Phoenix Suns waive veteran Mickael Pietrus - NBA Update
Mickael Pietrus has become an unrestricted free agent after Phoenix Suns waived him through a buyout accord.
"Lon and I have been working on this for the past few days," Pietrus' agent, Bill McCandless, told ESPN.com. "We reached a buyout agreement that's fair for Mickael Pietrus and fair for the Suns. I'm sure Mickael will have options
(once he clears waivers)."
The announcement was made before the team’s preseason finale against the Denver Nuggets on Thursday.
Mickael was traded from Orlando Magic to Suns last year as the part of deal which landed Marcin Gortat to Phoenix; however he failed to make an impression by finishing with an average of 7.4 points and 2 rebounds. Just few days
ago, Pietrus was traded to Toronto Raptors in exchange of a second round pick in 2015; however Raptors suspended the trade one day later because he caught a knee injury that would take at least a month to heal.
Now that he is out of the Phoenix, it will be interesting to see which team shows interest in the veteran. Chances are that playoff teams such as Boston Celtics, New York Knicks and Los Angeles Lakers would be looking to acquire
him in order to add some experience to their bench.
Mickael started his NBA career with Golden State Warriors and although his rookie and sophomore years weren’t that successful, he showed shades of brilliance in the third by finishing with an impressive average of 11.1 points and
4.5 rebounds per game.
His performance deteriorated the very next season and therefore, he was traded to Orlando Magic. In his first outing for Magic, he scored 20 points and later in the season, led Magic to an outstanding win over the Dallas.
He established himself as an important player for the Magic, however his stats were not consistent enough and was let go by Magic too.
He is only 29 years old and there is still lot of basketball left in him, however he needs to pick up his game if he wishes to extend his career further. If he fails to do so, there might not be many suitors for him in the years
to come.
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