The Suns have made yet another splash in free agency, this time agreeing to a deal with veteran guard Eric Gordon, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Free agent Eric Gordon has agreed to a deal with the Phoenix Suns, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. Massive get for the Suns.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 2, 2023
The Clippers did not pick up Gordon’s $21 million contract and let him walk into free agency, and he finally ended up going to the team he has been tied to for so long.
Gordon reportedly chose to sign the Suns over multiple contenders, per Charania.
Phoenix has turned into a destination this offseason: Gordon considered multiple contenders — including more lucrative deals — before committing to Suns to join a bolstered roster around Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal. https://t.co/ksDFXjc0wT
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 2, 2023
The 34-year-old was seen as a trade option at the deadline for the Suns last season, but they landed Terrence Ross instead, and Gordon went to the Clippers. Way back in 2012, Gordon agreed to a four-year max offer sheet with the Suns before the New Orleans Hornets matched and held onto him. Now, the Suns finally get him.
When the Suns played the Clippers in the first round of this year’s playoffs, Gordon averaged 10.2 points and started all five games due to the injury of Paul George.
Eric Gordon will probably close some games for Phoenix
Average distance of these shots in the playoffs: 27 feet
Clippers had this type of elite spacer and strangely decided not to retain him pic.twitter.com/9mZysKgAlz
— Shane Young (@YoungNBA) July 2, 2023
Gordon was drafted by the Clippers with the seventh overall pick in 2008 out of Indiana. In his 15-year NBA career with the Clippers, Hornets and Rockets, Gordon has averaged 16 PPG, 2.8 APG, 2.4 RPG and 0.8 SPG on 43/37/81 splits in 818 games played and 627 starts. He has also played in 60 career playoff games, averaging 15.6 points and shooting 35.9% on threes in them.
In 2017, he won NBA Sixth Man of the Year and was the three-point contest champion. His resume speaks for itself, and he will bring a great veteran presence to the Suns and a lot of spacing options with how well he can shoot the ball.
Eric Gordon Appreciation Post pic.twitter.com/In05FFT02z
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) July 2, 2023
The 6-foot-4 guard will be a viable option of the bench or could even be considered as a starter alongside Devin Booker, Bradley Beal, Kevin Durant and Deandre Ayton. The Suns have a lot of choices for that fifth spot, including Josh Okogie, Cam Payne, Yuta Watanabe and Keita Bates-Diop. Too much depth is never a bad problem to have, and the Suns have continued to add more and more pieces despite limited money.
The Suns agreed to terms with six players in free agency on Friday, but Gordon becomes the first player since then to agree to a deal. With the way the Suns roster works out now assuming they keep everyone, this is the last standard contract they can give out unless someone is waived.
This was list of #Suns players before Eric Gordon agreed to two-year deal with player option on 2nd year.
Seeing chatter on two-way deals. Teams can now have three.
Quick FYI, teams can't convert standard deal to two-way, but if a player is waived, he can sign a two-way deal. pic.twitter.com/q5yUFMTBZT
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) July 2, 2023
See all the Suns free agent signings here:
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Brendan Mau is a college sports insider and general assignment reporter for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on Twitter via @Brendan_Mau
