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2017–18 Phoenix Suns season

The 2017–18 Phoenix Suns season was the 50th season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA),[1] as well as their 25th season at the Talking Stick Resort Arena. It was also their third season in five in which the Suns earned a top-five draft pick in the NBA draft, which became the second straight year of gaining the #4 pick in Josh Jackson.

Three games into the season, head coach Earl Watson was fired. Guard Eric Bledsoe implied he wanted out of Phoenix and was barred from playing with the team by general manager Ryan McDonough and fined $10,000. Under interim head coach Jay Triano, the Suns started 4–1 after suspending Bledsoe. The Suns later traded Bledsoe to the Milwaukee Bucks on November 7, 2017, in exchange for center Greg Monroe and two protected draft picks. After dealing with point guard problems and injuries, the Suns traded for Elfrid Payton on February 8, 2018, in exchange for a second round pick they had previously acquired.

Key dates

Offseason

Draft picks

The Phoenix Suns entered the draft with only one first-round pick and two second round picks this season. Their first-round pick was their second straight pick at #4, despite having the second-best odds at the #1 pick that year. That draft later resulted in the Top 4 selections having the same teams representing the top of the draft similar to the previous year's draft. Meanwhile, their first second round pick was given to them for having the second-worst record of the season last season despite having a better record than their previous season. Their own second round pick was also used in a trade with the Atlanta Hawks during the 2017 trade deadline in exchange for the rights to Mike Scott, the draft rights to Turkish shooting guard/small forward Cenk Akyol, and some cash considerations worth $500,000, although it wasn't conveyed to Atlanta due to their second round pick(s) remaining in the top 55 of this year's draft. Finally, their second (and final) second round pick was given to them by the Toronto Raptors for trading defensive small forward P. J. Tucker to them that same day in exchange for their second round picks in 2017 & 2018, as well as the rights to Jared Sullinger and cash considerations worth $1,000,000. The Raptors' second round pick won the tiebreaker over both the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Los Angeles Clippers (who originally held Picks 55 & 56 respectively that draft), but ultimately lost out to the Boston Celtics for pick 53 that year. Speaking of which, the Suns were also initially planned to get the Minnesota Timberwolves' second round selection for this year, but traded it away in a different trade with the Boston Celtics (back when it was still considered to be a first round draft pick) in order to get Brandan Wright on the team under the same season they first acquired Isaiah Thomas. In addition to that, the Los Angeles Lakers' first-round pick that had belonged to the Suns before the 2014–15 season came and went was originally perceived to be conveyed to the Philadelphia 76ers this year, but the Lakers still wound up with pick #2 again to keep their pick for this season; that 2018 pick could later be potentially given to the Boston Celtics in order for them to trade away their #1 pick this year to Philadelphia.

With the fourth pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, the Suns selected freshman small forward Josh Jackson from the University of Kansas. During his only season with Kansas, Jackson showcased his talent. In the 35 games Josh played with the Jayhawks, he recorded averages of 16.3 points, 7.4 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.7 steals, and 1.1 blocks per game while also earning the Big 12 Conference's Freshman of the Year Award, First Team All-Big 12 honors, and mixed honors with the NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans; more specifically, he'd get Second Team honors from the Sporting News, while he had Third Team honors from the Associated Press and the National Association of Basketball Coaches. Meanwhile, with the Suns' first second round pick, they selected senior shooting guard Davon Reed from the University of Miami. Throughout his career in Miami, Florida, Reed managed to provide career averages of 10.3 points and 3.6 rebounds per game, but managed his best work as a senior with 14.9 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. Davon's considered handiwork, however, comes on the defensive end, as he managed to earn All-ACC Defensive Team honors in 2017 alongside being a member of the All-ACC Third Team and holding great academics throughout his college career. Finally, with the last second round pick, Phoenix selected power forward Alec Peters from Valparaiso University. Under Alec's last season at Valparaiso, he became one of only two players to record over 20 points and 10 rebounds per game in the NCAA's Division I with 23.0 points and 10.1 rebounds per game recorded for them in his senior year (with the other player being senior power forward/center Tim Kempton Jr., son of former Suns player Tim Kempton Sr., from Lehigh University). As a result, Peters was named the Horizon League Men's Basketball Player of the Year in 2017. He also was named the Horizon League Tournament's MVP in 2015, an Academics All-American First Team member in 2017, became a three-time member of the All-Horizon League First Team from 2015 to 2017, and was even twice mentioned as an honorable mention for the Associated Press' All-American Teams. Like first-round pick Josh Jackson, Alec Peters was also named a member of the National Association of Basketball Coaches' All-American Third Team in 2017 himself. Peters was originally projected to be a late-first-round pick before his right leg injury near the end of his senior season led to his draft stock slipping to the late second round; he also became the team's second two-way contract of the season on September 18 (first contract being Mike James), meaning he'd split his playing time between the Phoenix Suns and their NBA G League affiliate, the Northern Arizona Suns, for the vast majority of the season.

