Phoenix Suns Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Suns Sign Josh Gray To Second 10-Day Contract

February 12th, 2018 at 1:04pm CST by Arthur Hill

FEBRUARY 12: The Suns have officially signed Gray to a second 10-day contract, the team announced today in a press release.

Gray’s 10-day deal will actually become a 12-day deal, since it must cover at least three games. The Suns play tonight and Wednesday, but their third game won’t come until after the All-Star break, on February 23.

FEBRUARY 11: Rookie point guard Josh Gray will receive a second 10-day contract from the Suns on Monday, according to Scott Bordow of The Arizona Republic.

Gray signed the first deal on February 2, so it was about to expire. The team made its intentions clear by bringing him on a road trip that will take them to Golden State tomorrow and Utah on Wednesday.

Pressed into service because of injuries to the Phoenix backcourt, Gray has averaged 6.8 points and 3.0 assists in four games, playing 17.5 minutes per night. After going undrafted out of LSU in 2016, he spent the past two seasons with the Suns’ G League affiliate.

Gray’s second 10-day deal will expire after the All-Star break and the team will have to decide whether to release him or sign him for the rest of the season.

Pacific Notes: Payton, Papagiannis, Green, Suns

February 11th, 2018 at 4:50pm CST by marksuleymanov

Elfrid Payton‘s stint with the Magic ended on Thursday and by Saturday, he was putting up a solid performance in his Suns debut. The former lottery pick posted 19 points, 9 assists and 6 rebounds in the Suns’ 123-113 loss to the Nuggets. Payton’s performance drew rave reviews from his teammates and coaches, NBA.com’s Cody Cunningham writes.

“I thought he was good,” Suns head coach Jay Triano said. “It was different, the pace of play was better, getting the ball up and down the court, getting into the lane when he needed to, and making passes. He made the guys on the floor with him better.”

Payton, 23, has been viewed a disappointment through his first four NBA seasons after being the 10th overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft. However, given his age and upside, Payton drew interest from several teams prior to the deadline.

Check out other Pacific Division notes:

The agent of now-former Kings center Georgios Papagiannis, Marios Olympios, was critical of the team’s decision to waive the 20-year-old, Aris Barkas of Euro Hoops writes. “He (Papagiannis) never got a chance by the Kings,” Olympios said on the Greek radio station Sport FM, Barkas writes. “He had a double-double every time he played in the G-League. He had to travel for two and a half hour everytime he was assigned to Reno and still he performed. There are many details that prove that he never got a real chance”.
Warriors forward Draymond Green was fined $50,000 for directing inappropriate and offensive language toward a game official, the NBA announced on its website. The incident occurred during the Warriors’ loss to the Thunder this past Tuesday.
The Suns received $1.5MM back in the buyout of new Celtics center Greg Monroe, tweets salary cap expert Albert Nahmad.
After a blockbuster trade with the Cavaliers on Thursday, the Lakers freed up a ton of cap space that could be used to lure two premiere free agents to Los Angeles this summer. Mark Heisler of the Orange County Register writes that the organization’s moves have put it in position to be relevant again.

Suns Waive Isaiah Canaan

February 8th, 2018 at 8:50pm CST by Luke Adams

8:50pm: The Suns have officially waived Canaan, the team announced today in a press release.

“We still consider Isaiah to be a member of the Phoenix Suns family,” GM Ryan McDonough said in a press release. “In speaking with Isaiah and his agent, we are fully committed to doing everything we can to help him with his rehab and recovery from his injury. This move is being made strictly to create a roster spot with Isaiah being out for the remainder of the season.”

4:27pm: The Suns will waive point guard Isaiah Canaan in order to clear a roster spot for newly-acquired point guard Elfrid Payton, tweets Scott Bordow of The Arizona Republic.

Canaan, 26, appeared in 19 games for the Suns, averaging 9.1 PPG and 4.0 APG with a .382/.333/.902 shooting line. However, his season was cut short when he suffered a brutal ankle fracture last week. Canaan immediately underwent surgery to repair the damage, ending his season.

Although the Suns love Canaan as a player and person and wanted to keep him around, they couldn’t justify using one of their 15 roster spots on him for the rest of the season, per Bordow. The veteran guard, who will still receive his full salary for 2017/18 despite being waived, will be an unrestricted free agent at season’s end, so there was little incentive for Phoenix to keep him on the roster.

Canaan’s roster spot has undergone plenty of turnover this season — the Suns waived Mike James in order to create room for Canaan after initially waiving Derrick Jones to open up a spot for James.

