1.4 BPG in 2015/16 (24 games).

Bass spent the past two seasons with Atleticos de San German in Puerto Rico, per RealGM.

Phoenix currently has four players in the NBA’s health and safety protocols: Deandre Ayton, Jae Crowder, Elfrid Payton, and Abdel Nader.

Suns Sign M.J. Walker Via Hardship Exception

December 30th, 2021 at 4:57pm CST by Luke Adams

4:57pm: The Suns have officially inked Walker to a 10-day deal, per Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic (via Twitter).

11:55am: The Suns are signing swingman M.J. Walker to a 10-day contract using a hardship exception, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Walker, 23, went undrafted out of Florida State earlier this year after averaging 12.2 PPG, 2.5 APG, and 2.5 RPG in 24 games (29.0 MPG) as a senior in 2020/21. He posted an impressive three-point shooting percentage of 42.3% and earned a spot on the All-ACC Second Team.

As a rookie this season, Walker has been playing for the Westchester Knicks, New York’s G League affiliate. In 13 games (29.4 MPG), he has averaged 10.4 PPG, 3.7 RPG, and 2.2 APG on .405/.411/.833 shooting.

The Suns currently have four players in the health and safety protocols after Elfrid Payton and Abdel Nader entered the protocols on Wednesday. Walker will be the team’s second hardship addition, joining Emanuel Terry.

COVID-19 Updates: Payton, Nader, Lopez, Ross, Cavs, Duke

December 30th, 2021 at 9:38am CST by Luke Adams

It has been an unusual week for Suns guard Elfrid Payton, who entered the health and safety protocols on Sunday, then exited them on Monday after what appeared to be a false positive. On Wednesday, prior to Phoenix’s game vs. Oklahoma City, Payton reentered the protocols, as Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic writes.

The specifics of Payton’s situation are unclear, but he’ll now remain in the protocols for at least six days unless he can once again return two consecutive negative COVID-19 tests at least 24 hours apart.

According to Rankin, Payton wasn’t the only Sun to be placed in the protocols on Wednesday — Abdel Nader has also joined that list. However, Nader has been out of Phoenix’s lineup since November 19 due to what the team has called “right knee injury management,” so his placement in the protocols had no real impact on the rotation.

Here are a few more COVID-related updates from around the NBA:

Magic center Robin Lopez has entered the COVID-19 protocols, the team announced on Thursday morning (via Twitter). However, Terrence Ross is listed on Orlando’s latest injury report as out due to “return to competition reconditioning,” which suggests he has exited the protocols. With Lopez in and Ross out, there are still five Magic players in the protocols.
The Cavaliers‘ latest injury report lists Jarrett Allen, Dylan Windler, and Lamar Stevens as going through return to competition reconditioning, so they’ve cleared the protocols. Allen is considered doubtful for Thursday’s game in Washington, while Windler and Stevens are questionable.
Nets rookie David Duke has exited the health and safety protocols, tweets Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. Brooklyn’s list of players in the protocols was in the double-digits earlier this month, but is now down to just two — Kessler Edwards and Day’Ron Sharpe.
Our running list of players in the protocols can be found right here.

COVID Updates: Wiggins, Poole, Len, Payton, Rogers, Tolliver, Wright

December 27th, 2021 at 10:00pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Here are the latest developments regarding players entering or exiting the league’s health and safety protocols:

Andrew Wiggins has cleared the protocols, Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area tweets. The Warriors forward practiced on Monday and is probable to play on Tuesday against Denver, Kendra Andrews of NBC Sports Bay Area tweets. Wiggins entered protocols on December 19.
Guard Jordan Poole has also cleared the protocols, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets. He’ll return to the Warriors’ facility on Tuesday but won’t play as the team needs to assess his conditioning, Anthony Slater of The Athletic tweets.
Kings center Alex Len is listed as questionable to play on Tuesday, which indicates he’s cleared the protocols, James Ham of The Kings Beat tweets.
Suns guard Elfrid Payton returned to action on Monday after clearing the protocols, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets. Payton had just entered the protocols on Sunday, so apparently he had a false positive.
We noted earlier on Monday that Blazers coach Chauncey Billups has entered the protocols. Assistant coach Roy Rogers is also in the protocols, Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian tweets.
Anthony Tolliver‘s 10-day contract with the Pelicans has been voided after he tested positive for COVID-19, Will Guillory of The Athletic tweets. Tolliver was signed on Sunday.
Moses Wright, who has been playing on a 10-day contract with the Clippers, has also entered the protocols, Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN tweets.

Deandre Ayton Enters Protocols; Trae Young Cleared

December 27th, 2021 at 5:16pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Suns center Deandre Ayton has entered the league’s health and safety protocols, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets.

Assuming Ayton has been vaccinated, he will out at least six days or until he returns two consecutive negative tests at least 24 hours apart. He joins teammates Jae Crowder and Elfrid Payton in protocols as well as head coach Monty Williams. Ayton is averaging 17.0 PPG and 11.1 RPG.

On the flip side, Hawks star guard Trae Young has cleared the protocols and will play against Chicago on Monday, Wojnarowski reports in a separate tweet. Atlanta has a 1-2 record since Young entered protocols. He produced a second negative test to exit the protocols, Chris Kirschner of The Athletic tweets.

