The Suns are sinking, and two players with unguaranteed salaries – Bryce Cotton and Cory Jefferson – are getting dumped overboard.
Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports:
Phoenix is waiving Cory Jefferson, an athletic forward who was '14 second round pick, sources tell Yahoo. Jefferson had non-guaranteed deal.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) January 7, 2016
All contracts become guaranteed for the rest of the season Sunday, so Phoenix is allowing time for Cotton and Jefferson to clear waivers before then. Other players will likely be waived today for the same reason.
Importantly for the Suns, they now have two open roster spots. That could help a team that looks primed to trade. It seems likely Phoenix makes a deal before the deadline, and if that might require waiving Cotton and/or Jefferson to make space, better to do it now while they’re unguaranteed.
Both are fringe NBA players, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see either latch on elsewhere – or even re-sign with Phoenix on 10-day contracts. The Suns just determined they were OK with the risk of Cotton and Jefferson getting away, which seems like a reasonable conclusion based on the limited minutes we’ve seen of these two.