2017–18 Phoenix Suns Season

The 2017–18 Phoenix Suns season was the 50th season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as well as their 25th season at the Talking Stick Resort Arena. It was also their third season in five in which the Suns earned a top-five draft pick in the NBA Draft, which became the second straight year of gaining the #4 pick in Josh Jackson.

Three games into the season, head coach Earl Watson was fired. Guard Eric Bledsoe implied he wanted out of Phoenix and was barred from playing with the team by general manager Ryan McDonough and fined $10,000. Under interim head coach Jay Triano, the Suns started 4–1 after suspending Bledsoe. The Suns later traded Bledsoe to the Milwaukee Bucks on November 7, 2017 in exchange for center Greg Monroe and two protected draft picks. After dealing with point guard problems and injuries, the Suns traded for Elfrid Payton on February 8, 2018, in exchange for a second round pick they had previously acquired.

Key dates

*April 17, 2017: Phoenix Suns' general manager Ryan McDonough is confirmed to continue staying as the team's general manager and President of Basketball Operations for at least this season.
*April 18, 2017: Steve Albert announces his retirement from broadcasting.
*May 4, 2017: Sideline reporter Kevin Ray is confirmed to be the new play-by-play broadcaster for the Phoenix Suns starting this season.
*May 16, 2017: The NBA Draft Lottery took place, with the Suns holding the #4 despite having the second-best odds at the #1 pick. Devin Booker and Noah Smith, an 11-year-old Suns fan with microdeletion syndrome and Special Olympics athlete, represented the Suns during the event, while the Original Sun Dick Van Arsdale participated as the team's representative for the lottery pick's official placement.
*June 22, 2017: The 2017 NBA Draft took place at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York; the Suns selected small forward Josh Jackson from the University of Kansas with their top pick in the draft, while Phoenix's second round picks were seniors shooting guard Davon Reed of the University of Miami and combo forward Alec Peters from Valparaiso University at picks 32 and 54, respectively.
*July 1, 2017: The NBA free agency period began.
*July 2, 2017: Phoenix offered a four-year deal worth $24 million to center/power forward Alan Williams, a player that was born and raised in Phoenix; Mike James of the Panathinaikos Athens Superfoods B.C. agrees to being the first two-way contract in franchise history.
*July 3, 2017: The Suns officially provide a two-way contract for two-time summer league invite point guard Mike James, who previously went to Eastern Arizona College before going to Lamar University and then playing in European leagues, with his most recent stop being with the Panathinaikos Athens Superfoods B.C. in Greece; Leandro Barbosa was also waived, receiving $500,000 from the team.
*July 19, 2017: Former Suns player James Jones retired from playing basketball in order to be named the team's Vice President of Basketball Operations; Ryan McDonough was confirmed to a contract extension as the President of Basketball Operations and general manager until at least the 2019–20 season.
*July 20, 2017: Brandon Knight was confirmed to miss the entire season after tearing his ACL.
*July 26, 2017: Alan Williams signed his three-year deal worth $17 million, with his second and third years being non-guaranteed.
*July 30, 2017: The Suns were confirmed to face off against the Brisbane Bullets of the Australian National Basketball League at Talking Stick Resort Arena.
*August 10, 2017: The Phoenix Suns unveiled new home and away jerseys, displayed as both the Association and Icon designs, respectively.
*August 14, 2017: The NBA announces every team's official schedules for the season, as well as the Suns having three nationally televised games on ESPN and one game on TNT.
*August 22, 2017: The Suns sign the Sudan-born shooting guard Peter Jok from the University of Iowa to a partially guaranteed deal.
*August 25, 2017: It was confirmed that rookie shooting guard Davon Reed would miss 4–6 months of playing time due to surgery on his left meniscus; Brandon Knight also had surgery on his torn anterior cruciate ligament that day and missed the entire season.
*September 14, 2017: Tyler Ulis leaked the Suns' retro jersey design from the late 1960s and early 1970s; NBA 2K18 also revealed at least one of the Suns' alternate jerseys for the season.
*September 15, 2017: The Suns unveiled their new alternate jersey design called the "Statement".
*September 21, 2017: Center Alex Len agreed to a one-year qualifying offer worth $4.2 million to remain with the Phoenix Suns.
*September 22, 2017: Former #1 pick in the 2013 NBA Draft Anthony Bennett was announced as the team's last training camp candidate for the season; Alan Williams was confirmed to have partially torn his meniscus during practice after accidentally landing on teammate Marquese Chriss; Troy Daniels was acquired as a temporary back-up shooting guard via a trade with the Memphis Grizzlies alongside Memphis' own 2018 middle second round draft pick from either themselves, the Charlotte Hornets, or the Miami Heat in exchange for giving up a Top-55 protected second round draft pick; Marquese Chriss unveiled the Hardwood Classics design representing the team's first home jersey for the 50th season in the NBA.
*September 25, 2017: Media Day for the Suns commences with Alex Len officially confirming his one-year deal was signed and T. J. Warren is going to sign a four-year contract extension worth $50 million.
