Phoenix Suns Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Monty Williams Says Lakers Never Made Offer, Calls Organization “Gracious”

November 12th, 2019 at 7:12pm CST by ChrisCrouse

After a year on the Sixers‘ bench assisting Brett Brown, Monty Williams went into the offseason as a highly coveted coaching candidate and had meetings with the Suns and Lakers. While the Lakers reportedly had Williams near the top of their wish list, Phoenix ended up hiring him, and the Suns’ coach said that Los Angeles never officially made him an offer, as Tania Ganguli of the Los Angeles Time relays.

“They didn’t make me an offer, Mr. Sarver [Robert Sarver, the Suns’ owner] made me an offer, so it wasn’t part of my thinking,” Williams said. “I had conversations with the Lakers, they were really gracious. I was humbled to sit down with [Lakers owner] Jeanie Buss and that whole crew but it never came down to that. The Suns offered me a great opportunity and I took it.”

Williams joined Phoenix on a five-year contract and early returns have been promising. The Suns are off to their best start in the Devin Booker era and Anthony Davis, who played under Williams when he was the coach of the Pelicans, was among the few to see this coming.

“The league wasn’t as fast as it is now with the way things have changed,” Davis said. “He always wanted to play fast. He brought guys in who knew the game of basketball who were tough and physical and surrounded Devin Booker with a lot of guys that know how to play the game. So I expected nothing less from him coming in.”

The 2019 offseason won’t be remembered for the fierce battle (or lack thereof) for Williams’ services but it’s turning out to be among the major storylines early in the 2019/20 season. Phoenix has a 6-3 record heading into its matchup with Los Angeles.

“He wanted to be back on the front of the bench and be a head coach,” Davis continued. “He’s proving why he should be there.”

Poll: Is Phoenix For Real?

November 5th, 2019 at 8:48pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The injury-depleted Warriors’ shocking stumble (2-5 and fading fast) out of the gate isn’t the only Western Conference development to stun many in the early throes of this NBA season. A positive surprise has been the remarkable early run by the Suns (5-2). Phoenix’s management and ownership groups in recent years have been notoriously dysfunctional (shout-out to Kevin Arnovitz), but suddenly, the team’s production may be catching up to their promise.

Heading into the season, expectations for Phoenix were low. The team has won 24 or fewer games in each of the last four seasons (i.e. every prior year of Devin Booker’s NBA career). The Suns’ talented young core of Booker and 2018 No. 1 draft pick Deandre Ayton (currently serving a 25-game suspension after violating the league’s drug policy) underwhelmed together last season. But that was last season.

Now, under the stabilizing stewardship of new head coach Monty Williams, and with the Suns’ solid offseason veteran additions in point guard Ricky Rubio and center Aron Baynes exceeding expectations, things are finally looking sunny in Phoenix.

Phoenix currently stands at second place in the Western Conference and could move into a tie for first if the Lakers lose tonight. The Suns have racked up quality wins against the Clippers and Sixers (still formidable, even sans a suspended Joel Embiid).

As The Ringer’s Shaker Samman noted today, Phoenix has been impressive on both ends of the floor. The Suns are among just two teams (the other being the 5-1 Miami Heat) currently occupying the top 10 in both offensive and defensive rating. Their plus-8.6 point differential ranks fourth in the league. Booker, perpetual All-Star-in-waiting, appears to have taken another leap. New young forwards Dario Saric (acquired in a summer trade) and Kelly Oubre (added in a trade last season) have offered other competent scoring options.

Baynes, though, has been a particular revelation, as Cody Cunningham details on Suns.com. The Australian center’s three-point shooting has taken an astronomical leap. He is currently connecting on 48.4% on his looks from deep across 4.4 attempts per game, far eclipsing his career averages of 33.3% from long distance on 0.3 tries per contest. His scoring, rebounding, assists and blocks are all at career marks. His numbers will come back down to earth once he returns to the bench, but his terrific start makes him look a steal for Phoenix nevertheless.

