PHOENIX SUNS

Phoenix Suns’ Channing Frye: Why would I not want to come back?

Apr 18, 2014, 12:38 AM | Updated: 12:39 am

LISTEN: Channing Frye, Suns forward

Back in the summer of 2011, Channing Frye was a free agent.

Coming off a season that saw him average 11.2 points and 5.3 rebounds per game while helping the Suns get to the Western Conference Finals, he had a considerable amount of leverage.

He parlayed that leverage into a five-year, $30 million contract that included a player option for the 2014-15 season.

Now it’s time for Frye to decide whether or not he wants to play next season with the Suns for $6.8 million or test the free agent waters.

“Of course, right now it’s not tough to say I want to be in Phoenix, but I don’t have to make this decision — and I just found this out — until the end of June,” Frye told Burns and Gambo on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM Thursday. “So I have a lot of time to not only talk with the Suns and talk with my agent and my family.

“It’s not something that’s on my mind right now.”

Fair enough.

Frye is coming off a surprising season of his own, starting all 82 games after missing the entire 2012-13 campaign due to a heart ailment. His averages of 11.1 points and 5.1 rebounds per game are about in line with what he did the last time he was up for a new contract, though his shooting percentage wasn’t quite as good.

Nevertheless, Suns GM Ryan McDonough has said the team would like to have the 30-year-old back next season, either to finish out the remainder of his current contract or on a new deal signed this summer.

But Frye, who says he has a great relationship with the Suns’ front office, said he’s not ready to turn his attention to his contract yet.

“I’m really just soaking up this season and enjoying my time with my family,” he said. “But of course I want to come back. I think anybody who’s worked with an organization as awesome as the Suns, me being from Phoenix, loving the fans, loving the city and seeing where we’re going for the future, why would I not want to come (back)?”

Frye, though, said he understands the NBA is a business, acknowledging that everyone has to do what’s best for them with regards to his future, but professed confidence he has not played in a Suns uniform for the last time.

“Listen, I have no worries that we’re going to work it out and it’s going to be beneficial for both parties,” he said.

Frye intimated he would not decline the option unless a long-term deal was on the table, though he noted a lot goes into whether or not he’d want to be with the Suns for the long haul.

He said everything from the players on the team and its coach to the city where he’d be living are all factors.

“I haven’t really even thought about it because I haven’t looked at any other situation, I don’t know anything,” he said. “All I know is Phoenix, and so right now Phoenix is 100 percent my choice until something magically comes up.

“If nothing magically comes up then we have nothing to talk about.”

Phoenix Suns

Isaiah Thomas...

Dan Bickley

Isaiah Thomas signing is a wild swing for Suns in desperate times

Isaiah Thomas is a born fighter. He’s beaten the odds. The chip on his shoulder is permanent. It’s easy to rally around a player like him.

12 hours ago

...

Arizona Sports Video

Video: Bickley Blast: Are the Phoenix Suns superstars done with Frank Vogel?

On Monday's Bickley Blast, Dan Bickley asks the question if the Suns' superstars have had bad body language recently and if it's because they want Frank Vogel gone.

17 hours ago

Dalton Knecht, Tennessee...

Damon Allred

Here’s who Phoenix Suns fans should be watching during March Madness

The Phoenix Suns are slated to have a first-round pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, and they could select one of the stars of the NCAA Tournament.

1 day ago

Damian Lillard #0 of the Milwaukee Bucks dribbles the ball against Grayson Allen #8 of the Phoenix ...

Kellan Olson

Suns’ shocking lack of urgency continues in loss to Bucks without Giannis

The Phoenix Suns are playing like they have been afforded the luxury of time. But they are just about to run out of it.

2 days ago

Josh Okogie #2 of the Phoenix Suns handles the ball during the second half of the NBA game at Footp...

David Veenstra

Suns’ Josh Okogie out for matchup vs. Bucks, Antetokounmpo also out

Phoenix Suns' Josh Okogie is out for Sunday's game against the Bucks. Okogie has missed the past seven games with a lower abdominal strain.

2 days ago

Isaiah Thomas...

Damon Allred

Isaiah Thomas to return to Suns on 10-day contract, per report

Nearly two years since his last NBA minutes, point guard Isaiah Thomas is planning to sign a 10-day contract with the Phoenix Suns.

2 days ago

Phoenix Suns’ Channing Frye: Why would I not want to come back?