Phoenix Suns Rumors | Hoops Rumors

2015/16 D-League Usage Report: Suns

June 1st, 2016 at 10:35pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The NBA’s relationship with the D-League continues to grow, and this season a total of 19 NBA teams had one-to-one affiliations with D-League clubs. Those NBA organizations without their own affiliates were required to assign players to D-League clubs associated with other NBA franchises. D-League teams could volunteer to take on the assigned players, and if no volunteers emerged, the players were assigned at random.

This significant change from the 2014/15 season came about after the Pacers purchased the Fort Wayne Mad Ants and turned them into their one-to-one partner for the 2015/16 campaign. Other NBA teams have interest in following suit in the years ahead, and the NBA’s ultimate goal for the D-League is for all 30 NBA franchises to have their own D-League squads. You can view the complete list of D-League affiliates here.

We at Hoops Rumors are recapping the D-League-related activity for the 2015/16 campaign for each team and we’ll continue on with the Phoenix Suns, whose D-League affiliate is the Bakersfield Jam:

The Suns made just one assignment for the 2015/16 season, sending one player to the D-League for a total of seven days. Listed below are all the assignments and recalls made by Phoenix for the 2015/16 campaign:

February 10th: Assigned Jordan McRae (1st) — Recalled February 16th

Here’s how Phoenix’s players performed in the D-League this season:

Jordan McRae: He appeared in a total of 29 D-League games this season and averaged 23.3 points, 4.6 rebounds and 5.2 assists in 35.4 minutes per outing. His shooting line was .459/.318/.799.

Latest Draft News

June 1st, 2016 at 9:31pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Former Marquette big man Henry Ellenson worked out for the Wolves on Tuesday and has workouts scheduled with the Lakers, Raptors and Suns next, Wolfson tweets.

Workouts Include Tyler Ulis, Damian Jones

May 30th, 2016 at 9:25pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Suns had two sets of workouts on Monday, with some big names coming in for evaluations, according to their official Twitter feed (Twitter links). The first set of workouts included guards Tyler Ulis (Kentucky), Gabe York (Arizona), Anthony Barber (North Carolina State) and Isaia Cordinier and forwards Robert Carter (Maryland) and Alex Poythress (Kentucky). The second group included forwards Perry Ellis (Kansas), Troy Williams (Indiana) and Thon Maker, center Damian Jones (Vanderbilt) and guards Michael Gbinije (Syracuse) and Tyrone Wallace (California). Ulis (No. 18 on Ford’s list, No. 19 on Givony’s list) and Jones (No. 23, No. 22) are the highest-ranked players among those groups.

Offseason Salary Cap Digest: Phoenix Suns

May 30th, 2016 at 3:59pm CST by Luke Adams

The Suns’ highest-paid player for next season (Eric Bledsoe) has missed more than 90 games for the team over the last three years, and the club’s third-highest-paid contributor (Tyson Chandler) is entering his age-34 season and is almost certainly past his prime. Throw in the fact that Phoenix wasn’t able to move up from No. 4 pick to land a top-three pick, and this looks like a franchise that’s still at least a couple years away from real contention. Still, the Suns have some decent young pieces, and their top three contracts – Bledsoe’s, Chandler’s, and Brandon Knight‘s – are well below the max, giving the team flexibility to add more salary around those veterans, or potentially explore a variety of trade scenarios involving them. Considering they have three first-round draft picks, it will be interesting to see whether the Suns go into full rebuilding mode, or attempt to package some of those picks and young players in deals to fast-track the roster to playoff contention.

See how Phoenix’s cap situation looks for 2016/17 as Hoops Rumors continues its offseason salary cap digest series.

Guaranteed Salary

Eric Bledsoe ($14,000,000)
Brandon Knight ($12,606,250)
Tyson Chandler ($12,415,000)
Alex Len ($4,823,621)
Devin Booker ($2,223,600)
T.J. Warren ($2,128,920)
Archie Goodwin ($2,094,089)
P.J. Tucker ($1,500,000) — Partial guarantee; non-guaranteed portion listed below¹
(Michael Beasley $777,777) — Salary remaining from release via stretch provision
Total: $52,569,257

Player Options

None

Team Options

None

Non-Guaranteed Salary

P.J. Tucker ($3,800,000) — Partial guarantee; guaranteed portion listed above¹
John Jenkins ($1,050,961)
Alan Williams ($874,636)
Total: $5,725,597

Restricted Free Agents (Qualifying Offers/Cap Holds)

None

Unrestricted Free Agents (Cap Holds)

Mirza Teletovic ($6,600,000)
Jon Leuer ($1,966,500)
Chase Budinger ($980,431)
Ronnie Price ($980,431)
Total: $10,527,362

Other Cap Holds

No. 4 pick ($3,563,600)
No. 13 pick ($1,835,200)
Bogdan Bogdanovic ($996,700)
No. 28 pick ($990,700)
Total: $7,386,200

Projected Salary Cap: $92,000,000

Footnotes:

Tucker’s full $5,300,000 salary would become guaranteed on June 30th.

