Who to Keep and Who Not to Keep
It’s time to decide who’s in and who’s out. With a 17-man roster, there need to be some cuts.
Player number one, John Jenkins. After July 11, 2016, Jenkins’ $1,050,961 contract is guaranteed for 2016. Even though he wasn’t a completely useless asset for the Suns in 2015/2016, he didn’t do enough to secure $1 million. Therefore, it’s time to say goodbye to this guard.
Next, Chase Budinger needs to go. He was a complete non-factor for the Suns last season, and he won’t be a factor this upcoming season. With his contract ending, it’s easier to get rid of this small forward. The Suns should and won’t look to resign him moving forward.
On the other end, the Suns needs to resign upcoming free agents. They don’t, however, need to hand out large contracts. Players like Jon Leuer and Mirza Teletovic should be offered contracts to stay in Phoenix. They should not be offered the same deals they are currently on, though.
Jon Leuer was a quality PF and Center last season for the Suns. Even though everyone seems to be head over heals about Mirza Teletovic, Leuer should be the first to be resigned. His current $2,902,500 over three years contract that just ended isn’t going to suffice. He’s played well enough to earn some sort of pay raise, and Phoenix should be willing to give it to him. Offering a 3yrs/$4,200,000 contract to a player who can benefit your entire post game isn’t a problem.
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Coming off of a year where his stats weren’t all that impressive, and he can feel like he has a stable team to play for, Leuer should be happy with signing.
Teletovic is a different story. Although he was the floor-spacing big man every NBA team wants, his contract is a hefty one. $6,600,000 is a lot of money for a 30-year-old role player. Which is what he will be now that the Suns have Chriss and Bender on the team. An offer in the ballpark of 2yrs/$5,000,000 is what Phoenix should be willing to give him.
The problem is that it’s hard to tell whether or not Teletovic will accept a pay cut. He’s only been in the NBA for three years and has never had a contract that low. It isn’t like he won’t receive a single contract offer from another team come free agency, but whether they are as high as the Suns is tough to tell. You know there is always that one team looking to throw money around at players like Teletovic each year. So, guessing where he’ll land is hard. For now, we’ll say he’s a maybe.
Next: Free Agency