Phoenix Suns Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Suns Sign Devin Booker To Five-Year Extension

July 7th, 2018 at 10:48pm CST by Luke Adams

The Suns have officially signed guard Devin Booker to a contract extension that will cover five years and pay him the maximum salary, the team announced today in a press release. The club also tweeted out of a photo of Booker with the finalized contract.

“I am humbled and honored to commit to the Suns organization long term,” Booker said in a statement. “I have loved calling Phoenix home the last three seasons as this team and community are special to me. Thank you to the Suns for drafting me and believing in me. I look forward to the future and pursing a title as a Phoenix Sun.”

The Suns and Booker met earlier this week and were said to be making progress toward finalizing a new five-year max extension. The deal couldn’t be completed until after the July moratorium ended on Friday.

Booker’s new contract will go into effect starting in the 2019/20 season. Currently, based on a $109MM cap projection for that league year, a five-year deal would be worth $158MM. However, that figure could go up or down depending on where the salary cap ultimately lands. The starting salary will be worth 25% of the cap.

Booker, 21, has improved his numbers across the board during his first three seasons in the NBA, establishing new career highs in PPG (24.9), APG (4.7), RPG (4.5), 3PT% (.383), and several other categories in 2017/18.

The Suns haven’t won more than 24 games in a season since Booker debuted with the team, but the franchise appears to be trending in a positive direction. So far this offseason, the club has added No. 1 overall pick Deandre Ayton, young three-and-D wing Mikal Bridges, and veteran wing Trevor Ariza, among others, so Booker should have more help going forward.

Booker was one of 23 former first-round picks eligible for a rookie scale extension this offseason. While the Suns guard was the first one to officially sign a new deal, there are several other candidates to get one before the mid-October deadline, including Karl-Anthony Towns, Kristaps Porzingis, Myles Turner, and Larry Nance.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Trevor Ariza Signs One-Year Deal With Suns

July 6th, 2018 at 12:15pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 6: Ariza’s deal with the Suns is now official, the team confirmed in a press release. “Phoenix was the most aggressive team and the team that showed the most interest in me,” Ariza said today at his introductory press conference. “We all want to feel appreciated and wanted. When a team shows that much appreciation for what you do, naturally you are attracted to something like that.” (Twitter link from Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle).

JUNE 30: The Suns and Trevor Ariza have reached an agreement on a one-year, $15MM contract, reports Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). Phoenix will use most – if not all – of its available cap room to complete the signing.

Ariza, who turns 33 on Saturday, averaged 11.7 PPG and 4.4 RPG with a .368 3PT% in 67 regular-season games for the Rockets. While his season ended on a low note following an 0-for-12 shooting performance in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals, the veteran played a key role in Houston, knocking down corner threes and playing excellent perimeter defense. His departure will be a blow to the West’s No. 1 seed.

The Suns, meanwhile, continue to add depth to their frontcourt. In the last two drafts, Phoenix has used lottery picks to add Josh Jackson and Mikal Bridges. The team also locked up T.J. Warren to a long-term extension that will take effect this year.

Given Phoenix’s need in the backcourt, the decision to devote the majority of its available cap room to Ariza is a little surprising. However, three-and-D wings are one of the most coveted assets in the modern NBA, and Ariza will provide veteran locker-room leadership as part of a young Suns roster.

While it’s not clear how the Suns will address their hole at the point, their deal with Ariza could be good news for a team like the Raptors, who had been concerned that Phoenix might sign Fred VanVleet to an aggressive offer sheet, tweets Ryan Wolstat of The Toronto Sun. The Suns seem likely to be in the market for a less expensive point guard now.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Suns Sign Elie Okobo To Multiyear Deal

July 6th, 2018 at 11:39am CST by clarkcrum

JULY 6, 11:39am: Okobo’s deal is now official, the Suns announced on their website. The French point guard was an All-Star this season while playing for Pau-Lacq-Orthez in his homeland. Terms of the deal were not released, but it’s expected to be worth about $6MM in total, as noted below.

JUNE 24, 2:57pm: The Suns and the No. 31 overall selection of the 2018 NBA Draft Elie Okobo have agreed to a four-year contract worth approximately $6MM, reports Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports.

Okobo, 20, has a buyout with Pau-Orthez of the LNB Pro A that will allow him to come to the NBA right away, and it appears to be well worth it, with Charania adding that the first two seasons of Okobo’s contract are fully guaranteed.

It’s not yet clear what the annual salaries will be in Okobo’s agreement, but the first two seasons are guaranteed for over $2.6MM and the third and fourth years will be non-guaranteed.

