Phoenix Suns Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Ishbia: Suns Will Look To Re-Sign Allen, O’Neale

March 8th, 2024 at 8:41am CST by Luke Adams

The Suns‘ three stars – Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal – will earn more than $150MM next season on their own. Phoenix has over $178MM in total guaranteed money committed to six players so far, and that number would surpass $190MM if four additional veterans pick up player options.

However, speaking on Thursday to reporters, including Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic, Suns owner Mat Ishbia said the team will attempt to re-sign key unrestricted free agents Grayson Allen and Royce O’Neale this summer.

“We’re trying to win a championship and we’re going to try this year and we’re going to figure out how to do it next year and signing free agents is what it’s going to take,” Ishbia said. “Having someone’s Bird rights gives you an advantage to be able to keep those players even if you’re in the luxury tax. We’re not frivolous with money and just spending money to spend money. What we’re trying to do is win a championship and build the best team possible.

“… Grayson and Royce are two great guys. Royce is new to the organization, has done an amazing job, everything you can think of, and Grayson has been here all year and has been a phenomenal part of the team and the organization. We hope and expect to have both of those guys back, along with keeping this core team together because we love our team and we’re going to compete at the highest level and hopefully in the playoffs very soon, we can see them all play together.”

The Suns have one of the NBA’s highest payrolls this season, with a team salary above the second luxury tax apron. The league’s latest projection calls for a $141MM cap for the 2024/25 campaign, with a second apron of approximately $189.5MM.

Operating above the second apron will limit a team’s flexibility significantly going forward. A club with a team salary in that range won’t be able to offer free agents more than the minimum salary or take back more salary than it sends out in a trade. Second-apron teams also won’t be permitted to aggregate player salaries or send out cash in trades.

Still, as outlined above, barring cost-cutting moves, the Suns project to be above the second apron next season even without re-signing Allen or O’Neale. If they let either player walk, the Suns would have no real means to replace them beyond minimum-salary signings, so re-signing the duo is in the club’s best interest. It’s just a matter of how much money Ishbia is willing to spend on the roster — his comments on Thursday, including a joke about not knowing what the second apron is, suggest he’s not looking to pinch pennies.

It’s worth noting that both Allen and O’Neale are eligible to sign extensions prior to free agency, though that might not be a viable option for O’Neale, who would be limited to a two-year, $20.45MM deal as a result of the NBA’s extend-and-trade rules. As of March 27, the Suns would be able to offer Allen up to $75MM over four years.

Allen has made eight shots from beyond the arc in each of Phoenix’s last two games to bump his league-leading three-point percentage to 47.5%. O’Neale, meanwhile, has helped improve the Suns’ defense since being acquired at last month’s trade deadline. The club, which had a 115.0 defensive rating prior to the forward’s arrival, has a 109.9 mark since he made his debut.

Suns To Host 2027 All-Star Weekend

March 7th, 2024 at 5:14pm CST by Arthur Hill

MARCH 7: The Suns have been officially selected to host NBA All-Star 2027, according to a release from the league (Twitter link). The 76th All-Star Game will take place at the Footprint Center in Phoenix on Sunday, Feb. 21, 2027.

FEBRUARY 26: All-Star Weekend appears to be headed to Phoenix in 2027, multiple sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

It’s a huge achievement for new owner Mat Ishbia, who took control of the Suns a little more than a year ago. Ishbia’s Phoenix Mercury will host the WNBA All-Star Game this year.

With a roster featuring Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal, the team could be well represented in the 2027 game. Durant has been an All-Star 16 times in his career, while Booker is a four-time All-Star and Beal has been selected three times.

After taking place in Indianapolis this year, the next three All-Star Weekends will be hosted by Pacific Division teams, Charania notes (Twitter link). San Francisco will host next year’s festivities, followed by Los Angeles in 2026.

It will be the fourth All-Star Game in Phoenix and the first since 2009. The city also served as host in 1975 and 1995.

Suns Notes: Nurkic, Booker, Little, Okogie, Playoff Prospects

March 6th, 2024 at 11:07pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Suns were dispatched by the Nuggets pretty easily in last year’s playoffs, but Phoenix’s offseason additions could make a difference if the teams meet again, writes Tony Jones of The Athletic. Jusuf Nurkic isn’t as talented or athletic as Deandre Ayton, but he provides a more physical presence to match up with Nikola Jokic in a seven-game series. Nurkic had seven points, 12 rebounds, six assists, two blocks and two steals as the Suns pulled out an overtime win in Denver Tuesday night.

