The Phoenix Suns have reportedly landed their backup point guard for next season.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!According to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, “Free agent guard Monte Morris plans to sign a deal with the Phoenix Suns, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. Suns lock in a reliable point guard entering his eighth NBA season. Morris has averaged 10 points, 39% 3-point shooting and 3.8 assists over career.”
Free agent guard Monte Morris plans to sign a deal with the Phoenix Suns, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. Suns lock in a reliable point guard entering his eighth NBA season. Morris has averaged 10 points, 39% 3-point shooting and 3.8 assists over career. pic.twitter.com/d1AUNCYIKm
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 2, 2024
According to PHNX’s Gerald Bourguet, Morris will sign for a one-year, veteran-minimum contract worth $2.8 million.
Per source, Monte Morris' deal is a one-year contract. At the vet minimum, that's $2.8 million since Morris has 7 years of experience
— Gerald Bourguet (@GeraldBourguet) July 2, 2024
Morris had been tied to the Suns by several reports over the last few days.
According to Arizona Sports’ John Gambadoro, the Suns were to fill three roster holes this offseason: a point guard who can play more than 20 minutes per game, a backup big upgrade and a young, athletic wing.
At his introductory press conference last month, new Suns coach Mike Budenholzer said the Suns “probably” need to have a point guard on the roster next season.
New #Suns coach Mike Budenholzer on if the team needs a point guard pic.twitter.com/L8UXw18mpc
— Burn City Suns Talk ????️ (@BurnCitySuns) May 18, 2024
Now they address this need with Morris, who was on the Minnesota Timberwolves team this past season that swept the Suns in the first round of the NBA playoffs.
The 6-foot-2 guard will entering his eighth season in the NBA next year. In the 2023-24 season, he played six games for the Detroit Pistons before ending the season with the Timberwolves, where he appeared in 27 regular season games, averaging 5.0 points and 2.1 assists in 14.4 minutes per game for the entire season across these 33 contests. The 29-year-old also logged minutes in nine playoff games for the T-Wolves, including three against the Suns, scoring six points combined in these three games.
Just two years ago, Morris, who was drafted 51st overall in 2017, started all 62 games he played for the Washington Wizards, averaging 10.3 points, 5.3 assists and 3.4 rebounds. In the 2021-22 season, he started 74 of 75 games played for the Denver Nuggets, recording a career-high 12.6 points to go along with 4.4 assists and 3.0 rebounds. He is a career 39.1% 3-point shooter on 3.0 attempts per game.
Despite averaging over 24.6 minutes per game for his career, mostly at the point guard spot, Morris has only averaged 0.8 turnovers per game in the 375 contests he has played in the NBA, giving the Suns some much-needed assurance off the bench in limiting mistakes. Phoenix ranked 25th in the NBA last season with 14.9 turnovers per game.
Phoenix also agreed to a two-way deal with former Nuggets point guard Collin Gillespie yesterday, but Morris is the team’s first one guard on a standard contract.
Suns’ Projected Rotation with addition of Morris
PG: Bradley Beal, Monte Morris, ?
SG: Devin Booker, Grayson Allen, David Roddy
SF: Royce O’Neale, Ryan Dunn (R), Nassir Little
PF: Kevin Durant, Bol Bol, ?
C: Jusuf Nurkić, Mason Plumlee, Oso Ighodaro (R)
Two-way: Jalen Bridges (R), Collin Gillepsie, ?
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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
