2016–17 Phoenix Suns season

2016–17 Phoenix Suns season
Dragan Bender's rookie season
Marquese Chriss' rookie season
Tyler Ulis' rookie season
Head coach Earl Watson
General manager Ryan McDonough
Owner(s) Robert Sarver
Arena Talking Stick
Resort Arena
Results
Record 6–14 (.300)
Place Division: 5th (Pacific)
Conference: T–14th (Western)

Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com

Local media
Television Fox Sports Arizona
Radio KTAR

The 2016–17 NBA season is the Suns' 49th season in the NBA.[1] It'll also be their 24th season the Suns will play in the Talking Stick Resort Arena (second season where it was named that when it used to be called both the America West Arena and, most recently, the U.S. Airways Center beforehand). Not only that, but it's also their first season where they provide D-League affiliation with the nearby Northern Arizona Suns that's located in Prescott Valley, Arizona.

Key dates

Offseason

Draft picks

Main article: 2016 NBA draft
Round Pick Player Position(s) Nationality(-ies) College / Club
1 4 Dragan Bender Forward/Center  Bosnia and Herzegovina
 Croatia		 Israel Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv
1 8 Marquese Chriss Power Forward  United States Washington
2 34 Tyler Ulis Point guard  United States Kentucky

The Phoenix Suns would once again enter the draft with three first round picks and one second round pick this season, tying the 2013–14 season for the most first round selections the team has ever had. They own their first selection in the first round, which was at the original Pick 4 and is now the highest selection they'd ever have since 1987, while their second first round pick (which was stuck in Pick 13 for the fourth time in six years) was had by the February 18, 2016 trade deadline with the Washington Wizards trading it away to them (similar to what happened in the 2014 NBA draft) along with the temporary additions of power forward/centers DeJuan Blair and Kris Humphries in exchange for removing Markieff Morris from the team due to his incessant demands of wanting out of the team after an earlier trade involving his twin brother, Marcus Morris, occurred on July 2, 2015. The Suns would be the only team this season to hold multiple NBA Draft lottery selections because of it. Not only that, but the Suns also got their third first round selection from the newly defending champion Cleveland Cavaliers due to an earlier trade involving the Boston Celtics, where they got the Cleveland Cavaliers' first round draft pick that Boston acquired in an earlier trade alongside the also-temporary addition of Marcus Thornton in exchange for Isaiah Thomas. The lone second round pick they have is also the pick they had on their own accord in spite of having a continuously declining record (done in by injuries and other turmoil involving the team placed throughout last season, which included the aforementioned trade that Markieff Morris demanded during that season) in the process. The Suns were also initially planned to getting the Minnesota Timberwolves' second round selection for this year (which would have been Rade Zagorac at Pick 35 this year), but traded it away in a different trade with the Boston Celtics (back when it was still considered to be a first round draft pick) in order to get Brandan Wright on the team under the same season they first acquired Isaiah Thomas.

With the fourth pick of the draft, Phoenix would select the Bosnian-born Croatian power forward/center Dragan Bender from Maccabi Tel Aviv in Israel. During his time with Maccabi Tel Aviv, Bender would hold many different averages due to playing in multiple European competitions the previous season. Most notably, Bender would average 5.4 points, 2.7 rebounds, 0.8 assists, 0.8 blocks, and 0.6 steals per game in Israel in 13.8 minutes of play off the bench during his second season with what was considered a star-studded team in Maccabi Tel Aviv, with him putting up 2.1 points, 1.4 rebounds, 0.6 assists, 0.4 blocks, and 0.3 steals per game in the Euroleague with 10.6 minutes of similar play off the bench. However, he'd also be an Israeli League Cup champion for his team in 2015, a two-time Israeli State Cup champion for his team, and he'd also be an Israeli All-Star in 2016. He would be signed with the Suns this season instead of becoming a draft-and-stash candidate for the team this season, thus becoming the newest, youngest draft player the Suns have ever taken in the draft, ahead of last year's first round draft pick, Devin Booker. He'd also be the youngest Suns player in franchise history ahead of Maciej Lampe, a player that made his NBA debut with the Suns at around 18 years old himself.

