NBA Free Agency - Phoenix Suns acquire Channing Frye and Hakim Warrick
Amongst the free agency saga was another young contender named Channing Frye who came to NBA in 2005 and was drafted as the 8th pick by the New York Knicks. Channing scored 30 points in his first game; he soon was known to be the best rookie in the NBA and was awarded the NBA ALL-Rookie First Time. Later that year he was traded to Portland Trail Blazers for Fred Jones, Dan Dickau, and Randolph, but after a year in 2009 his contract ended and he signed on to Phoenix Suns to a two-year contract for $3.8M which ended this year as he become part of the free-agent summit.
Channing Frye turns out had no better option, he was told he was liked by different teams and they were interested but were not quite ready as they all seemed to be lost in the thought of somehow acquiring, LeBron James, Chris Bosh and and Dwyane Wade who now are in the Miami Heat.
After a long wait for the three’s decision, the teams realized they had no better option and came after Frye especially after realizing Amar’e Stoudemire. Phoenix made sure that Frey knew that he was their top priority now.
After signing the deal with Phoenix Suns, Frye said “Phoenix was adamant about getting a deal done, and I was like, 'Hey, if you want me that bad and I want to go back that bad, there can't be anything wrong with that”. He also said that everyone in the NBA was twiddling their thumbs waiting for the three to make their decision.
Frye extended his deal for $30M with the Phoenix Suns for five years; on the other hand Phoenix lost their star power forward Amar’e Stoudemire to the New York Nicks for a contract of around $100M for five years. Although it worked out in other ways for the Suns as they made a sign and trade deal which earned them several million dollars.
They later used the money to sign a former Chicago Bulls player Hakim Warrick, and agreed to pay him $18M for a four year contract. They acquired him when they realized Stoudemire was not going to come back.
Warrick was drafted in 2005 in the No.1 round as the 18th pick by the Memphis Grizzlies, after playing with them for four years he decided to join the Milwaukee Bucks who later traded him to the Chicago Bulls.
The 6feet 9 inches tall player has an average of 10 points per game. He has quite an athletic body for his size and is quite good at catching rebounds. Although Warrick cannot replace Stoudemire but he can add a bit to the team for lousing their star player.
Alvin Gentry who is the Suns coach said that they have observed Warrick for a while now and they like his ability to run the floor and finish well, they also like the fact that he has been quite consistent ever since he joined the NBA. Alvin also stated that he will be great besides veterans like, Grant Hill and Steven Nash.
Regardless the thought of losing a dynamic player like Stoudemire has really cost them a lot and it will be quite tough for the team to get over it. Also the fact that Nash and Hill are quite aged now, Nash who turns 37 and Hill who will be 38 in the following months, are losing their touch and not getting younger as the years pass. The two have suffered a lot of injuries during the past few years that has relatively slowed their performance.
So how does Phoenix Suns future look? Well Leandro Barbosa and Jason Richardson are still there to support their team, and adding Frye and Warrick to their roster can enhance their performance a bit. However, if we look back in history even when the Suns had Stoudemire they were an average team. As a result the team will really need to work on their game in the coming year or the thought that the Suns will make it to the playoffs will just be another wish of theirs which has not been answered yet.
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