4:17pm: The move is official, the Suns announced on Twitter.
3:05pm: Phoenix will waive point guard Tyler Ulis, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
The decision is the latest in a series of cost-cutting moves for the Suns, who are also cutting ties with Elfrid Payton and Alex Len. Phoenix is maximizing cap room to be aggressive in free agency, with the Bucks’ Jabari Parker and the Celtics’ Marcus Smart as possible targets.
Getting rid of Ulis will save the team $1.54MM for next season. A decision on whether to guarantee his 2018/19 salary was originally due by June 24, but he agreed to let the Suns delay the move until today.
A second-round pick in 2016, Ulis spent two years in Phoenix. He played 71 games this season, starting 43, but the Suns are hoping for a point guard upgrade in free agency, according to Scott Bordow of The Arizona Republic (Twitter link). They drafted Elie Okobo and have Brandon Knight returning from injury, so there may not have been playing time available for Ulis.
The Suns still have to make decisions on non-guaranteed salaries for Alan Williams ($5.52MM), Shaquille Harrison ($1,378,242) and Davon Reed ($1,378,242 with a $689,212 guarantee).
That’s kinda surprising
yeah could be a good fit in Utah or even Houston
I figured he was going, but I really enjoyed watching him play. A bit of a liability on the defensive end because of his size, but I thought he played hard and was pretty effective. Hope he catches on somewhere.
For the price, they are not going to find a better option. This type of move is why Phoenix has been picking in the top 5 year after year.
Agreed. Don’t know if you feel it’s the same, but they got rid of Ish Smith a couple of years ago. He was a perfectly acceptable back-up at reasonable money. I always liked him, too, and am happy that he’s found some success in Detroit. BTW speculation here is that they’re going after VanVleet. With Okobo coming from France (on a guaranteed contract) and Brandon Knight coming back from injury, they feel like they’re set at PG.
With how small his salary is, I’m surprised they couldn’t have found a taker for him in a trade
he will get picked up by another team
Ulis is a perfect fit to backup Kemba Walker in Charlotte (assuming Walker is around in ‘18/19)
I like Tyler Ulis. I think he’s going to get another look somewhere. He plays hard. He’s actually not that bad of a defender, but that team was terrible on that end.
Tyler ulis is honestly a solid player sad to him get waived hope he gets picked up by a team where he can get minutes to continue to develop
This was not a big surprise. Ulis has an incredibly difficult time scoring with bigger guards on him. He has an especially difficult time creating space and must compensate by trying to find holes in the defense. I would not be surprised if he plays himself out of the NBA by mid-season this coming year.
Lakers back up point. Cost controlled signing that gives them alittle grit on the second unit