“We’re most definitely different,” Kevin Durant said. “Adding (Bradley) Beal and Grayson (Allen) and Nurk makes us a different team than last year. But having more experience as a unit helps a lot as well. Last year, we were thrown together pretty quickly, and we were playing against a well-oiled machine. We have nothing but respect for Denver. They challenge us in ways that other teams don’t, so it was good to fight through everything tonight.”

Although Phoenix can’t expect Nurkic to shut down his former teammate, Jones points out that he presents problems for Jokic that few other Western centers do. Nurkic is strong enough to match up with Jokic in the low post without the need for a double team, which limits open opportunities for Denver’s shooters.

There’s more on the Suns:

Coach Frank Vogel describes Devin Booker as “day-to-day” with the sprained right ankle he suffered late in Saturday’s game, according to Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. Booker is already ruled out for Thursday’s contest with Toronto, but with a projected timeline of five-to-14 days, Rankin notes that he could be back as early as Monday. “We’ll see how he is over the weekend and into next week,” Vogel said.
Nassir Little received a platelet-rich plasma injection for inflammation in his left knee and Vogel expects him to be sidelined “for a week or so,” Rankin tweets. Josh Okogie has been diagnosed with a lower abdominal strain, Rankin adds.
The past week showed why the Suns are so dangerous but so hard to predict heading into the playoffs, observes Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports. The surprising win at Denver followed back-to-back home losses to Houston and Oklahoma City. While injuries have limited the time that the starting five have played together, Bourguet points out that they have the fourth-best ranking of any five-man lineup in the league that has logged at least 250 minutes. He adds that during their only real healthy stretch of the season — from late December through the All-Star break — the Suns posted a 19-7 record.

NBA Teams That Still Have Open Roster Spots

March 6th, 2024 at 12:55pm CST by Luke Adams

As we detailed on Tuesday, 17 players that had been on two-way contracts received promotions to standard deals between last month’s trade deadline and Monday’s two-way signing deadline.

However, even though those 17 players filled standard roster spots around the NBA and no team currently has an open two-way slot, there are still several openings on 15-man rosters across the league.

[RELATED: 2023/24 NBA Roster Counts]

Here’s a rundown of the teams that still have at least one standard roster spot available, along with some brief observations on how they might fill those openings:

Teams with two open roster spots

Minnesota Timberwolves
New York Knicks
Philadelphia 76ers

Teams are permitted to dip below 14 players on standard contracts for up to 14 days at a time. Currently, there are three teams taking advantage of that rule: the Timberwolves, Knicks, and Sixers.

There’s no real urgency for any of these clubs to sign a player in the short term — Philadelphia doesn’t have to re-add a 14th man until March 15, while New York’s and Minnesota’s deadlines are March 16 and 17, respectively.

Still, I’m not sure any of the three will wait that long to make a move. The Sixers and Knicks have a crowded injury list and could use some additional depth, while the Timberwolves have already reportedly reached an agreement on a 10-day deal with T.J. Warren — it just hasn’t been officially finalized yet.

[Note: Warren officially signed with the Wolves shortly after the publication of this story.]

Philadelphia could still use another frontcourt body with Joel Embiid on the shelf. It wouldn’t be a surprise if Taj Gibson eventually makes his way back to the Knicks, though he’s under contract with Detroit for the next 10 days. Marcus Morris was linked to Minnesota last month, though it remains unclear whether a union for the two sides remains in play.

Teams with one open roster spot

Boston Celtics
Detroit Pistons
- Note: The Pistons’ 14th man (Gibson) is on a 10-day contract.
Golden State Warriors
Phoenix Suns
Utah Jazz

There’s no timeline for any of these teams to fill their 15th open roster spot. I’d expect the Pistons and Jazz to be a little more proactive about making a move though, since they’re both well below the luxury tax line and could potentially benefit from taking a look at some young players on 10-day deals for developmental purposes down the stretch.

The Celtics, Warriors, and Suns are all well above the tax threshold and aren’t in desperate need for depth pieces at the moment, so they’ll probably be patient when it comes to adding a 15th man.

Neemias Queta (Celtics) and Saben Lee (Suns) are candidates to be promoted from two-way contracts near the end of the season. The Warriors already elevated their most obvious candidate for a promotion (Lester Quinones), so it’s unclear what they may have in mind for their final roster move. Given how deep they are, it’s unlikely anyone the Dubs add would play at all in the postseason.

