Phoenix Suns waive 2-way forward Chandler Hutchison
Jan 4, 2022, 3:37 PM | Updated: 3:40 pm
The Phoenix Suns have waived two-way forward Chandler Hutchison, the team announced Tuesday.
Hutchison, 25, played 23 total minutes for the Suns across six games.
Despite the Suns’ injury and COVID-19 troubles, leaving them with only 10 active players for a handful of games, Hutchison was never able to take advantage of that opportunity into more playing time.
In Phoenix’s win over the Thunder on Wednesday with Deandre Ayton, Jae Crowder, Abdel Nader, Frank Kaminsky, Dario Saric, Elfrid Payton and Ish Wainright all out, that was the one game in which Hutchison found a spot in the rotation. He played eight minutes.
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At two different points in December, Hutchison spent time in the G League playing with the Golden State Warriors’ affiliate in Santa Cruz.
Those two points made it clear that Hutchison had not been impressing enough in the Suns’ practice settings to earn a bigger role for head coach Monty Williams, especially given Wainright’s ability to do just that after joining the team six weeks after Hutchison on the same two-way contract.
There was reason to believe that Hutchison could be the next reclamation project for general manager James Jones, following in the footsteps of Cam Payne.
Hutchison was a first-round pick in 2018 and the Suns were his fourth team in four years. The 6-foot-6 forward has NBA size and athleticism but hasn’t been able to find his footing in the league.
With the Suns waiving Hutchison, they now have one open two-way spot and another additional roster spot.
Phoenix has five players under health and safety protocols, which has allowed it to add players on 10-day contracts through the hardship exemption. Paris Bass, Bismack Biyombo, Justin Jackson and M.J. Walker have all been signed under that exemption.
The Suns could choose to bring in one of those players on a season-long contract through either of those two open roster spots. Biyombo and Jackson, though, have more than three years of NBA experience, which means they are ineligible for two-ways and would have to be signed under the other opening.
