
Suns' Updated Roster, Depth Chart After Terrence Ross Contract Agreement
Veteran wing Terrence Ross officially signed with the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday following his buyout from the Orlando Magic.
The Suns executed one of the biggest midseason trades in NBA history when they acquired Kevin Durant from the Brooklyn Nets. Once he's healthy, the 13-time All-Star could make Phoenix the strongest team in the Western Conference for at least this season and next.
The trouble for the Suns is that their depth falls off quite a bit once you get past the axis of Durant, Devin Booker, Chris Paul and Deandre Ayton. They lost Cam Johnson, Mikal Bridges and Jae Crowder in the KD trade, with Johnson and Bridges both members of the starting lineup.
Ross certainly isn't a replacement on par with Bridges, an invaluable two-way player, but he at least provides Phoenix with another body.
Phoenix Suns Depth Chart
- PG: Chris Paul, Saben Lee, Devin Booker, Damion Lee
- SG: Devin Booker, Damion Lee, Josh Okogie, Terrence Ross
- SF: Torrey Craig, T.J. Warren, Josh Okogie, Terrence Ross
- PF: Kevin Durant, T.J. Warren, Ish Wainright
- C: Deandre Ayton, Jock Landale, Bismack Biyombo
With the trade deadline passed, the focus shifted to which players could hit the buyout market. Ross figured to be among the candidates because he was in the last year of his contract and the Magic are continuing with their long-term rebuild.
The Athletic's John Hollinger wasn't sold on the 32-year-old making much of an impact, ranking him 17th on his buyout big board: "He's been much less shot-happy this season and is a 36.2 percent career three-point shooter, but his defense was suspect even at the best of times, and it's not clear whether he's still good enough to crack a playoff team's top dozen players."
Prior to his buyout, Ross averaged 8.0 points and 1.3 assists and shot 38.1 percent from beyond the arc. His 3.8 three-point attempts per game were the second-lowest of his career, though, and there are the aforementioned issues on defense.
Ross ranks 72nd among shooting guards in ESPN's defensive real-plus minus (minus-3.14). He also had the second-worst estimated plus-minus (minus-3.8) on Orlando's roster, per Dunks & Threes.
Especially for a player in his 30s, going from a losing team to a playoff contender can have a refreshing effect. Nicolas Batum looked washed at the end of his Charlotte Hornets tenure a few seasons ago only to become an impactful contributor again with the Los Angeles Clippers.
Ross is a proven long-range threat, and he averaged 14.8 points in 10 playoff contests with Orlando. There isn't a ton of upside with this signing, but he could be a useful contributor off the bench for head coach Monty Williams.





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