*October 1, 2017: The Suns unveiled the rest of their new NBA uniforms as a part of the NBA's newest deal with Nike.
*October 3, 2017: The NBA announced changes to the 2018 NBA All-Star Game, where two captains pick the starters and reserves for their teams; Phoenix began their preseason with a 114–112 road win against the Portland Trail Blazers.
*October 6, 2017: After a 112–101 preseason loss to the Utah Jazz, it was announced that Suns Ring of Honor and Hall of Famer Connie Hawkins had died.
*October 11, 2017: Before a preseason game against the Portland Trail Blazers began, the Suns waived training camp invitees Peter Jok and Anthony Bennett.
*October 13, 2017: Before the game against Australia's Brisbane Bullets commenced, the Suns signed a French power forward Tidjan Keita. The Suns defeated the Brisbane Bullets by a score of 114–93.
*October 14, 2017: The Suns announced their final roster to enter the regular season, with both the recently signed Tidjan Keita and the partially guaranteed Elijah Millsap being cut alongside the previously cut Peter Jok and Anthony Bennett.
*October 18, 2017: The regular season began against the Portland Trail Blazers wearing their retro uniforms; throughout the rest of the season, the Suns wore a black "Hawk" patch on their jerseys to commemorate the memory of Connie Hawkins.
*October 20, 2017: Before beginning the second game of the season against the Los Angeles Lakers, the Suns held a memorial service for the Connie Hawkins outside the stadium.
*October 22, 2017: After point guard Eric Bledsoe announced he wanted out of Phoenix, the Suns fired head coach Earl Watson after the third game of the season; Jay Triano, the former associate head coach of the team, became the interim head coach for the rest of the season; Nate Bjorkgren, Mehmet Okur, and Jason Fraser were also fired from the coaching staff.
*October 23, 2017: Phoenix won their first game with a 117–115 win over the Sacramento Kings.
*October 24, 2017: The Phoenix Suns hired Northern Arizona Suns head coach Tyrone Ellis, as well as assistant coaches Bret Burchard and Brandon Rosenthal, to take over the vacant assistant coaching spots; Josh Jackson was fined $35,000 for a menacing hand gesture against the fans of the Los Angeles Clippers during Earl Watson's last game as head coach for the Suns on October 21.
*November 7, 2017: The Suns traded disgruntled point guard Eric Bledsoe to the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for center Greg Monroe and protected future 1st and 2nd round picks.
* November 23, 2017: The NBA fully revealed their penultimate jerseys of the season, the "Statement" jersey. The "Statement" jersey for Phoenix involved a mixture of the 1990s black alternate jersey and the 2000s "PHX" alternate jersey.
*December 6, 2017: Shooting guard Devin Booker strained his adductor in the game the previous day and was announced for two to three weeks.
*December 7, 2017: The Suns signed point guard Mike James from his two-way contract to an extended contract for the rest of the season while waiving small forward Derrick Jones Jr.
*December 8, 2017: Phoenix signed Danuel House to fill their remaining two-way contract.
*December 13, 2017: Isaiah Canaan signed with the team under the team's disabled player exception following the injuries to Brandon Knight, Davon Reed, Alan Williams, and Devin Booker.
*December 14, 2017: NBA 2K18 leaked the entire NBA's final jerseys of the season, named the "City" jerseys. In Phoenix's case, their jerseys used the "Los Suns" moniker from previous seasons, but the color of the jersey became purple instead of orange as in previous seasons with the Los Suns name.
*December 22, 2017: The Suns waived former two-way contracted point guard Mike James from the team before Devin Booker returned from his injury.
*December 23, 2017: Isaiah Canaan's contract was converted to a full, one-year, veteran's minimum contract.
*December 26, 2017: Devin Booker returned from injury and recorded 32 points, 6 assists, and 5 rebounds in a 99–97 win over the Memphis Grizzlies.
*December 27, 2017: The "City" jersey was revealed via Nike's website.
*January 31, 2018: Isaiah Canaan fractured his left ankle.
*February 1, 2018: Center Greg Monroe was waived; Josh Gray of the Northern Arizona Suns signed a 10-day contract with the Phoenix Suns to replace Isaiah Canaan.
*February 8, 2018: On the trade deadline, the Suns traded the second round pick they had previously acquired from the Troy Daniels deal to the Orlando Magic in exchange for Elfrid Payton; Isaiah Canaan was waived.
*February 11, 2018: Josh Gray signed his second 10-day contract with the team.
*February 16, 2018: The 2018 NBA All-Star Weekend in Los Angeles begins.
*February 17, 2018: Devin Booker won the three-point contest recording a record-high 28 points in the final round.
*February 20, 2018: Shaquille Harrison of the Northern Arizona Suns signs a 10-day contract, replacing Josh Gray.
*March 13, 2018: Shaquille Harrison signed a multi-year deal with the Phoenix Suns.
*March 26, 2018: Center Alan Williams made his debut following his injury.
*March 31, 2018: Five former Phoenix Suns members – Charlie Scott, Jason Kidd, Steve Nash, Rick Welts, and Grant Hill were named members of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
*April 6, 2018: Devin Booker was confirmed as one of 35 potential players for the Team USA Basketball squad for the 2018–2020 (later 2021) period, being the Suns first player since both Amar'e Stoudemire and Shawn Marion in 2004 to get invited.
*May 22, 2018: The NBA announces the members of the All-NBA Rookie Team, with Josh Jackson making the All-NBA Second Rookie Team.