Free agency

This season, the only player on the Suns set to become an unrestricted free agent as of the end of the 2016–17 NBA season was the twice-returned Ronnie Price. However, for restricted free agents, both centers Alex Len and Alan Williams were given qualifying offers on June 27, 2017, and could have opportunities to remain with the team if the Suns wanted to keep both of them. T. J. Warren also stayed for a longer period of time, signing a four-year deal worth $50 million on September 25, 2017. In addition, veteran guard Leandro Barbosa and small forwards Derrick Jones Jr. and Elijah Millsap, all have team options for another season, with the latter two having them near the mid-season deadline on January 7, 2018, although neither player got to that point in time. Alan Williams also qualified for the NBA's Early Bird rights due to previously debuting late in the 2015–16 NBA season and essentially signing a two-year deal around that time.[2] This season also marks the first season where NBA teams get to add 16 or even 17 players to their official roster using two-way contracts, which allows NBA teams to add players with less than three full years of NBA experience to enter the league with the condition of staying on their NBA G League team for the majority of the season for higher salaries than they could otherwise get in the recently rebranded league.[3][4]

Summer League invite Mike James, a point guard who previously went to Eastern Arizona College and a Greek Basket League star with the Panathinaikos Superfoods, announced prior to free agency that he would try to earn a two-way contract. On July 2, the Suns gave Alan Williams a four-year deal worth around $24 million to stay with his hometown team. A day later, the Suns renounced their rights to Leandro Barbosa making him a free agent in the process. Mike James also officially signed a deal with the Suns the same day they announced their team for the 2017 NBA Summer League. After originally being offered a four-year deal worth $24 million from the Suns, Williams officially received a three-year partially guaranteed deal worth $17 million on July 9 and signed it on July 26. A day before Williams signed with the Suns, however, it was reported that Brandon Knight tore his ACL during a pickup game in Florida. With the announcement of Knight's ACL injury causing him to be out for most of the season, the Suns qualified to have an additional $6.8 million to spend as a disabled player exception, likely extending their roster to 18 players at some point this season. The roster potentially required that extra player again on August 25 with the announcement of rookie shooting guard Davon Reed being out for four to six months due to surgery on his left meniscus and then on September 22 with center/power forward Alan Williams being out for a currently undetermined time with a partially torn meniscus of his own. A day before his teammate got injured, though, the Suns signed their other center, Alex Len, to a one-year qualifying offer worth $4.2 million to remain on their squad. On November 11, 2017, it was announced that Leandro Barbosa would return to his native land of Brazil for a second time, this time being a part of the Franca Basquetebol Clube. Ronnie Price ultimately was the only player from last season's roster to not play at all entering this season.

