PHOENIX — The Phoenix Suns have reportedly made their first move in bringing in a free agent, agreeing to a one-year deal with former Los Angeles Clippers center Mason Plumlee.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski first reported the news on X. HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto reports the Suns will pay Plumlee a veteran-minimum contract of $3.3 million next season.
Plumlee, 34, averaged 5.3 points on 56.9% shooting, 5.1 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 14.7 minutes across 46 games (11 starts) for L.A. last season. The 6-foot-10 Duke product will be entering his 12th season in the NBA this upcoming year.
Plumlee has been a very durable center over the years, only playing under 60 games one another time other than last season, and that was in the shortened 2020-21 season, when he played 56 of the 72 possible games. He has started 457 of his 786 career regular season games and averaged 8.4 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists for his career, which has spanned across six teams: the Brooklyn Nets (2013-15), Portland Trail Blazers (2015-17), Denver Nuggets (2017-20), Detroit Pistons (2020-21), Charlotte Hornets (2021-23) and Clippers (2023-24).
Plumlee, the 22nd pick of the 2013 NBA Draft, has also played in 71 career playoff games (11 starts), but only averaged 4.0 points and 4.8 rebounds in 14.8 minutes per game in these contests.
Suns sign Mason Plumlee on a one year deal, veteran center who will most likely backup Nurkic, welcome to the valley ????️pic.twitter.com/a15v58YBLE
— ????????????????????????☆ (@Stunna999_) July 1, 2024
Last year’s backup center Drew Eubanks declined his player option with the Suns, while Phoenix drafted Marquette big man Oso Ighodaro as well. Jusuf Nurkić now figures to be the starter at the center position with Plumlee and Ighodaro backing him up.
The Suns’ Predicted Depth Chart with the Addition of Plumlee
PG: Bradley Beal, ?, ?
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), ?, ?
See our updated free agency tracker below:
*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
