There’s still a lot of work to do for the Phoenix Suns as they revamp their roster. Most of the fireworks have ceased, with minor additions to the roster now set to take place.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!One of those moves include the Suns bringing back forward Ish Wainright, per The Athletic’s Shams Charania:
The Phoenix Suns have exercised forward Ish Wainwright's $1.9 million team option to return for the 2023-24 season, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. Suns currently at six players under contract entering free agency.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 27, 2023
Phoenix has a $1.9 million player option on Wainright for the 2023-24 season. Given that, bringing him back aboard doesn’t dig an even deeper financial hold for the Suns.
With Ish Wainright in the fold, the Phoenix Suns have six players on fully guaranteed contracts at $168.9M. If they keep Cam Payne and Jordan Goodwin that becomes $175.1M.
The luxury tax line projects to be $165M, with the 1st tax apron at $172M and the 2nd tax apron at $182.5M.
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) June 27, 2023
As noted by Spotrac’s Keith Smith, the Suns don’t have a plethora of options in terms of signing free agents. After the acquisition of Bradley Beal, the options in that area significantly decreased.
Marc Stein: Deandre Ayton Nearly Traded to the Mavericks on Draft Night
Deandre Ayton was seen as a necessity to be traded in order to obtain additional depth. It seems, however, the Suns haven’t found a deal suitable for Ayton and are content on keeping him for the upcoming season.
Given that Phoenix is already well past the first tax apron and aiming for the second, Wainright-type deals are expected to play out for the rest of the roster.
The Suns make a good case for attracting veteran players for minimum deals in chase of a championship opportunity.
Wainright was one of the few players with a player option from last year’s team. Now, he’ll possibly have more of an opportunity to showcase his talents.
He finished last season averaging 4.2 points and 2.3 rebounds. His shooting wasn’t particularly even average (32 percent from three-point range and 37 percent from the field).
Wainright was known last season for being a physical force off the bench. With the current makeup of the roster unknown, having a reliable defensive forward will prove valuable for a Suns team short on defense at the moment.
