Phoenix Suns Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Suns Sign Alex Schumacher To Exhibit 10 Contract

September 5th, 2025 at 10:02am CST by Luke Adams

The Suns have signed free agent guard Alex Schumacher to a training camp contract, per Paul Garcia of Spot Up Shot (Twitter link). It’s an Exhibit 10 deal, tweets Keith Smith of Spotrac.

Schumacher, who went undrafted out of Seattle University in 2024, spent his first professional season in the G League, appearing in a total of 48 games for the Windy City Bulls and the Valley Suns, who acquired his rights in a March trade. The 24-year-old averaged 8.2 points, 3.1 assists, and 2.7 rebounds in 22.6 minutes per game for the two teams, posting a shooting line of .395/.241/.825.

The Suns’ signing of Schumacher is almost certainly designed to ensure that he receives a bonus for returning to the Valley Suns this fall. His Exhibit 10 deal will make him eligible for a bonus worth up to $85,300 on top of his standard NBAGL salary as long as he spends at least 60 days with Phoenix’s affiliate.

With Schumacher on the roster, the Suns are carrying 19 players, two shy of the offseason limit.

Five Under-The-Radar Players To Watch In 2025

September 1st, 2025 at 3:40pm CST by Earnest Marshall

We’re still 28 days away from most teams beginning training camp, which typically determines multiple positional battles for teams ahead of the coming season. Still, the majority of teams’ offseason roster moves have been completed and preliminary pecking orders are in place, meaning we can take a stab at identifying true breakout players for 2025/26.

In the space below, we’ll be focusing on players who appear poised to go from the fringes of rosters to rotational mainstays. Think of Guerschon Yabusele last season, who went from being out of the league to being one of the NBA’s most coveted role players.

Last year in this exercise, we included Max Christie, who increased his scoring average from 4.2 points to 9.6 points per game. So while Larry Nance Jr. seems primed for a massive year with the Cavaliers as a role player, he has 546 career games under his belt and doesn’t really fit our criteria.

Luka Garza/Josh Minott, Boston Celtics

The Celtics went out of their way to add both Garza and Minott to standard deals early in free agency after the Timberwolves declined options on both players. However, the Wolves opting to not bring them back isn’t necessarily an indictment — more of a testament to the win-now depth Minnesota built ahead of them.

Garza hasn’t played many minutes over the course of his four-year NBA career, but he has certainly produced when given the opportunity. He holds career averages of 4.9 points and 2.0 rebounds in 7.8 minutes per game, which works out to per-36 averages of 22.7 points and 8.9 rebounds.

It would be easy to write off that kind of production since per-36 is hardly an indicative statistic of one’s talents, but that sample comes across 124 career games. And in 39 career regular season G League games, Garza averaged 26.3 points and 9.8 rebounds per contest.

The Celtics lost Luke Kornet in free agency, traded away Kristaps Porzingis, and are not considered likely to bring back Al Horford. That leaves Neemias Queta, Chris Boucher and Xavier Tillman as the only players in front of Garza in the frontcourt. It isn’t out of the realm of possibility that Garza emerges as a starter down the line.

Minott is also included here after his training camp last season had coaches raving. While he never ended up in the rotation, it’s still noteworthy that the Celtics added him early in free agency. Minott will battle Jordan Walsh, Baylor Scheierman and rookie Hugo Gonzalez for minutes off the bench at the wing position. In 32 career regular season G League games, he has averaged 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.1 steals and 1.8 blocks.

Nigel Hayes-Davis, Phoenix Suns

If there was an option to select “most likely to be this year’s Yabusele,” Hayes-Davis would have to rank near the top. Hayes-Davis established himself as one of the best international players after not playing in the league since 2017/18. The Suns gave him a standard guaranteed deal after he averaged 15.1 points per game for Fenerbahce. On a new-look Phoenix team, he should get plenty of chances to contribute.

