Report: Suns free agent workout includes Jabari Parker, Stanley Johnson
Jun 26, 2023, 10:24 AM
Jabari Parker #20 of the Boston Celtics looks on during a game against the Brooklyn Nets at TD Garden on November 24, 2021 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Malhotra/Getty Images)
(Photo by Maddie Malhotra/Getty Images)
The Phoenix Suns are hosting a workout for free agents on Wednesday that includes former lottery picks Jabari Parker and Stanley Johnson, according to Bleacher Report’s Chris Haynes.
Parker, 28, has been out of the NBA since January 2022. The No. 2 overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft spent his first four seasons with the Milwaukee Bucks before going to Chicago, Washington, Atlanta, Sacramento and Boston over the next four seasons.
After averaging over 20 points a game with the Bucks 51 games into his third NBA season, Parker tore the ACL in his left knee for the second time in three years. This limited his mobility going forward, drastically changing his effectiveness. He has averaged 14.1 points per game across 310 games.
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Johnson is a 27-year-old similar journeyman that played under Suns head coach Frank Vogel in L.A. with the Lakers during the 2021-22 season. The Arizona Wildcat was used as more of a small-ball 5, his new role in the NBA. Johnson previously went eighth in the 2015 NBA Draft before three-and-a-half years with the Detroit Pistons. He then played for the New Orleans Pelicans, Toronto Raptors, Lakers and San Antonio Spurs.
Johnson was waived by the Spurs in February and then played three games in the G League for the Sioux Falls Force. He played 15.6 minutes per game across 30 appearances in San Antonio.
Workouts ahead of or during free agency aren’t terribly uncommon for players on the edge of the league looking to get back in. Phoenix will be doing its due diligence. The Suns’ recent blockbuster trade of Bradley Beal just about locked them into a fate of only being able to sign players in free agency to the veteran’s minimum.
The free agency process in the NBA begins on Friday at 3 p.m. Arizona time when teams can start speaking with players. That is the beginning of the negotiating period, when many deals will be reported on instantly.
