According to reports, the Phoenix Suns have made their initial offseason roster adjustment.
Oso Ighodaro’s contract for next season was recently guaranteed, according to Bobby Marks of ESPN, who posted on X on Monday.
A pleasant move by the Hornets.
Phoenix recently followed suit with Oso Ighodaro for the next season.
Prior to Phoenix’s decision to make this move, only $250,000 of Ighodaro’s $2. 296 million salary for the upcoming season was guaranteed, according to Spotrac.
Ighodaro was drafted 40th overall in 2024 by the Suns, who subsequently signed him to a four-year, $7. 895 million contract.
The Phoenix has two additional choices to make regarding contracts for the next season. Jamaree Bouyea has a club option, and Haywood Highsmith is only guaranteed $1 million of his $3. 018 million salary.
Following a outstanding season, Oso Ighodaro is honored by Suns.
From the outset of the year, Ighodaro surprised everyone by establishing himself as the team’s backup center, with new Suns coach Jordan Ott being very high on him all season.
Phoenix had several legitimate options behind Mark Williams going into this season, including Nick Richards and rookie Khaman Maluach, but the Suns stayed with Ighodaro in this capacity, and he also started 24 games while Williams was sidelined or Phoenix was easing him back into the lineup.
Ighodaro was also the only Suns player to appear in every game, averaging 6. 5 points, 5. 1 rebounds, and 2. 3 assists on 65. 3% shooting from the field in his second season.
Given that Williams is scheduled to enter restricted free agency and Maluach is awaiting a larger position after being selected tenth overall last season, the Suns’ center position is a major unknown this offseason.
That being said, it seems the Suns have a lot of confidence in Ighodaro going forward, particularly after he averaged 7. 5 points, 7. 0 rebounds, and 4. 0 assists in 32. 3 minutes per game in Phoenix’s first-round series loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, filling in for Williams in the starting lineup.
I performed a lot of wonderful things and believed that I became more at ease with each game. Ighodaro commented during his exit interview regarding what he learned from the series, saying, “Now it’s just learning the game and the mental things I can do to get an edge on my opponent and affect winning in a better way. “
I believe there were moments when I made an impact on the game, whether it was through offensive rebounding, attacking the basket, or playmaking, and now if I can just pull everything together, play defense at a high level, and contribute to offense at a high level, that would be fantastic.