Jaylen Clark, Minnesota Timberwolves

The Timberwolves selected Clark with the No. 53 pick in the 2023 draft, with the Wolves essentially redshirting him while he recovered from injury in 2023/24. Last year, in his first healthy NBA season, Clark emerged as a reliable depth option, averaging 4.1 points across 13.1 minutes in 40 games.

With the loss of Nickeil Alexander-Walker to the Hawks in free agency, the Wolves will look to rely on their younger depth options to establish themselves this season. While all eyes are on Rob Dillingham and Terrence Shannon Jr. to take steps forward, look for Clark (and perhaps Leonard Miller), to gain more of a foothold in the rotation.

Cam Spencer, Memphis Grizzlies

Every opportunity he received, Spencer impressed for the Grizzlies and their G League affiliate. In just 10.1 minutes per game last year (25 appearances), Spencer averaged 4.2 points. In eight regular season G League games, Spencer averaged 23.5 points and 3.5 assists while shooting 53.8% from the field and 49.3% on three-pointers.

Memphis drafted Spencer last year with the No. 53 overall pick, and he spent all of last year on a two-way deal. After standing out in their developmental system, the second-year guard was rewarded with a standard contract this offseason. Even though the Grizzlies are flush with rotation-caliber players, there could be an opportunity for Spencer to earn some bench minutes following the departure of Desmond Bane.

Western Notes: Connelly, Washington, Jerome, Beal

August 28th, 2025 at 10:02pm CST by Luke Adams

Timberwolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly had the ability to opt out of his contract with the team this offseason but chose not to do so, as Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic tweets.

When Connelly was hired by the Wolves in 2022, he received a five-year deal that included an opt-out clause after the second season. He and the team agreed in 2024 to push that opt-out back by a year with the ownership situation still up in the air, but now that Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez have assumed majority control, Connelly decided not to take advantage of the clause this summer.

Since he’s still on his initial five-year deal, Connelly is under contract with the Wolves for two more seasons, Krawczynski notes. Assuming Lore and Rodriguez are satisfied with the job he has done, the veteran executive figures to be an extension candidate in 2026.

Here’s more from around the Western Conference:

With P.J. Washington set to become extension-eligible on Friday, Mike Curtis of The Dallas Morning News weighs the pros and cons of a new deal for Washington from the Mavericks‘ perspective. Like NBA insider Marc Stein, Curtis has heard that an extension for Washington is likely, though he cautions that the exact terms of the deal remain unclear. Washington would be eligible to receive up to nearly $89MM over four years.
The Grizzlies need elite shooting, two-way play-making, and swagger from newcomer Ty Jerome, according to Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal, who takes a closer look at the veteran guard to whom the team devoted its full room exception.
Appearing on Shannon Sharpe’s Club Shay Shay podcast, Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue pointed out that Bradley Beal put up “unbelievable stats” for the Suns over the past two seasons but was “overshadowed” as the third option behind stars Kevin Durant and Devin Booker (hat tip to Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic). “I think by coming here, I think it’s a fresh start and I think he’s going to be great for us,” Lue said of Beal, who signed with the Clippers after being bought out by Phoenix.

Pacific Notes: Suns, Ishbia, Doncic, EuroBasket

August 27th, 2025 at 9:06pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

There’s little question who the most important Suns player is. Beyond recently extended All-Star guard Devin Booker, however, identifying the top talent on the current roster is more of an open question.

Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic (subscriber link) tackles that question, ranking the five most important Phoenix players aside from the 6’5″ Kentucky alum. Second-year wing Ryan Dunn, new post-Durant trade additions Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks, and new centers Mark Williams and Khaman Maluach make the cut.