Offseason

Draft picks

The Phoenix Suns entered the draft with only one first round pick and two second round picks this season. Their first round pick was their second straight pick at #4, despite having the second-best odds at the #1 pick that year. That draft later resulted in the Top 4 selections having the same teams representing the top of the draft similar to the previous year's draft. Meanwhile, their first second round pick was given to them for having the second-worst record of the season last season despite having a better record than their previous season. Their own second round pick was also used in a trade with the Atlanta Hawks during the 2017 trade deadline in exchange for the rights to Mike Scott, the draft rights to Turkish shooting guard/small forward Cenk Akyol, and some cash considerations worth $500,000, although it wasn't conveyed to Atlanta due to their second round pick(s) remaining in the top 55 of this year's draft. Finally, their second (and final) second round pick was given to them by the Toronto Raptors for trading defensive small forward P. J. Tucker to them that same day in exchange for their second round picks in 2017 & 2018, as well as the rights to Jared Sullinger and cash considerations worth $1,000,000. The Raptors' second round pick won the tiebreaker over both the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Los Angeles Clippers (who originally held Picks 55 & 56 respectively that draft), but ultimately lost out to the Boston Celtics for pick 53 that year. Speaking of which, the Suns were also initially planned to get the Minnesota Timberwolves' second round selection for this year, but traded it away in a different trade with the Boston Celtics (back when it was still considered to be a first round draft pick) in order to get Brandan Wright on the team under the same season they first acquired Isaiah Thomas. In addition to that, the Los Angeles Lakers' first round pick that had belonged to the Suns before the 2014–15 season came and went was originally perceived to be conveyed to the Philadelphia 76ers this year, but the Lakers still wound up with pick #2 again to keep their pick for this season; that 2018 pick could later be potentially given to the Boston Celtics in order for them to trade away their #1 pick this year to Philadelphia.