What do you think? Can Phoenix make the playoffs this season?

Vote in our poll, then head to the comment section below to share your prediction.

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Nets, Suns Eligible To Add 16th Man

November 4th, 2019 at 9:30am CST by Luke Adams

The Nets and Suns are now each eligible to add a 16th man to their standard roster if they so choose. Brooklyn would be able to carry a 16th player up until the team’s December 15 game against the Sixers, while Phoenix could carry a 16th man until its December 17 contest vs. the Clippers.

Both teams have players serving 25-game suspensions, with Wilson Chandler sitting out for the Nets while Deandre Ayton is sidelined for the Suns. NBA rules permit a team with a suspended player to move that player to the inactive “suspended list” once he has served five games of his ban. The fifth game of Chandler’s suspension happened on Friday, while Ayton’s fifth missed game was on Saturday.

Since both clubs have used up all their cap room and have no other cap exceptions available, they’d be limited to the minimum salary exception if they were to sign a free agent.

Of course, neither team is obligated to use its temporary roster flexibility to add a new player. Acquiring a 16th man would create a roster decision in mid-December, when those suspensions are due to end.

For instance, if the Nets sign a free agent, they’d have to get their roster back to 15 players on December 15, when Chandler comes off the suspended list. They could do so by trading or waiving their temporary 16th man, or by trading or waiving another player, including Chandler.

For now, there’s no indication that a signing is imminent for either team, but if the Nets or Suns do make a roster addition in the near future without a corresponding move, you’ll know why.

Suns Can Now Replace Ayton On The Roster

November 3rd, 2019 at 11:41am CST by Arthur Hill

Deandre Ayton has served five games of his 25-game suspension, giving the Suns an opportunity to add another player to the roster, tweets Bobby Marks of ESPN. Ayton is now on the suspended list, where he will remain until December 17 unless his appeal is successful. Phoenix already has 15 players with guaranteed contracts, and there has been no indication on whether the team plans to make a roster move.

Grizzlies Notes: Bradley, Oubre, Morant, Melton

November 2nd, 2019 at 8:19pm CST by Arthur Hill

Avery Bradley only played 14 games with the Grizzlies, but he tells David Cobb of The Commercial Appeal that short stretch in Memphis helped him revitalize his career. Bradley re-emerged as a scorer after the Clippers shipped him to the Grizzlies at February’s trade deadline. He increased his average from 8.2 PPG in L.A. to 16.1 in Memphis and credits the freedom offered by then-coach J.B. Bickerstaff.

“J.B. gave me an opportunity to go out there and play my game,” Bradley said. “I’m thankful for that, I’m thankful for the city of Memphis. It’s home for me. My family is from Memphis and Mississippi. I’m going to miss it. It’s going to be nice when I come back and we play them there.”

The Grizzlies parted with Bradley in a cost-cutting move, waiving him in July and paying a $2MM guarantee instead of his $12.96MM salary. He signed with the Lakers a few days later for $4.8MM.

“Things were just unfortunate,” Bradley said of the end of his stay in Memphis. “There were a lot of changes. My time there was special.”

There’s more from Memphis:

Confusion shut down the Grizzlies’ attempts to trade for Kelly Oubre last season, and the roster would look much different now if that deal had gone through, Cobb notes in a mailbag column. Memphis believed it was parting with Wayne Selden and MarShon Brooks, while the Wizards were expecting to receive Dillon Brooks. Washington wound up moving Oubre to Phoenix, where he has played well. But Cobb notes that if the Grizzlies had taken on his $15MM salary, they probably couldn’t have made room for Andre Iguodala in a deal that landed them a future first-round pick from the Warriors.
The Grizzlies are thrilled with the start by first-round pick Ja Morant, whose 70 points are the most in four games by any rookie in team history, writes Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. In addition to his obvious athleticism, Morant has impressed coaches with how quickly he has adapted to the NBA game. “He’s got great chemistry with his teammates,” head coach Taylor Jenkins said. “His IQ is kind of helping him navigate day in and day out, game after game after game and the sky’s the limit for the guy.”
De’Anthony Melton considers his rookie year with the Suns to be a “learning experience” about life in the NBA (video link from The Arizona Republic). After playing 50 games and starting 31 in his first season, Melton was sent to Memphis in July in a four-player deal. It marked the second time he had been traded, after being dealt from Houston to Phoenix before playing his first game. “I’m not worried about one year; I’m worried about 10 years, 15 years,” Melton said. “People have had crazier stories.”

