The Suns have confirmed that Kevin Durant, who is still recovering from an MCL sprain, won’t play until after the All-Star break, but the star forward “looked great” in his first practice with the team on Monday, teammate T.J. Warren said, per Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. Durant, who wasn’t wearing a brace on his injured knee, played some 1-on-1 with assistant coach Jarrett Jack, Rankin writes.
Warren, who was sent from Brooklyn to Phoenix along with Durant, said it was a “surreal feeling” to return to the place where he spent the first five years of his career and to have a chance to play alongside superstars and contend for a title (Twitter video link via PHNX Sports).
During Warren’s first five seasons in Phoenix from 2014-19, the club posted a dismal 126-284 (.307) record. This time around, the Suns are the betting favorites to make it out of the West and play in the NBA Finals.
Warren and fellow Suns newcomer Darius Bazley aren’t on the injury report for Tuesday’s game vs. Sacramento, so they should be available to make their debuts for the team, tweets Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports.
Here’s more on the Suns:
- Suns guards Cameron Payne and Landry Shamet, who are both dealing with foot injuries, will remain sidelined through the All-Star break and will be reevaluated next week, tweets Rankin. Payne hasn’t played since January 4 due to a right foot sprain, while Shamet has been out since Jan. 16 as a result of right foot soreness.
- Now a member of the Bucks, Jae Crowder declined to take any parting shots at the Suns when asked about the situation that led to him sitting out the first several months of the season. “Obviously I’ve been working with these guys for a trade partner for months now. I think, give or take, they did exactly what they said they were gonna do. Took longer than what we all expected, but it got done,” Crowder said (Twitter link via Eric Nehm of The Athletic). “… I’m thankful for the organization embracing me the past two years — we had a great run and we did some great things in Phoenix and we turned their culture around. So I’m happy for those guys. I wish them luck moving forward.”
- Suns two-way player Ish Wainright can only be active for two more games before he reaches his limit for the season, tweets Bourguet. Given that Phoenix plays twice before the All-Star break and then is off for eight days, the club will likely have Wainright active for both of this week’s contests and then use the time off to decide whether to promote him to a standard contract, Bourguet observes. The Suns currently have two openings on their 15-man roster, though Terrence Ross is expected to fill one of them.
- Deandre Ayton remained with the Suns through the trade deadline, then faced the Pacers on Friday, seven months after signing an offer sheet with Indiana that Phoenix quickly matched. Despite some speculation during the last year about whether Ayton really wanted to be with the Suns, he said he wasn’t thinking last week about what could have been, Rankin writes for The Arizona Republic. “I enjoyed playing against (Indiana) and being out there, but I’m happy with my Suns, though,” Ayton said. “Forget that. That’s behind me. I’m happy I’m with my Suns.”
People forget one of the biggest reasons the Suns went from bad to good is the arrival of Chris Paul.
I’m far from a Chris Paul fan but give credit where it’s due. Even with Booker and some of the other good players, Phoenix was far from a contender. Suddenly with Chris Paul and the development of a couple young guys they are Championship contenders.
Bring in a guy like KD and some other pieces and watch out. But caveat will always be in the back of the Mind. Can Paul stay healthy through the playoffs?
If Paul goes down the sun sets in Phoenix.
The Suns wern’t that far from being a contender before acquiring CP3. They went 8-0 in the bubble with Ricky Rubio at the point. They beat some very good teams along the way. The Suns are pretty much the reason there’s a play-in now.
I still have Denver coming out of the West because I don’t know if 30 or so games is enough time to gel but if Paul does go down any team with Durant, Booker and Ayton will still be a tough out.
They had no chance winning the championship with Ricky Rubio as the point guard. Zero zilch. Great guy, great locker room, good backup, but as a starter he’s too erratic. Chris Paul changed that and though it hasn’t happened yet, the threat is now there.
You’re right about gelling. Is it enough time? But with these guys being a little older I think they make it happen.
Denver looks like they need to push through also after these few years of it being possible. So many teams on the doorstep. Denver Phoenix Memphis, and if they get serious the clippers, lakers, perhaps New Orleans? What about portland? Crapshoot in the West.., it’s all about who stays healthy. Should be exciting.
Hard to extrapolate the bubble to anything due to the unique situation and small sample size. We can say the Suns had begun to turn a corner, but how much is impossible to say.
Denver, Memphis matchups require Booker, Paul, Durant, and Ayton healthy, or yeah no shining sun in PHX.
(Possibly a Healthy Pels also)
Welcome home TJ !
The one thing with two-way players for the Suns is that they don’t have an affiliate so there’s no direct relationship with the G-League team where the two-way player will play. Is the 50 game limit tied to the player or to the slot? Phoenix can’t just pick up another player who hasn’t hit the limit yet, correct?
They could still use someone either on the wing/4, so Wainright is pretty important right now