With the fourth pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, the Suns selected freshman small forward Josh Jackson from the University of Kansas. During his only season with Kansas, Jackson showcased his talent. In the 35 games Josh played with the Jayhawks, he recorded averages of 16.3 points, 7.4 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.7 steals, and 1.1 blocks per game while also earning the Big 12 Conference's Freshman of the Year Award, First Team All-Big 12 honors, and mixed honors with the NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans; more specifically, he'd get Second Team honors from the Sporting News, while he had Third Team honors from the Associated Press and the National Association of Basketball Coaches. Meanwhile, with the Suns' first second round pick, they selected senior shooting guard Davon Reed from the University of Miami. Throughout his career in Miami, Florida, Reed managed to provide career averages of 10.3 points and 3.6 rebounds per game, but managed his best work as a senior with 14.9 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. Davon's considered handiwork, however, comes on the defensive end, as he managed to earn All-ACC Defensive Team honors in 2017 alongside being a member of the All-ACC Third Team and holding great academics throughout his college career. Finally, with the last second round pick, Phoenix selected power forward Alec Peters from Valparaiso University. Under Alec's last season at Valparaiso, he became one of only two players to record over 20 points and 10 rebounds per game in the NCAA's Division I with 23.0 points and 10.1 rebounds per game recorded for them in his senior year (with the other player being senior power forward/center Tim Kempton Jr., son of former Suns player Tim Kempton Sr., from Lehigh University). As a result, Peters was named the Horizon League Men's Basketball Player of the Year in 2017. He also was named the Horizon League Tournament's MVP in 2015, an Academics All-American First Team member in 2017, became a three-time member of the All-Horizon League First Team from 2015–2017, and was even twice mentioned as an honorable mention for the Associated Press' All-American Teams. Like first round pick Josh Jackson, Alec Peters was also named a member of the National Association of Basketball Coaches' All-American Third Team in 2017 himself. Peters was originally projected to be a late-first round pick before his right leg injury near the end of his senior season led to his draft stock slipping to the late second round; he also became the team's second two-way contract of the season on September 18 (first contract being Mike James), meaning he'd split his playing time between the Phoenix Suns and their NBA G League affiliate, the Northern Arizona Suns, for the vast majority of the season.

Free agency

This season, the only player on the Suns set to become an unrestricted free agent as of the end of the 2016–17 NBA season was the twice-returned Ronnie Price. However, for restricted free agents, both centers Alex Len and Alan Williams were given qualifying offers on June 27, 2017, and could have opportunities to remain with the team if the Suns wanted to keep both of them. T. J. Warren also stayed for a longer period of time, signing a four-year deal worth $50 million on September 25, 2017. In addition, veteran guard Leandro Barbosa and small forwards Derrick Jones Jr. and Elijah Millsap, all have team options for another season, with the latter two having them near the mid-season deadline on January 7, 2018, although neither player got to that point in time. Alan Williams also qualified for the NBA's Early Bird rights due to previously debuting late in the 2015–16 NBA season and essentially signing a two-year deal around that time. This season also marks the first season where NBA teams get to add 16 or even 17 players to their official roster using two-way contracts, which allows NBA teams to add players with less than three full years of NBA experience to enter the league with the condition of staying on their NBA G League team for the majority of the season for higher salaries than they could otherwise get in the recently rebranded league.

