September 12, 2018

A few years in the doldrums have seen the Suns try out various young players, looking to identify core players, while also trying to flank them with veterans who can create the right culture and play with sufficient positional IQ to be able to help on the court as well. The results have been on the wrong side of mixed, though, and so as another era begins after their work on draft night, a few veterans remain on the team with little to tie them to the team for the year.

Arthur is only with the team as filler, swapped out for Jared Dudley above purely so as to be able to give the team enough room to trade for Richaun Holmes. He may add some value to the team as a veteran three-and-D frontcourt option, but in a front court with all of Holmes, Ryan Anderson, Deandre Ayton, Dragan Bender and T.J. Warren (assuming his future is mostly at power forward, which it should be) in it, that role will be so small as to be very dispensable. The same is true to a lesser degree of Chandler, a good player for a long time who can still rebound and move despite his age, although that same age makes him a very good buyout candidate. Considering the lack of roster space right now, and the assumed need to sign De'Andre Melton, either or both of these may happen sooner rather than later. To sign Melton will need both roster spots and cap space; the minimum salary exception and cap room mid-level exception, the two things remaining available to be used here, are both limited to a maximum of two years.

In the backcourt and on the wing, while Ariza was brought in on a one-year deal for a huge amount of money precisely to be a stabilising hand on a team short in all areas last season, it is nonetheless only a one-year deal. If things should go badly again on the court this season, Ariza, very much into the back half of his career, may seek to cash out and join a contender. If they see no chance of him returning next year, Phoenix might let him if he gives back the right amount. And as for Daniels - despite being a good shooter on one of the league's worst shooting teams, he just isn't all that helpful.

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June 29, 2017

Troy Daniels
SG, 6’4, 205lbs, 25 years old, 4 years of experience

Daniels has two attributes; a good three-point shot, and an unabashed confidence. The latter of these two is only sometimes an attribute. Serving as pretty much the total and complete opposite of the man he backs up, Daniels casts up the shots and does pretty much nothing else. A distinctly poor defender, undersized and not very athletic, Daniels is a liability on that end, and also not one to handle the ball at all, despite being a guard. His value comes from the volume of his shots, then. Might as well keep putting them up. But remembering to up-fake and drive close-outs would also be a good move. And remembering to cut rather than just standing there would also help.

Player Plan: Two years and circa. $6.67 million left, both guaranteed. With the new CBA, this won’t be much above his minimum salary, which seems fair.

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July 2, 2014

Troy Daniels - Houston signed Daniels down the stretch of the season to a contract with a team option for 2014/15, and an actual team option for 2014/15, not an unguaranteed contract merely reported as one. They then declined it, which was expected considering their cap space aspirations, but they then extended Daniels a qualifying offer. Under the 2005 CBA, qualifying offers only had to be guaranteed for the same percentage of guarantee as the final season of the previous contract, but under the 2011 CBA, they have to be fully guaranteed regardless. So Daniels now has a $1,016,482 qualifying offer out to him that is fully guaranteed, that he can accept any time, that is his cap number, and that is twice the size of the $507,336 roster charge that Houston would have had had they declined the option and renounced his non-Bird rights. It is odd. If they wanted to retain him as a player, they could have exercised the option, had him enter the same restricted free agency next offseason and keep him dirt cheap in the interim, and while they could always rescind the QO if they needed to and maybe just extended it to keep his price competitively low should anyone come bidding, they could also have not taken the risk. It is odd, especially given Daniels's number of suitors. The Rockets will not have Bird rights on Daniels, remember, and will likely have to match with cap room or an exception, depending on the amount he signs for. Nevertheless, it is known what Daniels does - catches and shoots. And it works. And Houston seems to want him back. And that's all good. Although the predominance of shooting guards on this list might mean they are open to reason.

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January 3, 2014

Houston - Patrick Beverley, Greg Smith and Ronnie Brewer: Despite the injury to Beverley and the lack of minutes for Smith, both are extremely good value at the minimum salary and are sure to stay. Brewer is in much greater danger - having played only 78 minutes all season, Brewer is not needed as a player, and, given the Rocket's predilection for roster turnover, they would no doubt much rather have the open roster spot to keep their options open. After all, they have some Rio Grande Valley Vipers to call up. (Troy Daniels, take note. Everyone else, take note of Troy Daniels.)

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December 10, 2013

Troy Daniels - Daniels is fifth in the D-League with 24.3 points per game, the leading scorer on a Rio Grande Valley Vipers team that is averaging a whopping 134.1 points per game thus far. He is almost exclusively a shooter, but with 93 three point attempts in only seven games, and a 47% success rate, this is nonetheless enticing. Even when he chucks - which he does - he hits enough to often merit it.

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