Report: Suns sign Trevor Ariza, probably can’t afford VanVleet now

The Phoenix Suns may have just taken themselves out of the Fred VanVleet conversation. Per Yahoo’s Sham Charania, the Suns are signing Trevor Ariza to a J.J. Redick-ass 1-year / $15 million deal.

Reports over the last few days from Josh Lewenberg and others pinned the Suns as the biggest threat to poach the Raptors’ prized restricted free agent guard with a potentially odious offer sheet.

Handing Ariza such an ample bag will soak up an enormous chunk of the ominous cap space the Suns once held onto.

Our resident cap guru Daniel Hackett suggests the Suns had around $19 million to play with coming into the summer. ESPN’s Zach Lowe confirmed that most of their available dough is now tied up.

A sparse list of potential Fred destinations dwindles, as the Raptors’ leverage in those negotiations gets a boost. More to come, surely.