The 2021–22 Phoenix Suns season was their 54th season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as well as their 29th season at the currently named Footprint Center, their first full season under that name after taking over the naming rights to the previously named Phoenix Suns Arena on July 16, 2021, during the 2021 NBA Finals.[1][2]
| 2021–22 Phoenix Suns season | |
|---|---|
Division champions | |
| Head coach | Monty Williams |
| General manager | James Jones |
| Owners | Robert Sarver |
| Arena | Footprint Center |
| Results | |
| Record | 64–18 (.780) |
| Place | Division: 1st (Pacific) Conference: 1st (Western) |
| Playoff finish | Conference Semifinals (lost to Mavericks 3–4) |
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
| Local media | |
| Television | Bally Sports Arizona |
| Radio | KTAR |
The Suns entered the season as the defending Western Conference champions and were attempting to return to the NBA Finals for the second consecutive year.[3] On March 24, with a win over the Denver Nuggets, the Phoenix Suns clinched the #1 spot in the Western Conference and the league for the first time since 2005.[4] With the Suns 63rd win over the Los Angeles Lakers on April 5 (which, coincidentally, also eliminated the Lakers from playoff/play-in contention), the Suns set a franchise record for most wins in a season, surpassing the 1992–93 and 2004–05 teams with 62.[5]
In the playoffs, the Suns defeated the New Orleans Pelicans in six games in the first round,[6] but were then upset by the 4th-seeded Dallas Mavericks in the conference semifinals, where they lost in seven games, becoming the third team to have 64 or more wins and not reach the conference finals after the 2006–07 Dallas Mavericks and 2015–16 San Antonio Spurs.[7]
Off-season
editDraft
edit| Round | Pick | Player | Position(s) | Nationality | College / Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 29 | Day'Ron Sharpe | Center |  United States
|
North Carolina |
The Suns agreed to trade their 29th pick and Jevon Carter to the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for Landry Shamet.[8]
Free agency
editFor this season, free agency began over a month later than it usually does, starting on August 2, 2021, at 6:00 P.M. EST instead of by June 30 or July 1 like in previous free agency periods due to the aftermath of the 2019–20 NBA season suspension affecting some of the timing for a few things with this season's offseason period. However, instead of starting the free agency period to something like July 31 akin to last season's free agency period starting two days after the last season's draft back on November 20, 2020, free agency began on the proper five days off before free agency begins. Furthermore, official signings were made four days after the starting free agency period (which in this case began on August 6, 2021, instead of by late November like last season), which was on schedule for the five day moratorium period the NBA holds. For this season, the Suns had (starting with the most expensive players downward) E'Twaun Moore, Langston Galloway, Cameron Payne, Abdel Nader, Frank Kaminsky III, and Torrey Craig all entering free agency this year due to all of them signing (or agreeing to) their veteran's minimum salaries for their respective deals last season. In addition to them, superstar point guard Chris Paul also declined his player's option that would have allowed him to get $44,211,146 in the final season of his massive contract he first signed back when he was with the Houston Rockets in 2018, though he's expected to receive a 3-year deal worth $90 million with the Suns in free agency. Not only that, in addition to all of these players, Ty-Shon Alexander's two-way contract was projected to go into its second year with Phoenix, which initially left them only one likely open two-way contract for the season earlier on.
On August 2, the Suns agreed to new deals for not just back-up point guard Cameron Payne, but also All-Star point guard Chris Paul, both of which became official by August 6.[9][10] With Payne, his new deal gave him a three-year contract that's worth a total of $19 million, with his third year only guaranteeing him $2 million out of $6,500,000 that would be received there. However, with Chris Paul, his new contract allows him to receive a partially guaranteed four-year deal that would fully grant him up to $120 million, though only his first two years are fully guaranteed, with his third year being partially guaranteed (half of his salary is fully guaranteed for that season) and his final season in that deal being non-guaranteed. Not only that, but they also agreed to sign Denver Nuggets center JaVale McGee (who was also a part of Team U.S.A. for the 2020 Summer Olympics alongside Devin Booker) to a one-year deal for $5 million, though his agreement on August 2 was made official on August 16 instead.[11] However, the Suns also lost Torrey Craig to the Indiana Pacers on August 2, with Craig agreeing to sign a two-year deal worth $10 million for Indiana, which was made official by August 20. A day after that, the Suns also re-signed Abdel Nader to a two-year deal worth $4,200,000 (second year being a team option), with his signing also being official on August 6.[12] On August 5, Frank Kaminsky III agreed to another one-year deal worth his veteran's minimum to return to Phoenix, with former Suns point guard Elfrid Payton agreeing to a one-year deal worth his own veteran's minimum to reunite with the Suns, albeit as a third-string point guard this time around. Kaminsky's deal was made official by August 9,[13] while Payton's was completed a day later.[14]
On August 26, the Suns announced that they had officially waived Ty-Shon Alexander from his second year of his two-way contract he had signed from his previous season with the team.[15] On September 7, the Suns confirmed that they replaced Alexander's spot with that of former Washington Wizards (and technically San Antonio Spurs) player Chandler Hutchison as a two-way contract player for this season only due to it being his last eligible year for such a contract, with Ty-Shon Alexander confirmed to join the Segafredo Virtus Bologna in Italy later on that same day.[16][17] The next day, E'Twaun Moore agreed to a one-year deal to return to the Orlando Magic after last playing with Orlando from 2012 to 2014. On September 22, Chasson Randle was confirmed to be a training camp signing for the Suns that's looking to gain a spot on the roster properly in October, which was made official on September 26.[18] However, Randle was officially waived after their preseason ended on October 16. Then, on September 24, Langston Galloway was confirmed to sign a training camp deal with the Golden State Warriors, though he was waived from the Warriors on October 9. With regards to rookie scale contract extensions, Mikal Bridges was given a 4-year, $90 million extension with the Suns on October 17,[19] while Landry Shamet was given a 4-year, $43 million extension with Phoenix a day later.[20] However, Deandre Ayton failed to get a contract extension of his own before the deadline passed, making him a restricted free agent entering next season. On October 22, the Suns filled their second two-way contract with small power forward Ish Wainright, a Ugandan-American that previously last played for the SIG Strasbourg in France before signing a non-guaranteed contract with the Toronto Raptors in the preseason.[21]
