Category: Phoenix Suns Blog

Suns blog – Phoenix Suns blog, on Suns basketball news, rumors and more

Boston Celtics sign Mickael Pietrus

Mickael Pietrus

The Boston Celtics today announced that they have signed guard/forward Mickael Pietrus. It is likely a deal for the veteran’s league minimum, of around $1.2 million.

“We are very excited to be able to add Mickael to our team,” said Danny Ainge, Celtics President of Basketball Operations. “His skills as a perimeter defender and an outside shooter provide great versatility to the roster.”

Pietrus, a 6’6” guard/forward, appeared in 57 games combined between Phoenix and Orlando last season averaging 7.2 points and 2.2 rebounds in 19.4 minutes per game.  He recorded 20 or more points on four occasions last season with a season-high of 25 against the Clippers on December 26 when he shot 5-of-8 from three-point land.  The 11th overall pick in the 2003 Draft by the Golden State Warriors has career averages of 8.5 points and 3.1 rebounds in 496 career games over eight seasons. He posted his highest scoring campaign during the 2006-07 season with Golden State when he recorded 11.1 points to go along with 4.5 rebounds per game. Pietrus has posted playoff career averages of 8.9 points and 2.5 rebounds while shooting 39.1% from three-point territory. During the Magic’s run to the NBA Finals, Pietrus averaged 10.5 points and 2.6 rebounds while shooting 38.5 percent from three-point range.

Phoenix Suns waive Mickael Pietrus

Mickael Pietrus

The Phoenix Suns today waived guard/forward Mickael Pietrus after reaching a financial agreement, the team has announced.

According to the Arizona Republic, “The Suns bought out Pietrus’ contract, paying him about $4.2 million of his $5.3 million salary. Once he clears waivers, Pietrus can pick from a group of other interested teams, led by Boston, to make up the difference. “Both Mickael and us realized it’d be beneficial for both parties to party ways,” Suns President of Basketball Operations Lon Babby said. “There’s an expression that, ‘All’s well that ends well.’ In this case, all’s well that ends.”

Pietrus last season averaged 7.2 points per game on 39.2 percent shooting, playing for the Orlando Magic and Suns.

The Suns’ roster now stands at 14.

Orlando Magic re-sign forward Earl Clark

Earl Clark

The Orlando Magic have re-signed free agent forward Earl Clark, President of Basketball Operations/General Manager Otis Smith announced today.  Per team policy, terms of the deal are not disclosed. We’ll post details later today.

Clark (6’10”, 225, 1/17/88) played in 42 games last season with both Phoenix and Orlando, averaging 3.9 ppg. and 2.4 rpg. in 11.0 minpg.  He was acquired by the Magic on December 18, 2010 from Phoenix, along with Jason Richardson and Hedo Turkoglu, in a six-player trade.  With Orlando, Clark appeared in 33 games, averaging 4.1 ppg. and 2.5 rpg. in 11.9 minpg.  He scored in double figures five times (four times with Orlando), including a career-high-tying 14 points in a career-best 26 minutes on Feb. 11 vs. New Orleans.

“Earl (Clark) is a young, athletic forward who brings a lot of energy when he comes into the game, especially at the defensive end of the floor,” said Smith.  “We are glad to have him back as a member of the Magic.”

Originally selected in the first round (14th overall) of the 2009 NBA Draft by Phoenix, Clark has appeared in 93 career regular season games with Phoenix and Orlando, averaging 3.3 ppg. and 1.8 rpg. in 9.1 minpg.  He also has played in four playoff contests, averaging 1.5 ppg. and 1.5 rpg. in 4.8 minpg.

Phoenix Suns sign guard Ronnie Price

Ronnie Price

The Phoenix Suns have signed veteran NBA guard Ronnie Price, the team announced today.  Phoenix also added Marcus Landry to the club’s roster.

The 6-2, 190-pound Price is a six-year NBA veteran who owns career averages of 3.6 points, 1.1 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 319 games (25 starts).  Price joins his third NBA team after stints with the Sacramento Kings (2005-07) and most recently with the Utah Jazz (2007-11). Price’s best statistical season came in 2009-10 with the Jazz when he averaged a career-high 4.3 points and a career-best tying 2.1 assists in 60 games.

