As we detailed last month, fifth-year center Alex Len seems like a good bet to leave the Suns as an unrestricted free agent this summer. Len reinforced that idea this weekend by talking like a player who is preparing to move on from his current situation.
“I had a great five years here,” Len said of his time in Phoenix, per Scott Bordow of The Arizona Republic. “I had ups and downs but I feel like it’s been a great time and a great learning experience with everything I’ve had thrown at me so I feel like anywhere I go or stay here from here on out I’m going to keep rising and get better.”
A year ago, Len became one of the few restricted free agents who sign a one-year qualifying offer rather than negotiating a longer-term deal with his current team or a rival club. Generally, players who take that approach don’t stick with their current club when they become eligible for unrestricted free agency a year later, so it’s not a real surprise that Len is already talking about his time with the Suns in the past tense.
Here’s more out of Phoenix:
- While Len may be on his way out, two-way player Danuel House hopes that his recent play has shown the Suns – or another team – that he deserves a spot on an NBA roster next season, as Bordow details. “I think I’ve proven a lot,” said House, who has averaged 12.4 PPG, 6.2 RPG, and 2.8 APG in his last five games. “I’m just going to play hard, try to make the right plays, that I’m able to step up and do things for the team that they need me to. That’s my main objective to show that I belong in this league and that I deserve to be here.”
- In a separate article for The Arizona Republic, Bordow touches on a few topics, including Devin Booker‘s upcoming extension window, T.J. Warren‘s future role, and the Suns’ coaching search. Notably, Bordow fully expects Booker to sign a max deal with the club sometime after he becomes extension-eligible on July 1.
- The Suns are among the teams expected to show “serious interest” in former Grizzlies head coach David Fizdale, Marc Stein of The New York Times writes in his latest email newsletter. As Stein notes, James Jones has an “increasingly loud voice” in Phoenix’s front office, and Fizdale coached Jones for several years as an assistant in Miami.
- For more Suns stories, including an explanation of how the “starter criteria” impacts Elfrid Payton and the details on the team locking up the top spot in the lottery standings, be sure to check out their team page right here.