On August 22, 2017, the Suns signed former Iowa University shooting guard Peter Jok to a partially guaranteed deal to prove his worth in training camp. On September 11, it was originally announced that the Suns signed shooting guard and former first round draft pick R. J. Hunter as a possible temporary replacement for injured rookie Davon Reed. It was later reported from The Arizona Republic on that same day that Hunter alongside shooting guards Isaiah Canaan, Andre Dawkins, and Northern Arizona Suns' player Xavier Silas had all come to Phoenix for workouts, but none of them received a training camp offer with the Suns. On September 22, after Len's agreement was announced, former 2013 NBA draft number-one pick Anthony Bennett was confirmed as a partially guaranteed training camp deal player alongside Peter Jok. Furthermore, that same day also led to them gaining Troy Daniels from a trade to help shore up the shooting guard spot. Furthermore, on the same day Alex Len officially signed his qualifying offer (and Alan Williams had successful surgery on his meniscus), it was confirmed that T. J. Warren signed a four-year contract extension with the Suns worth $50 million. On October 11, the Suns cut Peter Jok and Anthony Bennett before their final preseason game against the Portland Trail Blazers began. Two days later, before their actual last preseason game began against the Brisbane Bullets from Australia, the Suns signed a French power forward from Canada named Tidjan Keita. All of these players were part of the Northern Arizona Suns G League squad instead, with both Keita and Elijah Millsap being cut a day later (Millsap was later traded to the Iowa Wolves after being cut by Phoenix via the Northern Arizona squad for the #1 pick in the 2017 NBA G League Draft).

On December 7, 2017, after point guard Mike James finished the last day of his original two-way contract with Phoenix, he'd be retained by them with a full-blown contract, albeit at the price of being forced to waive small forward Derrick Jones Jr. earlier than expected. On the same day, after a loss to the Washington Wizards, the Suns signed Danuel House to a two-way contract, filling up the spot originally held for Mike James earlier in the year. However, Phoenix used their disabled player's injury exception to sign recent Northern Arizona Suns and former Houston Rockets combo guard Isaiah Canaan on December 13, 2017, with the tipping point involving star shooting guard Devin Booker being out for a few weeks. Isaiah was previously acquired by the Northern Arizona Suns trading their 2018 first-round pick to the Agua Caliente Clippers expansion squad for him. Canaan stayed with Phoenix even after Devin Booker returned from his injury by converting his deal into a standard one year, veteran's minimum contract, while the Suns waived former two-way contracted point guard Mike James from the team on December 22, 2017. However, after Canaan fractured his tibia on the same day they officially waived center Greg Monroe from the team (January 31), the Suns signed Northern Arizona Suns point guard Josh Gray to a 10-day contract a day later. In the aftermath of the February 8, 2018 NBA trade deadline, the Suns were forced to waive Isaiah Canaan (with him still receiving his full salary for the year) in order to gain Elfrid Payton in their trade with the Orlando Magic in exchange for a second round pick from Memphis. However, Canaan still got paid the full salary for the season and use the team's facilities to help his body recover from his season-ending injury.[5] Meanwhile, Josh Gray signed his second 10-day contract with Phoenix on February 11, although he was waived on February 21 (with his contract expiring that day) with fellow Northern Arizona Suns player Shaquille Harrison signing his own 10-day contract that day. Harrison signed his second 10-day contract on March 3 before signing a multi-year contract with Phoenix on March 13.

Trades

On September 22, 2017, the same day they had former #1 pick Anthony Bennett join their training camp roster, the Suns traded their own top-55 protected second round pick to the Memphis Grizzlies (which wasn't be conveyed to Memphis) in exchange for shooting guard Troy Daniels and a second round pick of their own, which was the middle choice between the Charlotte Hornets, Memphis, and the Miami Heat (which ultimately became Charlotte's second round pick). A month later, before the Suns fired head coach Earl Watson, star point guard Eric Bledsoe released a Tweet on Twitter saying he didn't want to be with the team. As a result of that tweet, he was sent home for the disruption. Teams that had talked with the Suns for their disgruntled star point guard included the Denver Nuggets, Milwaukee Bucks, New York Knicks, and Cleveland Cavaliers. While waiting for a potential trade, they eventually let Bledsoe return for practices with the squad, but didn't allow him to play in games. Ultimately, a trade with the Milwaukee Bucks was made November 7, 2017. In that deal, the Suns received center Greg Monroe (who was on an expiring contract), a protected first-round pick that'd be conveyed in 2018 (if it was at picks #11–16; 2019 if it's at picks #4–18; 2020 if it's at picks #8–30; or 2021 as a fully unprotected pick), and a second round pick that was conveyed to Phoenix if it was at picks #48–60 or be conveyed to the Brooklyn Nets later on by the end of the season; and Greg Monroe was waived by having his contract be bought out on January 31, 2018. Finally, on the February 8, 2018 trade deadline, the Suns traded the Charlotte Hornets' second round pick they previously acquired from the Troy Daniels deal in exchange for point guard Elfrid Payton from the Orlando Magic for at least the rest of the season.

