2015–16 Phoenix Suns season

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The

Talking Stick Resort Arena
with its new name, having played there since the 1992–93 season, when it used to be called the America West Arena and then later on, the U.S. Airways Center.

Key dates

  • May 19, 2015: The NBA draft lottery took place.
  • May 29, 2015: The Suns reassigned assistant coach
    Bakersfield Jam coach Nate Bjorkgren as a new assistant coach for player development, fired Kenny Gattison as an assistant coach by not renewing his contract, and fired director of player personnel John Treloar.[2]
  • June 3, 2015: Former NBA player and Austin Spurs assistant coach Earl Watson was announced as one of the newest player development assistant coaches.
  • June 10, 2015: President of Basketball Operations Lon Babby announced that after his free agency stint in July, he would step down from his position and take on a new role as a senior adviser.
  • June 17, 2015: Danny Granger exercised his player option with the team so he could play out the rest of his contract.
  • June 25, 2015: The
    Brooklyn, New York; Phoenix selects Kentucky University's shooting guard Devin Booker with their 13th pick and trades their 44th pick (Kentucky University's Andrew Harrison) to the Memphis Grizzlies in exchange for back-up power forward Jon Leuer
    .
  • June 27, 2015: Phoenix announces that former Villanova University player and Austin Spurs assistant coach Jason Fraser accepted the last open player development assistant coach role for the team.[3]
  • June 30, 2015: The
    twins complete their first mandated court appearance after their situation with Eric Hood in January this past season.[4]
    They were projected to meet again on August 3, 2015 in Arizona.
  • July 1, 2015: The NBA free agency period began; Brandon Knight agreed to a 5-year, $70 million offer that was hinted earlier on in June to stay with the Suns; Dallas Mavericks center Tyson Chandler also agreed to be in Phoenix as well for a 4-year, $52 million offer.
  • July 2, 2015: The Suns traded .
  • July 8, 2015: Phoenix acquired CSKA Moscow shooting guard Sonny Weems on a two-year deal (second year being a team option) worth a total of $5.8 million; Phoenix also got point guard Ronnie Price back on a one-year deal worth $1.5 million.
  • July 9, 2015: Teams could sign, trade, extend, and even release players to their own accord, such as signing Tyson Chandler on his contract; Phoenix also agreed to a one-year deal worth $5.5 million with Brooklyn Nets power forward Mirza Teletović after he was released from them.
  • July 17, 2015: The Suns re-signed point guard Brandon Knight and signed power forward Mirza Teletović and guards Sonny Weems and Ronnie Price; Phoenix also waived point guard Jerel McNeal's contract before it became fully guaranteed, even though the Suns' Summer League wasn't over yet.[5]
  • July 19, 2015: T. J. Warren earned All-NBA First Team Las Vegas Summer League Honors for his performance during the 2015 NBA Summer League.
  • July 23, 2015: News was leaked that the Suns would reveal a new black alternate jersey for road matches only. Further information also revealed that the Suns would get a flexible, updated silhouette for a different alternative jersey.
  • July 30, 2015: The Suns announced changes to their coaching staff and front office that includes the recent announcement of
    Bakersfield Jam general manager Bubba Barrage as the team's newest Director of Player Personnel and Antonio Williams as the newest scout, replacing the initial scouting role held by Ronnie Lester.[6]
  • August 1, 2015: Lon Babby stepped down from his old president of basketball operations role and took on the team's senior adviser role; Ryan McDonough then took on that role as well.
  • August 3, 2015:
    his traded brother
    were scheduled to return to Phoenix to complete their second mandated court appearance with the Eric Hood case. However, neither brother showed up and their attorneys asked for their court appearance that day to be waived. As a result, their next pre-trial conference was delayed to September 16, 2015.
  • August 12, 2015: The NBA announced all team schedules for the 2015–16 season, with the Suns opening their season on October 28, 2015 against the Dallas Mavericks, Tyson Chandler's former team.
  • August 24, 2015: The Suns announced that they would put their superstar point guard Steve Nash into the Phoenix Suns Ring of Honor on their October 30, 2015 game against the Portland Trail Blazers, which was also rookie Devin Booker's 19th birthday.[7]
  • September 8, 2015: The Phoenix Suns revealed their newest black alternate jerseys, updated their orange alternate jersey, revealed their updated court design (with the main feature showcasing that the team replaced the "SUNS" ambigram with their old Sunburst logo similar to what they had during the 1990s), and unveiled their new Civic Pride "We Are PHX" movement to the media. The event included Kentucky University alumni Eric Bledsoe, rookie Devin Booker, Archie Goodwin, and Brandon Knight, as well as small forward P. J. Tucker, the newly acquired power forward Jon Leuer, coach Jeff Hornacek, Suns president Jason Rowley, and Phoenix mayor Greg Stanton; the league also fines Markieff Morris $10,000 due to his trade demand comments he's made throughout the past month or two.
  • September 16, 2015: The Morris twins requested a new grand jury as a new mandated appearance after missing their August meeting. Both sides had to have written arguments for and against a new grand jury to precise over the twins' case. Their next meeting took place on October 15, 2015, although neither appeared in court due to their respective obligations to the Suns and Pistons. If their request was denied, the earliest next court date could be November 5, 2015; otherwise, the case would be held back all the way until May 31, 2016.[8] The Suns' signing of Cory Jefferson (and other training camp invitees) became official that day.
  • September 28, 2015: The deadline for all signed players to report to their teams took effect as training camp commenced in Flagstaff; Markieff Morris was the last player to show up for the team when everyone else had been training with each other for at least two weeks.
  • October 3, 2015: The Suns concluded their training camp practices before the start of the pre-season by having a friendly match between themselves at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Team MacLeod barely beat out Team Cotton by the final of 67–66.
  • October 26, 2015: The player options of center Alex Len, shooting guard Archie Goodwin, and small forward T. J. Warren get picked up for the 2016–17 NBA season.[9]
  • October 28, 2015: The Suns started the regular season with a home game against Tyson Chandler's former team, the Dallas Mavericks; Devin Booker made his debut as the first player in the NBA at 18 years old who also had at least one year of college experience.
  • October 30, 2015: Steve Nash became the 10th player to enter the Phoenix Suns Ring of Honor during the second home game of the season against the Portland Trail Blazers; Devin Booker turns 19 years old during the team's first victory of the season.
  • November 25, 2015: The Suns sign Tucson, Arizona native Bryce Cotton on a one-year deal after injuries to back-up point guard Ronnie Price, as well as to starting point guard Eric Bledsoe occurred earlier in the season.
  • December 15, 2015: The starting point for signed free agents to be traded to different teams commences.
  • December 26, 2015: Eric Bledsoe tore his left meniscus and is out for the rest of the season.
  • December 27, 2015: The Suns fired assistant coaches Jerry Sichting and Mike Longabardi for their poor performances throughout the month of December.
  • January 5, 2016: Teams can sign players for 10-day contracts.
  • January 6, 2016: After winning their first game of the new year, the Suns decided to waive away the non-guaranteed deals of Cory Jefferson and Bryce Cotton.
  • January 7, 2016: The Suns signed Lorenzo Brown, former college teammate of T. J. Warren's, to a 10-day contract.
  • January 15, 2016: Contracts for players signed earlier in free agency for teams over the salary cap are now fully guaranteed for the season.
  • January 18, 2016: The Suns re-signed Lorenzo Brown to his second 10-day contract.
  • January 21, 2016: Phoenix re-signed former Suns player Cory Jefferson to a 10-day contract after all of the previous power forwards wound up injured.
  • January 23, 2016: In a close 98–95 victory over the Atlanta Hawks, Tyson Chandler became the first Phoenix Suns player to record multiple games of 20+ rebounds with the team, tied Paul Silas' record for rebounds in one game with 27, and set a new offensive rebounding record with 13, beating out both Charles Barkley and Curtis Perry there in the process.
  • January 26, 2016: With a 113-103 loss, the Suns would earn the dubious honor to be the only team to get swept by the
    76ers
    who would finish 10-72, one of the worst seasons in NBA history.
  • January 28, 2016: The Suns decided to not sign
    D-League
    history) a 10-day contract.
  • February 1, 2016: Head coach Jeff Hornacek was fired after a generally awful season and replaced by assistant coach Earl Watson for the rest of the season; Bob Hill (a former head coach for the San Antonio Spurs and Seattle SuperSonics) took the vacant assistant coach role left by Watson; rookie Devin Booker was announced as a participant for the three-point shootout.
  • February 2, 2016: Before the beginning of Phoenix's 7-game home stand (9 in 10 games) in February, it was announced that small forward T. J. Warren would be out for the rest of the season due to a broken foot he had sustained during a game against the Cleveland Cavaliers in January.
  • February 5, 2016: The Suns signed Orlando Johnson to a 10-day contract days after finding out small forward T. J. Warren would be out for the rest of the season.
  • February 8, 2016: Phoenix re-signed Jordan McRae to his second 10-day contract moving forward.
  • February 10, 2016: Devin Booker was announced as a participant for All-Star Friday's NBA Cares Special Olympics Unified Basketball Game.[10]
  • February 11, 2016: It was announced, a day before the actual event began, that rookie Devin Booker was a contestant for the Rising Stars Challenge after Philadelphia 76ers sophomore power forward/center Nerlens Noel injured himself before the event took place.
  • February 12, 2016: The
    Ontario, Canada
    began.
  • February 18, 2016: The NBA trade deadline takes full effect; Phoenix traded away Markieff Morris to the Washington Wizards in exchange for DeJuan Blair, Kris Humphries, a top-9-protected first-round draft pick, and a $1.56 million traded player exception; the Suns also waived Orlando Johnson to make room for their newest players.
  • February 20, 2016: The Suns signed former
    Idaho Stampede point guard Phil Pressey to a 10-day contract after deciding not to sign Jordan McRae
    for the rest of the year.
  • February 22, 2016: The Suns waived DeJuan Blair.
  • February 24, 2016: The Suns signed former Dallas Mavericks shooting guard John Jenkins to a three-year contract (two years non-guaranteed) two days after deciding to waive DeJuan Blair from the roster.
  • February 28, 2016: After getting their only victory in the month of February, the Suns decided to buy out Kris Humphries' contract (the other player acquired in the Markieff Morris trade) that he first signed with the Washington Wizards in order for it to not affect their salary cap.
  • March 1, 2016: The Suns re-signed Phil Pressey to his second 10-day contract.
  • March 5, 2016: After winning their first road game of the season since December 7, 2015, against the Chicago Bulls with a blowout win against the Orlando Magic, the Suns waived Sonny Weems due to his poor performances throughout the season.
  • March 6, 2016: The road victories the Suns recorded against the Orlando Magic two nights ago and the Memphis Grizzlies that night were exactly a year since the Suns last won two straight games on the road on March 4 and March 6, 2015.
  • March 8, 2016: After winning their second game in a row by beating the
    Qingdao DoubleStar Eagles center and Phoenix, Arizona, native Alan Williams
    to a one-year deal and a 10-day contract respectively.
  • March 11, 2016: The Suns decided not to sign Phil Pressey for the rest of the season after finding out Brandon Knight was healthy enough to return to action for the season.
  • March 18, 2016: Phoenix native Alan Williams signed for the rest of the season, with an option to play for the Suns next season and also participate in their Summer League team after this season.
  • April 1, 2016: Brandon Knight was announced out for the rest of the season due to a sports hernia he reaggravated on his debut as a road opponent against his former team, the Milwaukee Bucks, after trying to dunk on Giannis Antetokounmpo
    . He was fouled on the play in question.
  • April 5, 2016: Forward Mirza Teletović broke the record set by former San Antonio Spurs' Chuck Person at the time during the 1994–95 season to make the most three-pointers as a reserve player with his 165th three-pointer during a loss against the Atlanta Hawks. He finished the season with 179 three-pointers off the bench.
  • April 8, 2016: Brandon Knight had surgery on his hernia in Philadelphia.
  • April 9, 2016: Rookie Devin Booker recorded his 1,000th point with 10:51 left in the first quarter during a 121–100 blowout victory over the New Orleans Pelicans, thus becoming the fourth-youngest player to record 1,000 points in a season, the third-youngest to do it in his rookie season, and the sixth-overall player to record 1,000 points as a teenager.
  • April 11, 2016: It was announced that the Phoenix Suns would take full control over their D-League affiliate team, the
    Northern Arizona Suns
    , starting after this season ended. The Suns thereby became one of 19 NBA teams (as of this season) to have complete control over a single D-League affiliate team.
  • April 19, 2016: The Suns announced that Earl Watson was no longer the interim head coach, and was the full-time head coach for the next three years, effective this new season.
  • May 16, 2016: Devin Booker was voted fourth in the NBA Rookie of the Year Award voting segment, finishing behind Nikola Jokić, Kristaps Porziņģis, and his former college teammate Karl-Anthony Towns.
  • May 19, 2016: Booker was announced as a part of the
    NBA All-Rookie First Team, joining Towns, Porziņģis, Jokić, and the Philadelphia 76ers' Jahlil Okafor. Booker also became the first Suns rookie to join an All-Rookie team (either first or second) since Amar'e Stoudemire in 2003, when he also won the NBA Rookie of the Year Award.[11]