There’s more out of the Pacific Division:

Suns owner Mat Ishbia has weighed in on ESPN’s recent forecast that Phoenix would win 30 games, Rankin writes. Given that the Suns won just 36 games last year with a more star-studded roster led by 15-time All-Star Kevin Durant, ESPN’s thinking seems fairly logical. “I’m not worried about what the so-called experts think,” Ishbia wrote (Twitter link), while quoting a Burn City Sports tweet about the article. “They had us as a title contender the past two years and were wrong then. We’re focused on making our fans proud by playing great as a team and building a brand of basketball that’s tough and gritty.”
Lakers officials, including president Rob Pelinka, paid a visit to five-time All-NBA guard Luka Doncic in Poland prior to the EuroBasket tournament this week, writes BasketNews. Doncic is plying his trade for his native Slovenia. Pelinka praised Doncic’s improved fitness this summer while addressing reporters, per BasketNews. “He’s in great shape, really committed to working hard this summer,” Pelinka told reporters. “And to be able to watch that in person was worth flying over the ocean to be with him.”
Doncic affirmed his long-term interest in suiting up for Slovenia during the summers, while Pelinka seemingly endorsed that approach, according to Dan Woike of The Athletic. “It’s an easy choice,” Doncic said. “I always want to represent my country. Always did. No matter what. Obviously, if I’m injured, I’m not gonna play, but if I have nothing, I will always play.” Doncic has won EuroBasket before, beating Bogdan Bogdanovic‘s Serbia, 93-85, in 2017. During Doncic’s most recent EuroBasket run, in 2022, Poland upset Slovenia in the quarterfinal round. “We just wanted to make a statement to Luka that we support what he does for his country,” Pelinka said. “That’s really important to the Lakers when we have a player that’s the face of our franchise, just to show that support for him.”

Suns Sued By Two Minority Shareholders

August 27th, 2025 at 1:16pm CST by Luke Adams

A pair of Suns minority shareholders – Kisco WC Sports and Kent Circle Investments – have sued the team in a Delaware Chancery Court, reports Michael McCann of Sportico. The minority owners say in their complaint that they’re “dissatisfied” with the way Suns Capital Group LLC (Mat Ishbia‘s group) has managed the team.

As McCann details, Kisco and Kent Circle claim they haven’t been allowed to view records and financial information that would help them understand how the franchise is being run and how much their shares are worth. They’re demanding a court order that would allow them to look into alleged “potential breaches of a limited liability company agreement, mismanagement of the team and conflicts of interest,” McCainn writes.

According to Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports, when Ishbia took over as the Suns’ controlling owner in 2023, he gave the team’s 16 limited partners the opportunity to sell their stakes in the team at the same $4 billion valuation that applied to his majority stake. Fourteen of the 16 partners took that buyout offer, with Kisco and Kent Circle representing the only two holdouts.

Kisco has since sought a buyout from Ishbia’s group; there are conflicting reports on whether Kent Circle has done the same. Bourguet’s report suggests both minority stakeholders have looked to be bought out, while McCann says Kent Circle hasn’t done so but has expressed “growing concerns” about management.

The price that Kisco and Kent Circle are demanding from Suns Capital Group LLC to buy them out is based on a valuation in excess of $6 billion, according to Bourguet. The complaint, per McCann, alleges that Ishbia’s LLC didn’t respond in good faith to Kisco’s efforts to divest its shares by June 1 and instead issued a capital call for June 2 with “no advance notice.” The per-unit valuation conveyed on that call was “strikingly low and bears no relationship to the actual value of the company which is worth billions,” according to the plaintiffs.

In a letter to Kisco and Kent Circle, Suns Capital Group LLC indicated it has no objections to the minority partners finding another buyer for their shares, per Bourguet. However, the majority ownership groups insists that the minority stakeholders have no right to demand Ishbia’s LLC be the one to buy them out at a significantly higher valuation than the 2023 price.

Kisco and Kent Circle, meanwhile, argue in their complaint that the majority ownership group has been putting pressure on and diluting the team’s minority owners, citing “mismanagement and lack of transparency.”

According to Bourguet, the plaintiffs suspect Ishbia’s group of entering into undisclosed side deals and also raised questions about the funding of a practice facility for the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury. As McCann writes, the complaint states that facility was “seemingly paid for using” team funds but that the minority stakeholders were “provided virtually no information” about how it was funded or the process used to determine its funding.

Attorneys for Suns Capital Group LLC will have the opportunity to respond to the complaint, McCann notes.