Coaching changes
editDuring the 2021 NBA Finals run on July 12, assistant coach Willie Green agreed to become the new head coach of the New Orleans Pelicans to enter this season.[22][23] On July 25, the Suns agreed to hire Minnesota Timberwolves assistant coach Bryan Gates as a replacement to Willie Green going forward entering this season.[24] On August 7, the Suns officially announced not just the promotion of Kevin Young to Willie Green's former position of associate head coach and the confirmed hiring of Bryan Gates, but also hired former NBA and NBA G League Ignite player Jarrett Jack and Oklahoma City Thunder player development coach Steve Scalzi to initially round out the rest of the coaching staff.[25] On August 22, player development coach Riccardo Fois officially left his position with the Suns to become an assistant coach for the University of Arizona's Wildcats men's basketball team.[26][27] Finally, on September 24, the Suns confirmed that both Riccardo Fois and Ben Strong left their positions as player development coaches for the team, being replaced by the Suns' assistant video coordinator Corey Vinson and the Portland Trail Blazers' video coordinator and player development coach Jamal Gross as a combination of video coordinator and player development coaches for the team.[28] Not only that, but Fort Wayne Mad Ants assistant coach Michael Ruffin was confirmed to be the official assistant coach replacement for Steve Blake, with Jarrett Jack joining Steve Scalzi as player development assistant coaches going into this season.[29]
Front offices changes and Robert Sarver controversy
editOn July 24, Jeff Bower had a mutual agreement with the Suns to officially leave his position as Vice President of Basketball Operations for them going forward.[30] With Larry Fitzgerald confirmed to not be playing in the NFL for at least the majority of the 2021 Arizona Cardinals season, it is presumed likely that Fitzgerald will be given a much greater role with the Suns franchise going into this season under Robert Sarver's ownership group. However, a report from Jordan Schultz on October 22, 2021, suggested that ESPN was going to release a major exposé piece on majority team owner Robert Sarver with regards to rampant racism, sexism, and misogyny involved with him on the team both on and off the court throughout his entire tenure as team owner. While Sarver and other front office members explicitly denied any problems in mind there before the report's release,[31] the actual report on Sarver was released on November 4, detailing all the problems involved with the majority of his time there.[32] While Sarver and a majority of team personnel released public statements on their official website in response to the allegations at hand,[33][34][35][36][37] the NBA began their investigations on the team's executive conduct the same day ESPN's report was released.[38]
Roster
edit| Players | Coaches | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Roster |
Salaries
edit| Player | 2021–22 Salary |
|---|---|
| Devin Booker | $31,650,600 |
| Chris Paul | $30,800,000 |
| Deandre Ayton | $12,632,950 |
| Jae Crowder | $9,720,900 |
| Dario Šarić | $8,510,000 |
| Cameron Payne | $6,500,000 |
| Mikal Bridges | $5,557,725 |
| JaVale McGee | $5,000,000 |
| Jalen Smith | $4,458,000 |
| Cameron Johnson | $4,437,000 |
| Landry Shamet | $3,768,342 |
| Elfrid Payton | $2,389,641 |
| Frank Kaminsky III | $2,239,544 |
| Abdel Nader | $2,000,000 |
| Chandler Hutchison | $462,629 |
| Ish Wainright | $462,629 |
| Total | $129,664,702 |
For this season, the salary cap was set at $112,414,000, with the luxury tax line now being set at $136,606,000.[39][40]
Preseason
editAfter dealing with some changes to the preseason format for last season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the NBA made sure to get their preseason period back into its proper starting point in early October going from this season onward, which includes a healthy number of preseason games to start things out there.[41] While the Suns were still playing in the 2021 NBA playoffs, the Los Angeles Lakers revealed their preseason schedule on June 29, which included a match with the Suns at home on October 6 and a road match in Los Angeles on October 10.[42] Not only that, but on August 17, the Portland Trail Blazers revealed in their preseason schedule that the Suns would play at home against Portland on October 13, with them both revealing they were their final, respective preseason opponents this time around.[43] Then on August 19, the Sacramento Kings revealed they were the first opponent the Suns will have in the preseason with a road game in Sacramento to start things out there.[44] The Phoenix Suns later revealed those four games of theirs were officially their preseason schedule on August 25.[45]
Before the start of their preseason period, Devin Booker was confirmed to be infected with COVID-19 despite getting the COVID-19 vaccine earlier in the previous season alongside the rest of the team playing there. Despite being able to return to practice early, Booker was held out for at least the majority of the preseason period, returning to play for only the final preseason game. Not only that, but the Suns' home games had to be moved to earlier times than originally scheduled due to the team focusing on their matches as doubleheader matches, with the Phoenix Mercury being considered the main events due to them competing in the 2021 WNBA Playoffs against the Las Vegas Aces and Chicago Sky after the Suns' respective matches against the Lakers and Trail Blazers on October 6 & 13. While their first and last preseason games on October 4 & 13 did not air on TV this season, the Suns had their preseason matches against the Lakers air on NBA TV and ESPN respectively for their October 6 & 10 games. After struggling against the Kings to start the preseason, Phoenix won both of their matches against the Lakers (even blowing the Lakers out 123–94 in their second match) before blowing out the Trail Blazers in a 119–74 win at home, finishing the preseason with a 3–1 record.