Summer League invite Mike James, a point guard who previously went to Eastern Arizona College and a Greek Basket League star with the Panathinaikos Superfoods, announced prior to free agency that he would try to earn a two-way contract. On July 2, the Suns gave Alan Williams a four-year deal worth around $24 million to stay with his hometown team. A day later, the Suns renounced their rights to Leandro Barbosa making him a free agent in the process. Mike James also officially signed a deal with the Suns the same day they announced their team for the 2017 NBA Summer League. After originally being offered a four-year deal worth $24 million from the Suns, Williams officially received a three-year partially guaranteed deal worth $17 million on July 9 and signed it on July 26. A day before Williams signed with the Suns, however, it was reported that Brandon Knight tore his ACL during a pickup game in Florida. With the announcement of Knight's ACL injury causing him to be out for most of the season, the Suns qualified to have an additional $6.8 million to spend as a disabled player exception, likely extending their roster to 18 players at some point this season. The roster potentially required that extra player again on August 25 with the announcement of rookie shooting guard Davon Reed being out for four to six months due to surgery on his left meniscus and then on September 22 with center/power forward Alan Williams being out for a currently undetermined time with a partially torn meniscus of his own. A day before his teammate got injured, though, the Suns signed their other center, Alex Len, to a one-year qualifying offer worth $4.2 million to remain on their squad. On November 11, 2017, it was announced that Leandro Barbosa would return to his native land of Brazil for a second time, this time being a part of the Franca Basquetebol Clube. Ronnie Price ultimately was the only player from last season's roster to not play at all entering this season.

On August 22, 2017, the Suns signed former Iowa University shooting guard Peter Jok to a partially guaranteed deal to prove his worth in training camp. On September 11, it was originally announced that the Suns signed shooting guard and former first round draft pick R. J. Hunter as a possible temporary replacement for injured rookie Davon Reed. It was later reported from ''The Arizona Republic'' on that same day that Hunter alongside shooting guards Isaiah Canaan, Andre Dawkins, and Northern Arizona Suns' player Xavier Silas had all come to Phoenix for workouts, but none of them received a training camp offer with the Suns. On September 22, after Len's agreement was announced, former 2013 NBA Draft number-one pick Anthony Bennett was confirmed as a partially guaranteed training camp deal player alongside Peter Jok. Furthermore, that same day also led to them gaining Troy Daniels from a trade to help shore up the shooting guard spot. Furthermore, on the same day Alex Len officially signed his qualifying offer (and Alan Williams had successful surgery on his meniscus), it was confirmed that T. J. Warren signed a four-year contract extension with the Suns worth $50 million. On October 11, the Suns cut Peter Jok and Anthony Bennett before their final preseason game against the Portland Trail Blazers began. Two days later, before their actual last preseason game began against the Brisbane Bullets from Australia, the Suns signed a French power forward from Canada named Tidjan Keita. All of these players were part of the Northern Arizona Suns G League squad instead, with both Keita and Elijah Millsap being cut a day later (Millsap was later traded to the Iowa Wolves after being cut by Phoenix via the Northern Arizona squad for the #1 pick in the 2017 NBA G League Draft).

On December 7, 2017, after point guard Mike James finished the last day of his original two-way contract with Phoenix, he'd be retained by them with a full-blown contract, albeit at the price of being forced to waive small forward Derrick Jones Jr. earlier than expected. On the same day, after a loss to the Washington Wizards, the Suns signed Danuel House to a two-way contract, filling up the spot originally held for Mike James earlier in the year. However, Phoenix used their disabled player's injury exception to sign recent Northern Arizona Suns and former Houston Rockets combo guard Isaiah Canaan on December 13, 2017, with the tipping point involving star shooting guard Devin Booker being out for a few weeks. Isaiah was previously acquired by the Northern Arizona Suns trading their 2018 first round pick to the Agua Caliente Clippers expansion squad for him. Canaan stayed with Phoenix even after Devin Booker returned from his injury by converting his deal into a standard one year, veteran's minimum contract, while the Suns waived former two-way contracted point guard Mike James from the team on December 22, 2017. However, after Canaan fractured his tibia on the same day they officially waived center Greg Monroe from the team (January 31), the Suns signed Northern Arizona Suns point guard Josh Gray to a 10-day contract a day later. In the aftermath of the February 8, 2018 NBA trade deadline, the Suns were forced to waive Isaiah Canaan (with him still receiving his full salary for the year) in order to gain Elfrid Payton in their trade with the Orlando Magic in exchange for a second round pick from Memphis. However, Canaan still got paid the full salary for the season and use the team's facilities to help his body recover from his season-ending injury. Meanwhile, Josh Gray signed his second 10-day contract with Phoenix on February 11, although he was waived on February 21 (with his contract expiring that day) with fellow Northern Arizona Suns player Shaquille Harrison signing his own 10-day contract that day. Harrison signed his second 10-day contract on March 3 before signing a multi-year contract with Phoenix on March 13.

