The Phoenix Suns waived one of their longest-tenured players and a fan favorite in forward Ish Wainright today.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Coach Frank Vogel addressed the decision prior to tonight’s game vs. the Lakers.
“We’re hoping to bring him back first of all,” Vogel said. “We’re big on Ish Wainright, we’re believers in him.”
Re-signing Wainright is a real possibility. Because the Suns have one more two-way spot available, the team can re-sign Wainright. Thhey can sign him to this two-spot if he clears waivers in the next 48 hours.
Wainright had not played in a game for the Suns this preseason, as he has been nursing a right calf strain.
Vogel showed praise to Wainright before today despite him not playing in a game.
“He was in here (this summer) more than anybody on our team,” Vogel said on Saturday of Wainright. “Extremely, extremely dedicated hard worker. Wants to perfect his craft. A good culture guy and our whole organization loves having him around and I’ve enjoyed getting to know him.”
Ish Wainright (has not played yet this preseason) and Yuta Watanabe putting up shots #Suns pic.twitter.com/2TpyBxqQVY
— Burn City Suns Talk 🎙️ (@BurnCitySuns) October 17, 2023
Wainright attended the D-backs win over the Phillies today despite being waived. If the timing is correct, he was officially waived while at the game.
Ish Wainright was at the #Dbacks game after being waived by the #Suns earlier today. Based on the timing, he was officially waived when he was at the game https://t.co/AxR9yBCRQX
— Burn City Suns Talk 🎙️ (@BurnCitySuns) October 20, 2023
Even though he didn’t play many minutes per game during his time with the Suns, Wainright, a former NFL player, became a fan-favorite in Phoenix since joining the team in 2021-22 season. The Suns exercised their team option on him this summer for the 2023-24 season. However, Wainright’s $1.9 million salary for this season was non-guaranteed until Jan. 2024. The 29-year-old, 6-foot-5 forward averaged 4.2 points and 2.3 rebounds in just over 15 minutes per game last season. He played in 60 games total for the year.
Suns’ fans would be delighted if Wainright was brought back, and there could be some speculation the team did not sign anyone to the third two-way spot because they wanted to reserve it for Wainright.
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Brendan Mau is a senior writer covering the Phoenix Suns and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @Brendan_Mau
