The Phoenix Suns waived guard Austin Rivers shortly after getting him in a trade for Trevor Ariza, keeping Kelly Oubre Jr. as the lone salvageable piece of a swap with the Washington Wizards. Rivers' buyout came mainly due to the Suns' encouraged spirits with new starting point guard De'Anthony Melton, as general manager James Jones has grown fond of the rookie's progress in the system.
“We’re encouraged. We understand that he’s still a rookie. He shows flashes, but he’ll continue to work. But he fits,” said Jones, according to Gina Mizell of The Athletic. “He has a great chemistry with Jamal (Crawford) and with Devin (Booker) in our backcourt. We’re a versatile team. We’re not looking for our guys to carry the load. We’re looking for them to share it and grow together. We’ve been excited about him. Elie (Okobo) is down in the G League getting repetitions. We’re excited about our young (point guards).”
Melton was one of the pieces coming back from the Ryan Anderson trade over the offseason, and the lone asset that enticed the Suns to take on Anderson's bloated contract after Melton was drafted with the 46th pick by the Houston Rockets.
This isn't the first time the Suns have been encouraged with a point guard since trading Eric Bledsoe to the Milwaukee Bucks last season, as they were “encouraged” by Mike James, then Tyler Ulis, then Isaiah Canaan — with all of them ultimately being exiled from the 15-man roster at one point or another.
Melton had an encouraging string of games scoring the ball to start December, putting up double digits in four of his first six games of the month. But he has put up zero, nine and three points, respectively, in his share of 21-minute stints during the Suns' three-game win streak, making consistency a somewhat worrisome prospect with Devin Booker returning to the court.
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