| 2021 preseason game log Total: 3–1 (home: 2–0; road: 1–1) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Preseason: 3–1 (home: 2–0; road: 1–1)
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| 2021–22 season schedule | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Regular season
editGame log
editStandings
edit| Pacific Division | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div | GP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| z – Phoenix Suns | 64 | 18 | .780 | – | 32–9 | 32–9 | 10–6 | 82 |
| x – Golden State Warriors | 53 | 29 | .646 | 11.0 | 31–10 | 22–19 | 12–4 | 82 |
| pi – Los Angeles Clippers | 42 | 40 | .512 | 22.0 | 25–16 | 17–24 | 9–7 | 82 |
| Los Angeles Lakers | 33 | 49 | .402 | 31.0 | 21–20 | 12–29 | 3–13 | 82 |
| Sacramento Kings | 30 | 52 | .366 | 34.0 | 16–25 | 14–27 | 6–10 | 82 |
| Western Conference | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GB | GP |
| 1 | z – Phoenix Suns * | 64 | 18 | .780 | – | 82 |
| 2 | y – Memphis Grizzlies * | 56 | 26 | .683 | 8.0 | 82 |
| 3 | x – Golden State Warriors | 53 | 29 | .646 | 11.0 | 82 |
| 4 | x – Dallas Mavericks | 52 | 30 | .634 | 12.0 | 82 |
| 5 | y – Utah Jazz * | 49 | 33 | .598 | 15.0 | 82 |
| 6 | x – Denver Nuggets | 48 | 34 | .585 | 16.0 | 82 |
| 7 | x – Minnesota Timberwolves | 46 | 36 | .561 | 18.0 | 82 |
| 8 | pi – Los Angeles Clippers | 42 | 40 | .512 | 22.0 | 82 |
| 9 | x – New Orleans Pelicans | 36 | 46 | .439 | 28.0 | 82 |
| 10 | pi − San Antonio Spurs | 34 | 48 | .415 | 30.0 | 82 |
| 11 | Los Angeles Lakers | 33 | 49 | .402 | 31.0 | 82 |
| 12 | Sacramento Kings | 30 | 52 | .366 | 34.0 | 82 |
| 13 | Portland Trail Blazers | 27 | 55 | .329 | 37.0 | 82 |
| 14 | Oklahoma City Thunder | 24 | 58 | .293 | 40.0 | 82 |
| 15 | Houston Rockets | 20 | 62 | .244 | 44.0 | 82 |
Playoffs
editFor the second straight year in a row, the Suns were in the NBA Playoffs after previously experiencing a decade-long drought from it that started back in the 2010–11 season. It is their first time they reached the Playoffs in back-to-back seasons since the Seven Seconds Or Less era from around the 2004–05 season until the 2007–08 season. The NBA also continued utilizing the play-in tournament set-up that first began in the 2020 NBA Bubble, with this season also being the second one in a row where the play-in tournament has the seventh and eighth best teams in each conference compete for the seventh seed in each conference and the ninth and tenth seeds compete for a shot at the eighth seed for each conference instead.[46] However, this is the first full-length season that will feature the same play-in tournament experiment from the previous season at hand.[47]
Game log
edit| 2022 playoff game log Total: 7–6 (home: 5–2; road: 2–4) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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First Round: 4–2 (home: 2–1; road: 2–1)
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Conference Semifinals: 3–4 (home: 3–1; road: 0–3)
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| 2022 playoff schedule | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Awards and records
edit- From July 23-August 7, 2021, Devin Booker became the first Suns player to play for Team U.S.A. in an Olympiad setting since Shawn Marion and Amar'e Stoudemire in 2004. With the later agreed signing of center JaVale McGee on August 2 (which became official on August 17 after the branded 2020 Summer Olympics ended), Booker and McGee became the first Suns teammates (official or agreed upon) to play for Team U.S.A. since Marion and Stoudemire back in 2004 also.
- With a 97–78 win over Australia on August 5 and an 87–82 win in their rematch against France, both Booker and McGee were named gold medalists for the branded 2020 Summer Olympics. They were not just the first medalists representing the Suns since Shawn Marion and Amar'e Stoudemire won their bronze medals in 2004, but they also became the first gold medalists while representing the Suns since Jason Kidd won a gold medal back in the year 2000.
- On August 18, 2021, Jalen Smith was named a member of the All-Summer League First Team by averaging 16.3 points and a Las Vegas Summer League leading 12.5 rebounds in the four games he played for the Suns, with all four performances resulting in double-doubles for each game.[48]
- On September 11, 2021, former Suns head coach Cotton Fitzsimmons was posthumously inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame as a contributor to the game of basketball.[49][50]
- Both former Suns players Charles Barkley and Steve Nash were named members of the NBA 75th Anniversary Team on October 19, 2021.
- A day later, Chris Paul joined Barkley and Nash as the only other Suns players at that point in time to join the NBA 75th Anniversary Team, as well as was the only current Suns player to join that team. A day after that, Jason Kidd joined Paul, Nash, and Barkley as the few Suns players, former or current, to join the NBA 75.
- On November 2, 2021, former Suns player and coach Paul Westphal and current Suns broadcaster Ann Meyers Drysdale were both inducted into the Arizona Sports Hall of Fame for their sporting contributions to the state of Arizona.[51]
Awards
editWeek/Month
editAll-Star
edit- Chris Paul – 12th All-Star Game
- Devin Booker – third All-Star Game
- Monty Williams – first NBA All-Star Game head coach
Records
edit- On October 22, 2021, the team's second game of the season, Chris Paul became the 47th player in NBA history to reach 20,000 points for their career. Not only that, but he became the first player in league history to ever get to both 20,000+ points and 10,000+ assists in a career, getting his first eight points off of free-throws alone. Paul finished up the night with a double-double of 23 points and 14 assists in a 115–105 win over the Los Angeles Lakers.[52]
- On November 2, Chris Paul overtook both Mark Jackson and Steve Nash respectively to become the new third-highest assist creator of all-time, surpassing both former players in the second quarter of that game. Paul finished the night with another double-double performance, this time recording 14 points and 18 assists, in a 112–100 win at home over his first team, the New Orleans Pelicans.[53]
Team records
editMilestones
edit- On October 30, 2021, Chris Paul tied Antawn Jamison as the 46th highest all-time scorer in NBA history with 16 points scored alongside 10 assists recorded in a 101–92 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
- Two days later, on November 2, Paul overtook not just Jamison, but also former Suns player Tom Chambers' position to become the 45th highest all-time scorer in NBA history. He also overtook both Mark Jackson and former Suns player Steve Nash's positions for the all-time assist leaders to become the new third highest assist creator in league history behind only former Suns player Jason Kidd and John Stockton, finishing the night with a double-double of 14 points and 18 assists in a 112–100 win over the New Orleans Pelicans.
