- Suns power forward Dragan Bender struggled mightily in summer league action entering a make or break year, Smith writes in the same piece. Bender had a difficult time defending on the perimeter and couldn’t consistently knock down his 3-point attempts, Smith continues. Overall, Bender shot 37% from the field in Las Vegas. The Suns hold a $5,896,519 team option on his 2019/20 contract and have until the end of this year’s training camp to decide whether to exercise it.
- Suns assistant Ty Ellis is expected to be named the head coach of the G League’s Stockton Kings, Adam Johnson of 2 Ways & 10 Days reports. Ellis was the former head coach of the G League’s Northern Arizona Suns before joining Phoenix’s staff after Earl Watson was fired last season. Ellis will replace Darrick Martin, Sacramento’s G League coach the last two seasons.
The Suns have re-signed point guard Isaiah Canaan, the team announced in a press release.
It’s unspecified whether Canaan received any guarantees in his contract, though point guard is considered a weak spot for the Suns. They also have Brandon Knight, second-round pick Elie Okobo and Shaquille Harrison at that position but Canaan’s experience will make him a contender for a roster spot.
Canaan played in 19 games with the Suns after joining them in mid-December last season, averaging 9.1 PPG and 4.0 APG in 22.0 MPG. They signed him through the hardship exception when multiple injuries struck, then guaranteed his contract for the remainder of the season in early January.
He suffered a fractured left ankle against the Mavericks in late January and underwent season-ending surgery on February 1st.
The Suns waived him a week later but fully committed to helping him with his rehab and recovery.
The 6-foot Canaan has posted career averages of 8.4 PPG and 1.8 assists in 20.3 MPG over 205 games. The journeyman has also played for the Rockets, Sixers and Bulls.
AUGUST 3: The Hawks have officially signed Len, the team announced today in a press release.
JULY 21: The Hawks are finalizing a deal with former Suns center Alex Len, according to Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports.
The new contract will pay Len $8.5MM over two years, sources tell Charania (Twitter link). Both seasons will be fully guaranteed, reports Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, who adds that the official announcement probably won’t come until a three-way trade with the Thunder and Sixers is finalized (Twitter link).
The Hawks are over the cap after a recent flurry of moves, but still have their $4.5MM room exception available. Several teams expressed interest in Len before he decided on Atlanta, Charania relays.
Len, 25, spent five seasons in Phoenix after being selected with the fifth pick in the 2013 draft, but never made the impact the Suns were hoping for. He accepted the team’s qualifying offer last summer after finding little interest as a restricted free agent. Phoenix renounced its rights to Len on July 2, shortly after the start of free agency.
Len averaged 8.5 PPG and 7.5 RPG last season as part of a crowded center rotation in Phoenix. He will enter the same type of situation in Atlanta, where he will compete for minutes with Dewayne Dedmon, John Collins, Miles Plumlee and Omari Spellman. The Hawks will have 13 players, all with guaranteed contracts, once the latest moves become official.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Sixers forward Jonah Bolden has received the largest contract of any rookie second-round pick this summer, tweets Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders. The 36th player taken in the 2017 draft, Bolden spent a season with Maccabi Tel Aviv in Israel before coming to the NBA. Philadelphia gave him a four-year, $7MM deal with a starting salary of $1.69MM, although the third and fourth seasons are non-guaranteed.
The Nets signed Rodions Kurucs to a similar arrangement, Pincus adds (Twitter link). The 40th pick in this year’s draft, Kurucs will make $1.62MM in his first year and has incentives that could bring the value of his four-year contract up to $6.96MM. The first three seasons are fully guaranteed.
Pincus passes on a few more details about deals signed this summer:
- Although Jevon Carter was taken 32nd overall, he signed for just the minimum salary over two seasons, less than others in his draft range (Twitter link). However, he received a full guarantee from the Grizzlies on both years. Jalen Brunson, taken at No. 33 by the Mavericks, makes more per season but is locked into a four-year deal (Twitter link). He will receive $1.23MM in his rookie year, with minimum salaries for the next three seasons. The first three years are fully guaranteed. Elie Okobo, the 31st pick, signed a four-year agreement with the Suns that will pay him $1.24MM in his first year, with three seasons at the minimum to follow. Only his first two years are guaranteed, and Phoenix has a team option on the final season (Twitter link).
