The Valley Suns, the G-League affiliate of the Phoenix Suns, announced today that they traded away the returning player rights of Theo Maledon and Trevion Williams to the Westchester Knicks in exchange for the returning player rights to Mamadi Diakite.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!According to HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto, the Suns have also agreed to an Exhibit 10 deal with Diakite, meaning he will be invited to training camp in an attempt to make the roster. Phoenix has one open roster spot after waiving Nassir Little and EJ Liddell.
Phoenix Suns have agreed to an Exhibit 10 deal with Mamadi Diakite, sources told @hoopshype. Diakite received $1.4M from the Knicks in the Mikal Bridges trade and now goes to training camp with Phoenix. He was also on the Bucks when they won the 2021 title under Mike Budenholzer. pic.twitter.com/xRyyqnp2RM
— Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) September 13, 2024
Here’s some more info on Diakite, who played for new Suns head coach Mike Budenholzer on the Milwaukee Bucks, from the Suns press release:
“Diakite averaged 14.4 points on 54.5% shooting, 8.7 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in 18 regular season G League games (five starts) with Westchester and the Austin Spurs last season. A native of Guniea, he’s appeared in 55 career NBA games (six starts) over four seasons with Milwaukee, Oklahoma City, Cleveland, San Antonio and New York, winning an NBA Championship with the Bucks in 2021 under Phoenix Suns head coach Mike Budenholzer.”
Maledon appeared in four games with the Suns last season on a two-way deal, but was waived midway through the season. He and Williams were two of 14 players the Valley Suns selected in an expansion draft in June.
This is the second trade the Valley Suns have made after the team acquired Jaden Shackelford from the Oklahoma City Blue on Sept. 4.
*Get the BEST Phoenix sports insider information, exclusive content, and access to our seasonal magazines! SIGN UP HERE to unlock our premium content!*
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
