As the rumor mill continues to churn speculation on a possible Phoenix Suns trade for Kevin Durant, the Suns have made four roster transactions after free agency began Thursday.
They did three on Saturday alone, comprised of a wing and two centers.
The Athletic’s Sham Charania first reported on Saturday the Suns acquired the Atlanta Hawks’ 6-foot-11, 255-pound center Jock Landale. The Suns sent cash in exchange for Landale, per The Athletic’s Hawks reporter Chris Kirschner.
Less than an hour later, Charania reported Phoenix signed former Minnesota Timberwolves small forward and free-agent Josh Okogie to a one-year deal.
The Suns’ first roster addition of this weekend was former Golden State Warriors shooting guard Damion Lee agree to a one-year deal on Friday. Phoenix’s second was their backup big Bismack Biyombo agreeing to re-sign for one year as well. The third was Landale, who’s on the move to his third team in two days, and then Okogie, respectively.
The 26-year-old Australian was traded from the San Antonio Spurs to the Hawks on June 30. He averaged 4.9 points and 2.7 rebounds and 10.9 minutes in 54 games as a rookie for San Antonio last season.
Landale fills one of the Suns’ reserve center spots after veteran big JaVale McGee walked as an unrestricted free agent to sign a three-year deal with the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday.
The Suns taking Landale comes amid the looming question of their starting center and restricted free agent Deandre Ayton’s future with the franchise, whether he gets dealt in a sign-and-trade or if he re-signs with the team on a max deal.
The 6-foot-4 Okogie averaged 2.7 points, 1.4 rebounds, and 10.5 minutes in 49 games played last season. His career average is 6.4 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 1.1 assists during his entire four-year career in Minnesota, which selected him 20th overall in the same 2018 draft class as the former No. 1 overall pick Ayton.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Suns acquire Hawks big Landale, free-agent Okogie gets one-year deal
