The Phoenix Suns achieved a major goal of theirs on Thursday when they were finally able to trade Markieff Morris. In the deal with the Washington Wizards the Suns acquired a first-round pick, Kris Humphries and DeJuan Blair. The Suns though, do not have an extra roster spot so they are expected to waive Blair before he ever plays a game for them, according to Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic.
The trade of Morris has been a long time coming as he requested it this offseason after the Suns traded away his twin brother Marcus. With the ouster of Markieff the Suns are now without their top four scorers this season (Eric Bledsoe, Brandon Knight, T.J. Warren and Morris) and have gone into full tank mode. Phoenix did well to get a first-round pick out of Morris as he wasn't having a great season but they knew they would have to waive one of the other two players they received, according to Cardiac Hill of SB Nation.
Blair makes the most sense to be a casualty because Humphries is the better player and is also making more money this season. Blair is on the books for just $2 million this season and has a $2 million team option for next season so the Suns won't mind eating that money for just this season.
Blair is just 26 years old and in his seventh NBA season but he has shown in the past that he can be a nice rotational big man. In his four years with the Spurs Blair was very effective coming off the bench as he averaged 7.8 points and 5.8 rebounds in 18.9 minutes per game with San Antonio. Blair's last year plus in Washington though have not gone very well. Last season the former Pittsburgh star appeared in just 29 games and so this year he was averaging just 7.5 minutes per game.
Blair was a second-round pick back in the 2009 NBA Draft by the Spurs and he has had some success in the NBA but he doesn't fit what the Suns are planning to do. Blair will now likely become a free agent and will be looking for his next opportunity somewhere other than Phoenix.
