Just a week before their first preseason game, the Suns continue to tweak their roster. Early Tuesday, Phoenix signed point guard Ronnie Price and released point guard Zabian Dowdell.
Undrafted out of Utah Valley University, Price has spent his first seasons in the league on two different rosters. He spent his first two seasons with Sacramento and his last four with Utah backing up Deron Williams.
Because of playing behind an All-Star point guard with the Jazz, Price didn’t get a ton of minutes. In 59 games last season, the 28-year-old averaged only a little more than 12 minutes per contest. In those games, he point guard average 3.3 points, one assist and one rebound. His best year came during the 2009-2010 season, where he averaged 4.3, 2.1 assists and 1.2 boards in 60 games.
Dowdell has been dealing with a knee injury early in camp and had yet to see action on the court. Just like Price, Dowdell was an undrafted player out of Virginia Tech and made his NBA debut last season with the Suns. In 24 games, the former Hokie averaged five points and 2.1 assists per contest backing up Steve Nash at the end of the season.
Look for Dowdell to catch on with a team somewhere. Even though he is short on experience, he proved last season that he has the skills to be a backup and grab consistent minutes in this league. I am a bit disappointed that the Suns decided to give up on him so quickly.
As for Price, he will be going up against Sebastian Telfair for the backup point guard role behind Nash in what should be one of the most competitive battles in camp. Price will have his work cut out for him as Alvin Gentry has already been impressed by Telfair’s defense and his quickness on both ends of the court.
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