Undrafted out of college, Price was a four-year performer at Utah Valley State College (now Utah Valley University) and the first player to enter the NBA directly from that school, the second in the league overall (Travis Hansen, 2003-04).

Landry is a 6-7, 225-pound forward who has played professionally in the NBA, NBA Development League and Europe since leaving the University of Wisconsin in 2009.  The Milwaukee native and brother of NBA forward Carl Landry most recently played for Assignia Manresa in the Spanish League after spending the 2010-11 season with the Reno Bighorns of the NBADL.  Landry averaged 17.6 points and 4.4 rebounds with Reno a season ago.  The 26-year-old’s NBA experience includes 17 games with the New York Knicks in 2009-10 after earning a roster spot as a camp invitee.  He was traded by the Knicks to the Celtics that season as part of the deal that landed Boston Nate Robinson.

Phoenix Suns sign guard Sebastian Telfair

Sebastian Telfair

The Phoenix Suns have signed Sebastian Telfair, the team announced today.

The 6-0, 170-pound guard is a seven-year NBA veteran who owns career averages of 7.8 points, 1.6 rebounds and 3.8 assists in 429 games (189 starts).  Telfair joins his sixth NBA team after stints with the Portland Trail Blazers (2004-06), Boston Celtics (2006-07), Minnesota Timberwolves (2007-09, 2010-11), Cleveland Cavaliers (2009-10) and Los Angeles Clippers (2009-10).

The cousin of former Suns guard Stephon Marbury, Telfair averaged 7.2 points and 3.0 assists in 19.2 minutes while appearing in 37 games (eight starts) for the Timberwolves last season.

Originally drafted out of high school, Telfair was the 13th overall selection in the 2004 NBA Draft by the Blazers.  One of the most highly-touted high schoolers to ever enter the league, Telfair led Brooklyn’s Abraham Lincoln High School to three New York City titles and one state championship.  He was the first player ever to be a three-time city champion and left school as the all-time leading prep scorer in New York history.

Phoenix Suns re-sign forward Grant Hill

Grant Hill

The Phoenix Suns today re-signed forward Grant Hill, the club has announced.

“Grant Hill represents everything we want the Phoenix Suns to stand for, both on and off the court,” said President of Basketball Operations Lon Babby.  “Grant had other attractive offers, so we are delighted that he has chosen to remain a Sun.”

The 6-8, 225-pound forward is coming off a 2010-11 campaign in which he recorded one of the greatest statistical seasons for a player 38 years or older in NBA history, averaging 13.2 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 80 games (80 starts).  Hill became only the seventh player in NBA history to average 13 or more points at the age of 38 or older, joining the likes of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Robert Parish, Michael Jordan, Karl Malone, John Stockton and Reggie Miller.  Hill’s 13.2-point scoring average was his highest since joining the Suns and the highest by a player his age since Miller in 2004-05.

A 17-year NBA veteran and seven-time All-Star, Hill originally signed with the Suns on July 11, 2007, and has averaged 12.4 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.5 assists in four seasons in Phoenix.  Since joining the Suns, Hill has proven remarkably durable.  He has appeared in 313 of 328 possible games (.954), his most in a four-year span in his career and a higher percentage of games than while with Detroit in his first six NBA seasons (435 of 460, .946).

Hill is a three-time winner of the NBA Sportsmanship Award (2004-05, 2007-08, 2009-10), the only player in league history to earn the honor multiple times.  He is a two-time winner of the Suns’ Dan Majerle Hustle Award (2007-08, 2010-11), the only player who has earned the franchise honor multiple times.

Originally the third overall pick in the 1994 NBA Draft by the Pistons, Hill emerged as one of the NBA’s brightest young stars and shared NBA Rookie of the Year honors with Jason Kidd. He became the first rookie ever to lead an NBA All-Star fan balloting in 1994-95 with 1,289,585 votes.  Hill has been named to an All-NBA Team five times, including First Team once (1996-97) and All-NBA Second Team four times (1995-96, 1997-98, 1998-99, 1999-00).