After the fourth selection came and went, the Suns would make a trade involving the Sacramento Kings where they'd trade their 13th and 28th selections (which would be Greek center Georgios Papagiannis at Pick 13 and a Haitian power forward/center from Kentucky University in Skal Labissière at Pick 28 respectively), the draft rights for Bogdan Bogdanović, and the 2020 second round draft pick they acquired from the Detroit Pistons due to an earlier trade involving Marcus Morris and the Kings would select Marquese Chriss from the University of Washington for them with the eighth pick of the draft. During his only season at Washington, Chriss would average 13.8 points, 5.4 rebounds, 1.6 blocks, 0.9 steals, and 0.8 assists in 24.9 minutes of action, with him breaking the university's freshman record for the most blocks in their first season and being mentioned as an honorable mention for the All-Pac-12 Freshmen Team. It would also be revealed later on that Phoenix was neck-and-neck between the two power forwards before the trade, with Phoenix deciding to go for Dragan first due to the fact that he was more likely to be selected by a team like the Minnesota Timberwolves, the New Orleans Pelicans, or the Denver Nuggets instead of Sacramento if he fell than Marquese did,[4] although the Suns figured either choice would have given them both power forwards with Jaylen Brown being selected by Boston at Pick 3 and the next three teams likely wanting players that were guards anyways.[5]

Finally, with the thirty-fourth pick of the draft, the Suns selected Tyler Ulis from the University of Kentucky. In his two seasons with Kentucky (one of which being spent on the bench alongside Phoenix's 2015 first round selection Devin Booker), Ulis averaged 11.3 points, 5.3 assists, 2.4 rebounds, and 1.2 steals per game with the Wildcats, also being a part of the SEC All-Freshman Team for 2015 similar to Devin. However, his sophomore season would provide a major jump for Ulis, recording 17.3 points, 7 assists, 3 rebounds, and 1.5 steals per game for Kentucky, which resulted in many honors for him in his second and final season with the team, ranging from the SEC Tournament's MVP and All-SEC First Team to the SEC Player of the Year and the SEC Defensive Player of the Year (with him also being the second guy in the SEC behind Anthony Davis to earn those two honors in the same season) to even gaining major honors and awards with the Bob Cousy Award and being a part of the consensus All-American First Team for 2016.

Free agency

Players Mirza Teletović, Jon Leuer, and Chase Budinger, as well as the returning Ronnie Price all became unrestricted free agents as of the end of the 2015–16 NBA season. In addition, both power forward/center Alan Williams and shooting guard John Jenkins also had player options that could potentially make themselves unrestricted free agents as well, so long as the team ended up declining their player options before September 1 and October 24 respectively. Furthermore, former starting small forward P.J. Tucker also has a player option for this season as well, but he would end up accepting his option before the free agency period began. With Alan Williams, he was considered very likely to have his contract guaranteed considering his All-NBA Summer League First Team worthy performance during his time in Las Vegas this season, according to a statement that general manager Ryan McDonough made about him on July 24, 2016. His deal would be made official, though, on September 1, 2016, when he did get his second year fully guaranteed by the Suns officially. Meanwhile, John Jenkins originally held his player option for the team to decide upon around July 11. However, both Jenkins and the Suns agreed to extend their option before the beginning of the regular season, which was mainly dependent on circumstances at hand involving not just Jenkins, but the team as well. At the end of the day, though, the Suns also decided to keep John Jenkins on October 24, 2016 despite not performing so well in the preseason due to not just trade purposes, but also the fact that his second and third years on his contract are still non-guaranteed years for Jenkins (especially his third year, with his second year remaining non-guaranteed until the league-wide deadline on January 10, 2017), as well as his own shooting abilities he displayed during last season. The Suns also planned to convince their 27th pick from the 2014 NBA draft, Bogdan Bogdanović, to leave his current team in Fenerbahçe (Ülker) from Turkey to play in the NBA early before the salary he gets from the team rises exponentially next season due to him no longer being bound to the rookie scale deal. However, it was later confirmed before the 2016 NBA draft began that Bogdan would end up staying with his current team in Turkey for at least one more season. In the end, though, that decision would get him traded to the Sacramento Kings alongside their 13th and 28th picks and the Detroit Pistons' 2020 second round pick for the draft rights of power forward Marquese Chriss.