Offseason

Draft picks

Round Pick Player Position Nationality College
1 13 Devin Booker Shooting guard  United States Kentucky
2 44 Andrew Harrison Point guard  United States Kentucky
Devin Booker was selected by the Suns as their 13th pick during the 2015 NBA draft.

The Phoenix Suns have only one first round pick and one second round pick this season. Their sole first round pick was their own that was also a part of the NBA draft lottery. The Suns initially had two other draft picks as well (one from the Minnesota Timberwolves and the other from the Los Angeles Lakers, both of which were coincidentally the top picks of this season's draft), but they were both involved with trades the Suns made last season. Minnesota's first round pick (which had lottery protections this season) was traded to the Boston Celtics, where Phoenix got center Brandan Wright in exchange. However, the Lakers' pick (which was top 5 protected this season) was moved in the trade deadline extravaganza of 2015, with Phoenix gaining guard Brandon Knight from the Milwaukee Bucks (as well as other players and future first round draft picks) in exchange for Milwaukee gaining the Suns' center Miles Plumlee and then-rookie point guard Tyler Ennis, as well as the Philadelphia 76ers' point guard Michael Carter-Williams, and Philadelphia getting the Lakers' protected first round pick out of it. The lone second round pick they have is also the pick they had on their own accord in spite of having a declining record when compared to two seasons ago in the process.

With the 13th pick, the Suns selected shooting guard

Qingdao DoubleStar Eagles
.

Free agency

Players Brandan Wright, Gerald Green, and Marcus Thornton; as well as the returning Earl Barron all became unrestricted free agents as of the end of the 2014–15 NBA season. In addition, combo guard Brandon Knight ended up being a restricted free agent. Small forward Danny Granger was also considered a candidate for unrestricted free agency, but he ended up exercising his player option to take on his final year of his contract for the rest of this season on June 17, 2015. Not only that, but one recent trade the Suns made by trading their most recent second round selection to Memphis for power forward Jon Leuer was fully guaranteed for the rest of the season after having his rights remain with the team after June 29, 2015. Point guard Jerel McNeal also had a team option that would make him an unrestricted free agent, but it had to be decided upon and met before July 21, 2015, which was around the time Phoenix's Summer League campaign ended and a good portion of free agency had been completed. However, unlike the other players that had team options with the Suns, McNeal was waived four days before his contract was guaranteed, on July 17, 2015 during the Summer League, due to his less than stellar performance there.

To start their free agency push, the Suns decided to lock down their biggest trade deadline piece last season,

Marcus Morris, Danny Granger, and Reggie Bullock to the Detroit Pistons in exchange for the Pistons' 2020 second round selection. This move was considered a way for Phoenix to sign LaMarcus Aldridge without taking any hits on their salary cap; unfortunately for the Suns, on July 4, Aldridge instead decided to go to the rival San Antonio Spurs
.

After failing to sign Aldridge, the Suns decided to sign

on November 17, 2015 after failing to make their regular season rotation.

On August 20, 2015, the Suns agreed to training camp deals with former

Grand Rapids Drive on November 12, 2015 instead. However, of all the players there that were training camp invites, only Sims found his way back into the NBA again, signing a deal to play with the Brooklyn Nets
on March 17, 2016.

On November 25, 2015, the Suns signed

Grand Rapids Drive point guard Lorenzo Brown signed a 10-day contract to determine his future value to the team, especially as a backup point guard since Bledsoe was out for the rest of the season. Brown performed well enough to sign a second 10-day contract, especially with Ronnie Price out around that timeline. On January 21, 2016, the Suns decided to have Jefferson return to the roster for a 10-day contract due to the team's power forwards all being out of commission during the January 19 game against the Indiana Pacers. However, on January 28, 2016, Phoenix decided to sign former Philadelphia 76ers selection Jordan McRae
to a 10-day contract in order to replace Lorenzo Brown after his second 10-day contract expired. In the meantime, the Suns decided to not extend Cory Jefferson's deal (again) after most of the team's power forwards returned healthy on January 31, 2016.

During Jordan McRae's first 10-day stint, Phoenix decided to sign another 10-day contract out for former NBA and

California–Santa Barbara Gauchos center/power forward Alan Williams (a Phoenix, Arizona native) to a 10-day contract to replace Humphries in case either Alex Len or Tyson Chandler got injured again. While Phil Pressey did not sign with the team for the rest of the season due to the return of Brandon Knight as the starting point guard on March 11 (even after Knight had his own season-ending injury later on), Alan Williams
got to sign for not just the rest of this season, but also the next season on March 18, 2016, thus finally ending the Suns' free agency spree that season.

The Morris twins situation

Marcus Morris was traded to the Detroit Pistons on July 2, 2015 alongside fellow small forwards Reggie Bullock and Danny Granger
for a future draft pick for both legal and free agent reasons. Both Marcus and his twin brother would later be deemed not guilty for their involvement in an incident with their former mentor, Erik Hood.

For a majority of the past two seasons, many of the problems the team had there as a whole were projected by many fans as problems relating to that of the Morris twins' behaviors (primarily the behavior of Markieff Morris for this season). Before the start of the season, both Markieff and his twin brother

Marcus Morris were subject to many problems both on and off the court, from behaving poorly in front of (now former) head coach Jeff Hornacek to getting multiple technical fouls (some of which occurred in costly situations that season) to calling out the team's fanbase for not stepping up properly to even having an upcoming court case involving a former mentor of theirs named Erik Hood. In an attempt to help cool down the problem earlier on before this season began, the Suns decided to trade what was considered (at the time) the lesser-talented twin brother (Marcus) alongside their influx of small forwards in Reggie Bullock and Danny Granger to the Detroit Pistons on July 2, 2015, in exchange for a 2020 second round draft pick in what was seen as an effort to open up cap space to lure LaMarcus Aldridge away from both the Portland Trail Blazers and the San Antonio Spurs. When that failed, Marcus started lambasting the team's front office and fans for not inquiring with them about the oncoming trade when it happened. Furthermore, it was revealed that on August 3, 2015, both of the Morris twins failed to show up for the pretrial conference that was set for them on that date, which forced the judicial system to delay the case until September 16, 2015.[17] The twins' trail continued well beyond this season, and to the next when they requested a new grand jury,[18] and then having the trial be further delayed to gather evidence on the text messages sent between Eric Hood and Thomasine "Angel" Morris, the other victim in question.[19] The twins' trial continued until October 3, 2017, due to their conflicting schedules as NBA players on different teams by that point in time, where the judge deemed the twins (and former Baltimore Ravens safety Gerald Bowman) not guilty for the attack on Hood due to his story changing from both of the twins being involved in attacking him to just Marcus attacking him, while the other two attackers involved (Julius Kane & Christopher Melendez Jr.) admitted their guilt in the attack earlier on back in September 2017.[20][21][22]
Nevertheless, the trial's results would not change the fates of the twins after the July trade involving Marcus Morris.

