Suns waive Deonte Burton
The Phoenix Suns have made their first preseason cut, and the victim is someone who never actually arrived at training camp.
Deonte Burton was waived Tuesday, the team announced, and the expectation is Burton will join the Suns' D-League team in Bakersfield as an affiliate player, Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic reports. The Suns' roster now stands at 17, with four players on non-guaranteed deals likely fighting for two roster spots once the season begins.
It appears the plan was never for Burton to compete for a place on the team, with his training camp signing essentially a deal to become an affiliate player. As the D-League grows in prevalence and teams invest more into their exclusive teams, grabbing non-NBA talent in order to develop them within the organization should continue to become a more frequent offseason goal.
Burton averaged 16.2 points, 2.9 rebounds, and four assists over four seasons at Nevada before going undrafted in 2014. He spent last season in the German league, averaged 2.5 points on 30.8-percent shooting in 35 games.
The 24-year-old attended summer league with the Philadelphia 76ers but played sparingly.