Team milestones
edit- On October 30, 2021, Devin Booker overtook Phoenix Suns Ring of Honor member (and former assistant coach) Dan Majerle to become the second-greatest three-point shooter in franchise history, making two three-pointers to also break through the 800 made three-point shots barrier in a blowout loss to the Portland Trail Blazers.
- On November 6, Devin Booker overtook Phoenix Suns Ring of Honor member (and former head coach) Paul Westphal to become the team's newest eighth highest scorer in franchise history. He finished the night off with a current season-high of 38 points in a 121–117 win over the Atlanta Hawks.
- He also tied Amar'e Stoudemire for overall field goal attempts with the team by attempting 21 shots that night, tying Stoudemire at eighth for most field goal attempts in franchise history. Booker later surpassed him two days later on November 8 against the Sacramento Kings, while also being the 12th player in franchise history to break the 14,000 minutes played barrier with the Suns.
Injuries/Personal missed games
edit| Player | Duration | Reason(s) for missed time | Games missed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Start | End | |||
| Dario Šarić | July 6, 2021 | Unknown | Tore the ACL in his right knee during Game 1 of the 2021 NBA Finals. | ?? |
| Cameron Payne | October 23, 2021 | November 6, 2021 | Right hamstring strain during the road Lakers game. | 5 |
| Deandre Ayton | November 2, 2021 | November 4, 2021 | Right leg contusion during the home Cavaliers game. | 1 |
| Deandre Ayton | November 6, 2021 | Unknown | Lower right leg bruise during the home Rockets game. | ? |
Player statistics
edit| 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 |
Regular season
edit| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mikal Bridges | 82 | 82 | 34.8 | .534 | .369 | .834 | 4.2 | 2.3 | 1.2 | .4 | 14.2 |
| JaVale McGee | 74 | 17 | 15.8 | .629 | .222 | .699 | 6.7 | .6 | .3 | 1.1 | 9.2 |
| Landry Shamet | 69 | 14 | 20.8 | .394 | .368 | .840 | 1.8 | 1.6 | .4 | .1 | 8.3 |
| Devin Booker | 68 | 68 | 34.5 | .466 | .383 | .868 | 5.0 | 4.8 | 1.1 | .4 | 26.8 |
| Jae Crowder | 67 | 67 | 28.1 | .399 | .348 | .789 | 5.3 | 1.9 | 1.4 | .4 | 9.4 |
| Cameron Johnson | 66 | 16 | 26.2 | .460 | .425 | .860 | 4.1 | 1.5 | .9 | .2 | 12.5 |
| Chris Paul | 65 | 65 | 32.9 | .493 | .317 | .837 | 4.4 | 10.8 | 1.9 | .3 | 14.7 |
| Deandre Ayton | 58 | 58 | 29.5 | .634 | .368 | .746 | 10.2 | 1.4 | .7 | .7 | 17.2 |
| Cameron Payne | 58 | 12 | 22.0 | .409 | .336 | .843 | 3.0 | 4.9 | .7 | .3 | 10.8 |
| Elfrid Payton | 50 | 1 | 11.0 | .383 | .222 | .375 | 1.8 | 2.0 | .5 | .1 | 3.0 |
| Ish Wainright | 45 | 0 | 8.0 | .394 | .322 | .583 | 1.2 | .3 | .4 | .1 | 2.4 |
| Bismack Biyombo | 36 | 3 | 14.1 | .593 | .535 | 4.6 | .6 | .3 | .7 | 5.8 | |
| Jalen Smith† | 29 | 4 | 13.2 | .460 | .231 | .769 | 4.8 | .2 | .2 | .6 | 6.0 |
| Torrey Craig† | 27 | 2 | 20.8 | .450 | .323 | .706 | 4.3 | 1.2 | .8 | .6 | 6.9 |
| Aaron Holiday† | 22 | 1 | 16.3 | .411 | .444 | .939 | 2.5 | 3.4 | .8 | .0 | 6.8 |
| Abdel Nader | 14 | 0 | 10.4 | .343 | .286 | .600 | 1.9 | .5 | .6 | .3 | 2.4 |
| Frank Kaminsky | 9 | 0 | 20.1 | .545 | .333 | .900 | 4.6 | 1.4 | .9 | .8 | 10.6 |
| Justin Jackson† | 6 | 0 | 5.8 | .357 | .333 | 1.2 | .3 | .0 | .0 | 2.2 | |
| Chandler Hutchison | 6 | 0 | 3.7 | .500 | 1.000 | .8 | .3 | .0 | .0 | .7 | |
| Gabriel Lundberg | 4 | 0 | 11.0 | .263 | .375 | 1.8 | 2.8 | .8 | .0 | 3.3 | |
| Emanuel Terry | 3 | 0 | 6.0 | .000 | 5.0 | .7 | .3 | .0 | .0 | ||
| M. J. Walker | 2 | 0 | 4.0 | .000 | .000 | .5 | .5 | 1.0 | .0 | .0 | |
| Paris Bass | 2 | 0 | 3.5 | .333 | .000 | 1.000 | 2.0 | .0 | .5 | .0 | 3.0 |
Playoffs
edit| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mikal Bridges | 13 | 13 | 38.5 | .478 | .394 | .933 | 4.7 | 2.8 | 1.1 | 1.0 | 13.3 |
| Chris Paul | 13 | 13 | 34.5 | .561 | .388 | .946 | 4.2 | 8.3 | 1.5 | .2 | 17.5 |
| Deandre Ayton | 13 | 13 | 30.5 | .640 | .500 | .636 | 8.9 | 1.7 | .4 | .8 | 17.9 |
| Jae Crowder | 13 | 13 | 29.5 | .400 | .302 | .731 | 4.7 | 2.4 | 1.0 | .5 | 9.4 |
| Cameron Johnson | 13 | 3 | 24.6 | .465 | .373 | .813 | 3.5 | 1.5 | .4 | .1 | 10.8 |
| Cameron Payne | 13 | 0 | 13.2 | .297 | .167 | .833 | 1.5 | 2.1 | .5 | .1 | 4.2 |
| Landry Shamet | 12 | 0 | 16.0 | .396 | .346 | .714 | 1.7 | 1.3 | .5 | .0 | 4.3 |
| JaVale McGee | 12 | 0 | 11.1 | .700 | .000 | .846 | 4.0 | .6 | .3 | .4 | 6.8 |
| Devin Booker | 10 | 10 | 36.6 | .451 | .431 | .887 | 4.8 | 4.4 | .5 | .4 | 23.3 |
| Bismack Biyombo | 9 | 0 | 9.6 | .647 | .500 | 2.1 | .6 | .1 | .2 | 2.8 | |
| Torrey Craig | 9 | 0 | 7.7 | .364 | .300 | .500 | 1.7 | .6 | .4 | .2 | 2.2 |
| Ish Wainright | 7 | 0 | 3.7 | .417 | .500 | 1.6 | .1 | .1 | .1 | 1.9 | |
| Aaron Holiday | 6 | 0 | 3.3 | .571 | .714 | .000 | .5 | 1.5 | .5 | .2 | 3.5 |