Front office changes

While general manager Ryan McDonough was originally confirmed to remain as the team's general manager and President of Basketball Operations on April 19, 2017, for at least one more season, he was given a contract extension to remain for both roles throughout the end of the decade on July 19, 2017. While McDonough never led the team to the playoffs throughout his original tenure (having a winning season only in his first year as general manager and being named the runner-up for the NBA Executive of the Year that year), what won him over was the youth movement that he arranged. Furthermore, on that same day, it was announced that former Suns player and three-time NBA Finals champion small forward/shooting guard James Jones was the new Vice President of Basketball Operations, to oversee basketball matters for the team like upcoming draft picks, trades, and free agency moves.[6]

Coaching changes

On October 22, 2017, after having two of some of the worst losses in franchise history to start the season, the Suns fired head coach Earl Watson. That same day, the Suns hired Canadian associate head coach Jay Triano to be interim head coach for the rest of the season.[7] Later on that day, the Suns also fired assistant coaches Nate Bjorkgren, Mehmet Okur, and Jason Fraser. A day later, it was announced that the head coach of the Northern Arizona Suns affiliate team, Tyrone Ellis, was named as one of the new assistant coaches, with Marlon Garnett also being promoted as a full-time assistant coach that same day. However, Tyrone wasn't officially called over until October 24, 2017, alongside Northern Arizona Suns assistant coaches Bret Burchard and Brandon Rosenthal taking over some of the vacant coaching spots for the Phoenix Suns (with Tyler Gatlin being left to take over as the head coach for the G League squad for the preseason before returning as assistant (and later associate) coach for Cody Toppert's new coaching staff for Northern Arizona's regular season). For Northern Arizona, they found their newest assistant coaches to join Tyler Gatlin on November 20 with Nick Friedman and two-time former Phoenix Suns (and one-time Bakersfield Jam player back when the Northern Arizona squad was called that) center Earl Barron joining that newly completed coaching staff for the season. During the season, Phoenix also looked to target potential new coaching candidates, including former Memphis Grizzlies head coach David Fizdale, former Suns and current (at the time) Utah Jazz assistant coach Igor Kokoškov, and Villanova University head coach Jay Wright around the conclusion of the season.[8][9][10] In fact, on March 23, 2018, it was confirmed by general manager Ryan McDonough that the team has begun their coaching search earlier than anticipated.[11]

Roster

Salaries

This season was the first season since the 2011–12 season where the Suns no longer paid for the contract they gave to Michael Beasley, since they paid the total amount needed to remove him on their roster on September 3, 2013. However, after waiving Leandro Barbosa, the Suns still owed him about $500,000 of guaranteed money. Similarly, because the Suns waived both Derrick Jones Jr. and Mike James earlier than anticipated, they'd only receive $385,625 and around $250,000 of guaranteed money this season respectively. The Suns also bought out Greg Monroe's contract for the year, which cost $17,884,176 for this season only (with Phoenix receiving $1,500,000 back after Greg signed his new deal with the Boston Celtics), as well as give Isaiah Canaan his full salary of $1,069,308 after he was waived. Furthermore, because of the sliding scale, the newly implemented two-way contracts, earning as little as $75,000 and about as much as $279,000 in a season, depending on where they play under a majority of their time, players like Mike James at the time, late second round rookie Alec Peters, and Danuel House did not affect their salary cap, regardless of how much they get paid for throughout the season.[12]

Pre-season

This pre-season marked the first pre-season where the number of games was intentionally shortened for the purpose of better quality control as the season continued onward, going from the usual 7–8 games to 5 games. It was also announced on July 31 that the Suns would play a preseason game against the Brisbane Bullets from the NBL in Australia on October 13 at the Talking Stick Resort Arena. Their official preseason schedule was announced a day later, with the only other NBA teams the Suns being the Portland Trail Blazers and Utah Jazz both on the road and at home. While the Suns started and closed the preseason out strongly, they had a tough time in the middle of it, ending the preseason with a 2–3 record.