On August 11, 2015, Markieff Morris revealed to The Philadelphia Inquirer that he wanted to be traded out of Phoenix, mainly due to how he and his twin brother were notified of the news of the Detroit Pistons trade on July 2, 2015, where Markieff's brother was traded alongside Reggie Bullock and Danny Granger for the Pistons' 2020 second round selection.[23] He was fined $10,000 for his comments. Four days later, he stated his preference to play for either the Houston Rockets (Marcus' original team) or the Toronto Raptors, but he wouldn't mind any other location like the Washington Wizards as well. However, the Suns decided to counter Markieff's demands by saying they would not trade him due to his importance to the team around that time. Despite that notion, he remained adamant about his decision by posting out on his Twitter account that his future would not be in Phoenix, just a day after the Suns wished Markieff a happy 26th birthday, and continued with the attitude a week later saying he won't accept any apologies from the team. At the end of the offseason, though, Markieff remained on the team throughout most of the season, with Marcus continuing to bash the team and their fanbase along the way as a Detroit Pistons player, even claiming he was never really a Phoenix Suns player. It was later revealed that the Suns had tried to work out a trade involving Markieff for eight months before it was finally completed in February, with general manager Ryan McDonough stating that if a better deal for Markieff had come before the start of the season, it would have been done by then.[24] The problem was stated that Markieff himself didn't do the team any favors throughout the majority of the season between his court case with his brother and worries that the behavior he had at the start of the season there would continue for other teams afterwards.

While Markieff suggested that he had learned from the mistakes he made during the summertime, he continued to have problems with the team and even struggled with his performance after his first ever injury as a player in the middle of November. After his injury, Markieff was relegated to a bench role, with times that he didn't even play at all for various reasons. His performance dropped even further from averaging around 13 points and 5 rebounds in 27 minutes of action in November to 6.4 points and 2.9 rebounds in 17 minutes of action in December, with Jon Leuer replacing Markieff at points. It soon reached a point on December 23, 2015 against the Denver Nuggets (which was also the last full game Eric Bledsoe played before a season-ending knee injury three days later) where Markieff threw a towel (accidentally) at head coach Jeff Hornacek after being frustrated at a play. The incident drew parallels to when former Suns player Robert Horry threw a towel at former Suns head coach Danny Ainge back in the 1996–97 Phoenix Suns season.[25] Like Horry, Morris was suspended for two games without pay. However, unlike the Horry situation, Markieff remained with the team for not just the rest of December, but also for the entirety of January and halfway through February. Markieff also ended up lasting longer than Hornacek and two of his top assistants, Jerry Sichting and Mike Longabardi (the latter of which won the 2016 NBA Finals championship later on in the season with the Cleveland Cavaliers). It also caused the Suns to stop playing Markieff altogether for a good amount of time, only relenting with all of their power forwards starting to get injuries during the month of January at certain points.

Markieff Morris eventually got traded to the Washington Wizards for young talent in a 2016 first round draft pick named Marquese Chriss on February 18, 2016.

When head coach Jeff Hornacek was fired on February 1, 2016, and assistant(/former player development) coach Earl Watson replaced him as interim head coach for the rest of the season, Watson tried to designate Markieff as the team's newest leader after having injuries decimate their entire roster. During the five games Morris held that designation, he recorded his best averages for the Suns with 20.7 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 4.6 assists in over 30 minutes of action, even though the team did not win any of those games around that period of time. However, the breaking point for Markieff and the Suns came under Morris' last game on February 9, 2016 against the defending champion Golden State Warriors, where during the first timeout of the game in the first quarter, Markieff went after his teammate Archie Goodwin due to Goodwin not performing well at the time. While the Suns lost a relatively close match to the Warriors, they soon realized that enough was enough with Markieff (and later Goodwin), and then asked to have a first round draft pick and a young player in return for Markieff to go far away from their franchise forever. At the end of the February 18, 2016 trade deadline, despite him wanting to stay with the team by then, the other Morris brother was traded to the Washington Wizards in exchange for power-forward/center combo players DeJuan Blair and Kris Humphries, as well as a top-9 protected 2016 first round draft pick and a $1.56 million traded player exception. Four days after the trade, though, the Suns waived Blair. To replace him, the Suns decided to use their traded player exception to sign John Jenkins to a three-year contract (with the second and third years being non-guaranteed) for the league minimum. Furthermore, the Suns also decided to buy out Kris Humphries' contract that he had for two more years (including this one) on February 28, 2016 in order to help get him to a playoff team in the Atlanta Hawks, while also replacing Humphries with Phoenix, Arizona native Alan Williams to a 10-day contract on March 8, 2016, and then for the rest of the season on March 18, 2016. Both the first round pick from Markieff (which became Georgios Papagiannis) and the 2020 second round pick from Marcus (which eventually became Xavier Tillman) were later traded to the Sacramento Kings as part of a deal in exchange for Marquese Chriss, who was the 8th pick in the 2016 NBA draft.

Coaching changes

On May 29, 2015, it was announced that assistant coach

Bakersfield Jam coach Nate Bjorkgren was Corey's replacement as player development coach (as well as being an assistant head coach in his own accord) and Mark West was relegated back into the front office as a director of player relations. Several days later, former NBA player and Austin Spurs assistant coach Earl Watson was announced as assistant coach duties. Joe Smith was also announced as a potential candidate for another player development assistant coach position. However, on June 27, 2015 — two days after the 2015 NBA draft — the Suns hired former Villanova University player and director of student-athlete development, Harlem Globetrotter, and Austin Spurs
assistant coach Jason Fraser as the last player development assistant coach, being joined by fellow player development coach Irving Roland from the team's 2013–14 season.

On December 27, 2015, a day after losing to the Philadelphia 76ers (who before playing Phoenix had only one victory at that time and ended up with only 10 victories all season long), it was announced that both Earl Watson and Nate Bjorkgren were being promoted to full-time assistant coaches, while both long-time assistant coaches Jerry Sichting and Mike Longabardi were fired (although Longabardi was later hired by the Cleveland Cavaliers, eventually winning the 2016 NBA Finals six months later, while Sichting was reunite with Jeff Hornacek and Corey Gaines on the Knicks the next season). A month later, the Suns' head coach Jeff Hornacek was fired (although he'd find work again as the New York Knicks' head coach on May 18, 2016, while also being reunited with assistant coaches Jerry Sichting and Corey Gaines soon afterwards). Earl Watson became interim coach, replacing Hornacek. Former San Antonio Spurs and Seattle SuperSonics head coach Bob Hill became an assistant coach under Watson as the new head coach. After the season, the Suns designated Watson with the full-time head coach tag for the next three seasons.

Front office changes

On May 29, 2015, it was revealed that former Suns player and assistant coach Mark West was back in the front office role as a director of player relations and

Bakersfield Jam's general manager Bubba Barrage was the new director of player personnel while keeping his role in Bakersfield, and Antonio Williams was the team's newest scout, replacing Ronnie Lester.[26][27] Finally, on September 30, 2015, the team's strength and conditioning coach Mike Elliott was promoted to the director of performance.[28]

Roster

2015–16 Phoenix Suns roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB From
G
2 Bledsoe, Eric Injured (C) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1989–12–09 Kentucky
G
1 Booker, Devin (R) 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 206 lb (93 kg) 1996–10–30 Kentucky
F
10 Budinger, Chase 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 209 lb (95 kg) 1988–05–22 Arizona
C 4 Chandler, Tyson Injured 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1982–10–02 Dominguez HS (CA)
G
20 Goodwin, Archie 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1994–08–17 Kentucky
G
23 Jenkins, John 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1991–03–06 Vanderbilt
G
3 Knight, Brandon Injured (C) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 189 lb (86 kg) 1991–12–02 Kentucky
C 21 Len, Alex 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 260 lb (118 kg) 1993–06–16 Maryland
F/C 30 Leuer, Jon 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 228 lb (103 kg) 1989–05–14 Wisconsin
G
14 Price, Ronnie 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1983–06–21 Utah Valley
F
35 Teletović, Mirza 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 242 lb (110 kg) 1985–09–17
Bosnia & Herzegovina
G/F 17 Tucker, P. J. 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1985–05–05 Texas
F
12 Warren, T. J. Injured 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1993–09–05 NC State
F/C 15 Williams, Alan (R) 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 260 lb (118 kg) 1993–01–28 UC Santa Barbara
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • (DL) On
    assignment
    to D-League affiliate
  • Injured Injured

Roster
Last transaction: {{{access-date}}}

Salaries

Player 2015–16 Salary
Eric Bledsoe $13,500,000
Brandon Knight $13,500,000
Tyson Chandler $13,000,000
P. J. Tucker $5,500,000
Mirza Teletović $5,500,000
Oleksiy "Alex" Len $3,807,120
Devin Booker $2,055,840
T. J. Warren $2,041,080
Ronnie Price $1,499,187
Archie Goodwin $1,160,160
Jon Leuer $1,035,000
John Jenkins $981,349
Chase Budinger $258,082
Alan Williams $114,284
Total $63,952,102

For the first time since the

amnesty clause for the NBA expires. However, they still owe Michael Beasley $777,778 due to the buyout the Suns did on September 3, 2013. Beasley's contract still affects the Suns' salary for both this season and the next. Furthermore, the Suns also bought out Kris Humphries' contract on February 28, 2016, which removed his payments of around $3,440,000 from Phoenix's books in the current season, as well as payout the rest of Sonny Weems' $2,814,000 that he didn't get earlier on (which totals out to $660,000) for the rest of the season on March 5, 2016.[29]

Pre-season

The six pre-season games the Suns played for this season tied the 1975–76 and 1981–82 seasons as the lowest number of pre-season games the Suns had in a season (excluding the lockout shortened pre-seasons of the 1998–99 and 2011–12 seasons).