Trades

On September 22, 2017, the same day they had former #1 pick Anthony Bennett join their training camp roster, the Suns traded their own top-55 protected second round pick to the Memphis Grizzlies (which wasn't be conveyed to Memphis) in exchange for shooting guard Troy Daniels and a second round pick of their own, which was the middle choice between the Charlotte Hornets, Memphis, and the Miami Heat (which ultimately became Charlotte's second round pick). A month later, before the Suns fired head coach Earl Watson, star point guard Eric Bledsoe released a Tweet on Twitter saying he didn't want to be with the team. As a result of that tweet, he was sent home for the disruption. Teams that had talked with the Suns for their disgruntled star point guard included the Denver Nuggets, Milwaukee Bucks, New York Knicks, and Cleveland Cavaliers. While waiting for a potential trade, they eventually let Bledsoe return for practices with the squad, but didn't allow him to play in games. Ultimately, a trade with the Milwaukee Bucks was made November 7, 2017. In that deal, the Suns received center Greg Monroe (who was on an expiring contract), a protected first round pick that'd be conveyed in 2018 (if it was at picks #11–16; 2019 if it's at picks #4–18; 2020 if it's at picks #8–30; or 2021 as a fully unprotected pick), and a second round pick that was conveyed to Phoenix if it was at picks #48–60 or be conveyed to the Brooklyn Nets later on by the end of the season; and Greg Monroe was waived by having his contract be bought out on January 31, 2018. Finally, on the February 8, 2018 trade deadline, the Suns traded the Charlotte Hornets' second round pick they previously acquired from the Troy Daniels deal in exchange for point guard Elfrid Payton from the Orlando Magic for at least the rest of the season.

Front office changes

While general manager Ryan McDonough was originally confirmed to remain as the team's general manager and President of Basketball Operations on April 19, 2017 for at least one more season, he was given a contract extension to remain for both roles throughout the end of the decade on July 19, 2017. While McDonough never led the team to the playoffs throughout his original tenure (having a winning season only in his first year as general manager and being named the runner-up for the NBA Executive of the Year that year), what won him over was the youth movement that he arranged. Furthermore, on that same day, it was announced that former Suns player and three-time NBA Finals champion small forward/shooting guard James Jones was the new Vice President of Basketball Operations, to oversee basketball matters for the team like upcoming draft picks, trades, and free agency moves.

Coaching changes

On October 22, 2017, after having two of some of the worst losses in franchise history to start the season, the Suns fired head coach Earl Watson. That same day, the Suns hired Canadian associate head coach Jay Triano to be interim head coach for the rest of the season. Later on that day, the Suns also fired assistant coaches Nate Bjorkgren, Mehmet Okur, and Jason Fraser. A day later, it was announced that the head coach of the Northern Arizona Suns affiliate team, Tyrone Ellis, was named as one of the new assistant coaches, with Marlon Garnett also being promoted as a full-time assistant coach that same day. However, Tyrone wasn't officially called over until October 24, 2017, alongside Northern Arizona Suns assistant coaches Bret Burchard and Brandon Rosenthal taking over some of the vacant coaching spots for the Phoenix Suns (with Tyler Gatlin being left to take over as the head coach for the G League squad for the preseason before returning as assistant (and later associate) coach for Cody Toppert's new coaching staff for Northern Arizona's regular season). For Northern Arizona, they found their newest assistant coaches to join Tyler Gatlin on November 20 with Nick Friedman and two-time former Phoenix Suns (and one-time Bakersfield Jam player back when the Northern Arizona squad was called that) center Earl Barron joining that newly completed coaching staff for the season. During the season, Phoenix also looked to target potential new coaching candidates, including former Memphis Grizzlies head coach David Fizdale, former Suns and current (at the time) Utah Jazz assistant coach Igor Kokoškov, and Villanova University head coach Jay Wright around the conclusion of the season. In fact, on March 23, 2018, it was confirmed by general manager Ryan McDonough that the team has begun their coaching search earlier than anticipated.

