Report: Suns release Isaiah Canaan

Isaiah Canaan and his non-guaranteed contract are leaving Phoenix.

The Athletic’s Shams Charania broke the news early this afternoon that the Suns unexpectedly pulled the plug on Canaan’s second season in Phoenix early. And I can’t blame them, based on his recent on-court results.

After being the obvious weak point over the Suns’ week-plus stretch of improved play, Isaiah Canaan’s subpar performances left him the odd man out. Over the past six games, Canaan averaged 3.3 points and 3.2 assists in 21.4 minutes but only connected on 25 percent of his shot attempts.

Now with two open roster spots, it begs the question what interim general manager James Jones is up to next. Either a trade for a point guard is finally on the horizon, or we could see Jones opt to call up Jawun Evans from the Northern Arizona Suns as a short-term option.

Evans has averaged 23.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 5 assists, 2.5 steals while hitting 40 percent of his three-pointers in 29.8 minutes for the Suns’ G League affiliate. The point guard out of Oklahoma State cannot be signed to a 10-day contract, but he could instead be used as Phoenix’s second two-way option alongside George King.

If the Suns were to go this route, Evans could spend 45 official days on the roster through the rest of the season, which would easily get the Suns past Dec. 15, when Trevor Ariza can be traded to upgrade at point guard.

Another route for Jones and Co. could be finally utilizing rookie point guards Elie Okobo and De’Anthony Melton. Both carried first-round grades on the Suns’ draft board, and after a quarter of the season, it seems like the right time to give them test run before February’s trade deadline.

Ever since the Brandon Knight trade happened, the hole in the Suns’ backcourt has continued to widen in size. Now, we sit back and wait for whatever happens next.

Who knows, maybe it’s a panic trade for somebody like John Wall or Terry Rozier instead.