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Channing Frye Seeks Extension With Suns

April 16th, 2014 at 9:30am CST by Chuck Myron

Channing Frye was one of many pleasant surprises for the Suns this year, returning after having missed all of 2012/13 with an enlarged heart to play, and start, every one of Phoenix’s games so far in 2013/14. Frye has a player option worth $6.8MM for next season, the final one on his contract, but he’d like to remain with the Suns for longer than that, telling Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic that he wants to discuss an extension with the team.

“I want to talk to the Suns and make sure we’re both on the same page about what I want,” said Frye, who grew up in Phoenix and went to college at the University of Arizona. “I’d love to stay here. It’s up to them and their future and what they want to do. I love wearing this uniform. I think I take a little more pride in it than everyone else because I’m from here. It’s looking for the future and if I could get something longer. I got kids and I want to be somewhere. I’ve been here for five years already so it wouldn’t be bad to kind of not be worried about being traded or buying a house.”

The Landmark Sports Agency client is eligible to sign an extension immediately, but it seems more likely that he’d do so in July after opting in, since that would allow the extension to run through 2017/18 rather than end a year earlier. If Frye opts out and signs an extension before July, the salary in the first year of the extension can’t be any less than what he’d make next season if he opts in. Otherwise, he can make anywhere from the minimum salary to 107.5% of his previous salary in the first season of an extension.

Veterans don’t often sign extensions in part because they can start out at no more than 107.5% of what they were making, though perhaps Frye, who turns 31 next month, wants to hedge against a decline in play, particularly given his medical history. Starting power forwards who can stretch the floor the way Frye does are usually worth salaries of greater than $7MM on the open market, so it seems there’s a decent chance that Suns GM Ryan McDonough and company will share his enthusiasm about an extension.

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Pacific Rumors: Suns, Frye, Clippers, Bynum

January 10th, 2014 at 1:52pm CST by Luke Adams

Here’s the latest on two of the three Pacific teams currently in playoff positions, the Suns and Clippers:

  • In a piece on Eric Bledsoe‘s injury, Grantland’s Zach Lowe examines whether it makes sense for the 21-13 Suns to try to “re-tank.” Lowe offers up a few potential destinations for Goran Dragic, if Phoenix wants to trade him, but suggests that he’d rather see the team stay on its current path, perhaps adding a solid point guard behind Dragic.
  • Lowe also reports that the Suns were prepared to use Channing Frye as a trade chip in three-team trade scenarios involving Omer Asik when the Rockets were actively looking to move the big man. Phoenix wouldn’t have been the club acquiring Asik in those hypothetical deals.
  • The Clippers have frequently been mentioned as one of Andrew Bynum‘s preferred destinations, but reports have indicated that L.A. is lukewarm on the former All-Star center. According to Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times (via Twitter), the Clips have gone “back and forth” on Bynum, but have had a few more internal discussions recently and have some interest. The club currently has no open roster spots, but two players are on 10-day deals, so there could be a pair of openings soon.
  • Ricky Davis was last seen in the NBA with the Clippers, and even as L.A. searches for backcourt help, a reunion is not too likely. Still, speaking to Howard Beck of Bleacher Report, Davis, who is currently averaging 14.1 PPG for the D-League’s Erie BayHawks, says he’d love one more shot at the NBA: “It could be one game. It could be 20 minutes. It could be a 10-day contract. It just lets me know that guys are watching and guys do see that I can still play the game. However long it is, just as long as they know I can play.”
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Pacific Rumors: Bledsoe, Jimmer, Kobe, Frye

October 31st, 2013 at 4:53pm CST by Luke Adams

It’s been an unusually busy day for news out west, so we’re following up this morning’s round of Pacific rumors with a few afternoon updates. Here’s the latest:

  • There are “no indications” that the Suns and Eric Bledsoe will reach an agreement on a contract extension before tonight’s deadline, tweets Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. The two sides have until 11:00 pm CT to work something out.
  • On the heels of reporting that the Kings won’t exercise Jimmer Fredette‘s 2014/15 option, Sam Amick of USA Today passes along a little more Jimmer news. According to Amick, about six teams have expressed some trade interest in Fredette. The Jazz aren’t one of those six, however.
  • The highest-paid player in the NBA will receive most of his salary tomorrow, according to Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times, who says Kobe Bryant will be paid more than $24MM by the Lakers on November 1st.
  • Mark Deeks of ShamSports, writing for SBNation.com, suggests that extending Andrew Bogut for three years and $36MM+ represents an unnecessary risk for the Warriors. As Deeks notes, Golden State still could have extended Bogut in the spring, prior to free agency, which would have given the team another full season to evaluate the big man.
  • In a separate piece for The Score, Deeks discusses the Suns/Wizards trade, writing that it’s the sort of deal that doesn’t necessarily have a winner or loser, since both teams got what they wanted. Deeks also points out that the Suns will have an “extremely logical” trade candidate in Channing Frye if he starts the season healthy and productive.
  • The Kings won’t sign Greivis Vasquez or Patrick Patterson to a contract extension today.
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Odds & Ends: Brooks, Evans, Wallace, Clippers

September 30th, 2013 at 11:57pm CST by Chuck Myron

MarShon Brooks requested a trade from the Nets last spring, a source tells Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News, and the team accomodated him, throwing him into the Paul Pierce/Kevin Garnett blockbuster in place of Reggie Evans, who was in an early version of the deal. The result pleased Evans and Garnett, who said the Nets' decision to keep their rebounder extraordinaire was even more important than landing free agent Andrei Kirilenko. There's still more fallout from that Nets-Celtics trade as training camps open around the Association:

  • Gerald Wallace admits he was "in shock" when he found out Brooklyn traded him to the Celtics, but he's pleased to be in Boston and says he's OK with spending the twilight of his career on a team that isn't a title contender, notes Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com.
  • Brandon Davies, whose contract is partially guaranteed for $50K, and Lou Amundson, who's on a non-guaranteed deal, are the Clippers training camp invitees most likely to make the opening-night roster, a source tells Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com (Twitter link).
  • The Clippers announced a number of front office moves today, and added Brendan O'Conner to the coaching staff, notes Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times (on Sulia).
  • Suns center Channing Frye missed all of 2012/13 with a heart ailment, but with training camp ushering in the final season of his contract, the sharpshooter has been medically cleared to play, as Matt Petersen of Suns.com details.
  • Manu Ginobili wasn't sure the Spurs wanted him back when he hit free agency this summer, but a brief meeting with GM R.C. Buford convinced the veteran swingman that the team still values him highly, writes Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News.
  • John Salmons didn't enter the offseason expecting that he'd remain with the Kings, but he says team officials assured him over the summer that he's still in their plans, as Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee notes via Twitter.

Read more

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Odds & Ends: Lee, SportVU, Ellis, Frye, Bynum

September 4th, 2013 at 10:12pm CST by Chuck Myron

We took note earlier today of David Lee's comments to Marcus Thompson II of the Bay Area News Group about his worse-than-imagined hip injury, and in an updated version of the story, Thompson passes along more from the power forward. Lee said he didn't catch wind about a rumored swap involving him and LaMarcus Aldridge until the Warriors called him to say there was no deal, and Lee also chimes in on the emergence of Golden State as a free agent destination.

"We still have a long way to go," he said. "But if you looked at where we came from three years ago, some of the questions were, 'Why would you come here? They've had one playoff team in the last 150 years.' … Looking where we are now and having these conversations, its very exciting."