| Elfrid Payton | 2 | 0 | 4.0 | .667 | .0 | 1.5 | .0 | .0 | 2.0 |
- † Denotes player spent time with another team in the season. Stats reflect time with the Suns only.
Transactions
editTrades
edit| July 29, 2021 | To Phoenix Suns Landry Shamet |
To Brooklyn Nets Jevon Carter Draft rights to #29 pick Day'Ron Sharpe |
| February 10, 2022 | To Phoenix Suns Torrey Craig Cash Considerations |
To Indiana Pacers Jalen Smith 2022 second round pick |
| February 10, 2022 | To Phoenix Suns Aaron Holiday |
To Washington Wizards Cash Considerations |
Free agents
editRe-Signed
edit| Player | Signed | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Chris Paul | Signed 4-year partially guaranteed deal worth $120 Million[a] | August 6, 2021 |
| Cameron Payne | Signed 3-year partially guaranteed deal worth $19 Million[b] | August 6, 2021 |
| Abdel Nader | Signed 2-year partially guaranteed deal worth $4,200,000 (Officially gained only $2,000,000 through this season.)[c] |
August 6, 2021 |
| Frank Kaminsky III | Signed 1-year deal worth $2,239,544 | August 9, 2021 |
| Mikal Bridges | Signed 4-year contract extension worth $90 Million | October 17, 2021 |
| Landry Shamet | Signed 4-year partially guaranteed contract extension worth $43 Million[d] | October 18, 2021 |
^ a: Despite the length of the deal, only the first two years of Chris Paul's deal fully guarantee him up to $60 million total. However, his third season in that deal is only partially guaranteed for him, while his fourth and final season includes a team option that is not guaranteed for Paul.
^ b: For Cameron Payne's third and final year, he is only guaranteed $2,000,000 out of the $6,500,000 he could receive that season.
^ c: Abdel Nader's second year had a team option on whether he'd be back by then on that same deal (which would have had a value of $2,200,000 in that season) or not. However, Nader would not make it to the end of his first season back with the Suns due to the same serious injuries that affected his long-term performance last season coming back to harm him this season. This combined with the Suns reacquiring Torrey Craig via trade led to Nader being waived from the team on February 10, 2022.
^ d: For Landry Shamet's final year of his contract, that year is not fully guaranteed for him.
Additions
edit| Player | Signed | Former team(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Elfrid Payton | Signed 1-year deal worth $2,389,641 | New York Knicks |
| JaVale McGee | Signed 1-year deal worth $5 Million | Denver Nuggets |
| Chandler Hutchison | Signed a two-way contract worth $462,629[e] | San Antonio Spurs / Washington Wizards[f] |
| Ishmail Wainright | Signed a two-way contract worth $462,629[e] |  SIG Strasbourg /  Toronto Raptors[g]
|
| Emanuel Terry | Signed a 10-day contract under COVID-19 hardship rules[h] | Stockton Kings |
| M.J. Walker | Signed a 10-day contract under COVID-19 hardship rules[h] | Westchester Knicks |
| Paris Bass | Signed two 10-day contracts under COVID-19 hardship rules[h][i] | South Bay Lakers |
| Bismack Biyombo | Signed 10-day / 1-year contract worth $1,366,392[h][j] | Charlotte Hornets |
| Justin Jackson | Signed two 10-day contracts under COVID-19/injury hardship rules worth $205,662[h][k] | Boston Celtics / Texas Legends[l] |
| Gabriel Lundberg | Signed two-way contract worth $462,629 |  PBC CSKA Moscow[m]
|
^ e: As of the 2020–21 season, two-way contracts now have their salaries at six-digit figures instead of the initially planned five-digit salaries planned back when two-way contracts were first created for the NBA. That means instead of earning what would have been $84,414 for only 45 days in the NBA (excluding the early and later parts of the regular season, regardless of whether they played or not) this season, two-way contracts like Chandler Hutchison and Ishmail Wainright can now earn half of this season's rookie scaled minimum contract (which is $462,629 for this season) while being eligible to play for the entire regular season (but not the NBA Playoffs this season). Players like Hutchison and Wainright are also eligible to play for the 2021–22 NBA G League season for the affiliate team they've signed up for. However, since the Suns officially joined the Portland Trail Blazers as the only team without an NBA G League affiliate team as of this season, any team that isn't the NBA G League Ignite will be eligible for Hutchison and Wainright to join up with for the NBA G League this season, so long as the Suns themselves agree to the team(s) they join up with for this season. Hutchison later played for the Santa Cruz Warriors, affiliate of the Golden State Warriors, during the regular season, while Wainright has ultimately stayed with Phoenix throughout the entirety of his two-way contract.