Magic Trade Elfrid Payton To Suns

February 8th, 2018 at 8:21pm CST by Arthur Hill

8:41pm: The Magic have officially traded Payton to the Suns, the team announced in a press release. Phoenix waived Isaiah Canaan in order to clear a roster spot for Payton.

2:52pm: Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel clarifies (via Twitter) that the second-round pick the Magic receive in the deal will actually be the second-most favorable of the Grizzlies’, Hornets’, and Heat’s 2018 second-rounders. For now, that would be the Charlotte pick.

1:58pm: The Magic and Suns have agreed to a trade, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who reports (via Twitter) that the teams will swap point guard Elfrid Payton for a second-round pick. That pick will be the Grizzlies’ 2018 second-rounder, tweets John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7.

The deal signals a new start for Payton, who is headed for restricted free agency this summer. His streaky shooting and problems on defense made him expendable, especially as a new regime took over in Orlando’s front office. Payton was having a fine statistical season, averaging 13.0 points, 6.3 assists and 4.0 rebounds per game, but the Magic still aren’t winning and the organization decided to go in a different direction.

He will get a chance to revive his career with the Suns, who have been looking for a new point guard since trading Eric Bledsoe to Milwaukee. Phoenix lost Isaiah Canaan to a broken ankle at the end of January and was down to just one healthy point guard on its roster. The addition of Payton allows Devin Booker to move back to his natural position of shooting guard, adds Scott Bordow of The Arizona Republic (Twitter link).

The Suns reached the salary floor with the move and have $6.9MM in cap space remaining, posts Bobby Marks on ESPN Now. Payton will carry a cap hit of $3.3MM and will be restricted this summer if Phoenix tenders a $4.8MM qualifying offer as expected.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Trade Deadline Rumors: Carroll, Kings, Lakers, C’s

February 8th, 2018 at 1:12pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Nets and Pacers have considered a deal that would send DeMarre Carroll to Indiana in exchange for Al Jefferson, tweets Sam Amick of USA Today. The deal would be a way for Brooklyn to clear money for next season, as Carroll is owed $15.4MM, while Jefferson has a $10MM salary that’s only partially guaranteed.

Carroll, who was traded to the Nets over the summer, is averaging career highs in scoring (13.2), rebounds (6.4) and assists (1.9). Jefferson has settled into a reserve role since coming to Indiana two years ago and is averaging 6.7 points and 3.9 assists in 26 games.

There’s more to report as the trade deadline draws closer:

The Kings are willing to move second-year center Georgios Papagiannis if they need to open a roster spot to complete a larger trade, according to Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer (Twitter link). However, Sacramento has since agreed to trade Malachi Richardson in a deal that seems designed to open up a roster spot.
With Devin Booker and Tyler Ulis both battling injuries, the Suns may be interested in a minor deal for point guard help, tweets Scott Bordow of The Arizona Republic. Josh Gray is the only healthy option currently on the roster.
The Lakers appear to be done with major deals after acquiring Isaiah Thomas and Channing Frye from the Cavaliers, relays Bill Oram of the SoCalNewsGroup (Twitter link). Oram adds that a minor trade could still be in the works.
The Celtics remain engaged on several trade fronts, but continue to be reluctant to include a first-round pick in a deal, sources tell Chris Mannix of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).
The Cavaliers weren’t able to gain any traction with the Hornets on a Kemba Walker trade before pulling the trigger on a series of separate deals, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. Hornets Michael Jordan places a high value on Walker and won’t move him cheaply, Woj adds. Jordan said in a recent interview that he wouldn’t part with Walker “for anything but an All-Star player.”

Luke Adams contributed to this post.

And-Ones: Free Agent Market, Payne, Perkins, Booker

February 8th, 2018 at 10:54am CST by Arthur Hill

The bull market for free agents has ended and there will be few free-spending teams this summer, according to Brian Windhorst and Bobby Marks of ESPN. Many organizations are paying the price for the huge contracts that were handed out in 2016 as cap issues are forcing much of the league to take a more frugal approach.

This season, five teams are on pace to pay the luxury tax, which kicks in with a payroll topping $119MM. Twelve teams are projected to be in tax territory for 2018/19 and several more are in danger of getting there just by re-signing their own free agents. The authors list the Bucks as one team that will cross the line if they hold onto Jabari Parker.

“The luxury tax was not designed for this many teams to pay it,” a league executive told Windhorst and Marks. “Many of those owners probably didn’t think they’d be paying it. Quite a few of those teams are probably going to take steps to get out of the tax or limit new spending.”