Here's more from the Association:

  • The NBA will officially announce Thursday an agreement that will place STATS SportVU cameras in each arena, according to Grantland's Zach Lowe, who reported two weeks ago that a tentative agreement was in place. Lowe examines the technology's impact on referees, contract negotiations, the player's union and other facets of the game in his latest piece.
  • Monta Ellis tells Cash Sirois of 1310 The Ticket in Dallas that he was "miserable" during the past several seasons and calls his opportunity with the Mavs "a breath of fresh air." (Twitter links).
  • Insurance covered Channing Frye's $6MM salary for the Suns last year while he was out with an enlarged heart, notes Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. Frye, who's due $6.4MM this year, says he's ready to return to action and is awaiting team approval to do so.
  • Both Andrew Bynum and the Cavs paint a sunny picture of his recovery from last year's knee injuries, but the team isn't setting a timetable for his return to action, as The Plain Dealer's Mary Schmitt Boyer observes.
  • J.A. Adande of ESPN.com calls on incoming commissioner Adam Silver to take a tough stance on criminal behavior in the wake of legal issues for several players and Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer this offseason.
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Pacific Notes: Kings, Mullin, Frye, Suns, Beasley

September 4th, 2013 at 1:57pm CST by Luke Adams

As the opening of training camps inches a little closer, let's round up the latest items out of the Pacific Division…

  • After having previously acted as a consultant for the Kings, Chris Mullin will join the team's front office in a more formal capacity, according to ESPN.com's Marc Stein. Mullin's role as a senior advisor to GM Pete D'Alessandro and owner Vivek Ranadive figures to expand once the team makes the hiring official, says Stein.
  • Meanwhile, Kings ownership and local labor unions have reached an agreement related to the construction of Sacramento's new Downtown Plaza arena, as detailed by Ryan Lillis and Dale Kasler of the Sacramento Bee. Officials with the Kings, the city, building trades unions and Turner Construction are prepared to announce the agreement later today, according to the Bee report.
  • Channing Frye tells Kris Habbas of Bright Side of the Sun that after missing last season with a heart condition, he has been cleared by "numerous doctors" and that a decision on when he'll return to the court is in the Suns' hands.
  • The Suns made the right move to cut ties with Michael Beasley, and it would still have been prudent even if Beasley hadn't agreed to reduce his salary in the buyout, the Arizona Republic's Bob Young opines. Meanwhile, Tom Ziller of SBNation.com argues that Beasley is an example of why incentive-based deals should be more common in the NBA.
  • Last night, we looked at a few updates relating to the Lakers and Clippers.
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Western Notes: Lakers, Landry, Blazers, Frye

August 31st, 2013 at 9:16pm CST by Spencer Lund

The Clippers signed Antawn Jamison earlier this week, and Jamison conducted a radio interview with ESPN 710 in Los Angeles on Friday, transcribed and given context by ESPN Los Angeles scribe Ramona Shelburne this morning.

In the interview Jamison spoke about last season under the microscope with the star-studded Lakers, applauded the competitive drive of Kobe Bryant, and discussed his sometimes strained relationship with coach Mike D'Antoni, who removed Jamison from the rotation late in the year. Said Jamison of Bryant:

"I would never count Kobe Bryant out of anything. I've played with some special players. Gilbert Arenas when he was [in Washington D.C], at the top of his game, LeBron James, Shaquille O'Neal [in Cleveland]. I've played with a lot but never played with an individual player who had the type of mindset, the drive that he has. If [Bryant] says he's going to win a sixth ring, believe me, he's going to do everything possible to get that ring."

Jamison also said there was little communication or rapport between the players and D'Antoni after Mike Brown was fired five games into the season.  

"Mike was pretty much put in a difficult situation. There was no training camp where he could get a feel for guys. There was a breakdown of communication when we first got there. And throughout the season it was kind of up and down."

