Suns final preseason PREVIEW: Will we see more Book or more Arms?
Sacramento Kings play Phoenix Suns in a preseason game on Wednesday at 7:00 PM AZ Time. Draymond Green punched a hole in the wall during the Warriors' trip to Japan. He won't be suspended. The NBA season starts after Christmas. Then the teams will see which ones can stay a contender all season long.
The Sacramento Kings are having a good preseason. They are the holders of the longest-running playoff drought in all major sports. Their best player is Domantas Sabonis, but he plays the same position as Keegan Murray. The Kings expect to finish no higher than 10th in the West. They will probably finish 11th or 12th. Suns have their final preseason game on Wednesday. It will be played by Malik Monk, Terence Davis, Alex Len and Kevin Heurter.
The Suns are coming off 64 wins and are betting on 52.5 wins. The team is spooked by the playoff loss, contract negotiations with Ayton, failure to make any upgrades, holdout by Jae Crowder, and ongoing friction between Ayon and coach Monty Williams. Aytons is fine, he got the max. Jock Landale is playing well in preseason. He's getting 10-15 minutes per game. The other backup centers, Dario Saric and Bismack Biyombo, have barely played this preseason, probably because head coach Williams knows exactly what he's got from them.
The Suns have 19 players on their roster. They signed guards Adonis Arms and Saben Lee on Tuesday. The team has to cut down to 15 regular contracts and 2 two-way contracts.
Lee and Arms signed just seven days before the final cutdown day. They won't have time to participate in a full practice before Wednesday's game. The Suns have 14 guaranteed contracts and both two-way contracts. Lee and arms are not as proven as the other minimum salary players Damion Lee, Josh Okogie and Book. In the past five days, about 40 players on the same non-guaranteed preseason deals have been released.
The Suns are one of only two teams without a G-League team of their own or a hybrid affiliate team. Saben Lee and Adonis Arms are on two-way contracts. They are playing in the final preseason game tonight. They play against the Phoenix Suns. The Suns have a 15th roster spot. If Sabens Lee, Adisien Arms and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot don't make the Suns roster, they will have to start from scratch to find their next job.
Chris Paul, Devin Booker, Ayton and Mikal Bridges have been the most active players in the preseason. The next four players have missed a lot of time with injuries. Landry Shamet and Josh Okogie are injured. Bismack Biyombo has played 3 minutes this preseason and is on the roster bubble. The Suns are playing their final preseason game. They are expected to play a game with a deep bench.