When teams were handing out big contracts in the summer of 2016, they were expecting a salary cap in the range of $108MM for next season. That projection has been revised down to $101MM, leaving many in an unexpected dilemma. Only seven teams — the Lakers, Sixers, Bulls, Hawks, Mavericks, Suns and Nets — will have more than $10MM available to chase free agents, and virtually all of those teams are in rebuilding mode.

NBA agent Mark Bartelstein expects the situation to improve in 2019 and 2020 when those 2016 contracts start to expire.

There’s more NBA-related news this morning:

Max and “supermax” deals are the reason more stars seem to be on the trade market, writes Kevin O’Connor of the Ringer. Clippers consultant Jerry West had been urging owner Steve Ballmer to trade Blake Griffin ever since Chris Paul let the team know he wouldn’t be re-signing. Ballmer was convinced after Griffin’s latest injury, recognizing the risks of paying him $171MM over five years, including nearly $39MM in the 2021/22 season when he will be 32. Teams are taking stock of their future and weighing whether maxing out a star is worth giving up financial flexibility. O’Connor predicts fewer mid-sized deals, like the approximately $17MM the Magic are giving to Bismack Biyombo and Evan Fournier, in favor of more non-taxpayer midlevel exceptions, which are valued at $8.4MM an will rise to about $10MM before the current CBA expires.
Adreian Payne, who was waived by the Magic last month in the wake of the Michigan State scandal, had signed to play in Greece, relays the Associated Press. Payne had a two-way contract and played just four games for Orlando.
Veteran center Kendrick Perkins has decided to leave the G League Canton Charge, tweets Jeremy Woo of Sports Illustrated. Several teams have contacted him about signing after the deadline, and he may consider playing in China or Japan next year, depending how the rest of this season turns out, adds Jake Fischer of Sports Illustrated (Twitter link). Perkins officially “retired” from the G League so the Charge can receive compensation, according to 2 Ways & 10 Days.
Sixers forward Trevor Booker has changed agents in advance of his upcoming free agency, tweets Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today. Booker has signed with Jim Tanner’s Tandem Sports + Entertainment.
Lavoy Allen, who played 61 games for the Pacers last season, has joined the Northern Arizona Suns of the G League, the team tweeted.

Trade Rumors: Chriss, Knicks, Belinelli, Hood

February 7th, 2018 at 1:46pm CST by Luke Adams

Over at USA Today, Sam Amick and Jeff Zillgitt broke down trade deadline goals for each of the NBA’s 30 teams. While the duo’s round-up mentioned several players already known to be trade candidates, Amick and Zillgitt also identified a few new names.

Kings center Georgios Papagiannis, Timberwolves guard Jamal Crawford, and Nuggets big man Darrell Arthur are among the players who could be available this week, per Amick and Zillgitt. The duo also suggested that a handful of teams are open for business on nearly all of their players. The Hawks are willing to discuss anyone except John Collins; the Mavericks would talk about anyone besides Dirk Nowitzki, Dennis Smith Jr., and Harrison Barnes; and the only players off the table for the Thunder are Russell Westbrook, Paul George, Carmelo Anthony, and Steven Adams.

Here are a few more trade rumors from around the NBA:

The Suns appear to be exploring deals involving second-year big man Marquese Chriss, according to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders, who tweets that the Lakers are one of a few teams involved. However, John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7, who is well-connected in Phoenix, tweets that those rumors are “totally false,” suggesting that the club hasn’t discussed deals involving Chriss. Scott Bordow of The Arizona Republic also gets involved, tweeting that the Suns would only consider parting with Chriss in a deal for an established player like Kemba Walker.
Having sending Willy Hernangomez to Charlotte, the Knicks continue to take calls about Kyle O’Quinn and Courtney Lee, and are still trying to trade Joakim Noah, says ESPN’s Ian Begley.
The Jazz aren’t one of the teams in the mix for veteran guard Marco Belinelli, tweets Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune. According to Michael Cunningham of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter link), Belinelli isn’t making the trip to Orlando with the Hawks, as the team continues to mull its trade options.
As many as 15 teams have called the Jazz to inquire about trade candidate Rodney Hood, tweets Tony Jones.
In an in-depth look at where things stand for the Kings, James Ham of NBC Sports California says the club doesn’t want to take on a bad contract that runs past 2018/19 or impact its young core led by De’Aaron Fox and Bogdan Bogdanovic.

Forbes Releases 2018 NBA Franchise Valuations

February 7th, 2018 at 10:02am CST by Luke Adams

The Knicks are still reeling from Tuesday’s news that Kristaps Porzingis has suffered a torn ACL and will be sidelined for the rest of the season. While Porzingis’ injury essentially eliminates the Knicks from the playoff race in the East, team ownership can at least find some solace in the fact that the organization remains the highest-valued franchise in the NBA, according to a report from Kurt Badenhausen of Forbes.