Here's more from around the Western Conference, including a possible D-League addition to the Lakers next season…

  • The Los Angeles Times' Eric Pincus shares the offseason workout video (via Ryan Ellerbusch of Maximum Exposure) of Lakers summer league standout forward Marcus Landry. 
  • Landry – younger brother of Carl Landry – averaged 15.2 PPG in 5 games this summer and in February was named to the Futures All-Star roster for the 2013 D-League All-Star Game.
  • Pincus adds that the Lakers are planning to bring 16-20 players to training camp despite having just 12 players under contract. They're expected to sign second round pick Ryan Kelly.
  • Sam Tongue of Blazers Edge wonders whether Blazers President Chris McGowan can enhance fan experience by upgrading their digital properties to "talk with the fans, rather than at them."
  • The Boston Globe's Gary Washburn tweets that Suns GM Ryan McDonough says they'll know whether Channing Frye will play in 2013/14 in the next few weeks, but he's "optimistic he'll be able to play."
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Suns Notes: Butler, Beasley, Frye, Oriakhi

August 30th, 2013 at 11:37am CST by Luke Adams

The Suns completed a pair of transactions yesterday, officially signing fifth overall pick Alex Len, and sending Caron Butler to the Bucks for Ish Smith and Viacheslav Kravtsov. On the heels of those deals, GM Ryan McDonough spoke to Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic about the Butler deal, Michael Beasley's future, and a few other Suns-related topics. Let's dive in…

  • According to McDonough, the Butler trade had nothing to do with Beasley's situation, despite the fact that the money saved in the deal could make waiving the troubled forward more palatable. The GM expects resolution on Beasley in "the next week or so," and Coro suggests the former second overall pick will likely be released.
  • Assuming Channing Frye, who missed last season with heart problems, is able to participate in training camp, the Suns expect to have at least 16 players on guaranteed contracts in camp. "All the results we’ve gotten on Channing are positive," McDonough said. "We’re just waiting for a conclusion."
  • Coro also says that second-round pick Alex Oriakhi will be in camp with the team, which is interesting, since the big man signed a professional deal with a French team several weeks ago.
  • Smith and Kravtsov are expected to battle for regular-season roster spots, though it might be an uphill battle for Smith, since Phoenix already has several players capable of playing the point, including Goran Dragic, Eric Bledsoe, Kendall Marshall, Malcolm Lee, and even Archie Goodwin.
  • Further discussing the Butler trade, McDonough noted that the decision to move the veteran forward was a difficult one. "Caron is a great player," McDonough said. "Our timeline and Caron’s timeline were different at this stage of his career. This was just a unique opportunity because Milwaukee aggressively pursued him."
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Odds & Ends: Oden, Heat, McGrady, Scola

July 28th, 2013 at 10:16pm CST by Zachary Links

All eyes are on Greg Oden at this stage of the offseason and David Aldridge of NBA.com (via Twitter) hears that the big man will make his decision either Wednesday or Thursday.  The former No. 1 overall pick will choose between the Mavericks, Pelicans, Spurs, Kings, Heat, and Hawks as he looks to mount another comeback.  Here's tonight's look around the Associatiion..

  • A source tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo (via Twitter) that Oden is most intrigued by the Pelicans and Heat.
  • While in China fulfulling committments with sponsors, veteran Tracy McGrady said that he is open to returning to the CBA next season, according to a report from China.org.cn.
  • Luis Scola's nearly $4.9MM salary for 2014/15 will be partially guaranteed for $940K, rather than non-guaranteed, because he appeared in all 82 games for the Suns this past season, reports Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic.
  • In the same piece, Coro passes along Suns GM Ryan McDonough's optimism that Channing Frye will be ready to play in time for the season. Frye missed all of 2012/13 with an enlarged heart.
  • Gal Mekel told Kevin Arnovitz of True Hoop TV that he isn't concerned about making the transition from playing in Israel to suiting up for the Mavericks.
  • Bob Ford of the Philadelphia Inquirer delves into Sixers GM Sam Hinkie's philosophy of acquiring undervalued players with upside.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

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Odds & Ends: Bynum, Ginobili, Heat, Joerger

June 25th, 2013 at 12:18pm CST by Luke Adams

It's already been a busy day of news and rumors, and things don't figure to slow down anytime soon. With the draft fast approaching and free agency to follow shortly thereafter, the NBA's roster-movement season is in full swing. As we try not to let anything slip through the cracks, let's round up a few Tuesday odds and ends from around the Association:

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