Regular season

According to a Twitter leak on the Los Angeles Clippers' home schedule, it revealed that the Phoenix Suns would play the Clippers at the Staples Center on October 21 and December 20, 2017; the former date being the first game the Clippers will play on their home court.[13] Phoenix's full schedule was released on August 14, 2017.

Standings

Game log

Player statistics

* – Stats with the Suns.

Awards and records

Awards

Week/Month

All-Star

Records

Team records

Milestones

Team milestones

Injuries/Personal games missed

Transactions

Trades

^ I: The second round pick the Suns originally planned to get before trading it to Orlando involved them getting the middle second round choice between the Memphis Grizzlies, the Charlotte Hornets, and the Miami Heat. Since the Hornets had the middle record of those three teams, their selection became the pick that was traded to Phoenix first and then Orlando afterward.
^ II: For the Milwaukee Bucks' two selections traded to Phoenix, they were originally both meant to convey with varying protections to their names at hand. Specifically, their first-round pick would convey to Phoenix if it was inside the top 16 and their second round pick could only convey if it was outside of the top 47. Unfortunately for the Suns, the Bucks landed directly in the worst of both worlds this season, meaning they not only could not get their second round pick at all (being conveyed to the Brooklyn Nets via another trade instead), but the tiebreaker for the first round resulted in Milwaukee's pick staying with them since it was outside of the top 16. Their first-round pick remained protected until 2020 due to another external factor of not having one of the best records in a season finally being lifted that year.

Free agents

Re-signed

Additions

^ a: Mike James initially signed with the Suns as their first ever two-way contract, which was first implemented by the NBA this season. Originally, James could only earn as much as $235,008 under that deal due to the fact that he had no interest in playing for anyone in the NBA G League. However, he later signed a full-scale deal with the Suns after his two-way contract expired on December 9, 2017 to earn $580,607 minimum for the year due to the fact that two-way contracts earned less pay when compared to other NBA players, including those that get called up directly from the NBA G League to the NBA.
^ b: After Mike James concluded his original two-way contract with the Suns, the team decided to sign former Washington Wizards player, Houston Rockets trainee, and Rio Grande Valley Vipers player Danuel House Jr. to his own two-way contract. However, because he signed one later in the season, his days playing in the NBA were much shorter, which also meant a shorter payscale for House by comparison.
^ c: Danuel House Jr. was previously a player for the Houston Rockets' training camp squad before being transferred to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers at the start of the season.
^ d: Isaiah Canaan originally signed a short-term disabled player's exception once star shooting Devin Booker got hurt in the month of December. However, due to his surprisingly positive performances during that time, Canaan signed a full-length contract around Devin Booker's return on January 7, 2017.
^ e: During this season, Isaiah Canaan played for the Houston Rockets before being waived in the month of November. A month later, Canaan signed a short-term deal to play for the new expansion Agua Caliente Clippers, but the Agua Caliente squad traded him to the Northern Arizona Suns before having a chance to play a game for them. However, Canaan did play one single game for the Northern Arizona Suns before being called back up into the NBA.
^ f: Originally, Shaquille Harrison signed only two 10-day contracts with the Phoenix Suns, similar to that of his former teammate, Josh Gray. However, when Harrison surprised the team with his defensive abilities, the Phoenix Suns gave him a partially guaranteed two-year deal for $1,608,642 on March 13, 2018.