^ f: Chandler Hutchison was originally last a part of the San Antonio Spurs from August 6 to September 4, 2021 as a part of a very rare five-team trade that also featured the Washington Wizards, Indiana Pacers, Brooklyn Nets, and Los Angeles Lakers. However, he last played for the Washington Wizards as a part of the squad that made it to the 2021 NBA Playoffs after once being considered the worst Eastern Conference team earlier in the season. Even so, because his final year on his previous contract was fully guaranteed due to him being a first-round draft pick back in 2018, he will still receive the full $4,019,459 he was originally going to receive from San Antonio in addition to the two-way contract salary Hutchison is going to get in Phoenix.
^ g: Ishmail Wainright previously last officially played for the SIG Strasbourg in France's LNB Pro A league before signing a two-year non-guaranteed deal with the Toronto Raptors on August 7, 2021, though he was later waived by the end of the preseason on October 17. Wainright was then given a two-way contract with the Suns five days later on October 22, giving him a guaranteed shot to play in the NBA for the first time ever with Phoenix, which ended up occurring a month later in November during their 18-game winning streak.
^ h: From December 20, 2021 until January 17, 2022, the NBA implemented temporary updates to their hardship exception rules to accommodate the number of players being infected by COVID-19 and its other variants during the winter months of the season. Players signed under those rules in that time received money from their 10-day contracts like they normally would, but they did not count toward each team's salary cap space in that period of time. For the Suns, the update resulted in the necessity of re-signing Emanuel Terry onto the team again on December 27, 2021 after he previously played for Phoenix in the 2018–19 season, as well as using additional 10-day contract signings for M.J. Walker and Paris Bass on December 30, 2021 following the announcements of Elfrid Payton (who later tested negative the following day after being announced as a positive test on December 26, 2021, only to confirm that he did have it after all on December 29, 2021), Jae Crowder, Deandre Ayton, JaVale McGee, and Abdel Nader all being infected with the virus near the end of December 2021. The Suns then signed former Charlotte Hornets center Bismack Biyombo at the start of January 2022, with Biyombo eventually being more of a long-term stay for the team by comparison to the other 10-day contracts signed in that time. Finally, the Suns signed 2021 NBA Finals champion Justin Jackson to his 10-day hardship exception contract on January 4, 2022 after it was confirmed that Landry Shamet got infected for it on that day.
^ i: Paris Bass earned himself a second 10-day contract with the Suns on January 12, 2022 due to him being the best performing 10-day contract on the team by the end of 2021 and the start of 2022 (outside of veteran players Bismack Biyombo and Justin Jackson) while also having a shot to potentially earn a two-way contract to replace Chandler Hutchison. Bass signed his second 10-day contract on January 15 due to not only Ishmail Wainright getting COVID-19, but concerns of Chris Paul being infected with COVID-19 once again before ultimately replacing Justin Jackson's position from the team in that period of time.
^ j: Bismack Biyombo later signed a one-year deal worth his veteran's minimum salary of $1,366,392 on January 11, 2022 after showcasing very positive results in his first two games played with Phoenix under his 10-day COVID-19 hardship exception contract.
^ k: Justin Jackson originally signed his first 10-day contract with the Suns in January 2022 due to a good number of players being infected with COVID-19 at the time. While Jackson and the rest of the players that signed 10-day contracts got properly compensated for their time spent with the team, they did not come off of their salary cap due to the COVID-19 hardship exception rules implemented at the time. However, he later received a second 10-day contract with Phoenix in February 2022 due to the Suns dealing with many injuries at the time instead, which means that contract would come out of the team's salary cap for a bit this season. As such, his final salary received combines the salaries of his 10-day COVID-19 exception contract with his 10-day injury exception contract.
^ l: Justin Jackson originally last officially played for the Texas Legends during this season before he signed a 10-day COVID-19 hardship contract exception with the Boston Celtics on December 18, 2021. Once there, he played in only one game with two minutes of playing time for Boston before being one of four Celtics players to be hit with COVID-19 himself on Christmas Eve that year. However, Jackson would recover in time to sign a 10-day COVID-19 hardship exception with Phoenix by January 4, 2022 after previously returning to Texas with the Legends on December 29, 2021. Jackson then returned to the Texas Legends after his first 10-day contract expired before re-signing with the Suns in February 2022 with a second 10-day contract (this time fulfilling a hardship exception instead due to Cameron Payne (and Landry Shamet) being out alongside long-term injuries to Dario Šarić, Frank Kaminsky III, and Abdel Nader earlier on).
^ m: Originally, Gabriel Lundberg signed with the Suns on March 12, 2022 during the time the Russian invasion of Ukraine first began, which led to an early suspension for the PBC CSKA Moscow in the Euroleague and a brief suspension of Russian play. However, visa issues from getting out of Russia and then going from his home nation of Denmark to entering the United States of America resulted in him officially joining the Phoenix Suns on April 3, near the end of the regular season.