2015 pre-season game log
Total: 4–2 (Home: 2–1; Road: 2–1)
Pre-season: 4–2 (home: 2–1; road: 2–1)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance
Record
1 October 7 Sacramento W 102–98 T. J. Warren, Jon Leuer (17) Jon Leuer (13) Eric Bledsoe, Ronnie Price (4)
Talking Stick Resort Arena

12,033
1–0
2 October 9 Utah W 101–85 Alex Len (21) Tyson Chandler, Sonny Weems (7) Brandon Knight (7)
Talking Stick Resort Arena

10,773
2–0
3 October 13 Houston L 129–135 (OT) T. J. Warren (21) Mirza Teletović (12) Markieff Morris, Sonny Weems (4)
US Airways Center

12,657
2–1
4 October 16 @ Denver L 81–106 Alex Len (14) Alex Len (8) Sonny Weems (8)
Pepsi Center

8,552
2–2
5 October 20 @ San Antonio W 104–84 Markieff Morris (17) Eric Bledsoe, Jon Leuer (8) Brandon Knight, T. J. Warren (7)
AT&T Center

15,774
3–2
6 October 21 @ Dallas W 99–87 Markieff Morris (18) T. J. Warren (8) Eric Bledsoe (7) American Airlines Center
18,247
4–2
2015–16 season schedule

Regular season

Season standings

Pacific DivisionWLPCTGBHomeRoadDivGP
zGolden State Warriors739.89039‍–‍234‍–‍715–182
xLos Angeles Clippers5329.64620.029‍–‍1224‍–‍179–782
Sacramento Kings3349.40240.018‍–‍2315‍–‍268–882
Phoenix Suns2359.28050.014‍–‍279‍–‍326–1082
Los Angeles Lakers1765.20756.012‍–‍295‍–‍362–1482
Western Conference
#TeamWLPCTGBGP
1zGolden State Warriors *739.89082
2ySan Antonio Spurs *6715.8176.082
3yOklahoma City Thunder *5527.67118.082
4xLos Angeles Clippers5329.64620.082
5xPortland Trail Blazers4438.53729.082
6xDallas Mavericks4240.51231.082
7xMemphis Grizzlies4240.51231.082
8xHouston Rockets4141.50032.082
9Utah Jazz4042.48833.082
10Sacramento Kings3349.40240.082
11Denver Nuggets3349.40240.082
12New Orleans Pelicans3052.36643.082
13Minnesota Timberwolves2953.35444.082
14Phoenix Suns2359.28050.082
15Los Angeles Lakers1765.20756.082

Game log

2015–16 game log
Total: 23–59 (Home: 14–27; Road: 9–32)
October: 2–1 (home: 1–1; road: 1–0)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance
Record
1 October 28 Dallas L 95–111 Brandon Knight (15) Alex Len (8) Eric Bledsoe (4)
Talking Stick Resort Arena

18,055
0–1
2 October 30 Portland W 110–92 Eric Bledsoe (22) Tyson Chandler (12) Brandon Knight (4)
Talking Stick Resort Arena

18,055
1–1
3 October 31 @ Portland W 101–90 Eric Bledsoe (33) Tyson Chandler (11) Eric Bledsoe (6) Moda Center
17,906
2–1
November : 6–8 (home: 4–4; road: 2–4)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance
Record
4 November 2 @ L.A. Clippers L 96–102 Markieff Morris (19) Tyson Chandler (17) Brandon Knight (8)
Staples Center

19,060
2–2
5 November 4 Sacramento W 118–97 Eric Bledsoe (19) Tyson Chandler (11) Eric Bledsoe (8)
Talking Stick Resort Arena

16,497
3–2
6 November 6 Detroit L 92–100 Eric Bledsoe, Brandon Knight (22) Tyson Chandler, P. J. Tucker (10) Eric Bledsoe (4)
Talking Stick Resort Arena

16,676
3–3
7 November 8 @ Oklahoma City L 103–124 Eric Bledsoe (28) Tyson Chandler (8) Eric Bledsoe (11)
Chesapeake Energy Arena

18,203
3–4
8 November 12 L.A. Clippers W 118–104 Brandon Knight (37) Jon Leuer (11) Eric Bledsoe (9)
Talking Stick Resort Arena

17,204
4–4
9 November 14 Denver W 105–81 Eric Bledsoe (30) Mirza Teletović (9) Eric Bledsoe, P. J. Tucker (4)
Talking Stick Resort Arena

16,722
5–4
10 November 16 L.A. Lakers W 120–101 Brandon Knight (30) Brandon Knight (10) Brandon Knight (15)
Talking Stick Resort Arena

18,055
6–4
11 November 18 Chicago L 97–103 Brandon Knight (23) Tyson Chandler (9) Eric Bledsoe (7)
Talking Stick Resort Arena

17,377
6–5
12 November 20 @ Denver W 114–107 Brandon Knight (38) Brandon Knight (11) Brandon Knight (6)
Pepsi Center

12,264
7–5
13 November 22 @ New Orleans L 116–122 Eric Bledsoe (29) Tyson Chandler (10) Brandon Knight (7) Smoothie King Center
16,680
7–6
14 November 23 @ San Antonio L 84–98 Markieff Morris (28) Markieff Morris (8) Brandon Knight (8)
AT&T Center

18,418
7–7
15 November 25 New Orleans L 114–120 Brandon Knight (29) Jon Leuer (12) Brandon Knight (10)
Talking Stick Resort Arena

16,338
7–8
16 November 27 Golden State L 116–135 T. J. Warren (28) T. J. Warren (6) Eric Bledsoe (7)
Talking Stick Resort Arena

18,055
7–9
17 November 29 @ Toronto W 107–102 Eric Bledsoe, Mirza Teletović (20) T. J. Warren (11) Eric Bledsoe (11)
Air Canada Centre

19,800
8–9
December : 4–14 (home: 3–5; road: 1–9)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance
Record
18 December 1 @ Brooklyn L 91–94 Brandon Knight (26) Alex Len (14) Eric Bledsoe (7) Barclays Center
12,787
8–10
19 December 2 @ Detroit L 122–127 (OT) Brandon Knight (22) Alex Len (7) Eric Bledsoe (9) The Palace of Auburn Hills
13,985
8–11
20 December 4 @ Washington L 106–109 Eric Bledsoe (22) P. J. Tucker (13) Eric Bledsoe (7) Verizon Center
17,255
8–12
21 December 6 @ Memphis L 93–95 Eric Bledsoe (23) Jon Leuer (11) Eric Bledsoe (6) FedExForum
16,022
8–13
22 December 7 @ Chicago W 103–101 Brandon Knight (21) Eric Bledsoe (9) Devin Booker (5) United Center
21,337
9–13
23 December 9 Orlando W 107–104 Eric Bledsoe, Brandon Knight (21) Alex Len (14) Eric Bledsoe (9)
Talking Stick Resort Arena

17,637
10–13
24 December 11 Portland L 96–106 Eric Bledsoe (31) Alex Len, Jon Leuer (8) Brandon Knight (10)
Talking Stick Resort Arena

17,028
10–14
25 December 13 Minnesota W 108–101 Brandon Knight (25) Alex Len, P. J. Tucker (7) Eric Bledsoe (9)
Talking Stick Resort Arena

16,919
11–14
26 December 14 @ Dallas L 94–104 Eric Bledsoe (23) Jon Leuer (13) Eric Bledsoe (7) American Airlines Center
19,822
11–15
27 December 16 @ Golden State L 103–128 Mirza Teletović (24) T. J. Warren (8) Eric Bledsoe (8)
Oracle Arena

19,596
11–16
28 December 18 New Orleans W 104–88 Eric Bledsoe (29) Alex Len (13) Eric Bledsoe (9)
Talking Stick Resort Arena

17,227
12–16
29 December 20 Milwaukee L 95–101 Eric Bledsoe, T. J. Warren (18) Tyson Chandler, Alex Len (7) Brandon Knight, Markieff Morris (4)
Talking Stick Resort Arena

16,859
12–17
30 December 21 @ Utah L 89–110 Brandon Knight (26) Mirza Teletović (7) Eric Bledsoe (3)
Vivint Smart Home Arena

19,911
12–18
31 December 23 Denver L 96–104 Brandon Knight (21) P. J. Tucker (13) Brandon Knight (10)
Talking Stick Resort Arena

17,034
12–19
32 December 26 Philadelphia L 104–111 Brandon Knight (21) Tyson Chandler (10) Brandon Knight (7)
Talking Stick Resort Arena

17,548
12–20
33 December 28 Cleveland L 97–101 T. J. Warren (23) Tyson Chandler (8) Brandon Knight, Jon Leuer (4)
Talking Stick Resort Arena

18,319
12–21
34 December 30 @ San Antonio L 79–112 Tyson Chandler, Brandon Knight, T. J. Warren (11) Tyson Chandler (10) Markieff Morris (5)
AT&T Center

18,418
12–22
35 December 31 @ Oklahoma City L 106–110 P. J. Tucker (22) Tyson Chandler (10) Brandon Knight (6)
Chesapeake Energy Arena

18,203
12–23
January : 2–12 (home: 2–4; road: 0–8)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance
Record
36 January 2 @ Sacramento L 119–142 Brandon Knight (23) Brandon Knight, T. J. Warren (5) Brandon Knight, Ronnie Price (5)
Sleep Train Arena

17,317
12–24
37 January 3 @ L.A. Lakers L 77–97 Brandon Knight (25) Alex Len (9) Brandon Knight (9)
Staples Center

18,997
12–25
38 January 6 Charlotte W 111–102 Mirza Teletović (19) Devin Booker (10) Brandon Knight (7)
Talking Stick Resort Arena

16,910
13–25
39 January 8 Miami L 95–103 Brandon Knight (26) P. J. Tucker (11) Brandon Knight, Archie Goodwin (4)
Talking Stick Resort Arena

16,866
13–26
40 January 12 @ Indiana L 97–116 Devin Booker, Mirza Teletović (19) P. J. Tucker (10) P. J. Tucker, Lorenzo Brown (5)
Bankers Life Fieldhouse