For the first time, all 30 NBA teams have a perceived worth of $1 billion or more, per Forbes’ annual report. In 2017, 18 teams had a valuation exceeding $1 billion, which was up from 13 teams in 2016 and just three teams in 2015.

The league-wide average of $1.65 billion per team is also a record, with franchise valuations up 22% in total over last year’s figures. NBA franchise values have tripled over the last five years, according to Badenhausen.

Here’s the full list of NBA franchise valuations, per Forbes:

New York Knicks: $3.6 billion
Los Angeles Lakers: $3.3 billion
Golden State Warriors: $3.1 billion
Chicago Bulls: $2.6 billion
Boston Celtics: $2.5 billion
Brooklyn Nets: $2.3 billion
Houston Rockets: $2.2 billion
Los Angeles Clippers: $2.15 billion
Dallas Mavericks: $1.9 billion
Miami Heat: $1.7 billion
San Antonio Spurs: $1.55 billion
Toronto Raptors: $1.4 billion
Sacramento Kings: $1.375 billion
Washington Wizards: $1.35 billion
Cleveland Cavaliers: $1.325 billion
Portland Trail Blazers: $1.3 billion
Phoenix Suns: $1.28 billion
Oklahoma City Thunder: $1.25 billion
Orlando Magic: $1.225 billion
Utah Jazz: $1.2 billion
Philadelphia 76ers: $1.18 billion
Indiana Pacers: $1.175 billion
Atlanta Hawks: $1.15 billion
Denver Nuggets: $1.125 billion
Detroit Pistons: $1.1 billion
Milwaukee Bucks: $1.075 billion
Minnesota Timberwolves: $1.06 billion
Charlotte Hornets: $1.05 billion
Memphis Grizzlies: $1.025 billion
New Orleans Pelicans: $1 billion

For comparison’s sake, Forbes’ 2017 valuations can be found right here.

Quiet On Suns' Trade Front For Now

February 7th, 2018 at 9:28am CST by Luke Adams

While Suns general manager Ryan McDonough is working the phones, one source tells Scott Bordow of The Arizona Republic that there hasn’t been a whole lot of Suns-related chatter this week. The odds of Phoenix completing a major deal in advance of the deadline appear slim, according to Bordow.

Still, as Bordow details, there are a few Suns players who make some sense as trade candidates. The team would like to shed Tyson Chandler‘s contract, which includes a $13.6MM guaranteed salary for 2018/19, a source tells Bordow. Alex Len, who wants to be a starter – or at least a backup on a contender – next season, is another trade candidate. As is Troy Daniels, who says he’s prepared to move if necessary, but would rather stay in Phoenix for now.

“I’m prepared for whatever. I’ll be prepared to play wherever it is,” the fifth-year Suns guard told Bordow. “Everything is smooth running right now. If I was going to get traded I would like it to happen in the summertime.”

Mannix’s Latest: G. Hill, Hornets, Hawks, Suns

February 6th, 2018 at 1:14pm CST by Luke Adams

The Cavaliers continue to engage the Kings about a possible George Hill trade, sources tell Chris Mannix of Yahoo Sports. However, the Cavs would like to include both J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert in their package for Hill, and taking on multiple expensive non-expiring contracts doesn’t appeal to Sacramento. Meanwhile, the Kings are quietly looking to get a third team involved in a potential deal, according to Mannix.

Mannix’s latest trade rumor roundup features several more tidbits of interest related to Thursday’s deadline, so we’ll pass along the highlights…

The future of GM Rich Cho in Charlotte is uncertain, which may complicate the Hornets‘ deadline plans. According to Mannix, there are rumblings about former Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak being a candidate to join the Hornets’ front office in the offseason. Gery Woelfel of The Racine Journal Times wrote last week that Kupchak is considered likely to be hired by an Eastern Conference team this summer.
Some teams with interest in Marcus Smart view the Celtics‘ asking price of a first-round pick as “unrealistic,” says Mannix.
The Hawks have made “everyone” available, and while much has been written about the club’s veteran trade candidates, second-year swingman Taurean Prince is another player who has drawn interest, according to Mannix.
The Magic have shopped Mario Hezonja “hard” in recent days, per Mannix.
According to Mannix, the Suns are willing to move veterans like Tyson Chandler and Jared Dudley. Neither player’s contract is particularly team-friendly though, so it may be tough for Phoenix to find any value.
The Clippers say they’re okay with holding onto DeAndre Jordan and Lou Williams through the deadline, but rival clubs are skeptical, says Mannix.