Suns Waive Ish Wainright

The Phoenix Suns are reportedly saying bye to a fan favorite.

PHOENIX — The Phoenix Suns are just hours away from their final preseason game, and they’ve already begun moves to trim their roster down ahead of the regular season. 

According to Hoops Hype’s Michael Scotto, the team is waiving forward Ish Wainright: 

“The Phoenix Suns have waived forward Ishmail Wainright, league sources told @hoopshype. Wainright has appeared in 105 games for the Suns over the past two seasons,” said Scotto in a tweet. 

*since publish of this article, the Suns officially announced the move*

After their massive trade with the Portland Trail Blazers/Milwaukee Bucks that saw the team take on Jusuf Nurkic, Grayson Allen, Nassir Little and Keon Johnson, the team had two roster spots to clear on their bench ahead of the 2023-24 season. 

Wainright was one of two names heavily expected to be waived along with Johnson. 

With a starting group of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, Bradley Beal and Jusuf Nurkic, role players such as Eric Gordon, Keita Bates-Diop, Yuta Watanabe, Josh Okogie and Allen are expected to heavily contribute throughout the season. 

Wainright has easily established himself as a fan favorite since first landing with the team in 2021, though a new regime under owner Mat Ishbia and coach Frank Vogel opted to move in a different direction. 

The Suns conclude preseason play tonight against the Los Angeles Lakers. Their regular season begins Oct. 24 in Golden State.