14 players the Phoenix Suns signed past their prime
By Luke Duffy
8. Mario Elie
You can see the thinking behind signing Mario Elie to the 2000-01 Suns. Despite being 37-years-old, there was a timeless quality to Elie’s game. Much like Scott, he was able to do a lot of scoring not necessarily around the basket, which was still relatively rare in the league.
Elie arrived to The Valley having won a pair of championships with the Houston Rockets, and a third with the Spurs. The Suns went 51-31 that year, and Elie fit into his role really well. The team needed a veteran who had seen it all but who could still contribute, and Elie did his best to hold up his end of the bargain.
In fact, of the 68 games Elie played in his single season with the Suns before retiring, he started all but one of them. The 22.1 minutes he played made him a full-time starter, if not a player who was able to stay on the court for the whole game. Nevertheless, come the postseason Elie upped his minutes to 25.8, and his scoring from 4.4 points to nine points per contest.
This is one of the better outcomes on the list, but again, Elie was way past his best when he got to the Suns, even if he only made it to the NBA a decade earlier at 27. Thankfully he wasn’t signed with superstardom in mind, which is just as well because Elie’s star burns bright in Ireland of all places.