Former Suns 1st-round pick Marquese Chriss waived by Warriors

The rocky NBA career of Marquese Chriss rolls on.

The former Phoenix Suns first-round draft pick was waived by the Golden State Warriors late Monday night, according to multiple reports. Chriss was the odd man out with the team looking to add two-way guard Damion Lee to the 15-man roster for the remainder of the season.

The decision comes following a 111-98 loss to the Sacramento Kings. The Sacramento-native recorded eight points on 28.6% shooting (2-for-7), five rebounds, a block and an assist in 15 minutes. Chriss played in 37 games for the Warriors (three starts), averaging 7.4 points and 5.4 rebounds in 17.7 minutes.

It seemed Chriss had won over his Golden State peers, with Draymond Green blaming the Suns, not the power forward, for his demise in Phoenix.

“I don’t think there was ever a doubt he was a legit NBA player,” Green told reporters back in October. “I think he’s been in some pretty tough situations. No one ever blames the situation, it’s always the kid. Nobody ever blames these (expletive) franchises.

“It’s not always the kid’s fault. He’s getting older now so he’s not a kid anymore but he came into the league as a kid.”

The Warriors represented the third stop for Chriss since being traded in August 2018. After two seasons with the Suns, Chriss went on to play for the Houston Rockets (18-19) before being traded a second time to the Cleveland Cavaliers. He played in 16 and 27 games for each team, respectively, before signing on with the Warriors in September.

Chriss marks the latest Suns first-rounder not on an active NBA roster in 2020, joining Josh Jackson and Dragan Bender.

Jackson has only played at the G-League level as a member of the Memphis Hustle this season, while Bender has ran with the Wisconsin Herd for most of the 2019-20 season. The forward last played at the NBA ranks back in December. He saw the court just three times as a Milwaukee Buck.

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