15,284
13–27
41 January 15 @ Boston L 103–117 Mirza Teletović (22) Tyson Chandler, Markieff Morris (9) Sonny Weems (5) TD Garden
18,624
13–28
42 January 17 @ Minnesota L 87–117 Brandon Knight (20) Tyson Chandler (8) P. J. Tucker (5) Target Center
14,330
13–29
43 January 19 Indiana L 94–97 Devin Booker (32) Tyson Chandler (14) P. J. Tucker (5)
Talking Stick Resort Arena

16,802
13–30
44 January 21 San Antonio L 89–117 Devin Booker (24) Tyson Chandler (20) Devin Booker (5)
Talking Stick Resort Arena

16,779
13–31
45 January 23 Atlanta W 98–95 Archie Goodwin (24) Tyson Chandler (27) Tyson Chandler, Alex Len (5)
Talking Stick Resort Arena

17,034
14–31
46 January 26 @ Philadelphia L 103–113 Archie Goodwin (26) Alex Len (12) Devin Booker (7) Wells Fargo Center
10,851
14–32
47 January 27 @ Cleveland L 93–115 Devin Booker (16) Tyson Chandler, P. J. Tucker (7) Devin Booker, Archie Goodwin (5)
Quicken Loans Arena

20,562
14–33
48 January 29 @ New York L 84–102 Devin Booker (21) Tyson Chandler (12) P. J. Tucker, Jordan McRae (4) Madison Square Garden
19,812
14–34
49 January 31 @ Dallas L 78–91 Devin Booker (19) Tyson Chandler (13) Archie Goodwin, Markieff Morris (4) American Airlines Center
20,137
14–35
February : 1–9 (home: 1–8; road: 0–1)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance
Record
50 February 2 Toronto L 97–104 Markieff Morris (30) Markieff Morris (11) Archie Goodwin (12)
Talking Stick Resort Arena

15,897
14–36
51 February 4 Houston L 105–111 Archie Goodwin (22) Alex Len (18) Archie Goodwin (7)
Talking Stick Resort Arena

15,723
14–37
52 February 6 Utah L 89–98 Devin Booker (18) Tyson Chandler (14) Markieff Morris (8)
Talking Stick Resort Arena

16,180
14–38
53 February 8 Oklahoma City L 106–122 Markieff Morris (23) Alex Len (8) Archie Goodwin (8)
Talking Stick Resort Arena

16,316
14–39
54 February 10 Golden State L 104–112 Archie Goodwin (25) Tyson Chandler (10) Devin Booker (10)
Talking Stick Resort Arena

18,055
14–40
All-Star Break
55 February 19 Houston L 100–116 Mirza Teletović (25) Kris Humphries (12) Archie Goodwin (4)
Talking Stick Resort Arena

17,102
14–41
56 February 21 San Antonio L 111–118 Alex Len (23) Alex Len (13) Devin Booker (6)
Talking Stick Resort Arena

16,224
14–42
57 February 22 @ L.A. Clippers L 84–124 Archie Goodwin (20) Alex Len (8) Phil Pressey (10)
Staples Center

19,060
14–43
58 February 25 Brooklyn L 106–116 Mirza Teletović (30) Tyson Chandler, Mirza Teletović (11) Phil Pressey (4)
Talking Stick Resort Arena

16,145
14–44
59 February 27 Memphis W 111–106 Alex Len (22) Alex Len (16) P. J. Tucker (7)
Talking Stick Resort Arena

17,101
15–44
March : 5–11 (home: 2–3; road: 3–8)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance
Record
60 March 1 @ Charlotte L 92–126 Alex Len (18) Alex Len (12) Phil Pressey, Ronnie Price (3)
Time Warner Cable Arena

16,849
15–45
61 March 3 @ Miami L 92–108 Devin Booker (34) Alex Len (13) Devin Booker (4)
American Airlines Arena

19,600
15–46
62 March 4 @ Orlando W 102–84 Alex Len (31) Alex Len (15) Devin Booker (6)
Amway Center

17,546
16–46
63 March 6 @ Memphis W 109–100 Devin Booker (27) Alex Len (16) Devin Booker (9) FedExForum
17,291
17–46
64 March 9 New York L 97–128 Devin Booker (32) Alex Len (10) Ronnie Price (6)
Talking Stick Resort Arena

17,105
17–47
65 March 10 @ Denver L 98–116 Devin Booker (35) Alex Len (13) Brandon Knight, Devin Booker, Ronnie Price (5)
Pepsi Center

11,582
17–48
66 March 12 @ Golden State L 116–123 Brandon Knight (30) Alex Len (13) Devin Booker (11)
Oracle Arena

19,596
17–49
67 March 14 Minnesota W 107–104 P. J. Tucker (23) P. J. Tucker (12) Brandon Knight (7)
Talking Stick Resort Arena

17,480
18–49
68 March 17 @ Utah L 69–103 Brandon Knight (17) Alex Len (12) Devin Booker (3)
Vivint Smart Home Arena

18,784
18–50
69 March 18 @ L.A. Lakers W 95–90 Brandon Knight (22) Tyson Chandler (17) Devin Booker (7)
Staples Center

18,997
19–50
70 March 21 Memphis L 97–103 Devin Booker (18) Jon Leuer (13) Brandon Knight (7)
Talking Stick Resort Arena

15,868
19–51
71 March 23 L.A. Lakers W 119–107 Devin Booker (28) Jon Leuer (14) Brandon Knight, Devin Booker (7)
Talking Stick Resort Arena

18,191
20–51
72 March 25 @ Sacramento L 94–116 Devin Booker (26) P. J. Tucker, John Jenkins (8) Ronnie Price (5)
Sleep Train Arena

17,317
20–52
73 March 26 Boston L 99–102 Devin Booker (21) P. J. Tucker (10) P. J. Tucker (5)
Talking Stick Resort Arena

18,055
20–53
74 March 28 @ Minnesota L 116–121 Brandon Knight, Devin Booker (30) Alex Len (13) Brandon Knight, Devin Booker (5) Target Center
11,141
20–54
75 March 30 @ Milwaukee L 94–105 P. J. Tucker (20) Alex Len (15) P. J. Tucker (7)
BMO Harris Bradley Center

15,733
20–55
April : 3–4 (home: 1–3; road: 2–1)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance
Record
76 April 1 Washington L 99–106 Mirza Teletović (24) Tyson Chandler (14) Ronnie Price (8)
Talking Stick Resort Arena

17,345
20–56
77 April 3 Utah L 86–101 Mirza Teletović (24) Tyson Chandler (18) Devin Booker (7)
Talking Stick Resort Arena

17,279
20–57
78 April 5 @ Atlanta L 90–103 Devin Booker (34) Tyson Chandler (13) Ronnie Price (4)
Philips Arena

15,176
20–58
79 April 7 @ Houston W 124–115 Mirza Teletović (26) P. J. Tucker (12) Alex Len (7) Toyota Center
18,227
21–58
80 April 9 @ New Orleans W 121–100 Archie Goodwin (24) Alex Len (11) Devin Booker (5) Smoothie King Center
16,932
22–58
81 April 11 Sacramento L 101–105 Mirza Teletović (26) Alex Len (12) Ronnie Price (7)
Talking Stick Resort Arena

17,288
22–59
82 April 13 L.A. Clippers W 114–105 Mirza Teletović (22) Jon Leuer (14) Archie Goodwin (5)
Talking Stick Resort Arena

18,055
23–59
2015–16 season schedule

Player statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG 
Points
per game
Phoenix Suns statistics
Player GP GS MPG FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Eric Bledsoe 31 31 34.2 .453 .372 .802 4.0 6.1 2.0 0.6 20.4
Devin Booker 76 51 27.7 .423 .343 .840 2.5 2.6 0.6 0.3 13.8
Lorenzo Brown* 8 0 7.6 .320 .125 .750 0.9 1.4 0.4 0.1 2.5
Chase Budinger* 17 0 11.8 .511 .235 .625 1.7 0.9 0.2 0.1 3.2
Tyson Chandler 66 60 24.5 .583 .000 .620 8.7 1.0 0.5 0.7 7.2
Bryce Cotton* 3 0 11.0 .250 .000 .000 0.0 1.0 1.0 0.0 1.3
Archie Goodwin 57 13 19.5 .418 .232 .674 2.5 2.1 0.5 0.2 8.9
Kris Humphries* 4 3 18.5 .278 .300 .750 8.0 1.8 0.8 0.5 7.3
Cory Jefferson* 8 0 6.3 .409 .000 .667 2.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 2.8
John Jenkins* 22 2 13.0 .467 .406 .800 1.6 1.2 0.2 0.0 5.0
Orlando Johnson* 2 0 23.5 .278 .200 .833 4.5 0.0 1.0 1.5 8.0
Brandon Knight 52 50 36.0 .415 .342 .852 3.9 5.1 1.2 0.4 19.6
Oleksiy "Alex" Len 78 46 23.3 .423 .143 .728 7.6 1.2 0.5 0.8 9.0
Jon Leuer 67 27 18.7 .481 .382 .762 5.6 1.1 0.6 0.4 8.5
Jordan McRae* 7 0 11.7 .423 .273 .533 1.1 1.4 0.4 0.0 5.3
Markieff Morris* 37 24 24.8 .397 .289 .717 5.2 2.4 0.9 0.5 11.6
Phil Pressey* 9 0 12.6 .391 .000 .571 0.9 3.2 0.8 0.3 2.4
Ronnie Price 62 18 19.5 .384 .347 .756 1.6 2.4 1.2 0.2 5.3
Mirza Teletović 79 1 21.3 .427 .393 .774 3.8 1.1 0.4 0.3 12.2
P. J. Tucker 82 80 31.0 .411 .330 .746 6.2 2.2 1.3 0.2 8.0
T. J. Warren 47 4 22.8 .501 .400 .703 3.1 0.9 0.8 0.3 11.0
Sonny Weems* 36 0 11.7 .393 .406 .538 1.1 1.3 0.3 0.0 2.5
Alan Williams 10 0 6.8 .417 .000 .643 3.8 0.5 0.4 0.5 2.9
  • Stats with the Suns