And-Ones: ESPN Panel, Top SGs, Lundberg, Hayes-Davis

August 25th, 2025 at 6:18pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Spurs and Hawks are considered the co-favorites to make the biggest leap in the NBA during the upcoming season, according to a panel of ESPN Insiders.

The panel made its predictions on a wide variety of topics, including the team most likely to make a big move before the trade deadline (the Warriors received the most votes) and the next superstar to request a trade (Zion Williamson was the top vote-getter).

Here’s more from around the international basketball world:

Anthony Edwards tops the list of shooting guards ranked by The Athletic’s Zach Harper. Devin Booker and Donovan Mitchell fill out tier one — players who are potential MVP candidates — in “The Bounce’s Top 40 Shooting Guards.” Desmond Bane, Klay Thompson, Bradley Beal and Zach LaVine comprised the second tier as players “who can take over” a game.
Gabriel ‘Iffe’ Lundberg won’t return to Serbia’s Partizan Belgrade, according to Sportando. The Danish guard, according to a TeleSport report, has drawn interest from both Zenit St. Petersburg and Olympiacos. Lundberg had a brief stay in the NBA, playing four games with Phoenix during the 2021/22 season.
Tel Aviv’s owner Ofer Yannay had a verbal agreement this offseason with Nigel Hayes-Davis in the event that the free agent forward couldn’t find an NBA contract. Hayes-Davis, who played in Turkey last season, wound up signing a one-year deal with the Suns. “We were sure we were bringing Nigel Hayes-Davis. We were sure it was happening. He had an option to go to the NBA, and he basically said, ‘I’ll try to get a contract in the NBA, and if I don’t, I’ll come to you,’” Yannay said, per Eurohoops.net.

Can Devin Booker Average 30 Points Per Game?

August 23rd, 2025 at 11:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

Devin Booker is expected to carry more of the Suns‘ offensive load with Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal gone, so Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic examines whether he can average 30 points per game. Booker scored 25.6 PPG last season with uncharacteristically low shooting numbers, so Rankin believes 30 PPG is well within reach if he takes at least 20 shots per night, goes to the free throw line more often, improves his three-point efficiency and gets more easy baskets in new head coach Jordan Ott‘s offense.

Suns Owner Mat Ishbia Talks Missteps, Culture Shift, Championship Window

August 22nd, 2025 at 12:01pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Suns majority owner Mat Ishbia has conceded that he made some team- and culture-building missteps during his first few seasons at the helm. Ishbia is on his fourth head coach in as many years and has already cycled through multiple Hall of Fame players since the end of the 2022/23 season when he assumed control of the franchise.

In an interview on Arizona Sports’ Burns and Gambo show, Ishbia took the blame for the club’s struggles to define its culture. He has addressed this issue in other media appearances this offseason.

“We have young players that are ascending instead of players that are descending,” Ishbia said. “We have players that wanna be here, that are bought into the Phoenix Suns’ culture. I can take the criticism for not defining (that culture) well enough when I bought the team, but it is defined very clearly now.”

These pointed remarks certainly seem to be allusions to the awkward fit of two pricey veterans, All-Star forward Kevin Durant and former All-Star guard Bradley Beal. Neither player remains on the roster, although Phoenix reaffirmed its commitment to homegrown superstar guard Devin Booker this summer with a two-year extension that could be worth up to $145MM.

Here’s more from Ishbia’s interview, which is well worth hearing in full:

On the current roster’s buy-in:

“There is not a player on the team that does not understand what we’re about. There’s not a coach, there’s not anyone in the front office that does not understand that it’s for the fans, and we’re gonna develop a team that they’re gonna be proud of year in and year out.”

On the revamped team’s new long-term title trajectory:

“What I expect is we’re gonna be competitive, a team that you’re gonna be proud of and we’re gonna be building… Over the next couple years, you’re gonna see us follow that same Phoenix Mercury path to be competing for a championship, playing hard.”

