Summary

I was surprised that Moore only got a one-year minimum contract with Phoenix last offseason, as I thought he could be a solid 7th or 8th man. Instead, Moore seems to be a 9th or 10th man in the rotation, and is even lower than that currently with the Suns. Moore hasn't been able to get consistent minutes on this deep Suns team.

 

If Moore can get back to the level of play he was at in recent previous seasons, I still think he could contribute to teams that aren't quite as deep at the wing. His numbers are down this year, but Moore has previously shot well from three, and has some play-making ability. He doesn't have great size for a wing, as he's more of a combo-guard sized player, but he can defend most perimeter players adequately, especially against second units. Moore will be 32 this summer, and it looks like he will be on minimum contracts for the rest of his NBA career, which could be short-lived. 

 

Cap Considerations

Moore will be an unrestricted free agent with a $1.7 million cap hold and Non-Bird Rights. This means that the highest starting salary the Suns could offer him using the Non-Bird Exception is $3.2 million. This should be enough to retain Moore, since he settled for the minimum of $2.3 million to come to Phoenix. Alternatively, the Suns could use their Mid-Level Exception or Bi-Annual Exception to re-sign Moore if he demands more than $3.2 million.

 

Other teams will have multiple ways to sign Moore as even teams without cap space could possibly use any of the Non-Taxpayer MLE, Taxpayer MLE, or possibly even the Room MLE or Bi-Annual Exception to sign him. Since he signed a minimum contract this offseason, teams will hope to get him at the minimum next summer too.