Injuries/Personal missed games

Player Duration Reason for Missed Time Games Missed
Start End
Devin Booker November 1, 2015 November 4, 2015 Tweaked ankle during practice 1
Markieff Morris November 13, 2015 November 18, 2015 Sprained left knee during the first quarter against the L.A. Clippers 2
Ronnie Price November 13, 2015 November 18, 2015 Had concussion during the first quarter against the L.A. Clippers 2
T. J. Warren November 18, 2015 November 20, 2015 Illness 1
Eric Bledsoe November 23, 2015 November 25, 2015 Hurt leg after the road New Orleans Pelicans game 1
Tyson Chandler November 25, 2015 November 27, 2015 Illness 1
Tyson Chandler November 29, 2015 December 13, 2015 Hurt right hamstring during the first quarter against Golden State 8
Markieff Morris December 2, 2015 December 4, 2015 Hurt left knee after the road Brooklyn Nets game 1
Markieff Morris December 9, 2015 December 18, 2015 Had a sinus infection after their six-game road trip ended 5
Markieff Morris December 26, 2015 December 30, 2015 Suspended after throwing a towel at coach Jeff Hornacek 2
Eric Bledsoe December 28, 2015 The Rest of the Season Tore his left meniscus during the home Philadelphia 76ers game 48
Ronnie Price December 30, 2015 January 2, 2016 Hurt his toe during the home Cleveland Cavaliers game 2
Jon Leuer December 31, 2015 January 2, 2016 Injured his leg during the road San Antonio Spurs game 1
Brandon Knight January 12, 2016 January 15, 2016 Had food poisoning before the road Indiana Pacers game 1
Olexsiy "Alex" Len January 12, 2016 January 19, 2016 Injured left hand continued bothering him 3
Ronnie Price January 12, 2016 February 19, 2016 Stubbed his great right toe before the road Indiana game 15
Jon Leuer January 19, 2016 January 29, 2016 Had lower back spasms before the home Indiana Pacers game 5
Markieff Morris January 21, 2016 January 26, 2016 Had a right shoulder strain during the first quarter of that same home Indiana game 2
Mirza Teletović January 21, 2016 January 23, 2016 Had a left ankle sprain during the third quarter during that same home Indiana game 1
Brandon Knight January 21, 2016 March 10, 2016 Had a left adductor strain before the first home game against the San Antonio Spurs began 21
T. J. Warren January 31, 2016 The Rest of the Season Injured the middle part of his right foot on the road against Cleveland 34
Oleksiy "Alex" Len February 19, 2016 February 21, 2016 Had a right ankle sprain before the second home game against Houston 1
Tyson Chandler February 21, 2016 February 25, 2016 Had a right shoulder contusion in the second quarter against Houston 2
Tyson Chandler March 23, 2016 March 28, 2016 Had back spasms during the second quarter at home against Memphis 3
Brandon Knight March 25, 2016 March 26, 2016 Had a stomach ache before the road game against Sacramento 1
Jon Leuer March 26, 2016 March 28, 2016 Had a stomach ache before the home game against Boston 1
Mirza Teletović March 30, 2016
April 1, 2016
Had an upset stomach before the road game against Milwaukee 1
Brandon Knight
April 1, 2016
The Rest of the Season Aggravated a sports hernia during the same road game against Milwaukee 7
Jon Leuer
April 1, 2016
April 7, 2016 Had a right ankle strain before the home game against Washington 3
Archie Goodwin April 11, 2016 April 13, 2016 Sprained his left ankle during the second New Orleans road game 1
Tyson Chandler April 11, 2016 The Rest of the Season Under a concussion protocol during the third quarter against New Orleans 2

Awards, records, and milestones

"What strikes a lot of people about Devin is all the other stuff he can do – he's really developed his ball handling, his pick and roll game, he thinks the game at a high level. But I'll be honest, we had no idea he'd be able to do this much, this quickly. Devin has done unbelievably well not just on the court but representing the franchise in the community as well. He was a bright spot for us in a difficult year."

Ryan McDonough, Suns GM[30]

Awards

Week/Month

  • Alex Len was named a Player of The Week candidate for the Western Conference from February 29 – March 6, 2016 for averaging 20 points, 14 rebounds, 1.3 blocks, and 10 free throw attempts per game during that streak.
  • Devin Booker was named the runner-up for the Rookie of The Month award in March for his consistent performances throughout that month, which includes him leading all rookies in points and assists made that month.

All-Star

Records

  • Brandon Knight became the youngest player to record a stat line of 30 points, 15 assists, 10 rebounds, and 4 steals in a single NBA game on November 16, 2015 against the Los Angeles Lakers by doing it while he was 23 years, 349 days old. Knight also became the second Suns player to record a triple-double of 30 points, 15 assists, and 10 rebounds (the first was former All-Star Charlie Scott), as well as the ninth player to record such statistics and only the fourth player (behind Pete Maravich, Magic Johnson, and Russell Westbrook) to record the same stats with four steals. Furthermore, Knight was also the first player since Michael Jordan in 1985 to record a statline similar to the 30 points, 15 assists, and 10 rebounds that Knight had for their first ever triple-double in the league.[31]
  • Devin Booker became the youngest guard in NBA history to record a double-double in points and rebounds instead of through points and assists with the 17 points and 10 rebounds he recorded on January 6, 2016 against the Charlotte Hornets.
    • He also became the youngest player in NBA history to record 10 rebounds as a reserve player off the bench.
  • Rookie Devin Booker also became the youngest guard ever to have four games of at least 27 points and 5 assists, as well as the only guard throughout the entire NBA to record such numbers before turning 20 years old.
  • Mirza Teletović recorded the highest number of three-pointers made by a reserve player on April 5, 2016 against the Atlanta Hawks. Mirza tied the record by the end of the first quarter on that game, and broke the record set by Chuck Person for the San Antonio Spurs during the 1994–95 season in the second quarter with 8:42 left to go.
    • He ended the season with a record-high 179 three-pointers made off the bench, making thirteen more three-pointers in the last four games of April, three of which were victories.

Team records

  • one of the youngest players to ever play in the NBA by remaining 18 years old due to him playing two days before his 19th birthday, in which the earliest time he could play in the regular season (and the only time before his 19th birthday took place) was the October 28, 2015 home game against the Dallas Mavericks. He became the second Suns player to play before his 18th birthday while debuting with the team (the Polish/Swedish forward-center Maciej Lampe made his debut with the Suns 13 days before his birthday during the 2003–04 season despite originally being drafted by the New York Knicks
    in the second round around that time).
  • The 142 points the Sacramento Kings scored on January 2, 2016 was the highest against Phoenix without the help of an overtime since the 1990–91 NBA season.
  • The 22 points scored in the first half of the road game against the Los Angeles Lakers on January 3, 2016 was the franchise's lowest-scoring half ever, beating out the 24 point half set a year earlier at home against the San Antonio Spurs.
  • Devin Booker became the youngest Suns player in history to record his first ever double-double with the team by producing 17 points and 10 rebounds in a 111–102 victory over the Charlotte Hornets on January 6, 2016.
  • Lorenzo Brown scored 7 points in his debut with the Suns on January 12, 2016 against the Indiana Pacers. It made him the highest scoring player on the team during a first game on a 10-day contract.
  • Devin Booker became the youngest Suns player to record 30 or more points by scoring 32 points in a close loss to the Indiana Pacers on January 19, 2016, beating out fan favorite Amar'e Stoudemire at 20 years old (albeit with 38 points). Booker also had the highest number of three-pointers made in a single game for the Suns with six.
  • Tyson Chandler tied the team record for most rebounds recorded in a single game (27) that was initially set by Paul Silas on January 18, 1971 against the Cleveland Cavaliers, and broke the Suns' record for most offensive rebounds by a single player with 13 (the previous best high was 12 with both Charles Barkley and Curtis Perry) in a close 98–95 victory over the Atlanta Hawks> He also became the first Suns player to record consecutive 20+ rebounding games (he'd also record 20 rebounds in a loss to the San Antonio Spurs on January 21, 2016).
  • Archie Goodwin broke the record set by star point guard Kevin Johnson in the 1987–88 season as the youngest player in Suns history to record a double-double in points and assists by scoring 18 points and putting up 12 assists on February 2, 2016 against the Toronto Raptors.
    • Rookie Devin Booker broke that record over a week later on February 10, 2016, with 15 points and 10 assists (as well as 7 rebounds) in a close loss to the defending champion Golden State Warriors. He also became the youngest Suns player to record multiple double-doubles during the regular season, beating out Amar'e Stoudemire in his rookie season. Furthermore, Booker became the second-youngest player behind LeBron James to record a point-assist double-double (beating the Golden State Warriors' Shaun Livingston) and becoming only the third player to record similar statistics at age 19 behind only James and former Suns player Stephon Marbury, as well as the first Suns rookie since Steve Nash in the 1996–97 season to record a point-assist double-double with the team.
  • Phil Pressey became the shortest player in franchise history to record 3 or more blocks in a single game, as well as the most blocks by a point guard in his debut on February 21, 2016, against the San Antonio Spurs.
  • Alex Len became the first player at 22 years old to ever record a game of 19 points, 16 rebounds, and 6 assists for the Suns in the 109–100 victory on March 6, 2016 against the Memphis Grizzlies.
  • The 69 points the Suns recorded against the
    St. Patrick's Day of 2016 tied the lowest number of points scored in a single game for the Suns, with them also recording 69 points on April 7, 2015, against the Atlanta Hawks and on February 10, 2013, against the Oklahoma City Thunder
    .
  • Mirza Teletović becomes the newest team record holder for three-pointers made off the bench for the Suns by him making at least 151 three-pointers (done by making 5 of them in a victory on Kobe Bryant's last game against the Suns on March 23, 2016) over the 150 three-pointers made by Danny Ainge during the 1992–93 season.
    • By extension, he later broke the NBA record set by former San Antonio Spurs player Chuck Person during the 1994–95 season by making at least 165 three-pointers (with three made in a loss to the Atlanta Hawks on April 5, 2016) throughout the season.
      • Mirza ended the season with a season-high 179 three-pointers made off the bench.
  • Devin Booker had the longest streak of making at least one three-pointer in a stretch of 14 games, which was also the longest stretch by a rookie in Suns Franchise history.[32]

