Suns will not re-sign free agents Alex Len, Elfrid Payton

The Phoenix Suns won’t re-sign restricted free agent guard Elfrid Payton or unrestricted free agent center Alex Len, opening up more cap space upon the start of free agency Sunday, John Gambadoro of 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station confirmed Wednesday.

By making that decision, the Suns will then formally renounce their rights to Payton and Len, which would have handicapped them with salary cap holds.

Now, Phoenix could open up to about $17 million in space if they also decide to release players on non-guaranteed deals. Alan Williams ($5.5 million), Tyler Ulis ($1.7 million), Shaq Harrison ($1.5 million) and Davon Reed ($1.4 million) are all on non-guaranteed contracts for next season.

All but Harrison have deadlines for making their contracts guaranteed in the next two weeks.

Along with the projected $17 million in cap space, the Suns also have an $8.6 million non-tax-payer midlevel exception and a $3.4 million bi-annual exception available to spend in free agency.

Payton, who was acquired from the Orlando Magic for a second-round pick at the 2018 trade deadline, averaged 11.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and 6.2 assists in 19 games but shot just 44 percent overall and 20 percent from three.

By renouncing Payton’s rights, the Suns gave up the ability to match any contract offers he fields from other teams.

Len, the fifth overall pick in 2015 who signed the Suns’ qualifying offer after underwhelming interest in him as a restricted free agent last summer, averaged 8.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game, appearing in 69 contests in 2017-18.

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