As expected, the Suns have waived guard Cole Anthony, reports Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link). Reporting shortly after the trade deadline indicated that Phoenix was expected to cut Anthony after acquiring him in a salary-dump deal.
According to John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 (Twitter link), the Suns didn’t make the move right away because they were waiting to see if a buyout was possible. Gerald Bourguet of Suns After Dark (Twitter link) adds that Phoenix was also in no rush to waive Anthony until two-way guard Jamaree Bouyea got closer to his games-played limit.
Meanwhile, head coach Jordan Ott suggested this week Anthony was still on the roster in part to provide emergency depth due to Phoenix’s backcourt injuries, though the former first-round pick had yet to actually report to the Suns and never seemed likely to suit up for the team.
The 15th overall pick in the 2020 draft, Anthony spent his first five NBA seasons with Orlando, averaging 12.5 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.8 assists in 24.8 minutes per contest on .419/.345/.847 shooting in 320 total games. However, his minutes have declined over the past few years and he was traded to Memphis in the 2025 offseason as part of the Desmond Bane blockbuster.
Anthony reached a buyout agreement with the Grizzlies and signed a one-year, minimum-salary contract with the Bucks. He averaged 6.7 PPG, 2.5 RPG and 3.5 APG on .424/.306/.615 shooting in a career-low 15.1 minutes per game in 35 appearances with Milwaukee this season. The Bucks traded him and Amir Coffey to Phoenix in a three-team deadline deal that allowed the Suns to duck below the luxury tax line.
As both Gambadoro and Bourguet note, the expectation is that the Suns will use the newly opened roster spot to promote Bouyea to the standard roster, making him their new 15th man. That would open up a two-way slot, which Phoenix would have until next Wednesday to fill.
As for Anthony, he’ll clear waivers on Sunday if his minimum-salary contract goes unclaimed. Because he was waived by March 1, he’ll retain his playoff eligibility if he catches on with a new NBA team between now and the end of the regular season.
I would sorta love to switch out Cole for Gabe Vincent if possible. Vincent hasn’t played very well in the cpl gms he’s played in since he got here but more than anything I just really like Cole Anthony.