Suns Expected To Sign Forward Named To Elite Team: Report

The Phoenix Suns have a full signed up 15-man roster for the upcoming 2019-20 season but are still looking to make additions ahead of training camp later in the month in order to have options before they lock up players on two-way contracts. The franchise is expected to sign forward Haywood Highsmith after he was waived by the Philadelphia 76ers earlier this summer.

The Athletic’s Gina Mizell reports that Highsmith will sign an Exhibit 10 contract with the Suns before training camp gets under way. He spent last season with the Sixers on a two-way contract playing a total of 40 minutes in the NBA.

“Haywood Highsmith is expected to sign a training-camp (Exhibit 10) deal with the Suns, league sources tell The Athletic. The 6-foot-7, 220-pound small forward from Wheeling Jesuit was on a two-way contract with Philadelphia last season,” Mizell wrote.

Highsmith played 46 games with the Sixers G-League affiliates Delaware Blue Coats and averaged 12.2 points, 6.9 rebounds 2.7 assists and 1.2 steals per game. He even played for the Sixers in the summer league, averaging 7.2 points over four games before being waived.

The 22-year-old forward’s impressive form in the G-League last season saw him being named as one of 12 players in the NBA G-League Elite Team which will compete at the 2019 NBA G League International Challenge in Uruguay from Sept. 18 – 22. The tournament will also feature club teams such as Germany’s Bayern Munich and Brazil’s Flamengo.

The Suns signed former Texas Tech center Tariq Owens to a training camp contract along with summer league member Davis Kramer. Highsmith will make it 18 players for training camp but he will have the chance to convert his Exhibit 10 contract into a two-way deal as the franchise currently has only one player on a two-way contract – Jared Harper.