Subtractions

^ g: Ronnie Price did not sign with any team during the season. During the 2018–19 NBA season, he returned to the Suns as scout for the team, officially retiring as a player in the league.
^ h: After being the last cut in training camp before the regular season began, Elijah Millsap was considered eligible to return to the Northern Arizona Suns after being waived from the parent team. However, before the start of the 2017–18 NBA G League season, Millsap was traded to the Iowa Wolves where he remained for the rest of the season.
^ i: To make room for Mike James once his two-way contract expired, they waived Derrick Jones Jr.
^ j: Derrick Jones Jr. played for the Northern Arizona Suns for the rest of 2017 before signing a two-way contract with the Miami Heat on December 31, 2017. On the Miami contract, he split time between the Miami Heat and the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the NBA G League for the rest of early 2018, mostly with Sioux Falls.
^ k: When Devin Booker returned from injury, the Suns waived Mike Jones.
^ l: Mike James had signed another two-way contract with the New Orleans Pelicans before the January 15, 2018, deadline for two-way contract signees, but ultimately requested a waiver from the Pelicans after a few games there and returned to Greece with the Panathinaikos Athens Superfoods B.C. for the rest of the season.
^ m: Greg Monroe was bought out from his contract on January 31, 2018, hours before Isaiah Canaan's injury occurred.
^ n: After fracturing his tibia, Canaan remained with the team before the season's trade deadline concluded. Once the Suns traded for Elfrid Payton, Canaan was waived from the team on February 8, 2018, though he still trained in Phoenix for recovery.
^ o: Canaan briefly returned to the Phoenix Suns for the start of the following season on August 3, 2018.
^ p: Josh Gray signed a second 10-day contract on February 11, 2018, but was waived near the end of his original 10-day contract in order to sign his former Northern Arizona teammate, Shaquille Harrison.

References

  1. ^ 2017–18 Phoenix Suns
  2. ^ "NBA Salary Cap FAQ".
  3. ^ "D-League salaries, two-way contracts increase NBA Draft early entries". April 27, 2017.
  4. ^ "NBA Two-Way Contracts FAQ". October 4, 2018.
  5. ^ "Phoenix Suns Waive Isaiah Canaan". NBA.com.
  6. ^ http://www.nba.com/suns/suns-extend-ryan-mcdonough-general-manager-name-ames-jones-vice-president-basketball-operations [permanent dead link]
  7. ^ "Suns Relieve Earl Watson of Head Coaching Duties". NBA.com. October 22, 2017. Retrieved October 22, 2017.
  8. ^ "NBA coaching rumors: Suns targeting David Fizdale, but will Lakers intervene?".
  9. ^ "McDonough riffs on Suns off season: Coaching search, draft and free agency". March 6, 2018.
  10. ^ "Phoenix Suns GM Ryan McDonough: Team will conduct 'wide-ranging' coaching search".
  11. ^ "Suns already beginning search for head coach". March 23, 2018.
  12. ^ "HoopsHype – NBA Salaries – Phoenix Suns". hoopshype.com. September 22, 2012. Retrieved September 22, 2012.
  13. ^ "NBA Schedule Release: Possible Clippers Home Schedule Leaked on TicketMaster". August 10, 2017.
  14. ^ "Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announces modifications to enshrinement process". NBA.com.
  15. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on March 3, 2018. Retrieved March 3, 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  16. ^ "Suns Acquire Greg Monroe and Two Draft Picks from Milwaukee". NBA.com. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
  17. ^ "Phoenix Suns Re-Sign Alan "Big Sauce" Williams". NBA.com. July 26, 2017. Retrieved July 26, 2017.
  18. ^ "Phoenix Suns Sign Alex Len". NBA.com. Retrieved September 25, 2017.
  19. ^ "Suns Sign T. J. Warren To Contract Extension". NBA.com. September 26, 2017. Retrieved September 26, 2017.
  20. ^ "Report: Suns converting Mike James' two-way contract into one-year minimum deal". December 7, 2017.
  21. ^ "Suns Sign Mike James". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. July 3, 2017. Retrieved July 9, 2017.
  22. ^ "Sources: Suns' James moving from 2-way deal". December 7, 2017.