Subtractions
edit| Player | Reason left | New team(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Jevon Carter | Traded | Brooklyn Nets / Milwaukee Bucks[m] |
| Torrey Craig | Unrestricted free agent | Indiana Pacers / Phoenix Suns[n] |
| Ty-Shon Alexander | Waived two-way contract |  Segafredo Virtus Bologna / Allianz Pallacanestro Trieste[o]
|
| E'Twaun Moore | Unrestricted free agent | Orlando Magic |
| Langston Galloway | Unrestricted free agent | Golden State Warriors / College Park Skyhawks / Brooklyn Nets / Milwaukee Bucks[p] |
| Chandler Hutchison | Waived two-way contract | Sioux Falls Skyforce |
| Emanuel Terry | Waived 10-day COVID-19 hardship contract exception[q] | Stockton Kings / Orléans Loiret Basket[r]
|
| M.J. Walker | 10-day COVID-19 hardship exception contract expired | Westchester Knicks |
| Paris Bass | Two 10-day COVID-19 hardship exception contracts expired | Phoenix Suns / South Bay Lakers[s] |
| Justin Jackson | Two 10-day COVID-19/injury hardship exception contracts expired[t] | Texas Legends / Phoenix Suns[u] |
| Jalen Smith | Traded | Indiana Pacers[n] |
| Abdel Nader | Waived |  South East Melbourne Phoenix[v]
|
| Frank Kaminsky III | Waived | Atlanta Hawks[w] |
^ m: Originally, Jevon Carter was traded to the Brooklyn Nets as a part of an agreed upon deal during the 2021 NBA draft. However, Carter was waived later on in the season on February 20, 2022 in relation to the Nets acquiring former Suns point guard Goran Dragić. Carter was then acquired by the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks two days later.
^ n: Originally, Torrey Craig left the Phoenix Suns at the start of the 2021 free agency period in order to sign a guaranteed two-year deal worth $10 million with the Indiana Pacers that he would not have gotten with Phoenix at the time. However, by the February 10, 2022 trade deadline, the Pacers no longer viewed themselves as one of the more competitive teams in the Eastern Conference for this season, while the Suns saw themselves having enough room to take on Craig's new contract properly. As such, the Suns and Pacers agreed to a deal that saw Torrey Craig return to Phoenix in exchange for Jalen Smith (and his expiring rookie scale contract) and the Suns' 2022 second-round pick on that day.
^ o: Ty-Shon Alexander originally signed a two-year deal with the Segafredo Virtus Bologna of Italy's Lega Basket Serie A on September 7, 2021 after previously being waived by the Suns on August 27. However, he and the team agreed to waive that deal on February 15, 2022, with Alexander deciding to play for the Allianz Pallacanestro Trieste under a new contract later that same day.
^ p: Langston Galloway originally signed with the Golden State Warriors on September 24, 2021. However, he was waived from the team on October 9, failing to join them officially during the preseason period. Galloway then agreed to play for the College Park Skyhawks in the NBA G League for one game on December 14, 2021 before signing a 10-day hardship exception contract (relating to COVID-19 infections) with the Brooklyn Nets two days later. Galloway then signed a second 10-day contract with Brooklyn Nets on December 26, 2021 before the Nets decided not to sign him up for the rest of the season. Galloway then received a 10-day contract with the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks on January 7, 2022 before ultimately returning to College Park on January 21, 2022 after his 10-day contract expired there. Galloway also took part in Team U.S.A.'s qualification rounds for the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup in the month of February.
^ q: Emanuel Terry previously signed a 10-day contract with the Suns on December 27, 2021 as one of the first players to sign with the Suns through a temporary COVID-19 hardship exception. However, Terry would not get to see his contract all the way through the initially planned 10 days, as his 10-day contract got waived on January 4, 2022 alongside Chandler Hutchison's two-way contract in order for Phoenix to sign Justin Jackson to the team under what became their last new player to sign a 10-day hardship exception through means of COVID-19 infections by early January 2022.
^ r: After being waived by the Suns, Emanuel Terry originally returned to the Stockton Kings of the NBA G League on January 4, 2022 for the rest of the G League's season. However, on April 9, near the end of this season, Terry signed a deal with the Orléans Loiret Basket in France's LNB Pro A for the rest of their current season.
^ s: When Paris Bass' first 10-day contract expired on January 12, 2022, he waited for three days to sign his second 10-day hardship exception with the Suns. However, Bass did not play in his second contract with the Suns, thus leading to an early leave for him in order to return to the South Bay Lakers in the NBA G League.
^ t: Justin Jackson originally signed a 10-day contract on January 4, 2022 before it expired naturally 10 days later. However, due to constant injuries affecting the team throughout that month, the Suns signed Jackson again, this time under a 10-day injury exception contract, on February 1, 2022. The second 10-day contract, however, expired a day earlier than expected on February 10 due to their results in the trade deadline. The addition of Aaron Holiday combined with the return of Torrey Craig resulted in them releasing Jackson early and waiving Abdel Nader early in the season as well.
^ u: When Justin Jackson's first 10-day contract expired on January 14, 2022, he originally returned to play with the Texas Legends in the NBA G League once again. However, he later returned to the Suns on February 1, 2022 for a second 10-day contract with the team after leaving a positive enough impression the first time around for an injury reserve exception. Once that contract was up, however, Jackson returned to the Texas Legends for the rest of this season on
^ v: Due to Abdel Nader's injury, he did not sign with a new team this season. In fact, it wouldn't be until December 12, 2023, when Nadel finally signed up with a new team elsewhere in the world. In this case, he signed with the South East Melbourne Phoenix in the National Basketball League in Australia.
^ w: Due to Frank Kaminsky's injury, he did not sign with a new team this season. However, he did sign with the Atlanta Hawks on July 12, 2022.
References
edit- ^ "2021-22 Phoenix Suns Roster and Stats - Basketball-Reference.com". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 2, 2021.
- ^ "Phoenix Suns arena will be called Footprint Center". CNBC. July 16, 2021. Retrieved October 2, 2021.