At the beginning of free agency, the Suns got back shooting guard/small forward Jared Dudley, a player who had previously played with Phoenix from 2008–2013 (including the team's last playoff run in 2010), on a 3-year deal worth $30 million. However, they'd also lose power forward Mirza Teletović to the Milwaukee Bucks earlier in the day, who was worth exactly the same amount as well. With that said, Dudley sees his second stint with the Suns as him being a stretch power forward instead.[6] He also wants to help bring back the same sort of atmosphere the team held back in their 2009–10 season again.[7] A day after that, the Suns would let their other power forward they had last season, Jon Leuer, leave on a 4-year deal worth $42 million for the Detroit Pistons. On July 6, it would be announced that another former Suns player from the Seven Seconds or Less era of Suns teams would return with the Suns in combo guard Leandro Barbosa, a player who was with the team twice from 2003–2010 and 2014, coming back again (this time from the previously 2015 NBA Finals champion and 73–9 Golden State Warriors) on a 2-year deal worth $8 million this time around. The signing would be official on July 19, which was over two weeks before he'd begin playing for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro for his home nation of Brazil. Six days later, it was announced that Ronnie Price would sign a 2-year deal with the Oklahoma City Thunder due to the combination of Phoenix re-signing Leandro Barbosa again and drafting Tyler Ulis in the second round, although Price's signing wouldn't be official until August 13. Coach Earl Watson also hinted that Ronnie Price could also return to Phoenix as an assistant head coach for the staff when the time is right for him to do that. Finally, Chase Budinger would sign a non-guaranteed deal to try his luck at signing an official, regular season deal with the Brooklyn Nets on September 21, 2016, although his signing wouldn't be ready until five days later. However, he would ultimately be waived by the Nets about a month later on October 18, 2016. Almost a week afterwards, Ronnie Price would be waived by the Oklahoma City Thunder on October 24, 2016, despite the fact that his two-year deal with the Thunder was fully guaranteed. Chase Budinger would sign with the Saski Baskonia in Spain for the rest of the season on October 27, 2016, while Ronnie Price still hasn't decided on where to go now as of December 2, 2016.

On August 20, 2016, the Suns were projected to sign a D-League affiliate point guard (who had previously played for the Bakersfield Jam before the location and team name change) named Askia Booker (who is not related to Devin Booker) to a non-guaranteed training camp deal after a strong enough performance he showcased for the team during the Summer League. However, instead of signing Askia Booker, the team would sign up former Nevada–Las Vegas Runnin' Rebels freshman small forward Derrick Jones, Jr. to a deal on September 13, 2016, with the move almost feeling like a sign for the Suns before T.J. Warren officially announced his return to action, yet P.J. Tucker would announce he'd (likely) be out for the start of the regular season this time around. A day later, the Suns also signed 2014 second round pick Alec Brown to a non-guaranteed deal as well. Furthermore, the team would also have the likes of Hapoel Holon forward Mike Moser and Tulsa Golden Hurricanes guard Shaquille Harrison join the training camp squad alongside both Alec Brown and Derrick Jones, Jr. just another day later. Two days after that, though, the Suns decided to waive Alec Brown in order to retain his draft rights, although they would later on trade him and remove his draft rights via their new Northern Arizona Suns D-League affiliate squad on October 29, 2016 to a new D-League expansion squad known as the Windy City Bulls well over a month later. On September 25, 2016, instead of having the likes of Mike Moser joining Derrick Jones, Jr. and Shaquille Harrison due to a health issue, the team would also include Olympique Antibes Sharks center Gracin Bakumanya (the only international underclassman that didn't play in college to be undrafted this year) and D-League affiliate power forward Derek Cooke, Jr. (who also had a satisfying enough performance in the Summer League) as their official training camp invitees. However, none of Shaquille Harrison, Gracin Bakumanya, nor Derek Cooke, Jr. would play a single game for Phoenix in the preseason, as they'd all be waived on October 10. The only invited player that did get some preseason action, Derrick Jones, Jr. (who was an undrafted 19 year old small forward), not only wound up getting one of the last roster spots with the Suns, but he also took over a spot on the roster over the currently more established shooting guard in Archie Goodwin, who not only spent three full seasons with the team as it was, but also had guaranteed money over both Derrick Jones, Jr. and John Jenkins to boot. It also meant that with Derrick Jones, Jr. on the roster, the Suns would enter the season with four rookies on their roster after all, with four of their players also being teenagers to start out the regular season. It was later on confirmed that Archie Goodwin did request a trade out by the Phoenix Suns in a respectful manner before the end of the pre-season, but the team unfortunately couldn't find a good deal for him on time. All three of the original, non-guaranteed deals that did not stay with the Phoenix Suns (as well as Askia Booker) would soon find themselves as a part of the nearby Northern Arizona Suns D-League affiliate team, while Archie Goodwin would sign a two-year deal with the New Orleans Pelicans on November 6, 2016, although he'd only last until November 20 that same year before playing for the newly-formed Greensboro Swarm D-League team ten days later.