Roster

Salaries

This season was the first season since the 2011–12 season where the Suns no longer paid for the contract they gave to Michael Beasley, since they paid the total amount needed to remove him on their roster on September 3, 2013. However, after waiving Leandro Barbosa, the Suns still owed him about $500,000 of guaranteed money. Similarly, because the Suns waived both Derrick Jones Jr. and Mike James earlier than anticipated, they'd only receive $385,625 and around $250,000 of guaranteed money this season respectively. The Suns also bought out Greg Monroe's contract for the year, which cost $17,884,176 for this season only (with Phoenix receiving $1,500,000 back after Greg signed his new deal with the Boston Celtics), as well as give Isaiah Canaan his full salary of $1,069,308 after he was waived. Furthermore, because of the sliding scale, the newly implemented two-way contracts, earning as little as $75,000 and about as much as $279,000 in a season, depending on where they play under a majority of their time, players like Mike James at the time, late second round rookie Alec Peters, and Danuel House did not affect their salary cap, regardless of how much they get paid for throughout the season.

Pre-season

This pre-season marked the first pre-season where the number of games was intentionally shortened for the purpose of better quality control as the season continued onward, going from the usual 7–8 games to 5 games. It was also announced on July 31 that the Suns would play a preseason game against the Brisbane Bullets from the NBL in Australia on October 13 at the Talking Stick Resort Arena. Their official preseason schedule was announced a day later, with the only other NBA teams the Suns being the Portland Trail Blazers and Utah Jazz both on the road and at home. While the Suns started and closed the preseason out strongly, they had a tough time in the middle of it, ending the preseason with a 2–3 record.

, - style="background:#cfc;"
, 1
, October 3
, @ Portland
,
, T. J. Warren (24)
, Alex Len (13)
, Devin Booker (5)
, Moda Center
15,507
, 1–0
, - style="background:#fcc;"
, 2
, October 6
, @ Utah
,
, Alex Len, Troy Daniels (18)
, Alex Len (9)
, Tyler Ulis (6)
, Vivint Smart Home Arena
17,196
, 1–1
, - style="background:#fcc;"
, 3
, October 9
, Utah
,
, Devin Booker (19)
, Alex Len (6)
, Eric Bledsoe (7)
, Talking Stick Resort Arena
7,643
, 1–2
, - style="background:#fcc;"
, 4
, October 11
, Portland
,
, Josh Jackson (22)
, Marquese Chriss (12)
, Eric Bledsoe (6)
, Talking Stick Resort Arena
13,230
, 1–3
, - style="background:#cfc;"
, 5
, October 13
, Brisbane
,
, Devin Booker (31)
, Dragan Bender, Tyson Chandler (9)
, Devin Booker (6)
, Talking Stick Resort Arena
8,297
, 2–3

Regular season

According to a Twitter leak on the Los Angeles Clippers' home schedule, it revealed that the Phoenix Suns would play the Clippers at the Staples Center on October 21 and December 20, 2017; the former date being the first game the Clippers will play on their home court. Phoenix's full schedule was be released on August 14, 2017.