Young won’t have many of his usual teammates in uniform with him. Atlanta still has 10 other players in the protocols.

In Houston, Rockets players Jae’Sean Tate and Kenyon Martin Jr. have entered protocols, according to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. That increases the number of Rockets players in protocols to four.

The Wizards, who already had a handful of players in protocols, added Aaron Holiday to the list, Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington tweets.

Suns Sign Emanuel Terry; Monty Williams In Protocols

December 27th, 2021 at 2:25pm CST by Luke Adams

2:25pm: The Suns have officially signed Terry, the team announced in a press release. His 10-day contract will run through January 5.

12:14pm: The Suns are set to sign forward Emanuel Terry to a 10-day contract using a hardship exception, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Terry, 25, has played for a handful of international and G League teams since going undrafted out of Lincoln Memorial in 2018. He also got into three NBA games as a rookie back in 2018/19 — two for Phoenix and one for Miami.

This season, Terry has been playing in the G League for the Stockton Kings, averaging 11.4 PPG, 8.3 RPG, and 1.0 BPG in 10 games (25.5 MPG) for Sacramento’s G League affiliate. He also represented Team USA last month in the first two qualifying games for the 2023 World Cup.

For most of the month, Phoenix had avoided the league-wide COVID-19 outbreak that left a number of teams around the NBA shorthanded. However, the Suns placed Jae Crowder and Elfrid Payton in the health and safety protocols on Sunday, making them eligible to sign up to two replacement players via hardship exceptions.

The Suns have also temporarily lost their head coach, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, who reports (via Twitter) that Monty Williams has entered the protocols. Williams will miss Monday’s game vs. Memphis and figures to be sidelined into the new year if he has registered a confirmed positive test. Assistant coach Kevin Young will likely take over as acting head coach in Williams’ absence, tweets Wojnarowski.

Mikal Bridges Not Dwelling On What Could Have Been With Sixers

December 27th, 2021 at 10:15am CST by Luke Adams

Philadelphia native and former Villanova star Mikal Bridges, who was traded from the Sixers to the Suns on draft night in 2018, doesn’t think often about what could have been if he had remained with his hometown team, writes Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer. “Being (in Phoenix) and knowing the city, the people, and what we’ve been doing these past years, I don’t even think twice about ever being home,” Bridges said. “I’m in a great situation now, and I love it.”

Suns Notes: Williams, Ayton, Crowder

December 27th, 2021 at 7:55am CST by Luke Adams

Suns head coach Monty Williams says he feels “somewhat responsible” for Deandre Ayton not getting a contract extension this fall after asking the center to sacrifice touches last season, writes Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports. “From a personal perspective, I feel like I failed him,” Williams said. “Because when we asked you to do all that we ask you to do and you go out there and do it and you still don’t get what you want, that falls on my plate. … I wanted him to get everything he wanted. And I think he still will.”
Jae Crowder bounced around the NBA from 2017-20, playing for four teams in the next three seasons. As Joe Vardon of The Athletic writes, the Suns forward says he has learned not to get too attached to a team since finding out about his 2017 trade out of Boston on the same day his mother died. However, Crowder suggested he’d be happy to settle down in Phoenix. “I do want to make a certain spot my home, and this does feel like home – I’m not gonna lie to you,” he said. “From top to bottom, from (general manager) James Jones, to our coaching staff, to my teammates. It does feel like home, it does feel sacred, but at the same time, it’s a business, so I don’t get too caught up into it. I don’t put my heart into it anymore.”

COVID-19 Updates: Suns, Blazers, Rockets, Wolves, More

December 26th, 2021 at 9:20pm CST by Luke Adams

Here are the latest health and safety protocols updates from around the NBA:

Entering the protocols:

Jae Crowder and Elfrid Payton have become the first two Suns players to enter the COVID-19 protocols, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
The Trail Blazers‘ outbreak continues to grow, with Jusuf Nurkic and Cody Zeller among the players now in the protocols, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Seven Portland players have been placed in the protocols since Friday.
Rockets guard Garrison Mathews became the second Houston guard to enter the protocols today, joining teammate D.J. Augustin, per Tim MacMahon of ESPN (Twitter link).
Timberwolves big man Naz Reid is now in the health and safety protocols, bringing Minnesota’s list of affected players up to eight, tweets Chris Hine of The Star Tribune.
The Thunder announced today that they’ve placed rookie guard Tre Mann in the protocols. Oklahoma City now has two players affected — Mann and Darius Bazley.

Exiting the protocols:

Point guard De’Aaron Fox returned to action on Sunday when the Kings hosted Memphis. Fox had been in the health and safety protocols since December 16.
A pair of Timberwolves – Patrick Beverley and Josh Okogie – are no longer in the health and safety protocols, tweets Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News. They’re both listed as questionable for Monday’s game vs. Boston.
Clippers forward Marcus Morris has cleared the health and safety protocols, though he remained inactive on Sunday as he goes through a reconditioning period, tweets Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.
Cavaliers wing RJ Nembhard was no longer listed on the team’s injury report on Sunday and played vs. Toronto, so he’s out of the protocols. Isaac Okoro has exited the protocols too, though he’s still working his way back, according to head coach J.B. Bickerstaff (Twitter link via Kelsey Russo of The Athletic).