Coaching changes

The Suns had initially planned to start a coaching search after their previous season ended. Some of the candidates that were linked to the Suns at the time as potential new candidates included Luke Walton, Mike D'Antoni, Jay Wright, and Dan Majerle, just to name a few examples. However, because of overwhelmingly positive support from both the team's players and the front office alike (which included an improved performance throughout the last two months of the season, even with injuries to Eric Bledsoe, T.J. Warren, and later Brandon Knight in mind), Earl Watson would earn his new three-year deal worth $7.5 million to become the full-time head coach for the Suns, effective as of April 19, 2016.[8][9] During Earl's re-introduction conference as full-time head coach, fellow players (at the time) Devin Booker, Brandon Knight, Mirza Teletović, and Ronnie Price all showed up to the event in support of the move, with the rest of the roster (at that time) also expressing profound support of it. On May 5, 2016 (exactly the same day Senior Adviser Lon Babby resigned from his duties with the team), three assistant coaches the team had throughout last season in former Phoenix Mercury head coach Corey Gaines, replacement assistant coach Bob Hill, and player development assistant coach Irving Roland would not have their contracts renewed after the season the team had last season, with Chris Damnell taking up the absent player development role led by Irving until further notice.[10] That left with only assistant coach Nate Bjorkgren and player development coach Jason Fraser as the only assistant coaches/player development coaches left from last season's debacle. Watson later told people that the assistant coaches he's got that he wants them to join him by sitting next to him or moving on to lead their own program somewhere else later on down the line.

On May 18, a day after the 2016 NBA Draft Lottery ended with everyone remaining exactly where they were at all this time, the Suns hired the Canadian Portland Trail Blazers' assistant coach Jay Triano into being the team's official associate head coach for Earl Watson on a three-year deal of his own.[11][12] On June 25, two days after the 2016 NBA draft ended, the Phoenix Suns announced that one of its former players, Tyrone Corbin, would be a new assistant coach for Earl Watson's staff. During the 2016 NBA Summer League, it was announced that both Bret Burchard and Scott Vaughan would be assistant head coaches for the Suns throughout the event.[13] On July 7, 2016, the Suns would add an old college assistant coach named Scott Duncan to their team as a player development assistant. Duncan was previously an assistant coach for various Division I campuses in the NCAA since 1978, ranging from coach Watson's campus at UCLA and Oregon to Clemson and Washington State, with Northern Illinois, Fresno State, New Mexico, and Cleveland State all holding him around at one point or another, with his most recent tenure being a part of the University of Montana as an associate head coach for six straight seasons. Later on that month, on July 27, it was announced that the Suns would be close to completing their coaching staff by having a former college teammate of Steve Nash, as well as a former NBA player and video coordinator and player development coach for the San Antonio Spurs named Marlon Garnett join the team as both an assistant head coach and a player development coach similar to what current assistant head coach Nate Bjorkgren held last year under former head coach Jeff Hornacek before the first coaching shake-up of last season left Nate exclusively as an assistant coach only. Finally, on September 13, it was announced that the team had a last-minute addition to their player development staff with former 2004 NBA Finals champion and All-Star Mehmet Okur joining the team as an official player development coach, thus becoming the first Turkish born citizen to enter an NBA coaching staff in some way. It was a move to bring some extra help for the Suns' young big men, especially the Suns' first round rookies this season in Dragan Bender and Marquese Chriss. More specifically, it was done to have the players learn how to do moves in the post and utilize those moves properly. Both Triano and Okur would mark the first time a team had two or more foreign born coaches being a part of the same NBA coaching staff, although it wouldn't mark the first time the team had an international head coach altogether.