Because Okobo was not a first-round pick, he is not subject to the NBA’s rookie scale. Moreover, because he’ll sign a four-year contract, the Suns will be required to sign him using cap room or part of their MLE.

Okobo is the second player drafted in the second round of this year’s draft to sign a contract with his new team after Rodions Kurucs agreed to a contract with the Nets on Friday.

Brandon Knight On Pace To Start At Point Guard

July 5th, 2018 at 10:08pm CST by Austin Kent

The Suns may have their go-to point guard already on the roster. Scott Bordow of The Arizona Republic writes about how head coach Igor Kokoskov has referred to Brandon Knight as their starter and that the guard seems to already have a better relationship with Kokoskov than he did with Earl Watson.
The Suns are making progress in their rookie scale extension negotiations with Devin Booker, John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 tweets, noting that they could have something finalized by the end of the weekend.

Devin Booker Progressing Toward Max Extension With Suns

July 3rd, 2018 at 6:51pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Suns are making progress on a five-year, $158MM extension with Devin Booker, according to Scott Bordow of The Arizona Republic.

Phoenix presented the offer to Booker at a meeting today. A source tells Bordow that parameters of the deal were outlined and describes the session as “productive,” citing “mutual interest from both sides in working to finalize a deal.”

Booker quickly emerged as an offensive force for the Suns after being taken with the 13th pick in the 2015 draft. He posted career highs across the board in his third season with 24.9 PPG, 4.7 APG, and 4.5 RPG.

The $158MM figure is an estimate based on current cap projections, but the final value won’t be set until next season’s official figures are in place.

Booker and the Suns have until the day before the season starts to complete an extension, but it sounds like the two sides may be able to finalize a deal not long after the July moratorium ends on Friday.

Suns Sign Ayton, Bridges; King Gets Two-Way Deal

July 3rd, 2018 at 3:57pm CST by Luke Adams

The Suns have officially signed three of their four 2018 draft picks, according to RealGM’s transactions log. First-round selections Deandre Ayton and Mikal Bridges have inked their rookie deals with Phoenix, while second-rounder George King has finalized a two-way contract.

Ayton, the first overall pick in the draft, projects to be the Suns’ center of the future, with the team never wavering on using the No. 1 pick to select him over Marvin Bagley III, Luka Doncic, and other top prospects in the 2018 class. As our list of rookie scale salaries shows, Ayton will be in line for a first-year salary of $8MM+ and will earn more than $40MM over the course of his four-year rookie contract.

Bridges, meanwhile, was acquired in a draft-night trade with the Sixers. Phoenix gave up Miami’s unprotected 2021 first-round pick to move up from No. 16 to No. 10 to secure Bridges, an indication of how much they like him. The former Villanova forward will receive a $3.55MM first-year salary and a four-year contract worth $17.63MM in total.

While Bridges’ and Ayton’s first NBA contracts were locked in from the moment they were drafted, that wasn’t the case for King, the 59th overall pick, since there’s no set rookie scale for second-round selections. The former Colorado forward will slot into one of the Suns’ two-way contract openings during his rookie year.

The only unsigned Phoenix draftee now is Elie Okobo, the 31st overall pick. However, the two sides reportedly reached an agreement on a four-year deal shortly after the draft, so it should become official soon after the moratorium ends.

Thomas Robinson Drawing Interest From Suns, Others

July 3rd, 2018 at 8:39am CST by Luke Adams

Former fifth overall pick Thomas Robinson didn’t play in the NBA last season, but he’s receiving some interest from teams this offseason, per Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype. Kennedy tweets that the Bucks, Clippers, Wizards, and Suns have all expressed some level of interest in the veteran power forward.

Free Agent Rumors: Crawford, Ellington, Bjelica, Williams

July 2nd, 2018 at 5:20pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Sixers are interested in veteran free agent guard Jamal Crawford, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. Crawford could fortify a bench that has lost Ersan Ilyasovaand Marco Belinelli since the start of free agency. Crawford, 38, averaged 10.3 PPG in 20.7 MPG for the Timberwolves last season. The Pelicans, Cavaliers, Warriors and Nuggets are also reportedly in the mix for Crawford, who opted out of his contract with Minnesota and left $4.54MM on the table.