A member of the 1996 United States Olympic Team where he helped “Dream Team III” capture the gold medal in Atlanta, Hill played his first six NBA seasons with the Pistons (1994-00) and the following seven with the Orlando Magic (2000-07) after being dealt by Detroit on Aug. 3, 2000.

The former Duke alum helped the Blue Devils win back-to-back NCAA Championships in 1991 and 1992 and is the only child of Janet and Calvin Hill.  Hill is married to R&B singer Tamia, a four-time Grammy-nominated recording artist, and the couple has two daughters, Myla Grace and Lael Rose.

Suns sign guard Shannon Brown

Shannon Brown

The Phoenix Suns today signed guard Shannon Brown to a one-year deal, the team has announced.

In Brown, the Suns add an athletic 26-year-old guard, who is a two-time NBA Champion (2009, 2010) and both a dynamic finisher in the open floor and a respected three-point shooter.

The 6-4, 210-pound Brown is a five-year veteran who has played for the Cleveland Cavaliers (2006-07), Chicago Bulls (2007-08), Charlotte Bobcats (2008-09) and Los Angeles Lakers (2009-11).  Originally selected by the Cavaliers with the 25th overall pick in the 2006 NBA Draft, Brown was chosen by a Cleveland front office that featured current Suns General Manager Lance Blanks.  Brown signed a free agent deal with the Bobcats before the start of the 2008-09 season and was briefly a teammate of current Suns forward Jared Dudley before Dudley was acquired by the Suns.  Ultimately, Brown was acquired by the Lakers (along with Adam Morrison in exchange for Vladimir Radmanovic) from the Bobcats before the 2009 trade deadline, and became a valuable part of the Lakers’ bench as the club won back-to-back league titles.

The Michigan State product joins the Suns after his two best seasons as a professional.  Brown played a full 82 games in both 2009-10 and 2010-11, averaging a then-career high 8.1 points in 2009-10 before besting that number with an 8.7-point clip a season ago.  Over the last two seasons, Brown averaged 8.4 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 19.9 minutes, despite seeing limited action behind Laker guard Kobe Bryant.  Brown owns career NBA averages of 6.9 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 256 games (16 starts).

Estimated to have a 44.5-inch vertical leap, one of the highest in the league, Brown is known for his high-flying, highlight-reel dunks.  A mainstay on Youtube, Brown participated in the 2010 Slam Dunk Contest at All-Star weekend in Dallas.  In addition, Brown has added increased long-range accuracy to his repertoire, setting career highs in three-pointers made in each of the last three seasons (74 in 2010-11).  Brown is a career 33.7-percent three-point shooter who made 34.9 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc in 2010-11.

Brown was a three-year performer at Michigan State (2003-06), who averaged 17.2 points as a junior before being named All-Big Ten Second Team and to the Big Ten’s All-Defensive Team.  A graduate of Proviso East High School in Maywood, Ill., Brown was a First Team Parade All-American, McDonald’s All-American, Illinois Mr. Basketball and co-MVP of the Jordan Capital Classic (with LeBron James) as a senior in 2003.

Shannon Brown, Sebastian Telfair to join Suns

Shannon Brown

In 2007 draft revisionist history, it is often said how the Suns could have had Rajon Rondo if they had not traded the pick in a money-saving move to Boston.

Actually, with concerns about Rondo’s shooting, some Suns staffers said at the time that Phoenix might have been more apt to draft Shannon Brown if it had kept the pick.

Four and a half years later, Brown will be a Sun. The Suns will sign Brown to a one-year, $3.5 million contract and the 6-foot-4 off-guard will join the team Friday.

The Suns, who also are expected to sign point guard Sebastian Telfair, pick up an athletic 26-year-old who averaged 8.7 points in 19.1 minutes per game for the Los Angeles Lakers last season.

— Reported by Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic

Read NBA fan opinion or share your views in this basketball forum topic.