'Book called me': Ish Wainright back with Phoenix Suns after being waived by Blazers

Ish Wainright can’t remember the exact day, but he knows exactly who contacted him first about returning to the Phoenix Suns – "President of Arizona," Devin Booker.

“Book called me, he FaceTime’d me,” Wainright said. “Book, when he needs something, he’ll FaceTime you. I was actually about to change my shoes 'cause I was about to get on the court and do a little dynamic workout and Book called me and gave me that look.”

Slightly tilting his head back with a smirk, Wainright gave Booker’s facial expression that indicated the time had come for him to return to the place he started his NBA career.

“It must be good news,” Wainright said. “He said, ‘Yeah, call me after your workout.’ That was in the middle of my workout in Phoenix.”

The Suns recently signed Wainright to a two-way deal, after having waived him right before the final preseason game in late October in whittling down their roster to 15 standard players. Portland picked up Wainright for the start of the regular season, but parted ways with the 6-5, 235-pound forward in January.

The Suns waived guard Theo Maledon to make room for Wainright as NBA teams can have three two-way players.

“I’m not going to lie, it was very emotional,” said Wainright, about being waived by Portland as he played in just seven games for the Blazers, scoring a total of 20 points in 46 minutes of action. “Some players be like, you never know when your door closes in the NBA.”

The return to Phoenix proved to be the light at the end of a disappointing tunnel for Wainright.

“Anything can happen,” Wainright said. “Don’t take this game for granted. I will never take this game for granted because one day you’ll be in the league, the next day, you’ll be out for a couple of months. You never know what can happen, but I feel like this is a second, 2.0 or 3.0. I’m back ready to contribute however I can. Not take any day for granted.”

A calf strain limited Wainright during training camp and he didn’t play in Phoenix’s first four preseason games. At the time, Suns coach Frank Vogel said he hoped they’d bring Wainright back on what would’ve likely been a two-way deal, but Portland later signed him to a standard contract.

“We’re big on Ish Wainright,” Vogel said back in October.

Months later, nothing has changed for Vogel about Wainright, who averaged 3.4 points in his first two seasons in Phoenix. He was active for Thursday’s win over Toronto, but didn’t play.

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“We’re excited to have Ish back,” Vogel said Friday. “He’s a good player. He helps fill out our depth. We get depleted, he is someone we know we can throw in there that knows our system and can give us some quality play and on top of that, he’s a really good culture guy. He’s got great leadership skills, great work ethic and is just good for our overall team group and culture.”

Thanks, Coach.

“Much respect to Coach Vogel, the whole coaching staff,” said Wainright, who added that Suns team owner Mat Ishbia reached out to him after Portland waived him. “We stayed in contact. This whole time, we stayed in contact because I know what they want to build here, and I want to be a part of it. So, ready to get to work.”

The Suns have a slot open on their standard roster with three two-way players in Saben Lee, Udoka Azubuike and Wainright. He first joined the Suns for the 2021-22 season as a two-way player, but Phoenix converted that deal into a standard contract near the end of that regular season.

Undrafted out of Baylor, Wainright later signed a two-year deal with the Suns, but was let go before the 2023-24 regular season began.  He’s now back in Phoenix, relieved to be on an NBA team again, but is once again on a two-way.

“I’m still competing,” Wainright said. “I’m going to compete. We have one more roster spot. Ya’ll know how that goes. It could go to somebody, either Saben, me or Udoka, gets converted over or they sign someone else. It’s out of my control. I can only control me working, waking up every morning, playing my butt off and working out. Staying ready and just playing. When my name is called, just be ready.”

Back on the grind with a reality mindset.

“I’m not comfortable,” Wainright continued. “I probably got comfortable before. I got hurt, this and that, but I’m not comfortable. I’m ready to compete, ready to play and have fun while I’m doing it, too. Still going to have fun, still going to smile, but it’s about business, still.”

Wainright has had some moments with the Suns going back to last season. He tied his career high for made 3s in a game with four with two coming in the fourth quarter of a 130-126 victory March 5, 2023 at Dallas. His last three gave Phoenix a 124-122 lead over the Mavericks with 2:07 left in the game.

“I think I can help in many different ways,” Wainright said. “Being vocal, having experience. Not a lot of experience, but enough experience to also be a little vocal and my defensive experience also. That’s one thing I’m going to take pride in and then knocking down the 3. Something I’ve always wanted to work on, contribute to the team, but also having energy. Bringing a smile back to the city.”

Wainright admitted having a tough time dealing with being waived by Portland, but received encouraging words from Blazers coach Chauncey Billups and positive texts from Pistons coach Monty Williams, who coached him in Phoenix.

“A lot of ups and downs, a lot of emotions,” Wainright said. “Every emotion you could possibly think of.”

Flying back to Phoenix the following day after being released, Wainright said he trained five to six days a week as the 29-year-old has been working out with player development coach Vaughn Compton. Wainright kept in contact with his agent, said he had a workout with another team, but still hadn’t been picked up yet.

“During that downtime, you tend to get on Twitter and stuff like that and you read a couple of things, they might want a veteran, they might want this guy,” Wainright said. “I tried not to look at that. I saw that a couple of times and just got off it.”

Then Booker called.

“I was like, cool,” a smiling Wainright said. “He texts me. We talk every now and then, but that phone call, that’s a different thing right there when you get that phone call from the mayor, the president of Arizona.”

Have opinions about the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-787-1240. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Ish Wainright back with Suns after 'good news' call from Devin Booker