- Among the two-way contracts handed out this summer, only four players signed multi-year deals. Kostas Antetokounmpo of the Mavericks, Billy Preston of the Cavaliers, Yuta Watanabe of the Grizzlies and Thomas Welsh of the Nuggets all have two-year agreements (Twitter link).
- The Clippers will pay Montrezl Harrell $6MM in each season of his two-year, $12MM deal (Twitter link).
- Celtics guard Marcus Smart has a base salary of $11.16MM in the first year of his new deal, but $500K of likely incentives place the cap hit at $11.66MM. The incentives remain in effect for each season of his four-year contract.
- The Suns contacted free agent forward Trevor Ariza in the first minute of free agency, he says in a video interview tweeted by the team. The former Rocket agreed to change teams after receiving a one-year, $15MM offer from Phoenix. “Sometimes things run their course and it’s time for a new start and new beginning,” Ariza explained. “There were a lot of options for me, but the one that … showed the most promise was this one. I’m excited to be here. I’m happy to be here. It’s closer to home [in Los Angeles] for me.”
The Suns have reportedly been discussing buyouts with players as the team looks to free up a roster spot, tweets John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7. Gambadoro noted that those discussions included Jared Dudley and Tyson Chandler. Dudley was traded to the Nets in salary-shedding exchange for Darrell Arthur, who Phoenix is expected to buy out.
With Dudley gone, Chandler remains on the roster as a sturdy veteran presence. The 35-year-old is entering the final year of his contract and is set to make $13,585,000. In 46 games last season, Chandler averaged 6.5 PPG and 9.1 RPG for Phoenix.
At this juncture, however, reports that the Suns are looking to buy out Chandler are incorrect, tweets Scott Bordow of Arizona Republic. Given Chandler’s age and remaining salary, it would be likely hard to find a trade partner who takes on his contract without the Suns eating a significant portion. Also, with first overall pick, DeAndre Ayton in the fold, a veteran like Chandler could prove invaluable to the rookie’s development.
Check out more Suns notes below:
- The Suns have had an eventful offseason, which includes drafting Ayton, signing veteran Trevor Ariza, and extending Devin Booker. However, the team still needs to find a point guard, Greg Moore of Arizona Republic writes.
- It was a busy day on Friday for the Suns who traded Dudley, acquired Richuan Holmes, and guaranteed Davon Reed‘s contract. Scott Bordow of the Arizona Republic breaks down the moves and looks at what they mean for the upcoming season.
- Bret Burchard, who served as an assistant coach with the Suns last season, is expected to be named the head coach of the team’s G League affiliate Northern Arizona Suns, per Adam Johnson of 2ways10Days.
7:09pm: It’s official, according to a Sixers press release.
11:29am: The Suns are sending $1MM to Philadelphia in the trade, tweets Scott Bordow of The Arizona Republic.
10:55am: The Sixers have agreed to a trade with the Suns that will send Richaun Holmes to Phoenix, reports Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). Philadelphia will receive cash considerations in return for Holmes, Charania adds (via Twitter).
Holmes, a second-round pick in the 2015 draft, has been a rotation player for the Sixers for the last three seasons. However, after averaging 20.9 minutes per contest and starting 17 games in 2016/17, the 24-year-old had his role cut back last season, as he played 15.5 MPG and started just two of his 48 games.
With Joel Embiid, Amir Johnson, and Mike Muscala in the mix at center for the Sixers in 2018/19, Holmes was unlikely to play a major role for the team. Instead, he’ll join a prospect-heavy Suns frontcourt that features Deandre Ayton, Marquese Chriss, Dragan Bender, and veteran Tyson Chandler.