- ^ Uggetti, Paolo (July 22, 2021). "The Suns' Future Is Bright, As Long As They Have Monty Williams". The Ringer. Retrieved July 22, 2021.
- ^ "Suns lock up top overall seed in Paul's return". ESPN.com. March 25, 2022. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
- ^ "Suns set franchise record with win No. 63, eliminate Lakers from playoffs". Arizona Sports. April 6, 2022. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
- ^ Cluff, Jeremy. "Phoenix Suns top New Orleans Pelicans in Game 6 to advance to Western Conference semifinals". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
- ^ "Warriors to face Mavericks in West finals after Dallas destroys Suns in Game 7". sports.yahoo.com. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
- ^ SUNS ACQUIRE LANDRY SHAMET FROM BROOKLYN
- ^ SUNS RE-SIGN CAMERON PAYNE
- ^ SUNS RE-SIGN CHRIS PAUL
- ^ SUNS SIGN JAVALE MCGEE
- ^ SUNS RE-SIGN ABDEL NADER
- ^ SUNS RE-SIGN FRANK KAMINSKY III
- ^ SUNS SIGN ELFRID PAYTON
- ^ Bourguet, Gerald [@GeraldBourguet] (August 26, 2021). "The Suns have waived Ty-Shon Alexander https://t.co/OywOMtSmtp" (Tweet). Retrieved October 2, 2021 – via Twitter.
- ^ SUNS SIGN CHANDLER HUTCHISON
- ^ @ZonaHoops_ (September 7, 2021). "Suns Two-Way updates: •Chandler Hutchison signs two-way contract w/PHX to fill one of their 2W slots. •Ty-Shon…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ SUNS SIGN CHASSON RANDLE
- ^ SUNS SIGN MIKAL BRIDGES TO CONTRACT EXTENSION
- ^ SUNS SIGN LANDRY SHAMET TO CONTRACT EXTENSION
- ^ SUNS SIGN ISH WAINRIGHT
- ^ Wojnarowski, Adrian [@wojespn] (July 12, 2021). "Phoenix Suns assistant Willie Green has emerged as the strong frontrunner and the New Orleans Pelicans' choice to become the franchise's next head coach, sources tell ESPN" (Tweet). Retrieved November 8, 2021 – via Twitter.
- ^ Willie Green named New Orleans Pelicans head coach
- ^ Wojnarowski, Adrian [@wojespn] (July 25, 2021). "Phoenix coach Monty Williams is hiring Bryan Gates as an assistant to replace Willie Green, who left to become New Orleans' head coach, sources tell ESPN. Gates will reunite with Williams after working for him for five seasons (2010-2015) with the Pelicans" (Tweet). Retrieved October 2, 2021 – via Twitter.
- ^ SUNS ANNOUNCE COACHING STAFF ADDITIONS
- ^ Arizona Basketball and Tommy Lloyd to hire Riccardo Fois
- ^ Riccardo Fois Joins Arizona Staff as Assistant Coach
- ^ Suns announce coaching staff additions
- ^ Michael Ruffin latest assistant added to Phoenix Suns coaching staff
- ^ The Phoenix Suns and Jeff Bower are parting ways after Finals run
- ^ STATEMENTS FROM ROBERT SARVER, JAMES JONES AND JASON ROWLEY
- ^ Allegations of racism and misogyny within the Phoenix Suns: Inside Robert Sarver's 17-year tenure as owner
- ^ ROBERT SARVER, MANAGING PARTNER, SUNS LEGACY PARTNERS, LLC
- ^ JASON ROWLEY, PRESIDENT & CEO ON BEHALF OF SUNS LEGACY PARTNERS, LLC
- ^ STATEMENT FROM ANDY KOHLBERG, VICE CHAIRMAN - PHOENIX SUNS
- ^ STATEMENT FROM MEMBERS OF THE PHOENIX SUNS AND PHOENIX MERCURY OWNERSHIP GROUP
- ^ @JeffZillgitt (November 4, 2021). "Statement from Suns partial owner and vice chairman Jahm Najafi:" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ @ChrisBHaynes (November 4, 2021). "NBA announces it is launching an investigation into the allegations of Suns owner Robert Sarver" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ "Salary Cap, Tax Line Set for 2021/22 NBA Season".
- ^ "HoopsHype – NBA Salaries – Phoenix Suns". hoopshype.com. August 17, 2020. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
- ^ Back to normal? NBA plans to start 2021-22 season in October
- ^ Lakers 2021 Preseason Schedule Presented by Delta Air Lines
- ^ TRAIL BLAZERS ANNOUNCE TELEVISION BROADCAST TEAM AND 2021-22 PRESEASON SCHEDULE
- ^ Cunningham, Sean [@SeanCunningham] (August 19, 2021). "The 2021-22 preseason schedule for the Sacramento Kings. Oct. 4 vs. Phoenix Suns Oct. 6 at LA Clippers Oct. 11 at Portland Trail Blazers Oct. 14 vs. Los Angeles Lakers https://t.co/VaSpjn7Seh" (Tweet). Retrieved October 2, 2021 – via Twitter.
- ^ "The Suns announced a four-game preseason schedule starting Oct. 4 in Sacramento". brightsideofthesun.com. August 26, 2021. Retrieved September 20, 2021.
- ^ The Tanking Era As We Know It Is Over
- ^ NBA Board of Governors approves Play-In Tournament for 2021-22 season
- ^ JALEN SMITH NAMED ALL-SUMMER LEAGUE FIRST TEAM
- ^ REMEMBERING COTTON
- ^ COTTON FITZSIMMONS TO BE INDUCTED INTO NAISMITH MEMORIAL BASKETBALL HALL OF FAME SATURDAY
- ^ TWO ARIZONA SPORTS HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES WHO EPITOMIZE THE HONOR
- ^ CHRIS PAUL HAVING FUN WITH THE SUNS
- ^ DEFINING CHRIS PAUL'S GREATNESS