Ulis is itching to join his team

2nd-year PG won’t play in Las Vegas

Devin Booker on Wednesday was a surprise participant in the Suns’ summer-league practice. Running with the second team in the final minutes, the high-scoring guard hit Christian Wood with a nice bounce pass through the lane that led to a foul.

As Booker backpedaled on defense, one of his closest friends watched from the side. Although he is on Phoenix’s summer roster, Tyler Ulis won’t play in Las Vegas. The second-year point guard is recovering from the right-ankle surgery he had in May.

“My progress is great right now,” Ulis said. “I’m on the right timetable. In a couple weeks, I should be able to get back on the court, do a little running and jumping, things like that. I just miss playing. I haven’t played in a long time. This is probably the longest I’ve gone from being away from basketball.”

Ulis, 21, had a strong finish to his rookie season. With guards Eric Bledsoe and Brandon Knight shut down for parts or all of the second half, the 5-foot-10 point guard averaged 13.2 points and 7.8 assists (with just 2.0 turnovers) after the All-Star break, showing Phoenix management that he could fill the backup point-guard spot and maybe more.

In April, Ulis was named Western Conference Rookie of the Month. The only downside was that, at about the same time, he felt pain in his right foot. Ulis played through it but after the season, he learned he needed surgery.

On May 10, Ulis had what the Suns called a minor procedure in New York City. The team announced the recovery time as 12 weeks.

“I wouldn’t say disappointing,” Suns coach Earl Watson said. “It’s unfortunate.”

Watson believes that summer is the most important part of the year for NBA players, especially those en-