Youngest, Oldest NBA Rosters For 2019/20

November 1st, 2019 at 12:11pm CST by Luke Adams

The Suns currently have the NBA’s youngest roster, according to the NBA’s official roster survey. The league’s data shows that the average age of a Suns player this season is just 24.49 years. On the other end of the spectrum, the Rockets have the league’s oldest roster, with an average age of 30.24.

Houston also has the NBA’s oldest roster in terms of years of experience — the average Rocket has played in the NBA for 8.93 seasons. The Celtics beat out Phoenix for the league’s least experienced roster, at an average of 2.73 seasons per player.

The NBA’s full roster survey, which includes every player on a standard contract (ie. not two-way players), is packed with interesting data, including the official heights and weights for every player, as well as each player sorted by jersey number and by home country. It’s worth checking out in full, but here are the rest of the league’s findings on the youngest and oldest NBA rosters:

Youngest rosters by average age:

Phoenix Suns (24.49)
Chicago Bulls (24.83)
Golden State Warriors (24.87)
Minnesota Timberwolves (24.91)
New York Knicks (24.98)

Least experienced rosters by average seasons of NBA experience:

Boston Celtics (2.73)
Phoenix Suns (2.80)
Chicago Bulls (3.07)
Minnesota Timberwolves (3.40)
Indiana Pacers (3.53)

Oldest rosters by average age:

Houston Rockets (30.24)
Los Angeles Lakers (29.07)
Milwaukee Bucks (28.73)
Dallas Mavericks (27.40)
Utah Jazz (27.08)

Most experienced rosters by average seasons of NBA experience:

Houston Rockets (8.93)
Los Angeles Lakers (8.07)
Milwaukee Bucks (7.07)
San Antonio Spurs (5.67)
Portland Trail Blazers (5.57)

Deandre Ayton, NBPA To Meet With NBA

October 30th, 2019 at 7:26pm CST by clarkcrum

According to Sean Deveney of Heavy.com, Suns big man Deandre Ayton is scheduled to meet with the NBA by the end of this week to discuss his 25-game suspension for violating the terms of the NBA/NBPA Anti-Drug Program by testing positive for a diuretic.

Per Deveney’s league source, Ayton’s camp and the NBPA will present their case for a reduction of the suspension, arguing that Ayton ingested the banned diuretic by mistake.

As we noted in our original piece regarding this story, part of the parties’ argument that the diuretic was taken unwittingly is based on Ayton’s drug test showing no traces of any other banned substances.

When asked yesterday if he had an update on the situation involving Ayton, Suns’ GM James Jones said the following:

“I don’t… that’s in the Player’s Association’s hands. We’re supporting Deandre. We’re focused on the team continuing to focus on the next game. That’ll take care of itself. I know he misses being out there with his teammates and whenever he comes back, we’ll be ready to re-integrate him and continue with this forward movement and momentum.”

