Jared Cohen
What a difference a day makes. A little more than 24 hours after the New Orleans Hornets matched the Phoenix Suns offer sheet for Eric Gordon, they made the winning bid for amnestied Forward Luis Scola, previously from the Houston Rockets for the last five seasons.
“We are excited to have won the bid for Luis Scola and to add a player of his caliber to our roster,” Suns President of Basketball Operations Lon Babby stated on Sunday. “We greatly value the production he will bring and the leadership he will provide to our younger players.”
The amnesty of Scola was one of the many moves the Houston Rockets have made this off-season in what seems to be a complete make-over in an attempt to acquire Orlando Magic Center Dwight Howard. The 32 year-old Scola averaged 14.5 points and 7.7 rebounds during his tenure in Houston for a total of 386 games.
Scola has been a model of consistency since coming into the league from Argentina. In four of his five seasons with the Rockets he managed to play in every single game without injury. In four of those five seasons he managed to shoot over 50% from the floor as well.
Suns fans now have one of their own that they can root for in the upcoming London Olympics as Scola will represent Argentina in the 2012 games.
In the process, the Suns waived forward Josh Childress making him their amnesty player after two seasons in Phoenix.
“We thank Josh Childress for his contributions,” Babby mentioned. “He is a consummate professional.”
It was a tough go for Childress over the last two seasons as he struggled to find consistent minutes with the Suns off the bench. He came to Phoenix via sign-and-trade with the Atlanta Hawks back in July of 2010.
“Thank you to the Phoenix Suns organization, my teammates and the great fans” said Josh Childress via Twitter on Sunday. “I appreciate everything. God Bless.”
The Suns may not be done yet. Everything points to the Suns acquiring a shooting guard as well. The team did meet with O.J. Mayo but according to reports, the Suns did not offer a contract in the end as Mayo and his agent are eying an $8 million a year salary. Courtney Lee or bringing back Shannon Brown could be other options at that position.
The Suns were disappointed that they could not make a splash in landing Eric Gordon, despite the fact he wants to be in Phoenix. The Suns have been very active and have now landed three of the more sought after free agents of the 2012 off-season in Goran Dragic, Michael Beasley and now Luis Scola.
For more on the Suns, follow Jared Cohen on Twitter at @JaredPros2Preps.