On his original expectations for a ready-made champion when he bought the team:

“When I bought the Suns originally, I thought we were on third base… Now, I’ve set a vision. I’ve said, ‘Hey, I know what kind of guys I want, we ain’t trading for guys who aren’t like this.’ …Do I expect it to take a couple years to get to the point where you’re like, ‘Wow, I see the vision?’ Yes.”

Suns’ Rasheer Fleming Discusses Goals For Rookie Season

August 21st, 2025 at 2:11pm CST by Rory Maher

There was reportedly a minor bidding war for Rasheer Fleming ahead of day two of this year’s draft, with teams vying to move up to No. 31 to select the former Saint Joseph’s forward. The Suns won that bidding war by sending Minnesota the No. 36 pick and a pair of future second-rounders.

Fleming is coming off an impressive junior season in which he averaged 14.7 points, 8.5 rebounds, 1.4 steals and 1.5 blocks per game in 35 appearances (31.1 minutes), with a shooting line of .531/.390/.743. In July, Phoenix signed the 21-year-old to a four-year, $8.7MM contract using the second-round pick exception. He got three fully guaranteed years, with a fourth-year team option.

In a recent interview with Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic, Fleming discussed a handful of topics, including his approach to his rookie season.

“Honestly, my main goal is obviously be the best player I can be, but I think I can do that by starting off on the defensive end,” said Fleming, who emphasized that his offense would develop from there.

First-year head coach Jordan Ott has similar expectations for the young power forward.

“He’s really high on me on the defensive end and getting me on the floor doing that,” Fleming said of Ott. “He sees the potential offensively, too, but his main focus for me is, he was telling me the other day, to focus on getting us more possessions. Whether that’s defensively, like getting steals, guarding people, defensive rebounds or on the offensive end with offensive boards. Just getting us more possessions.”

Rankin notes that Fleming made three appearances during Las Vegas Summer League, averaging 7.3 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.7 steals while shooting 50.0% from the field and 36.4% from long distance in 16.8 minutes per game.

“It was a great experience overall,” Fleming told Rankin. “I know it’s not technically an NBA floor, but just to be in the NBA-type of game. It was a fun and good experience for me. Just getting the feel and the pace of the NBA game and getting ready for the season. It was really cool.”

As for what he’s currently focused on, the New Jersey native said he’s trying to improve his on-court decision-making by being a little more methodical.

“I’m trying to not slow down in the sense of running slow or anything like that, but just slowing my pace down a little bit,” Fleming said. “I feel like I’m rushing sometimes when I’m doing certain things like when I’m shooting sometimes or about to make a decision. Just slowing things down a little bit and I’ve been getting really good at that over time in practice. I’ve just been slowing my pace down a little bit.”

Paul Jesperson To Coach Suns’ G League Affiliate

August 18th, 2025 at 12:49pm CST by Luke Adams

The Suns have named Paul Jesperson the head coach of their G League affiliate, the Valley Suns, the team announced today in a press release.

“Paul is ready to take this next step in his career as he moves into the role of head coach,” Valley Suns GM Brendan Sabean said in a statement. “His background and experience complement our vision to utilize the G League as a lifeline of development for Suns and Valley Suns players. He’s a natural fit for the job and I’m looking forward to seeing the impact he can make as head coach.”

Jesperson was an assistant on the Valley Suns’ bench last season, so on one hand, the move looks like a fairly straightforward internal promotion. However, it happened in a roundabout way.

A report in May stated that the Kings had reached an agreement with Jesperson to make him their head of player development, and when Sacramento officially announced Doug Christie‘s staff a few weeks later, Jesperson was named to that position. However, earlier this month, reporting indicated that D.J. Ham had agreed to become the Kings’ head of player development after Jesperson stepped away from the team.

We now know that Jesperson left that new position in Sacramento in order to rejoin the Valley Suns. He’ll replace former head coach John Little, who was named an assistant under new Phoenix head coach Jordan Ott.

Jesperson, who played college basketball at Virginia and Northern Iowa before briefly spending time in the G League and in Europe, worked for the Hawks and the Oklahoma Sooners before joining Phoenix’s NBAGL team as an assistant last season.