The Suns have waived training camp invitee Johnathan Motley, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Motley had a non-guaranteed contract, so Phoenix won’t owe him his minimum salary.
Motley, 25, signed a camp deal with the Suns after playing on two-way contracts for the last three seasons, first with Dallas and then with the Clippers. Over the course of those three NBA seasons, he has averaged 4.9 PPG and 2.4 RPG in 46 appearances (8.1 MPG).
Motley has made a greater impact at the G League level, where he has been named to the All-NBAGL Second Team for three consecutive years. In 2019/20, he averaged 24.0 PPG, 7.9 RPG, and 2.8 APG on .518/.356/.753 shooting in 26 games (33.0 MPG) for the Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario.
The veteran forward appeared in all four of Phoenix’s preseason games and performed well, with 24 points and 19 rebounds and 47 total minutes. However, he also racked up 10 personal fouls and six turnovers in those minutes.
The Suns’ roster now appears ready to go for the regular season, though the team could still make tweaks before Tuesday. Phoenix is carrying 12 players with fully guaranteed salaries, two with partial or non-guarantees (Damian Jones and Cameron Payne), and one on a two-way contract (Ty-Shon Alexander).
Suns had no room for a MOTLEY player.
he’s going back to his crew.