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 10/28/19

October 28th, 2019 at 9:46pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Every night during the NBA G League season, Hoops Rumors provides the assignments and recalls by each team. With training camps now open, here are Monday’s assignments and recalls from around the G League:

Bulls swingman Chandler Hutchison was assigned to the Windy City Bulls, the Bulls’ PR department tweets. Hutchison, who recently had his contract option for the 2020/21 season picked up, is working his way back from a hamstring injury.
As expected, the Grizzlies assigned former lottery pick Josh Jackson to the Memphis Hustle, the Grizzlies’ PR department tweets. That was the plan all along when Memphis acquired the former Suns forward this offseason and he attempts to jump-start his career.
Undrafted rookie guard Jalen Lecque was assigned to Northern Arizona by the Suns, according to the team’s Twitter feed.
The Jazz assigned Miye Oni to the Salt Lake City Stars, Tony Jones of The Athletic tweets. The rookie guard out of Yale was selected with the 58th overall pick in June.
The Timberwolves assigned forward Keita Bates-Diop, guard Jaylen Nowell and center Naz Reid to their Iowa affiliate, according to a team press release. Bates-Diop was a second-round selection last year, while Nowell was chosen in the second round this June. Reid is an undrafted rookie out of LSU.
The Mavericks assigned rookie forward Isaiah Roby to the Texas Legends, Callie Caplan of the Dallas Morning News tweets. Roby, who played at Nebraska, was chosen in the second round in June and acquired in a draft-night deal.
The Sixers assigned swingman Zhaire Smith to the Delaware Blue Coats, the team’s PR department tweets. Smith, a 2018 first-round selection, recently had his 2020/21 contract option picked up by Philadelphia even though he missed most of his rookie campaign due to injuries.
The Hornets assigned rookie forward Jalen McDaniels to the Greensboro Swarm, according to a team press release. McDaniels, a second-round pick, made his NBA debut on Friday.

Kelly Oubre Jr. Receives $10K Fine From NBA

October 27th, 2019 at 9:58pm CST by JD Shaw

New Suns center Aron Baynes impressed in his first start with the team, filling in for the suspended Deandre Ayton against the Clippers on Saturday, Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic writes. Baynes finished with 14 points, eight rebounds and two blocks in 22 minutes of action, helping Phoenix win an important game at home.
Suns forward Kelly Oubre Jr. was fined $10K by the NBA this weekend for directing inappropriate language toward a game official, the league announced in a press release. The incident occurred after the Suns lost 108-107 to Denver in overtime Friday.

And-Ones: Duval, G League Draft, NBA Rosters, Williamson

October 25th, 2019 at 8:29pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Trevon Duval has signed a G League contract and is eligible for this Saturday’s draft, Adam Johnson of 2 Ways & 10 Days tweets. Duval was a two-way player for the Rockets last season and became a free agent when the team didn’t give him a qualifying offer this summer. He was claimed by Houston in March after the Bucks waived him. The former Duke guard made three cameo appearances with Milwaukee.

We have more from around the basketball world:

Journeyman center Hasheem Thabeet, former Lakers guard Vander Blue, and forward Trey Mourning, son of Alonzo Mourning, are some of the more interesting names on the list of players eligible for the G League draft, according to a league press release. The Northern Arizona Suns have the first pick.
There are 108 international players from 38 countries and territories on current NBA rosters, according to a league press release. The most-represented countries among the 108 international players on opening-night rosters are Canada (16 players), Australia (nine players), France (eight players), Croatia (seven players) and Serbia (six players). The Mavericks lead the league with seven international players.
Zion Williamson‘s knee injury created disappointment for the NBA’s TV partners, as Joe Vardon of The Athletic explains. TNT and ESPN wanted nationally-televised games featuring the Pelicans during the opening week of the season to showcase Williamson. They were stuck showing the Pelicans without the top pick in the draft on the court because it was too late to make a change. Vardon goes in-depth on how the national TV schedule is designed and notes that the Lakers play 21 of their 30 nationally -televised games after New Year’s Day because the networks wanted to feature LeBron James and Anthony Davis during the team’s playoff push.
Amida Brimah, the former UConn center who was in training camp with the Pacers, has suffered a torn right ACL, Scott Agness of The Athletic tweets. He was slated to join Indiana’s G League team, the Fort Wayne Mad Ants. Brimah will undergo surgery next week, Agness adds.