While the Suns’ acquisition of Holmes isn’t exactly a blockbuster, it has some interesting – albeit minor – cap ramifications. Phoenix wouldn’t have had the cap room to acquire Holmes without sending out any salary if not for the Jared Dudley/Darrell Arthur swap the club agreed to earlier today. Now, Holmes can slot into the team’s remaining cap space and its 15th roster spot.
As for the 76ers, there were reports in the wake of their three-team trade agreement on Thursday that the deal wouldn’t be completed right away because Philadelphia was working on another move. A Kyle Korver/Jerryd Bayless trade rumor hinted that the Sixers were looking to open up a little extra cap room themselves — they’ll do just that by moving Holmes’ $1.6MM salary, and now have the space to sign draft-and-stash prospect Jonah Bolden to a four-year contract using cap room.
Without cap space, the Sixers wouldn’t have been able to offer Bolden – who will replace Holmes in the frontcourt – more than two years.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
2:16pm: The Nets and Suns have officially completed their trade, according to a press release issued by the Nets. Dudley, who told Scott Bordow of The Arizona Republic (Twitter link) that he’s not a fan of buyouts, expects to play for Brooklyn. Wojnarowski suggests the Nets may envision Dudley as a stretch four in their lineup.
9:16am: The Nets and Suns have agreed to a trade that will send Jared Dudley to Brooklyn and Darrell Arthur to Phoenix, league sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). The Nets will acquire a top-35 protected 2021 second-round pick in the deal, according to Wojnarowski.
The deal appears to be financially motivated, with Wojnarowski indicating that Arthur and his $7.46MM expiring salary will likely be bought out by the Suns. Dudley, who is on a $9.53MM expiring contract, could have a similar conversation with the Nets, Woj adds.
The savings in the trade are minimal for the Suns, but it’s possible they have another move or two up their sleeves. According to Basketball Insiders’ salary data, Phoenix will have a team salary of $98.63MM after the deal, which is good for $3MM+ in cap room.
[UPDATE: Suns to acquire Richaun Holmes from Sixers]
According to John Gambadoro of 98.7 Arizona Sports (Twitter link), the Suns had been trying to buy out Dudley for the last couple weeks. Arthur is a little cheaper and it’s possible he’ll be more amenable to a buyout.
As for the Nets, they remain in asset-collection mode after having acquired a pair of draft picks from the Nuggets in a salary-dump deal that included Arthur earlier this month. Today’s move will ensure that Brooklyn once again has a second-round pick in the 2021 draft — the club traded its own ’21 second-rounder in the Dwight Howard deal with Charlotte.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
The Suns intend to retain Davon Reed and Shaquille Harrison, according to John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 (Twitter links). Reed is on a partially guaranteed contract, while Harrison’s salary is non-guaranteed.
Reed, the 32nd overall pick in the 2017 draft, had a partial guarantee of $689K on his $1.38MM salary, per Basketball Insiders. His full salary was initially due to become guaranteed if he remained under contract through June 30, but the Suns pushed that date back to July 20.
Reed missed a significant chunk of his rookie season due to a knee injury, but he played well in five Summer League games in Las Vegas this month. The 23-year-old guard posted 13.4 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 3.0 APG, and a .489 FG% in Vegas, helping to secure his spot on Phoenix’s roster.
As for Harrison, the 24-year-old guard appeared in 23 games for the Suns last season, recording 6.6 PPG, 2.7 RPG, and 2.4 APG. He’ll receive a $50K guarantee if he remains under contract through August 1, but won’t have his full salary guaranteed until January, so the Suns have time to change course on Harrison if they so choose.
Earlier today, the Suns agreed to a trade that will send Jared Dudley and a 2021 second-round pick to Brooklyn in exchange for Darrell Arthur. Phoenix is expected to buy out Arthur, so the club should have 14 players on NBA contracts once those transactions are complete, with Reed and Harrison still in the mix.
- The Suns will head into the season with Brandon Knight as the starting point guard unless they make a trade, Scott Bordow of the Arizona Republic declares in his latest mailbag. If Phoenix strikes a deal, the Clippers’ Patrick Beverley would be an obvious target because of Los Angeles’ backcourt logjam, Bordow adds.