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Well, that was quick.
The Phoenix Suns officially announced Thursday morning that they had waived big man Eric Moreland. After signing with Phoenix on Dec. 10, Moreland only played five total minutes, which came in garbage time on New Year’s Eve versus Golden State where he logged three rebounds.
In the process, Phoenix now has two open roster spots at their disposal. Does this mean another trade is incoming before February’s deadline? It’s possible, but ESPN’s Bobby Marks noted that Moreland’s contract was set to be fully guaranteed on Jan. 7 for $1 million. Instead of keeping Moreland through the rest of the season, the Suns decided to eat $239k in order to maintain roster flexibility.
The roster in Phoenix now drops to 13 players after the waiver of Eric Moreland. The Suns had up until Jan. 7 to guarantee the $1M contract and will incur a $239K cap hit. Phoenix now has $33M in dead cap space, close to half of the amount of guaranteed salary on the roster.
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) January 3, 2019
Similar to last season, when the Suns finished off the past few months cycling in guards like Shaquille Harrison and Josh Gray off the Northern Arizona Suns’ roster, we could be in store for another year of this tactic by majority owner Robert Sarver to save some money.
It wouldn’t surprise me one bit, unless the Suns don’t sit on their hands and make another trade over the next month, if we see names like Jawun Evans, George King, and Peter Jok resurface on the roster over the next few months.
Another move should be coming soon from Phoenix to fill this roster spot, so stay tuned to Bright Side Of The Sun as always for the latest news.