Midseason report card with second half expectations
By Adam Maynes
Isaiah Canaan
The end of Isaiah’s tenure with the Suns came in an instant. A brutal and gut-wrenching instant. When he fell awkwardly to the ground following a layup attempt on January 31, everyone in attendance, including his teammates, and those watching on television gasped at the awful sight they had just witnessed.
It was a saddening end to what had been a fairly positive story for the NBA vagabond.
Cannan’s time with Phoenix began becuase the team was in need of a point guard. Following the waiving of Mike James, Canaan, a 5-year veteran, was called upon to fill in while Devin Booker was slowly groomed for the job himself, a necessary move just to help carry the Suns across the season’s finish line where they could look for a more suitable, long-term replacement.
While he was not statistically spectacular, he did bring a different side to his game that was missing with Bledsoe – his passing. Again, nothing special, but it was obvious that the ball moved about the offensive end with much greater fluidity when Canaan was running the show than prior, a welcome change, all things considered.
His season had been going well enough that many fans pined for Phoenix to at least give him a shot as the backup point guard next season.
Canaan was waived following the acquisition of Elfrid Payton, and he likely will not have another opportunity with the franchise. There is no doubt though that in the short-term, Cannan’s contributions will be positively remembered, and all fans of his hope that he will be back on the court soon enough, with a team in the NBA, and many more years before him yet to come.
Grade: B-