Front office changes

Two weeks after announcing that Earl Watson would be the full-time coach of the Suns, former president of basketball operations and senior adviser Lon Babby announced his resignation from his duties with the team after his six-year tenure with the Suns.[14] At the same time, assistant video coordinator Ross Geiger would not get his contract renewed himself. On July 27, 2016, it was announced that in addition to retaining Chris Damnell as their head video coordinator, the Suns also got former Long Beach State University, St. John's University, California State Fullerton University, and Los Angeles Clippers video coordinator Jason Tilton and former video coordinator for the San Antonio Spurs and Team U.S.A., as well as video intern for last season's 73-9 Golden State Warriors Julian Mills as the team's newest assistant video coordinators with former Campbell University, Southeastern Louisiana University, North Carolina University, and Michigan State University athletic trainer Quinton Sawyer joining as the team's assistant athletic trainer and sports science coordinator. Then, on September 13, 2016, alongside the new addition of former NBA Finals champion and All-Star Mehmet Okur to the coaching staff for a player development role, it was announced that former Minnesota Timberwolves, Washington Wizards, and Detroit Pistons scout Jason Hervey (not to be confused with the actor) would join the Suns as an advanced scout.

Roster

Phoenix Suns roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY–MM–DD) From
G 19 Barbosa, Leandro 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 194 lb (88 kg) 1982–11–28 Brazil
F/C 35 Bender, Dragan 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1997–11–17 Croatia
G 2 Bledsoe, Eric (C) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1989–12–09 Kentucky
G 1 Booker, Devin 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 206 lb (93 kg) 1996–10–30 Kentucky
C 4 Chandler, Tyson 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1982–10–02 Manuel Dominguez HS (CA)
F 0 Chriss, Marquese 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 233 lb (106 kg) 1997–07–02 Washington
G/F 3 Dudley, Jared 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1985–07–10 Boston C
G 23 Jenkins, John 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1991–03–06 Vanderbilt
F 10 Jones, Derrick (DL) 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1997–02–15 UNLV
G 11 Knight, Brandon (C) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1991–12–02 Kentucky
C 21 Len, Alex 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 260 lb (118 kg) 1993–06–16 Maryland
G/F 17 Tucker, P. J. 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1985–05–05 Texas
G 8 Ulis, Tyler 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 150 lb (68 kg) 1996–01–05 Kentucky
F 12 Warren, T. J.  6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1993–09–05 North Carolina State
F/C 15 Williams, Alan 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 260 lb (118 kg) 1993–01–28 UC Santa Barbara
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • (DL) On assignment to D-League affiliate
  • Injured

Roster • Transactions
Last transaction: 2016–11–25

Salaries

Player 2016–17 Salary
Eric Bledsoe $14,000,000
Brandon Knight $12,606,250
Tyson Chandler $12,415,000
Jared Dudley $10,470,000
P.J. Tucker $5,300,000
Oleksiy "Alex" Len $4,823,621
Dragan Bender $4,276,320
Leandro Barbosa $4,000,000
Marquese Chriss $2,941,440
Devin Booker $2,148,360
T. J. Warren $2,128,920
John Jenkins $1,050,961
Tyler Ulis $918,369
Alan Williams $874,636
Derrick Jones, Jr. $543,471
Total $78,497,348

Once again, the Suns would be forced to pay the remaining salary they originally had left for Michael Beasley under this season due to the buyout the Suns did on September 3, 2013, which was $777,778. However, this would actually be done as the team's official last year for payment for him since, similar to the amnesty of Josh Childress beforehand, they would no longer have to pay him again after his value is fully paid off. Not only that, but former Suns player Kris Humphries would have the salary of his previous contract he had during his short stint there be paid out throughout this season (which would total out to $4,630,000) due to the stipulations of him being waived on February 27, 2016. Furthermore, the Suns would wind up releasing Archie Goodwin before the start of this season, which means that currently, the Suns will also pay Archie Goodwin the rest of his salary this season (which was around $2,094,089) to essentially not play for them anymore.[15]

Pre-season

For the second straight season, the Suns would start out their season by having six pre-season games to play under before the regular season began. Oddly enough, this time around, they'd start the preseason really early, only to have their biggest gap come for an entire week between their last home game of the preseason in Arizona against Dallas and the last official home game out in Anaheim against the L.A. Lakers. The Suns would also actually be the very first opponent of the San Antonio Spurs without having Tim Duncan around playing for the team there whatsoever since he first arrived in the late 1990s. The Suns would win their game by a score of 91–86 with their starting line-up being Eric Bledsoe, Devin Booker, T.J. Warren, Jared Dudley, and Tyson Chandler, which would also be their starting lineup for at least the start of the regular season. However, the Suns would lose two straight close matches before staging their biggest comeback in pre-season history, going from a 30-point deficit to winning their road match against the Utah Jazz with the final score of 111–110 with a few key slam dunks late in the fourth quarter by the now-former Suns shooting guard Archie Goodwin to close out the game. Ultimately, the Suns would end their pre-season with a 4–2 record with a three-game winning streak to end the event, although none of their games would end with a higher margin differential than 5 points.

