The Phoenix Suns are giving Duop Reath another NBA landing spot, with ESPN’s Shams Charania reporting Wednesday that the team is signing the stretch five.
For Phoenix, it’s a familiar kind of move: another former Blazers center coming in with hopes of helping steady the frontcourt. The names before him were Deandre Ayton and Jusuf Nurkic. This time, though, the expectations are a lot more modest, and that may be exactly why the fit makes sense.
Reath arrives as a depth piece with a clear skill set. The Suns are dealing with the absence of Mark Williams, who is expected to be out for several months after surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder. Reath won’t replace that kind of production on his own, but he does give Phoenix another big who can stretch the floor and help in the aggregate while the rotation is thin.
That alone is a notable step in a career that has already outpaced the odds.
Reath went undrafted in 2023 and quickly turned into one of Portland’s more interesting finds. In his rookie season, he posted 9.1 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 1.0 assist in 17.9 minutes per game while shooting 46/36/74. He also made 20 starts across 68 games, which is a pretty strong return for a player who entered the league without hearing his name called.
Portland kept him around for three seasons, but the roster eventually crowded him out. After the Blazers traded for Robert Williams III and used consecutive first-round picks on Donovan Clingan and Yang Hansen, the center rotation became packed fast. That pushed Reath toward the expendable end of the roster, even though his ability to space the floor still had value.
His role had already been shrinking before Portland sent him to the Atlanta Hawks at February’s deadline in the package for sharpshooter Vit Krejci. The stretch-five skill remains real, and his career 35.7% mark from three is useful in a league that keeps demanding shooting from the five spot. But the modern NBA also exposed the limits of his game.
At 6-foot-9, Reath wasn’t built to cleanly handle the bruising responsibilities of an interior anchor, and he didn’t have the lateral quickness to comfortably chase power forwards on the perimeter. That tweener label made it tough for Portland to consistently carve out minutes for him, even with the shooting he brought.
Still, he has already carved out an impressive path just to get here. A move to Phoenix gives him another chance, and it gives the Suns a big man who can at least offer a different look until Williams gets back.
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