Teams whose 15th man is on a 10-day contract

Cleveland Cavaliers
New Orleans Pelicans
Toronto Raptors
Washington Wizards

The Cavaliers will open up a roster spot on Thursday when Sharife Cooper‘s 10-day contract expires. The Wizards (R.J. Hampton) and Pelicans (Izaiah Brockington) will follow suit next Wednesday, with the Raptors (Jahmi’us Ramsey) opening up their 15th roster spot next Thursday.

Each of those four players would be eligible for a second 10-day deal with his respective team. However, all four clubs seem to be rotating players in and out of that slot, so it’s possible that the Cavs, Pelicans, Raptors, and Wizards all finish the season with a different 15th man.

Toronto and Washington won’t make the playoffs and will likely eventually settle on a prospect who can be signed to a team-friendly multiyear contract. The Cavs and Pelicans could ultimately go the same route, though they’ll want to fully scour the buyout market in case there’s a veteran who could help in the postseason.

Contract Details: Lawson, K. Brown, Forrest, Barlow, Bouyea, More

March 6th, 2024 at 6:54am CST by Luke Adams

The Mavericks used a portion of their non-taxpayer mid-level exception to give A.J. Lawson a $1MM rest-of-season salary and a four-year contract when they promoted him to their standard roster, Hoops Rumors has learned.

While Lawson’s 2023/24 salary of $1MM – which is well above his prorated minimum – is guaranteed, he’s not necessarily assured of any money beyond this season. His minimum salaries for the following three years are fully non-guaranteed. If he plays out the full contract, the Mavericks wing would earn approximately $7.91MM.

Here are more details on recently signed contracts around the NBA:

The three-year contract that Kendall Brown signed with the Pacers features a starting salary of $1.1MM, which came out of the team’s room exception. This season is the first year that the room exception can be used to sign players for up to three years instead of just two, and Indiana took advantage of that flexibility to give Brown non-guaranteed minimum salaries in 2024/25 and ’25/26, with a team option on that final year. He’ll receive a partial guarantee of $250K if he makes the Pacers’ regular season roster in the fall.
The new contracts for Hawks guard Trent Forrest and Spurs forward Dominick Barlow are just rest-of-season, minimum-salary deals, which suggests that those two players just got standard conversions from their two-way contracts rather than negotiating new terms. Forrest will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, while Barlow will be eligible for restricted free agency.
As expected, both Shake Milton (Knicks) and Mike Muscala (Thunder) signed rest-of-season, minimum-salary contracts with their new clubs.
Like fellow San Antonio newcomer RaiQuan Gray, Jamaree Bouyea signed a two-year, two-way deal with the Spurs, so his new contract runs through the 2024/25 season.
The two-way deals recently signed by Jeff Dowtin (Sixers), Jacob Gilyard (Nets), Jacob Toppin (Knicks), Ish Wainright (Suns), Quenton Jackson (Pacers), Harry Giles (Lakers), and Dylan Windler (Hawks) are all one-year (rest-of-season) contracts, so those players will be eligible to become restricted free agents this summer.

Beal Needs More Work On Nose After Season

March 5th, 2024 at 10:52pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Bradley Beal was instructed to wear a mask after suffering a broken nose in late January but he hasn’t done so since returning this month from a hamstring injury. He’s not done with nasal procedures, Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic tweets. “Still have to get my septum realigned. Think I’ll do it after the season,” the Suns guard said. “Still having a little trouble breathing out my right nostril.”

And-Ones: Officiating, Stewart, Eubanks, Ntilikina, Bronny

March 5th, 2024 at 8:25pm CST by Luke Adams

Speaking to reporters on Friday, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr once again lamented the way that NBA games are called, suggesting that offensive players get the benefit of the doubt too often, according to Eric Koreen of The Athletic.

“I think there just needs to be a general rule: No bulls–t allowed. Really. It’s the truth,” Kerr said. “And I could go through a tape with you and show you: A guy dribbles off a high ball screen and the defender tries to fight over (the screen) and the guy (with the ball) jumps backwards and the ref calls a foul. Like, what are we doing? Can you imagine calling that in the pickup game? It would start a fight. We just have to get back to (determining) what’s basketball.”

With scoring numbers reaching record heights, NBA executive vice president of basketball operations Joe Dumars confirmed last month that the league has formally launched a review into whether rule changes are necessary to slow that trend and restore the offense/defense balance. Kerr believes that tweaking the way fouls are called would be a good start.

“Let’s make players create an advantage in order to call a foul,” Kerr said. “But we have these exact phrases — ‘illegal guarding position.’ Sometimes a guy will just slam right through the defender and the ref will call a foul on the defender. (The referee will) say, ‘It’s an illegal guarding position.’ The refs have to call that. That’s how they’re judged and taught.