Game log

2016 pre-season game log
Total: 4–2 (Home: 2–1; Road: 2–1)
Pre-season: 4–2 (Home: 2–1; Road: 2–1)
2016–17 season schedule

Regular season

Division

Pacific Division W L PCT GB Home Road Div GP
Golden State Warriors 18 3 .857 0.0 9–2 9–1 5–1 21
Los Angeles Clippers 16 6 .727 2.5 7–3 9–3 2–0 22
Los Angeles Lakers 10 13 .435 9.0 6–5 4–8 3–2 23
Sacramento Kings 7 13 .350 10.5 4–5 3–8 1–2 20
Phoenix Suns 6 14 .300 11.5 3–5 3–9 0–6 20

Conference

Western Conference
# Team W L PCT GB GP
1 Golden State Warriors * 18 3 .857 – 21
2 San Antonio Spurs * 17 4 .810 1.0 21
3 Los Angeles Clippers 16 6 .727 2.5 22
4 Houston Rockets 14 7 .667 4.0 21
5 Oklahoma City Thunder * 14 8 .636 4.5 22
6 Memphis Grizzlies 14 8 .636 4.5 22
7 Utah Jazz 13 9 .591 5.5 22
8 Portland Trail Blazers 12 10 .545 6.5 22
9 Los Angeles Lakers 10 13 .435 9.0 23
10 Denver Nuggets 8 13 .381 10.0 21
11 Sacramento Kings 7 13 .350 10.5 20
12 New Orleans Pelicans 7 15 .318 11.5 22
13 Minnesota Timberwolves 6 14 .300 11.5 20
14 Phoenix Suns 6 14 .300 11.5 20
15 Dallas Mavericks 4 16 .200 13.5 20

Game log

2016–17 game log
Total: 6–13 (Home: 3–5; Road: 3–8)
October: 0–4 (Home: 0–2; Road: 0–2)
November : 6–9 (Home: 3–3; Road: 3–6)
December: 0–1 (Home: 0–0; Road: 0–1)
Game Date
Time		 Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
20 December 3 @ Golden State L 109–138 Eric Bledsoe (27) Tyson Chandler (9) Devin Booker (5) Oracle Arena
19,596		 6–14
21 December 6 @ Utah Vivint Smart Home Arena
 0–0
22 December 7 Indiana Talking Stick Resort Arena
 0–0
23 December 9 @ L.A. Lakers Staples Center
 0–0
24 December 11 New Orleans Talking Stick Resort Arena
 0–0
25 December 13 New York Talking Stick Resort Arena
 0–0
26 December 15 San Antonio Talking Stick Resort Arena
 0–0
27 December 17 @ Oklahoma City Chesapeake Energy Arena
 0–0
28 December 19 @ Minnesota Target Center
 0–0
29 December 21 Houston Talking Stick Resort Arena
 0–0
30 December 23 Philadelphia Talking Stick Resort Arena
 0–0
31 December 26 @ Houston Toyota Center
 0–0
32 December 28 @ San Antonio AT&T Center
 0–0
33 December 29 Toronto Talking Stick Resort Arena
 0–0
34 December 31 @ Utah Vivint Smart Home Arena
 0–0
January : 0–0 (Home: 0–0; Road: 0–0)
February : 0–0 (Home: 0–0; Road: 0–0)
March : 0–0 (Home: 0–0; Road: 0–0)
April : 0–0 (Home: 0–0; Road: 0–0)
2016–17 season schedule

