UPDATE 11:02 pm: Channing Frye and the Suns kept talking, and the two sides reached a deal this evening -- five years, $30 million. That’s a good deal for him that extends into the new Collective Bargaining Agreement.
After the crazy contracts of the day, one might have thought Frye would see if he could get more. But this is a pretty good deal for him.
3:51 pm: The Phoenix Suns want to keep the bench together, man. They can be one fun party on the right night (just ask the Lakers).
As part of that, the Suns have offered Channing Frye five-years, $25 million according to the Arizona Republic. That is a jump from the $2 million he made last year, but not what his people think they can get on the open market. And the way other deals were thrown around on the first day of free agency, his people may well be right. They’d be foolish not to see what else rolls in.
That said, it will be a while before anything else serious rolls in as other teams with cap space are focusing on the big guns right now.
Frye is a 6'11" center who shot 43.9 percent from three last season, really stretching the floor and pulling the big men of other teams away from the basket. His game was a good fit with the fast-paced style in Phoenix. His rebounding numbers are not great, but that is in part a function of how he is used and his responsibilities in the offense. He’s not asked to be the guy doing all the dirty work inside.
Other teams that could use him in that fashion could find real value in him.