Report: Suns plan to pull qualifying offer for C Jock Landale
Jun 30, 2023, 3:06 PM | Updated: 3:39 pm
The Phoenix Suns are planning to pull their qualifying offer to center Jock Landale, per Yahoo Sports’ Jake Fischer.
The move would make Landale an unrestricted free agent who is free to sign anywhere.
Landale filled a reserve role behind Deandre Ayton last year. Across 69 games played, the big man averaged 6.6 points on 52.8% shooting to go along with 4.1 rebounds and one assist in 14.2 minutes per contest.
The Suns heavily relied on him near the end of their postseason when he was thrust into the starting lineup ahead of Game 6 of the Western Conference Semifinals against the Denver Nuggets in a win-or-go-home matchup after Ayton was injured.
He responded well, scoring 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting while snagging five rebounds, registering a block and finishing plus-7 in a game Phoenix lost by 25.
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Landale made four starts over the course of the regular season in Phoenix as he split time in the backup role with Bismack Biyombo.
Landale has become a fan favorite in the Valley with his high motor on the court as well as some of his social media interactions.
He currently slots in to play a backup role to Ayton in head coach Frank Vogel’s new system, that is if the team holds onto the 2018 No. 1 pick.
Landale went undrafted out of Saint Mary’s in 2018. He was the West Coast Conference Player of the Year in 2017-18, winning the award over the likes of Gonzaga stars Rui Hachimura and Killian Tillie. Additionally, Landale made two First Team All-WCC teams over his four seasons.
After college, he bounced around on a few Summer League teams before playing in two different European Leagues in addition to one season in the New Zealand Basketball League with Melbourne United, where he won a championship.
Landale then signed with the San Antonio Spurs for his first action in the NBA, albeit in a limited role, in 2021-22. He averaged 4.9 points and 2.6 rebounds in 10.9 minutes across 54 games played.
The Australian was a part of the Dejounte Murray trade in 2022 that shipped them to the Atlanta Hawks. A week later, the Suns traded cash to the Hawks for Landale.