Milestones

Team milestones

  • The signing of
    Defensive Player of the Year
    winner — current or former — to become a part of their roster.
  • The Suns won three straight games by 14 or more points, from November 12–16. It was the first time the Suns won three straight games by such a wide margin of victory since the 2009–10 season.
  • Brandon Knight recorded the most 30+ point games for the Suns in their first twelve games of the regular season since Amar'e Stoudemire back in the 2004–05 Phoenix Suns season.
  • Tyson Chandler recorded multiple games of at least 20 rebounds on January 21 and 23, 2016 (including a record-high tying 27 rebounds against the Atlanta Hawks), thus making him the first player to ever record such a feat with the Phoenix Suns.
  • Markieff Morris surpassed former Suns shooting guard Joe Johnson to become the Suns' newest 30th best scorer in team history on February 2, 2016 (which was also interim head coach Earl Watson's debut in coaching the Suns). He scored his 3,848th point by successfully completing a three-point dunk (as in making a regular dunk with an extra free-throw to add onto it) with 5:20 left in the first quarter. Morris scored 14 points in the first quarter and over 30 points in the game (as well as having 11 rebounds and 6 assists) in a loss to the Raptors.
  • Markieff Morris overtook former forward Cedric Ceballos as the new 29th best scorer in Suns history on February 8, 2016 against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Morris scored a game-high 23 points, including making a turnaround jump shot (with a foul for an extra free-throw) to surpass Cedric in the fourth quarter in a loss to the Thunder.
  • Markieff Morris then surpassed former center James Edwards as the Suns' newest 28th best scorer in team history two days later against the defending champion Golden State Warriors. He scored his 14th point by making a jump shot early in the third quarter and recorded a total of 19 points in a loss against Golden State.
  • Devin Booker became the first Suns rookie to record multiple double-doubles in a season since Amar'e Stoudemire during the 2002–03 season on the same February 10, 2016 game against the Warriors (by recording 15 points, 10 assists, and even 7 rebounds) after he recorded his first double-double a month earlier (with 17 points and 10 rebounds) against the Charlotte Hornets.
  • Mirza Teletović was the first player since Amar'e Stoudemire back in the 2009–10 season to record 30 points and 11 rebounds in a single game on February 25, 2016 against his former team, the Brooklyn Nets.
  • The February 25 and 27 home games against the Brooklyn Nets and Memphis Grizzlies marked the first time the Suns had three players recording double-digit rebounds in multiple games, with Mirza Teletović, Tyson Chandler, and Kris Humphries doing it against Brooklyn and Tyson Chandler, P. J. Tucker. and Alex Len doing it against Memphis, since March 31 and April 1, 2008, both of which were against the Denver Nuggets.
  • Devin Booker became the first rookie since Richard Dumas from the 1992–93 season to record multiple games of 30+ points in his rookie season after recording a new (at the time) career-high 34 points on March 3, 2016 in a loss against the Miami Heat to go with the 32 points he'd score earlier in a close loss to the Indiana Pacers. He'd also join former players Cedric Ceballos twice and eventual Phoenix Suns Ring of Honor players Alvan Adams three times and Walter Davis twelve different times as the only other rookies to score 32 or more points for the team in their rookie seasons.
    • Devin Booker had at least five games of 32 or more points (six for 30 or more points) to close out the season, thus making him the second-highest rookie to score 32 or more points during their rookie season.
  • Alex Len became the 100th player in franchise history to score over 1,000 points for the Suns with his 31 points he'd record in a blowout 102–94 victory over the Orlando Magic on March 4, 2016. Furthermore, he became the second-youngest Suns player to ever record a 30+ points and 15+ rebounds (the youngest Suns player to do it was Amar'e Stoudemire four different times), as well as become the first Suns player since Stoudemire in the 2009–10 season to record such numbers for the team.
  • From February 27 to March 6, 2016, Alex Len recorded five straight double-doubles of various performances. This was the longest streak since Shawn Marion with 11 straight double-doubles during the 2000–01 season (with Len being about 70 days younger than Marion at the time). In addition, Len had the longest streak of double-doubles with 12 or more points and rebounds of five games since Shawn Marion in the 2005–06 season, as well as become the first Suns player since Marcin Gortat in the lockout-shortened 2011–12 season to record five straight double-doubles involving points and rebounds.
  • The March 6, 2016 performance where rookie Devin Booker had 27 points and 9 assists in a 109–100 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies made him the first Suns rookie since Michael Finley during his only full season with the Suns in 1996 to record a similar statline in a game, as well as one of six players alongside LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, former Suns player Stephon Marbury, Carmelo Anthony, and Kevin Durant to record such a line while still being a teenager in the NBA.
  • The March 9 and 10, 2016 games against the New York Knicks and the Denver Nuggets, respectively, became the first time a Suns player (rookie Devin Booker) had back-to-back 30+ point games in a season since Amar'e Stoudemire back in 2010.
    • Furthermore, the 35-point performance against the Denver Nuggets made Devin Booker the youngest player to ever have a 35-point game against another NBA team, beating out Amar'e Stoudemire during his rookie season back when he was 20 years old.
  • In the February and March games against the defending champion Golden State Warriors, Devin Booker had two different double-doubles with 15 points and 10 assists (with 7 rebounds) on the February 10th game and then put up 18 points and a new season-high 11 assists on the March 12th game. As a result, Devin Booker became the first Suns rookie since Negele Knight in the 1990–91 season to record multiple games involving double-doubles for points and assists.
    • Furthermore, the game on March where he had 11 assists against Golden State was the highest number of assists in Suns history for a rookie, beating out the record that was set by teammate Archie Goodwin during the 2013–14 season.
  • From February 28 to March 17, 2016, Alex Len recorded a career-high (at this time) 10 straight games of 10 or more rebounds. It was the most recorded under a single stretch of time since Marcin Gortat did it under the lockout 2011–12 season, and he was the youngest player to ever record 10 or more games of 10 or more rebounds for the Suns since Shawn Marion during the 2000–01 season.
  • The four games in which rookie Devin Booker recorded 30 or more points for the month of March was the first time since Amar'e Stoudemire in March 2010 that a Suns player had four or more games with 30 or more points against an opponent.
  • Devin Booker became only the fifth rookie in Suns history to record at least 900 points in franchise history behind only Amar'e Stoudemire, Michael Finley, Walter Davis, and Alvan Adams, and the youngest player in franchise history to do so.
  • The 22.4 points that Devin Booker recorded was the highest for a Suns rookie in the month of March since Walter Davis averaged 25.1 points per game in March 1978.
  • The March 30 and
    April 1 against the Washington Wizards
    .
  • Devin Booker became the youngest player in franchise history to record over 1,000 points as a rookie, beating out the record set by Amar'e Stoudemire, who had gone straight out of high school to play in the NBA. He recorded his 1,000th point on April 9, 2016 with 10:51 left in the first quarter against the New Orleans Pelicans and finished with 16 points in a blowout 121–100 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans. He also became the fifth player in franchise history behind Alvan Adams, Walter Davis, Michael Finley, and Amar'e Stoudemire to record over 1,000 points for the Suns during their rookie seasons.
  • Mirza Teletović tied Eddie Johnson for the most 20+ point games coming off the bench in the month of April with 6 games since the 1983–84 season. He also tied both Isaiah Thomas and Joe Johnson with four straight games of 20+ point outings coming off the bench since the 2000–01 season.
  • Alan Williams became the sixth rookie to record a double-double for the Suns during their first 10 games of their rookie season. He'd join the likes of Markieff Morris, Shawn Marion, Steve Nash, Armen Gilliam, and Georgi Glouchkov since the 1983–84 season by recording a double-double of 14 points and 12 rebounds during the last game of the season with a 114–105 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on April 13, 2016.
  • Devin Booker recorded the highest scoring averages of any Suns rookie since Michael Finley during the 1995–96 season.
  • Devin Booker had the highest number of votes ever for a Suns player in the NBA Rookie of The Year Award voting since Amar'e Stoudemire won the award over #1 draft pick and eventual Hall of Famer Yao Ming in 2003.
  • NBA All-Rookie First Team since the soon-to-be former NBA player Amar'e Stoudemire
    last did it in 2003.

Transactions

Trades

June 25, 2015
To Memphis Grizzlies

United States Andrew Harrison

To Phoenix Suns

United States Jon Leuer

July 2, 2015
To Detroit Pistons
Marcus Morris
United States Reggie Bullock
United States Danny Granger
To Phoenix Suns

2020 second round pick

February 18, 2016
To Washington Wizards

United States Markieff Morris

To Phoenix Suns
United States DeJuan Blair
United States Kris Humphries
2016 Top 9 Protected first round pick
$1.56 Million Traded Player Exception

Free agents

Re-signed

Player Signed Date
Brandon Knight Signed 5-year deal worth $70 Million July 1, 2015
Cory Jefferson Signed a 10-day contract worth $55,722 (total combined earned price $362,878)[a] January 20, 2016

Additions

Player Signed Former Team
Tyson Chandler Signed 4-year deal worth $52 Million Dallas Mavericks
Sonny Weems Signed 2-year (team option) deal worth $5.8 Million[b] Russia PBC CSKA Moscow
Ronnie Price Signed 1-year deal worth $1.5 Million Los Angeles Lakers
Mirza Teletović Signed 1-year deal worth $5.5 Million Brooklyn Nets
Cory Jefferson Signed 1-year non-guaranteed deal worth $845,059[a]
Bakersfield Jam[c]
Bryce Cotton Signed 1-year non-guaranteed deal for $700,901[d] Utah Jazz / Austin Spurs[e]
Lorenzo Brown Signed two 10-day contracts worth $111,444
Grand Rapids Drive / Phoenix Suns[f]
Jordan McRae Signed two 10-day contracts worth $61,775
Delaware 87ers / Phoenix Suns[f]
Orlando Johnson Signed a 10-day contract worth $55,722 Austin Spurs
Phil Pressey Signed two 10-day contracts worth $111,444
Idaho Stampede / Phoenix Suns[f]
John Jenkins Signed 3-year non-guaranteed deal worth $3,211,302 Dallas Mavericks
Alan Williams Signed a 10-day contract / 2-year deal worth $988,920
Qingdao DoubleStar Eagles
Chase Budinger Signed 1-year deal worth $258,082 Indiana Pacers

^ a: While Cory Jefferson initially signed with the Suns when he was the only training camp invitee to become a part of the team earlier in the season, he was waived after the January 7, 2016 game against the Charlotte Hornets, thus earning only a partially guaranteed salary in the process. However, he returned to the Suns on January 20, 2016 for a 10-day contract because the Suns had no other power forwards when Markieff Morris, Mirza Teletović, and Jon Leuer were all out either due to injuries or ailments around that period. Once all three players returned to action when Jefferson was due for a new contract, the Suns decided not to give him another 10-day contract. As a result of those two deals and the time he spent with the group, Jefferson ended up with a total of $362,878 earned throughout with time with the team.
^ b: While Sonny Weems earned guaranteed money throughout his time with the Suns, he was not fully guaranteed. While Sonny was initially guaranteed the money he was fully expected to get this season, he stopped receiving money from the team on March 7, 2016 when he was waived. For the rest of the cash the team owed Weems, he was paid the rest of the amount needed to make sure he was satisfied and left in the process.

