The Phoenix Suns will not "strategically rest" any of their veteran players as they did last season with Tyson Chandler and Eric Bledsoe.

“We’re planning on doing what we have been doing, that’s playing our young players. For us, that’s not a change,” Ryan McDonough said. “… We want to continue to have them improve and get minutes and try to win as many games as we can.”

Jay Triano said he has not interest in playing for a better position in the lottery.

“I have been told nothing other than try to win games,” he said. “So my goal is to try to win, and that is not tanking.”

The decision to bench Bledsoe played a part in his request to be traded.

“I think we learned from last year with guys sitting out," Triano said. "I don’t think that was real productive for us.”

“As we found out last year, it is a lottery,” McDonough said. “The pingpong balls bounce around and come out in a different order.”

McDonough said there’s also “pretty good depth” at the top of the draft, so it wouldn't be a disaster if Phoenix fails to land the No. 1 pick.

“If we win a few more games and end up getting slotted lower in the lottery, then we’re fine with that,” he said.

The Phoenix Suns will sign Shaq Harrison to a 10-day contract.

Phoenix will waive Josh Gray to create a roster spot for Harrison

Harrison is averaging 11.1 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 29.9 minutes per game this season in the G League for the Northern Arizona Suns.

Harrison went undrafted in 2016 out of Tulsa.

The Phoenix Suns have signed guard Josh Gray to a second 10-day contract after initially signing him on February 2.

Gray made his NBA debut against Utah on February 2 and has averaged 6.8 points, 3.0 assists, 2.5 rebounds, 2.0 steals and 17.5 minutes in four games with the Suns. He has eight steals, including four on Wednesday against San Antonio and three on Saturday against Denver, becoming the first Suns rookie to total at least eight steals through his first four career games since Richard Dumas in 1993.

A 6-1, 180-pound guard, Gray was originally called up him up from the Northern Arizona Suns of the NBA G League. In 31 games with the NAZ Suns this season he averaged 17.9 points, shooting 44.7 percent from the field and 42.1 percent from three-point range, 6.0 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 2.3 steals (t-1st in G League). The NBA G League Player of the Week for games played Jan. 1-7, Gray has four games scoring 30-plus points this season including a career-high 32 points in a win over the Agua Caliente Clippers on Jan. 26.

The Phoenix Suns have waived guard Isaiah Canaan.

“We still consider Isaiah to be a member of the Phoenix Suns family,” said Suns General Manager Ryan McDonough. “In speaking with Isaiah and his agent, we are fully committed to doing everything we can to help him with his rehab and recovery from his injury. This move is being made strictly to create a roster spot with Isaiah being out for the remainder of the season.”

In his fifth NBA season, Canaan initially signed with the Suns on December 13 and averaged 9.1 points and 4.0 assists in 19 games with the team.

The Orlando Magic have traded Elfrid Payton to the Phoenix Suns for a second round pick.

Payton will be a restricted free agent this offseason.

Payton, who was the 10th overall pick in 2014, was averaging 13.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 6.3 assists in 28.6 minutes per game this season with the Magic.

The Suns have had a need at point guard since trading Eric Bledsoe.

The New York Knicks remain the NBA's most valuable franchise for the third straight season, according to Forbes' annual report.

The Knicks are valued at $3.6 billion, which is an increase of nine percent from 2017.

The Los Angeles Lakers rank second at $3.3 billion, an increase of 10 percent.

The Golden State Warriors, Chicago Bulls and Boston Celtics round out the top-5.

The average NBA franchise is now worth a record $1.65 billion, up 22% over last year, and more than triple the figure of five years ago. 

Every NBA team is valued at $1 billion or more for the first time in league history.

“Investor interest in the NBA is enormous right now,” said Forbes’ senior editor Kurt Badenhausen, “thanks to the league’s strong current economic environment, as well as the international growth prospects, which are the best of any major U.S. sports league.”

1. Knicks: $3.6 billion (+9%)
2. Lakers: $3.3 billion (+10%)
3. Warriors: $3.1 billion (+19%)
4. Bulls: $2.6 billion (+4%)
5. Celtics: $2.5 billion (+14%)
6. Nets: $2.3 billion (+28%)
7. Rockets: $2.2 billion (+33%)
8. Clippers: $2.15 billion (+7%)
9. Mavericks: $1.9 billion (+31%)
10. Heat: $1.7 billion (+26%)
11. Spurs: $1.55 billion (+32%)
12. Raptors: $1.4 billion (+24%)
13. Kings: $1.375 billion (+28%)
14. Wizards: $1.35 billion (+35%)
15. Cavaliers: $1.325 billion (+10%)
16. Blazers: $1.3 billion (+24%)
17. Suns: $1.28 billion (+16%)
18. Thunder: $1.25 billion (+22%)
19. Magic: $1.225 billion (+33%)
20. Jazz: $1.2 billion (+32%)
21. 76ers: $1.18 billion (+48%)
22. Pacers: $1.175 billion (+34%)
23. Hawks: $1.15 billion (+30%)
24. Nuggets: $1.125 billion (+26%)
25. Pistons: $1.1 billion (+22%)
26. Bucks: $1.075 billion (+37%)
27. Wolves: $1.06 billion (+38%)
28. Hornets: $1.05 billion (+35%)
29. Grizzlies: $1.025 billion (+30%)
30. Pelicans: $1 billion (+33%)

The Phoenix Suns suspended Marquese Chriss for one game after getting into an argument with an assistant coach.

Chriss is averaging only 7.0 points and 5.0 rebounds in 21.0 minutes this season.

"He's a good kid who had a bad moment," Ryan McDonough said. "We look forward to seeing him Monday morning and turning the page." 

The Suns selected Chriss with the eighth overall pick in 2016.

The Phoenix Suns have signed guard Josh Gray to a 10-day contract, calling him up from the Northern Arizona Suns of the NBA G League.

Phoenix’s roster now stands at 17 players.

Gray, a 6-1, 180-pound guard, has yet to make his NBA debut. In 31 games with the NAZ Suns this season he averaged 17.9 points, shooting 44.7 percent from the field and 42.1 percent from three-point range, 6.0 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 2.3 steals (4th in G League). The NBA G League Player of the Week for games played Jan. 1-7, Gray has four games scoring 30-plus points this season including a career-high 32 points in a win over the Agua Caliente Clippers on Jan. 26.

The 29th GATORADE Call-Up in the NBA this season and sixth in NAZ Suns history, Gray is Northern Arizona’s all-time leader in points (1,228), assists (410), field goals made (474), field goals attempted (1,065), steals (148), games (81) and minutes (2,250).

Isaiah Canaan will miss the remainder of the season with a fractured left ankle.

Canaan suffered the injury in Wednesday's 102-88 win by the Suns over the Mavericks.

Team doctor Tom Carter rotated the foot and ankle back into their proper positions and said afterward that Canaan never uttered a word of pain. He was loaded onto a stretcher and wheeled off the court.

"It's hard for fans and everyone sitting right there, and teammates especially, a guy they battle with every day. It's their friend on and off the court," Suns interim coach Jay Triano said. "I used the timeout to let us say a quick prayer and get us refocused again to keep playing."

Canaan will have surgery on the ankle Thursday.