Standings

Game log

, - style="background:#fcc;"
, 1
, October 18
, Portland
,
, Eric Bledsoe (15)
, Dragan Bender (7)
, Eric Bledsoe (3)
, Talking Stick Resort Arena
18,055
, 0–1
, - style="background:#fcc;"
, 2
, October 20
, L.A. Lakers
,
, Eric Bledsoe (28)
, Devin Booker (11)
, Devin Booker (8)
, Talking Stick Resort Arena
18,055
, 0–2
, - style="background:#fcc;"
, 3
, October 21
, @ L.A. Clippers
,
, Alex Len (15)
, Tyson Chandler (14)
, Mike James (6)
, Staples Center
19,068
, 0–3
, - style="background:#cfc;"
, 4
, October 23
, Sacramento
,
, Devin Booker (22)
, Tyson Chandler (14)
, Mike James (7)
, Talking Stick Resort Arena
14,903
, 1–3
, - style="background:#cfc;"
, 5
, October 25
, Utah
,
, T. J. Warren (27)
, Alex Len (13)
, Tyler Ulis (5)
, Talking Stick Resort Arena
16,022
, 2–3
, - style="background:#fcc"
, 6
, October 28
, @ Portland
,
, Devin Booker (34)
, Alex Len (8)
, Devin Booker (6)
, Moda Center
19,343
, 2–4
, - style="background:#cfc"
, 7
, October 31
, @ Brooklyn
,
, Devin Booker (30)
, Alex Len (15)
, Mike James (5)
, Barclays Center
12,936
, 3–4

, - style="background:#cfc"
, 8
, November 1
, @ Washington
,
, T. J. Warren (40)
, Marquese Chriss, T. J. Warren (10)
, Mike James (6)
, Capital One Arena
14,790
, 4–4
, - style="background:#fcc"
, 9
, November 3
, @ New York
,
, Devin Booker (34)
, Tyson Chandler (10)
, Mike James (8)
, Madison Square Garden
19,404
, 4–5
, - style="background:#fcc"
, 10
, November 5
, @ San Antonio
,
, T. J. Warren (17)
, Tyson Chandler (14)
, Tyler Ulis (7)
, AT&T Center
18,038
, 4–6
, - style="background:#fcc"
, 11
, November 6
, Brooklyn
,
, T. J. Warren (20)
, Alex Len (14)
, Tyler Ulis (3)
, Talking Stick Resort Arena
15,905
, 4–7
, - style="background:#fcc"
, 12
, November 8
, Miami
,
, Devin Booker (30)
, Marquese Chriss (9)
, Devin Booker (6)
, Talking Stick Resort Arena
16,500
, 4–8
, - style="background:#fcc"
, 13
, November 10
, Orlando
,
, Alex Len (21)
, Alex Len (13)
, Devin Booker (5)
, Talking Stick Resort Arena
16,507
, 4–9
, - style="background:#cfc"
, 14
, November 11
, Minnesota
,
, Devin Booker, T. J. Warren (35)
, Devin Booker (9)
, Devin Booker (6)
, Talking Stick Resort Arena
16,910
, 5–9
, - style="background:#fcc"
, 15
, November 13
, L.A. Lakers
,
, Devin Booker (36)
, Tyson Chandler (15)
, Devin Booker, T. J. Warren (3)
, Talking Stick Resort Arena
17,533
, 5–10
, - style="background:#fcc"
, 16
, November 16
, Houston
,
, Troy Daniels (23)
, Alex Len (13)
, Devin Booker (10)
, Talking Stick Resort Arena
16,875
, 5–11
, - style="background:#cfc"
, 17
, November 17
, @ L.A. Lakers
,
, Devin Booker (33)
, Alex Len (18)
, Mike James (8)
, Staples Center
18,997
, 6–11
, - style="background:#cfc"
, 18
, November 19
, Chicago
,
, T. J. Warren (27)
, Alex Len (8)
, Devin Booker (6)
, Talking Stick Resort Arena
16,264
, 7–11
, - style="background:#fcc"
, 19
, November 22
, Milwaukee
,
, Devin Booker (23)
, Tyson Chandler (12)
, Devin Booker (4)
, Talking Stick Resort Arena
16,270
, 7–12
, - style="background:#fcc"
, 20
, November 24
, New Orleans