It's becoming very clear that if the Los Angeles Lakers want to see the NBA Finals in the 2023-2024 season, they will have to go through the Phoenix Suns at some point. Somehow, they were able to make their big three from last year even better by adding Bradley Beal to a star core of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and DeAndre Ayton.
We've already seen a number of impactful free agents such as Yuta Watanabe and Eric Gordon join them to help fill out their roster in hopes of capturing a championship. Seeing that Phoenix's main core of stars will be owed over $160 million next year, they've had to target veterans that want to be a part of a contending team and young guys that lack a certain skillset on a budget.
However, the Suns have also been hosting workouts for numerous players that may ring a bell. First off, we received news that they brought in two former lottery picks in Jabari Parker and Stanley Johnson last week (you may remember Johnson for some solid games with the Lakers before he was traded for Patrick Beverley). But it looks like Phoenix cannot get enough of their former Lakers as Darren Collison also reportedly shined in a private workout for the team recently.
"Free agent veteran guard Darren Collison worked out for Phoenix Suns last week and had a great showing, league sources tell @NBAonTNT, @BleacherReport. Phoenix remains aggressive in searching for complementary players."
Collison joined LA on a ten-day contract back in the 2021-2022 season. He appeared in just three games and put up about 1.3 points in 12 minutes per game. He never really got the opportunity that one really needs to prove they can hang but it's also important to remember that this was a Lakers squad that was heavily underperforming at the time and lacked direction.
Collison's best years came with the Sacramento Kings from 2014-2017 where he was a very solid guard option and averaged double-digits in scoring while being an above-average shooter from three-point land.
Even though his time with the purple and gold was short, we hope to see him back in the league as he is only 35-years-old.
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