Player statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game

Awards and records

Awards

Records

Team Records

Milestones

Team Milestones

Injuries/Personal Missed Games

Player Duration Reason for Missed Time Games Missed
Start End
Booker, DevinDevin Booker October 31, 2016 November 2, 2016 Sprained right big toe during the first road Oklahoma City game. 1
Jones Jr., DerrickDerrick Jones Jr. November 3, 2016 November 19, 2016 Assigned to the Northern Arizona Suns by Phoenix. 8
Chandler, TysonTyson Chandler November 8, 2016 November 16, 2016 His mother, Vernie Re Threadgill, passed away. 4
Chandler, TysonTyson Chandler November 18, 2016 November 25, 2016 Attended funeral services for his mother. 4
Warren, T.J.T.J. Warren November 19, 2016 Unknown Got a minor head injury during the road Indiana game. ??
Jones Jr., DerrickDerrick Jones Jr. November 25, 2016 Unknown Assigned to the Northern Arizona Suns by Phoenix. ??
Dudley, JaredJared Dudley November 27, 2016 November 30, 2016 Hurt left foot during practice. 1

Transactions

Trades

June 23, 2016
 To Phoenix Suns

United States Marquese Chriss (Pick 8)

 To Sacramento Kings

Greece Georgios Papagiannis (Pick 13)
Haiti Skal Labissière (Pick 28)
Serbia Bogdan Bogdanović (Player Rights)
2020 second round pick (from Detroit)

Free agents

Additions

Player Signed Former team
Jared Dudley Signed 3-year deal worth $30 Million Washington Wizards
Leandro Barbosa Signed 2-year deal worth $8 Million Golden State Warriors
Derrick Jones, Jr. Signed 3-year deal worth $2.5 Million University of Nevada, Las Vegas Runnin' Rebels

Subtractions

Player Reason left New team
Bogdan Bogdanović Traded Sacramento Kings / Turkey Fenerbahçe (Ülker)
Mirza Teletović Unrestricted free agent Milwaukee Bucks
Jon Leuer Unrestricted free agent Detroit Pistons
Ronnie Price Unrestricted free agent Oklahoma City Thunder
Chase Budinger Unrestricted free agent Brooklyn Nets / Spain Club Deportivo Saski-Baskonia, S.A.D.
Alec Brown Waived Northern Arizona Suns / Windy City Bulls
Archie Goodwin Waived New Orleans Pelicans / Greensboro Swarm

References

  1. ↑ 2016-17 Phoenix Suns
  2. ↑ http://sports.yahoo.com/news/sources--nba-salary-cap-projected-to-increase-more-than-previous-estimates-210930102.html
  3. ↑ http://www.nba.com/suns/press-release/suns-announce-2016-17-coaching-staff
  4. ↑ http://www.brightsideofthesun.com/2016/6/25/12027078/anatomy-of-a-deal-phoenix-suns-pick-bender-chriss
  5. ↑ http://www.nba.com/2016/news/features/ian_thomsen/09/04/phoenix-suns-rookie-frontcourt-marquese-chriss-dragan-bender/index.html
  6. ↑ http://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/nba/suns/2016/07/01/jared-dudley-accepts-deal-return-phoenix-suns/86626702/
  7. ↑ http://www.theplayerstribune.com/jared-dudley-suns-my-return-to-phoenix/
  8. ↑ Baum, Bob. "Suns remove interim tag, name Watson coach". NBA.com. Retrieved May 7, 2016.
  9. ↑ "Suns name Earl Watson 17th head coach in team history". NBA.com. Retrieved May 7, 2016.
  10. ↑ Coro, Paul. "Phoenix Suns not renewing 2 assistant coach contracts". azcentral.com. Retrieved May 13, 2016.
  11. ↑ https://twitter.com/WojVerticalNBA/status/733096997977239552
  12. ↑ http://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/nba/suns/2016/09/17/phoenix-suns-top-aide-jay-triano-fits-teams-vision/90522442/
  13. ↑ http://www.brightsideofthesun.com/2016/7/1/12083212/devin-booker-officially-is-on-the-suns-2016-summer-league-roster
  14. ↑ Coro, Paul. "Lon Babby ends tenure with Phoenix Suns". azcentral.com. Retrieved May 13, 2016.
  15. ↑ "HoopsHype – NBA Salaries – Phoenix Suns". hoopshype.com. September 22, 2012. Retrieved September 22, 2012.
  16. ↑ http://www.brightsideofthesun.com/2016/10/25/13374080/phoenix-suns-teenager-heavy-rotation-crystalizes-as-opening-night-approaches
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