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In non-Coronavirus news, the Phoenix Suns are reportedly waiving two-way guard Jared Harper. Gina Mizell of The Athletic had it first.
In actual basketballing news, the #Suns have waived two-way guard Jared Harper, league sources tell @TheAthleticNBA. Not related to coronavirus, which is a wild-yet-appropriate thing to include during these times.
— Gina Mizell (@ginamizell) March 12, 2020
Harper appeared in just three NBA games this season, as well as 33 in the G League. Despite strong counting stats for the Northern Arizona Suns, Harper apparently was not worth keeping around as the G League season winds to a close.
The 2019 NCAA tournament standout for Auburn scored 20.8 points a night to go along with 5.7 assists with NAZ, but the team went 8-34 before the G League followed the NBA’s lead and postponed its season on Thursday night.
It’s hard to speculate as to the thinking on the release now, as it likely happened prior to the postponement of professional sports in the country. However, the Suns inked Harper to a two-way deal just moments after the 2019 draft, signaling they really liked him. As a small guard, the chances of him being a difference-maker in the NBA were always slim, and he is now stuck without a team as the leagues postpone play.
Harper was on just a one-year two-way contract, meaning the Suns will not gain any increased flexibility by cutting him. When and if games return, the deadline also has passed to sign new two-way players, meaning NAZ truly is just moving on completely.
A bizarre decision, though one that right now doesn’t hold much weight if games end up being called off.