“Like I said, the officials are great. It’s just that we have to recognize what’s happening. I think it’s been about a decade where the offensive players are so smart, they see what’s happening and they’re just completely manipulating the rules to let them go.”

Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

TMZ Sports has obtained the Phoenix Police Department incident report on the altercation between Pistons forward/center Isaiah Stewart and Suns center Drew Eubanks. According to the report, Eubanks told police that Stewart confronted him while he was entering the arena due to physical play between the two big men in a previous game. Stewart, who punched Eubanks in the face, was arrested on a misdemeanor assault charge and issued a citation, but Eubanks later told police he wanted the charges dropped, per TMZ.
Frank Ntilikina is reportedly looking to return to his home country after being waived by the Hornets last month. Alessandro Maggi of Sportando, relaying a report from French outlet BeBasket, says Ntilikina has been linked to ASVEL and Paris Basketball but would need to be signed as an injury replacement to be eligible suit up for either team down the stretch. The guard is said to be hoping to use the rest of this season to make his case for a spot on the French national team for the Paris Olympics this summer.
As he considers whether to enter the 2024 NBA draft or remain at USC, Bronny James is expected to weigh specific team interest more heavily than draft position, agent Rich Paul told Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN over the weekend. That would mean seeking out the best developmental fit rather than trying to get drafted as high as possible. Paul added that getting Bronny on the same team as father LeBron James isn’t a top priority, though LeBron would be “head over heels excited if that were to happen organically.”

Latest On Devin Booker's Recovery Timeline

March 5th, 2024 at 9:38am CST by Luke Adams

Sources told Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic on Monday that Devin Booker‘s recovery timeline for his sprained right ankle is expected to be in the range of five-to-14 days, with five days as a best-case outcome and two weeks representing a worst-case scenario. Earlier in the day on Monday, Shams Charania of The Athletic had projected a seven-to-10 day timeline for the Suns guard.

Suns Sign Ish Wainright To Two-Way Contract

March 4th, 2024 at 6:40pm CST by Rory Maher

6:40pm: The Suns have officially signed Wainright, according to a release from the team (Twitter link via PHNX Sports’ Gerald Bourguet). As we outlined in a separate story, Theo Maledon was waived to open up a two-way slot for Wainright.

3:37pm: The Suns are signing free agent forward Ish Wainright to a two-way contract, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter).

Wainright, 29, played 105 regular season games and 13 playoff contests with Phoenix from 2021-23. However, his non-guaranteed minimum-salary contract was released before the 2023/24 season began due to a roster crunch, and he was claimed off the waiver wire by the Trail Blazers.

Before he was claimed by Portland, a report stated that Phoenix had interest in bringing back Wainright, and several months later, that will come to fruition.

In part due to injuries, Wainright only appeared in seven games for the Blazers. They cut him in January before his contract became fully guaranteed, making him an unrestricted free agent.

Known more for his defense than his offense, Wainright has averaged 3.4 PPG and 1.8 RPG while shooting 33.1% from deep in 112 career regular season games over the past three seasons (11.8 MPG).

As Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports observes (Twitter link), the Suns currently have three players — the maximum allowed — on two-way contracts, but a report last week indicated Saben Lee was a strong candidate to be converted to a standard deal. If Lee is promoted to Phoenix’s open standard roster spot, the team wouldn’t need to release anyone to add Wainright, as he would just fill Lee’s vacated spot.

Suns Waive Theo Maledon

March 4th, 2024 at 5:23pm CST by Tristan Tucker

The Suns have waived two-way guard Theo Maledon, according to the league’s official transaction log. HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto first reported the move (Twitter link).

Phoenix was reported to be signing Ish Wainright to a two-way contract earlier Monday, but all three of the team’s two-way contracts were filled. There was some speculation that Saben Lee might be earning a promotion to the 15-man roster, and while that could still happen down the line, the Suns are creating a roster space for Wainright in the short term by waiving Maledon.

The Suns originally claimed Maledon on waivers after he was cut by the Hornets in December. The 34th overall pick of the 2020 draft, he began his career with the Thunder, where he made 56 starts across two seasons. After departing Oklahoma City, he spent part of the next two years with Charlotte on a two-way deal before landing in Phoenix.

Maledon only made four appearances during his time in Phoenix, totaling five points in 13 minutes. In 177 career games (64 starts), the 22-year-old guard holds career averages of 7.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.9 assists. He had his most productive season when he averaged 10.1 points and 3.5 assists in his age-19 rookie year in Oklahoma City in ’20/21.