Details emerge regarding Suns’ Marquese Chriss’ suspension
Feb 5, 2018, 3:48 PM | Updated: 4:29 pm
Phoenix Suns forward Marquese Chriss, front, looks to pass the ball as Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, of Serbia, defends in the first half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2018, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
(AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Details have been revealed regarding Marquese Chriss’ suspension for Sunday’s game against the Charlotte Hornets.
According to 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station’s John Gambadoro, the Suns have a rule that if a player does not play 20 minutes in a game that the player has to do work after the game, usually an estimated seven minutes of cardio, and potentially something else.
The system is designed to keep players in shape. The rule has been in place for quite some time and is not uncommon across the NBA.
Chriss played only 14 minutes against the Utah Jazz Friday and began icing right away after the game instead of doing his required training. The weight room coach asked where Chriss was and he said he wasn’t aware of his minute total. Chriss took the ice off, went to go do the work and the weight room coach wanted to make sure Chriss was aware of this being something that he should be keeping track of.
Chriss was upset by the coach continuing to tell him this and then the coach told him to leave the room. The decision to keep Chriss away from the team Sunday followed after the front office and ownership heard about the argument.
The 20-year-old No. 8 selection by the Suns in the 2016 NBA Draft came into the season out of shape, and even past the season’s halfway point, interim coach Jay Triano admitted he’s still not 100 percent there.
He noted after a Jan. 31 win over the Mavericks that having Chriss on a shorter spurt of minutes was due to him not being all the way up to the team’s expectations.
“Until he gets to the conditioning level that we want, that’s the way we’ll keep using him,” Triano said.
On Sunday Chriss was listed as out due to a violation of team rule for the Suns’ 115-110 loss to Charlotte.
“He violated a team rule. He probably won’t be with us for the game tomorrow,” Suns general manager Ryan McDonough said in a statement to 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station on Saturday. “He’s a good kid who had a bad moment. We look forward to seeing him on Monday morning so we can turn the page and move on.”
Chriss spoke on Monday after practice.
“I have nothing to say about it,” he said. “I think it’s over with. It’s something we handle internally. That was their decision of what happened and I embrace it. I take responsibility for what I did and we’re just trying to move on from it and keep the season going.
“What happened with me was my problem.”
Triano also commented on Chriss’ actions Monday.
“He knows what the rules are and what we expect,” he said. “It’s unfortunate but he’s a young kid. He’s gonna learn and he’s gonna have a long career and he’s gonna be better because of this experience.”
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