RealGM: Dionte Christmas Drawing Interest from Phoenix Suns, Among Others

RealGM reports that Dionte Christmas, who played for Phoenix in this year's Summer League, is receiving interest from several teams, including the Suns. Throughout seven games in Las Vegas, the 6'5" shooting guard was arguably the best reserve for a team that went 6-1, ultimately losing to the Golden State Warriors in the Summer League Championship.

"I’m getting positive feedback from a lot of teams," Christmas told RealGM. "Perhaps I get a call saying they want to see me in training camp or hopefully sign me for the season."

Christmas, who went undrafted in 2009 after a four year career at Temple, spent a month with the Philadelphia 76ers that year but didn't get a chance to play. He spent a couple years overseas before signing a partially guaranteed two-year contract with the Boston Celtics last year, only to be waived at the beginning of the season.

Christmas will but 27 in September and has yet to play even one game in the NBA. When asked about his hopes of landing on the Suns' roster, he said:

"Yeah, it would be a dream come true," Christmas said. "If they sign me for the year, that’s what I’m here for and that’s my goal."

In seven Summer League games, he averaged 10.1 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 2.0 assists in 20.9 minutes per game while shooting 46.3% from the field, 32.1% from three, and 75% from the free throw line. Other than the tournament final, in which Christmas failed to score, he was mostly consistent throughout the ten days.

After a good performance with the team, Dionte Christmas stands a strong chance of at least earning a training camp invite with the Suns. He is a versatile scoring guard with good size, length, and defensive ability, but is held back by his below-average athleticism. Still, he would be good option has a fifth guard to earn a few minutes every now and then.

However, there are two factors that might hurt his chances of landing a roster spot with this team: his age and the fact that the Suns roster is currently stocked with several guards. Although the latter could easily change between now and the start of the season through a trade or another personnel move, the former is sure to be a factor. The fact that he will soon be a 27 year old player without a single minute of NBA action under his belt does not help his case.

The Suns could also consider other players from their Summer League squad to add to their roster or at least invite to training camp. Arinze Onuaku, Chris Babb, and Diante Garrett should and probably will receive consideration from the team. Onuaku would bring a skillset and body type that this team doesn't have (which could be useful in practice). Babb would be a good 3-and-D option at the end of the bench. Garrett is a versatile guard who can do several things on the court (although none exceptionally well). Alex Oriakhi might also receive attention, although that would be more because GM Ryan McDonough drafted him, not necessarily due to his performance in Summer League.

All things considered, the Suns have a few interesting options from their Summer League team that they will be sure to look at. Dionte Christmas, despite his age and the Suns' roster situation, might be the best of the lot.