The Phoenix Suns put the decision off as long as they could, but today it has been made official that Tyler Ulis will not return for the 2018-19 season.
Drafted at the behest of best friend Devin Booker, Tyler Ulis was selected with the 34th overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, the hopeful air apparent at point guard, diminutive yet full of heart, a shooter at Kentucky, and arguably the fastest Phoenix Sun since Leandro Barbosa.
However, after two full seasons with Phoenix, the franchise has decided to cut ties with Ulis, creating an open roster spot, one that will potentially be filled by George King.
Ulis has had an up and down brief career here in Phoenix, starting nearly 1/3 of his 132 games with the Suns, however struggling mightily with his shot, one of his most exciting assets coming out of college.
With a career average of 7.6 points and 4.1 assists – he is no doubt the best distributor since Steve Nash – Ulis struggled to find his shot making him a liability on the offensive end. Never afraid to drive the lane in and among the trees, he has thus far managed only a 40.3% shooting percentage from the field, anchored down by a 38.3% percentage in 2017-18, a drop of 4.7% over his already poor rookie year.
To make matters worse, while his field goal percentage was bad, his 3-point shooting percentage is even worse, a career 28.0% shooter from beyond the arc, shooting only 26.6% his rookie season and 28.8% this past year.
That is not to say that his tenure with the Suns has not had it’s moments of glory and excitement.
Don’t tell me that you will ever get tired of watching this play:
The end of Tyler Ulis in Phoenix does not spell the end of his career as it seems all but certain that he will have a position on an NBA team at some point this coming season.
However, with the return of Brandon Knight as well as the addition of Elie Okobo, and the potential for either a free agent signing or a trade for an additional point guard, Ulis’ fate on the roster had been all but sealed.
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Phoenix guaranteed half of his 2018-19 salary, so even with the cut, the Suns will still pay him $772,475.50, a small price to pay for an open roster spot.
From the Valley of the Suns, good luck to Tyler Ulis in the future. Suns fans will have nothing but fond memories of him, and we wish him all the best.