The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.

And-Ones: Zanik, Kidd, Brown, Cousins

May 28th, 2016 at 9:56pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Bucks will hire Justin Zanik as GM-in-waiting and are working on a contract extension for coach Jason Kidd, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. Currently an assistant GM in Utah, Zanik will have a similar title with the Bucks. A provision of the move is that Zanik will eventually take over for Milwaukee GM John Hammond, although it’s uncertain when that will happen. Hammond has been GM of the Bucks since 2008 and has one year left on his contract.

There’s more from around the basketball world:

California forward Jaylen Brown worked out for the Bucks, Raptors and Sixers today, tweets Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated. A source told Spears that Brown was in “great shape” and “super explosive.” He is expected to be a top 10 pick and could be in the running for the No. 3 choice. New Timberwolves GM Scott Layden also traveled to California to see Brown and came away impressed, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities.
Oklahoma point guard Isaiah Cousins worked out for the Suns on Friday, and has upcoming sessions with the Raptors on Tuesday and the Hawks on Thursday, tweets Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv.
Anthony Bennett and Quinn Cook were the most recognizable players invited to a Nets mini-camp this week, according to NetsDaily. Bennett, the No. 1 pick in the 2013 draft, played 19 games with the Raptors last season. Cook, the point guard on Duke’s 2015 NCAA title team, was cut by the Cavaliers in training camp. Also receiving invitations were Alex Stepheson, Scotty Hopson, Alex Kirk, Jerrelle Benimon, Fuquan Edwin, D.J. Newbill, Will Cummings, Jarrid Famous, Victor Rudd, Josh Magette and Joel Wright. International journalist David Pick says the Nets are planning another session.

Suns Working Out Six Prospects

May 27th, 2016 at 1:31pm CST by Luke Adams

Along with Oklahoma’s Isaiah Cousins, whose scheduled workout with Phoenix was previously reported, five prospects are working out for the Suns today, according to the team (Twitter link). Those players are Wade Baldwin (Vanderbilt), DeAndre’ Bembry (St. Joseph’s), Malcolm Brogdon (Virginia), Dorian Finney-Smith (Florida), and James Webb III (Boise State).

Suns Considering Marquese Chriss

May 27th, 2016 at 11:33am CST by Luke Adams

Chad Ford’s latest Insider-only dispatch at ESPN.com includes plenty of interesting notes on prospects like Buddy Hield, Kris Dunn, Marquese Chriss, and others. Among Ford’s tidbits: Chriss is generally viewed as a candidate to be picked in the No. 7-10 range, but teams as high as the Suns (No. 4) are considering the power forward out of Washington.

Hornacek Was Sabotaged In Phoenix

May 25th, 2016 at 6:31pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Jeff Hornacek, who is reportedly set to become the Knicks new head coach, was sabotaged during his tenure with the Suns by injuries and a toxic environment created by the trade demands of Markieff Morris, Marc Berman of The New York Post writes. “There were circumstances around him that caused us to not meet expectations more than his style of coaching or ability to coach,’’ Mark West, Phoenix’s vice president of player relations, told Berman. “If you look at a thin slice of the pie and not the whole body of work, [Knicks president] Phil Jackson is smarter than that. I’m sure he didn’t judge it over Jeff’s career in basketball. He was in a tough spot. It unraveled. We won 48 games his first year, lost some of those players that helped achieve those goals, and it went the other way.”

Discussing what Hornacek has to offer as a coach, West said, “He has a combination of different influences since being in the league — Cotton Fitzsimmons with the up-and-down, run-and-gun the Suns played — and playing for Philly in the East, more grinding, half-court set-it-up. With Utah, it was a blend of both. The best thing about Jeff is incorporating different styles, but he’s better coaching the up-and-down. He’ll morph the team to what they need to do.’’

Suns Work Out Six Prospects

May 24th, 2016 at 4:14pm CST by Luke Adams

The Suns are conducting workouts with six forward prospects on Tuesday, and announced the full list of participants, via Twitter. Jaron Blossomgame (Clemson), Shaq Goodwin (Memphis), Jake Layman (Maryland), Taurean Prince (Baylor), Pascal Siakam (New Mexico State), and Jarrod Uthoff (Iowa) are working out for Phoenix.

Dragic Ready To Re-Sign With Suns Before Trade To Heat?

May 24th, 2016 at 2:14pm CST by Luke Adams

In the wake of Jeff Hornacek‘s offer from the Knicks, who are expected to formally hire him as their head coach soon, Ken Berger of CBSSports.com revisits Hornacek’s time in Phoenix and provides an interesting tidbit related to a former Suns player. According to Berger, Hornacek spoke to Goran Dragic and secured a commitment from the point guard, who said he’d re-sign with the Suns when his contract expired — days later, Phoenix traded him to the Heat.