In other news regarding the free agent market:

Unrestricted free agent shooting guard Wayne Ellington has drawn significant interest but he’s viewed as a good bet to re-sign with the Heat, Jordan Schultz of Yahoo Sports tweets. Miami has a cap hold of $8.15MM on Ellington, who appeared in 77 games and averaged 11.2 PPG in 26.5 MPG while shooting 39.2% from long range.
The Jazz have a strong interest in Nemanja Bjelica, Tony Jones of the Salt Lake Tribune tweets. The Timberwolves pulled their qualifying offer to the power forward in order to sign Anthony Tolliver, thus making Bjelica an unrestricted free agent.
The Knicks are interested in Alan Williams if he clears waivers, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post. The Suns waived the power forward/center on Monday. The Knicks have also reached out to free agent power forwards Amir Johnson and Trevor Booker, Berman adds.
Williams hasn’t ruled out a return to the Suns but his agent has already heard from a handful of teams interested in his services, according to Scott Bordow of the Arizona Republic. Williams, who appeared in only five games last season due to a knee injury, had a non-guaranteed salary of $5.5MM for next season and will likely get through waivers.
The Lakers have renounced their free-agent exception rights to guard Andre Ingram and power forward Travis Wear, according to the RealGM transactions log. The Lakers had a cap hold of $1.338MM on Ingram and $1.5MM on Wear. Ingram appeared in two games with Los Angeles last season, while Wear saw action in 17 games.
The Suns renounced their free-agent exception rights to center Alex Len, according to the RealGM transaction log. The Suns had a $7.96MM cap hold on Len. He appeared in 69 games last season but became expendable when they drafted Deandre Ayton.

Suns Waive Alan Williams

July 2nd, 2018 at 4:17pm CST by Luke Adams

4:17pm: The move is official, with the Suns issuing a press release to announce that they’ve waived Williams.

12:19pm: The Suns are waiving big man Alan Williams, reports John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 (Twitter link). Williams will become an unrestricted free agent if and when he clears waivers.

Williams, 25, played well for the Suns in 2016/17, averaging 7.4 PPG and 6.2 RPG in just 15.1 minutes per contest (47 games). His performance earned him a three-year, $16MM+ deal with Phoenix last summer, though only the first year’s salary was fully guaranteed.

Williams’ 2017/18 season was derailed before it began, as a meniscus injury sidelined him for nearly the entire year. He appeared in just five games for the Suns down the stretch.

By waiving Williams, the Suns will no longer be on the hook for his $5.52MM salary for 2018/19. According to Basketball Insiders’ data, the language in the contract called for a $1MM partial guarantee if Williams met certain minute, weight, and body fat requirements, but considering he only played 70 minutes in 2017/18, he presumably didn’t meet those criteria.

Williams’ release will create enough cap room for the Suns to finalize Trevor Ariza‘s reported one-year, $15MM deal, but not much beyond that. By my count, if Phoenix also cuts Shaquille Harrison, who has a non-guaranteed salary, the team could get up to about $4MM in space after signing Ariza.

According to Scott Bordow of The Arizona Republic (via Twitter), the Suns haven’t ruled out the possibility of re-signing Williams to a smaller deal after he clears waivers.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Max Deal Candidate Devin Booker Set To Meet With Suns

July 1st, 2018 at 10:49pm CST by Austin Kent

The Suns will meet with star guard Devin Booker to discuss a rookie scale extension, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets. The meeting, which will include franchise owner Robert Sarver, general manager Ryan McDonough, Booker, and Booker’s agent Leon Rose, will take place on Tuesday.

Booker has been pegged as a potential max player for a while now, and Wojnarowski reiterates that the star guard a strong candidate to procure the highest deal he’s eligible for when the time comes.

While there had been reports that Booker wasn’t pleased with the Suns’ lack of communication when they waived close friend Tyler Ulis, Scott Bordow of The Arizona Republic tweets that it likely won’t impact Booker’s desire to remain with the team long-term.

In his third season, the 21-year-old Booker averaged 24.9 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game. Now heading into his fourth, he’ll be joined by the deepest supporting cast of his career, with Phoenix having reached an agreement to sign Trevor Ariza after adding Deandre Ayton and Mikal Bridges in the draft.

Although the exact amount that Booker will be eligible to make in 2019/20 and beyond won’t be set until next season’s cap figures are revealed, a max deal would be worth 25% of the cap. With the current cap projection for 2019/20 set at $109MM, that would result in a $158MM deal over the course of five seasons.

The parties would also have the freedom to negotiate a clause that would allow Booker to earn as much as 30% of the cap in the event that he qualifies for an All-NBA team in 2019. Such was the case with the deal between the Sixers and Joel Embiid, who would have received a 30% max if he had earned a spot on the All-NBA First Team — he narrowly missed out.

Booker and the Suns will have until the day before the 2018/19 regular season begins to reach an agreement on a rookie scale extension. If they don’t come to terms, Booker will be on track to become a restricted free agent next summer.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.