Bakersfield Jam
a day earlier. Yet even though he signed a contract with the Jam earlier in the season, he never really played with the Jam until after his 10-day contract expired with the Suns, so it technically meant that Jefferson re-signed with the team when he entered that 10-day contract of his.
^ d: When Bryce Cotton initially signed his one-year deal with the Suns, he signed a non-guaranteed deal that was worth $700,901, similar to what Cory Jefferson was getting when he first signed up with the team. However, when he got waived in the same day that Jefferson first was waived on January 6, Bryce earned about $228,663 for the services he had provided for his hometown sports team.
^ e: Even though Bryce Cotton was originally a player for the Utah Jazz when the season initially began, he started the regular season with player development/assistant/(interim) head coach Earl Watson's former team, the Austin Spurs, before signing his contract with the Suns in November 2015.
Idaho Stampede
(during their last year under that team name) before beginning his tenure with the Suns on February 21, 2016. All three earned two 10-day contracts, but none stayed on the team beyond their required amount of time (including McNeal staying on for two more days because of an NBA rule requiring the player being involved with at least three games during their contract).

Subtractions

Player Reason left New team
Andrew Harrison Traded after being drafted[g]
Iowa Energy[h]
Brandan Wright Unrestricted free agent Memphis Grizzlies
Traded Detroit Pistons[i]
Gerald Green Unrestricted free agent Miami Heat
Marcus Thornton Unrestricted free agent Houston Rockets / Washington Wizards[j]
Earl Barron Unrestricted free agent
Fubon Braves[k]
Jerel McNeal Waived / Unrestricted free agent
Aris Thessaloniki
Cory Jefferson Waived / 10-day contract expired
Bakersfield Jam[l]
Bryce Cotton Waived Austin Spurs / China Xinjiang Tianshin Rural-Commercial Bank Flying Tigers / Memphis Grizzlies[m]
Lorenzo Brown Second 10-day contract expired
Grand Rapids Drive / Detroit Pistons[n]
Orlando Johnson Waived / 10-day contract expired Austin Spurs / New Orleans Pelicans[o]
Markieff Morris Traded Washington Wizards
Jordan McRae Second 10-day contract expired
Delaware 87ers / Cleveland Cavaliers[p]
DeJuan Blair Waived
Los Angeles D-Fenders[q]
Kris Humphries Waived / Contract Buyout Atlanta Hawks
Sonny Weems Waived Philadelphia 76ers / Israel Maccabi Tel Aviv[r]
Phil Pressey Second 10-day contract expired
Idaho Stampede[s]

^ g: While Andrew Harrison never played for the Suns throughout his tenure, he was drafted by the Suns before being traded away for Jon Leuer the same day, thus making him a brief member of the team at that time.

Iowa Energy
. He played with Memphis the following year.
Grand Rapids Drive, throughout the season. Former All-Star small forward Danny Granger, continued to heal from the injury he had back when he was with the Miami Heat and was waived by the Pistons before the start of the season because of it. As of November 16, 2017, Granger made his unofficial retirement with interests like real estate and being a college basketball sports analyst for the CBS Sports Network
taking over his time.
Marcus Morris and Reggie Bullock on the Pistons, he was reunited with former teammate Markieff Morris on the Washington Wizards on March 9, 2016, replacing the injured Gary Neal
in the process.
Fubon Braves
.
Northern Arizona Suns
at the end of the NBA season.
April 1, 2016 for a ten-day contract with the very shorthanded Memphis Grizzlies
, and signed signing with the Grizzlies for the rest of the season on April 11, 2016, although he wasn't able to play for Memphis in the playoffs due to league regulations.
Grand Rapids Drive on March 3, 2017 and did not get another chance to play for the Detroit Pistons
late in the season.
All-Star Weekend before making a brief stint with the New Orleans Pelicans late in March. After he finished his 10-day contract with New Orleans, he went back to Austin again for the rest of the season. Johnson later played for the Guangxi Rhino under the second-tier Chinese National Basketball League's Division A playoffs, but by that time, it was under the beginning of the 2016–17 NBA season
in July 2016 instead of the end of this season in June 2016.
Delaware 87ers on February 25, 2016. After a few days with Delaware, he signed with the eventual champion Cleveland Cavaliers
.
Los Angeles D-Fenders
on February 11, 2017 for a fourth round draft pick.
^
 r: After Sonny Weems being waived by the Suns on March 7, 2016, he was signed by the Philadelphia 76ers a few days later. However, because of an injury involving his leg later in the season, Weems was waived by the 76ers on March 29, 2016, and returned to Europe with future Suns draft pick Dragan Bender and his team, Maccabi Tel Aviv, on a two-year deal worth $5,755,000 on April 7, 2016 (although that deal wasn't official until June 13, 2016 due to Israel's season still going on at the time Weems made that deal).
Northern Arizona Suns
after this season ended.

See also

References

  1. ^ "2015–16 Phoenix Suns Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference.com.
  2. ^ Coro, Paul. "Suns make coaching staff changes, drop Kenny Gattison". The Arizona Republic.
  3. ^ Coro, Paul. "Phoenix Suns make Jason Fraser player development coach". The Arizona Republic.
  4. ^ Margiott, Ben. "Suns' Morris twins mum in Tuesday court hearing". The Arizona Republic.
  5. ^ "Suns Sign Teletovic, Weems, Price". Phoenix Suns.
  6. ^ "Suns Announce Basketball Operations Staff Changes". Phoenix Suns.
  7. ^ Coughenour, Jim (August 24, 2015). "Nash to join Suns Ring of Honor". Bright Side Of The Sun.
  8. ^ King, Dave (September 16, 2015). "Hearings pushed, Morris cleared for Media Day". Bright Side Of The Sun.
  9. ^ King, Dave (October 26, 2015). "Suns keep Len, Warren, Goodwin for 2016–17". Bright Side Of The Sun.
  10. ^ "Delle Donne to Play in NBA Cares Special Olympics Unified Basketball Game at NBA All-Star 2016". OurSports Central. February 10, 2016.
  11. ^ Scheessele, Keith M. (May 19, 2016). "Booker earns All-Rookie First Team honors". Bright Side Of The Sun.
  12. ^ King, Dave (July 1, 2015). "Suns sign Chandler, bring him to Aldridge meeting". Bright Side Of The Sun.
  13. ^ Coro, Paul. "Phoenix Suns add 2 to training-camp roster". The Arizona Republic.
  14. ^ Coro, Paul. "Phoenix Suns add Henry Sims, Cory Jefferson for training camp". The Arizona Republic.
  15. ^ "Report: Phoenix Suns Sign Deonte Burton To Summer Deal". August 26, 2015.
  16. ^ Barloga, Sam (October 15, 2015). "Suns waive Terrico White and Kyle Casey". Bright Side Of The Sun.
  17. ^ King, Dave (February 18, 2016). "Foolishness over". Bright Side Of The Sun.
  18. ^ Coro, Paul. "Morris twins' motion for new grand jury delayed". The Arizona Republic.
  19. ^ Anderson, Sarah. "Ex-Suns Markieff, Marcus Morris court case slowed by cellphone issue". The Arizona Republic.
  20. ^ "Court proceedings continued for Markieff, Marcus Morris".
  21. ^ Garcia, Uriel J. "NBA's Morris twins trial: Witness testifies she saw one brother beat her friend". The Arizona Republic.
  22. ^ Bedore, Gary (October 3, 2017). "Morris twins acquitted of assault charges, now can report to NBA camps". Kansas City Star. Retrieved February 9, 2023.
  23. ^ Pompey, Keith. "Markieff Morris demands trade from Suns". www.inquirer.com.
  24. ^ King, Dave (February 22, 2016). "Watson credited for pumping up Morris trade value". Bright Side Of The Sun.
  25. ^ Joseph, Andrew. "The 10 biggest villains in Arizona sports". The Arizona Republic.
  26. ^ "Phoenix Suns News Headlines". Phoenix Suns.
  27. ^ "Phoenix Suns Announce Staffing Changes". July 31, 2015.
  28. ^ "Phoenix Suns Markieff Morris remains 'happy' camper".
  29. ^ "HoopsHype – NBA Salaries – Phoenix Suns". hoopshype.com. September 22, 2012. Retrieved September 22, 2012.
  30. NBA.com
    .
  31. ^ "Bledsoe, Knight lead way; Warren, Goodwin follow". Bright Side Of The Sun. November 18, 2015.
  32. ^ "Rookie Run: Devin Booker". Phoenix Suns.
  33. ^ Barloga, Sam (January 6, 2016). "TV analysts make history in Phoenix". Bright Side Of The Sun.