‘Real opportunity’: Ross relishes Suns role
Terrence Ross has gone from a young, rebuilding team to a championship contender.
After being waived by Orlando via buyout, Ross has joined Phoenix to give the Suns a big guard/wing who can create his own shot off the bounce and knock down 3s.
“The last few years have been rough, but being here, you have a real opportunity to do something big, play for something great,” said Ross after Thursday’s shootaround. “It’s a lot of emotions right now, but I’m excited.”
Ross scored 16 points in his Suns debut Thursday against the Clippers. His last game with Orlando was Jan. 21 at Washington.
“Doing what he’s always done,” Suns All-Star Devin Booker said after the game. “It’s tough to do though in a new system and just come out here and play and play aggressive. We need that out of him.”
Ross appeared to be heading to Dallas, but he wound up signing with the Suns on Tuesday night after being waived by Orlando via buyout. He was in final year of a four-year, $54 million deal.
“At the last second really, I was talking to (Suns general manager James Jones and head coach Monty Williams) and kind of understanding what my role would be,” Ross said. “I just feel like this is a better fit, better situation for me. I can help out and they can use what I do.”
Ross signed with the Suns for the rest of the season at $918,516, according to spotrac.com and will be an unrestricted free agent after this season.
“I just talked with him about the way we play and how we thought he could fit,” Williams said before Thursday’s game.
“Just wanted him to feel wanted. Obviously, we try to shoot guys straight about what their role could look like and I explained to him exactly what that would be, the possibilities and the constraints and just told him like James did and like (new Suns team owner Mat Ishbia) did that we wanted him here and we felt like he could be an important person in this organization, not just on the floor, but a culture piece and all the stuff that we try to push every day.”
Ross also has a familiar face on the team in Bismack Biyombo as the two were teammates in Toronto and Orlando.
“I’m following him,” a laughing Ross said. “I told Biz. He’s always been messing with me. I told him I’m going to haunt him.”
Biyombo joked back about Ross before the game, saying he wasn’t happy with Ross’ locker being beside his while Ross was sitting next to him in the Suns locker room.
“I’m extremely disappointed that he’s here,” Biyombo joked. “When I saw the news he was signing here, I was like, oh no, not again, but it’s the NBA so I guess some people got to follow other people. I must be a really good leader for him to follow me like that.”
Turning serious, Biyombo said he hoped the Suns would sign Ross after the Magic buyout.
“The first thing I said was, ‘Oh wow, we got to get him,’” Biyombo said. “When I heard that we got him, I was so happy because Terrence is a dude that likes to play basketball, knows how to play basketball and the way our team is structured now, we need a strong second unit as well in order for us to be able to deliver.”
Averaging 8.1 points this season and 11.0 for his NBA career that began as an eighth overall pick in the 2012 draft out of Washington, the 6-6 Ross provides the Suns another player who can get a bucket, a skill that’s valuable in the postseason, at any time.
Shooting 36.9% from 3 this season, Ross can be streaky shooter who can suddenly get hot, hence the nickname Human Torch of the Fantastic Four from the Marvel Comics, but he can also keep hoisting even after turning cold.
Ross shot 1-of-8 from 3 in Thursday’s game on a 7-of-17 shooting night.
“He’s doing what we want him to do,” Williams said after the game. “He’s aggressive to score, he’s solid on defense. Once he understands what we’re doing on defense, he’s going to be a lot better there. There were a couple of times when he was in the wrong rotation, but he’ll figure it out once we get some more reps.”
However, Ross has made clutch shots in his career and never shied away from launching in pressure moments.
“We feel like he’s going to be a guy who can come off the bench and give us timely scores, take the pressure off of guys who mainly score for us,” Williams continued. “I like his aggression.”
When looking at the Suns, he may prove to be that fifth guy in the court with Kevin Durant, Chris Paul, Deandre Ayton and Booker to close out close game.
“I never been on the court or on the same team with two guys that demand that amount of attention,” said Ross about Booker and Durant. “Usually, when I feel like I’m in the game, guys usually try to double team and get out of my hands. To be out there and have that space, and see how that is, it’s going to be brand new to me because I feel like I’ve never had that, but it’s going to be fun.”
Ross is also starting this new basketball chapter wearing No. 8.
“Honestly, it’s always the number that I wanted,” Ross said.
Ross has worn No. 31 for most of his basketball career.
It’s a family tradition.
His mom, Marcine Parker, sported it in high school and college at Cal Poly Pomona.
His sister Taelor Ross wore it playing at Seattle University and his younger brother, Drew Parker, donned it when playing AAU.
Terrence Ross rocked it while starring at Washington, but he looked to change it to whatever number he was chosen in the NBA Draft.
The Toronto Raptors drafted him eighth overall in 2012, but José Calderón was wearing No. 8 and in his eighth NBA season.
Ross stuck with family number.
Then he got traded Feb. 14 to Orlando right before the trade deadline in the 2016-17 season.
New team. New opportunity to finally change his number to No. 8, but Mario Hezonja was already wearing it.
Hezonja was with the Magic the following season, signed with the Knicks as a free agent in July 2018, but Ross kept No. 31 for the 2018-19 season.
Re-signing with the Magic, Ross finally changed his number to that desired No. 8, a decision that he felt even better about when seeing his then four-year old son, Tristian, pick the same number for a youth basketball team.
So, Ross started the season wearing No. 8, but tragedy led to him going back to No 31.
Kobe Bryant, who started his career wearing No. 8 before changing to No. 24 after the 2005-06 season, died in a helicopter crash Jan. 26, 2020.
To honor Bryant, Ross went back to No. 8 as players were informally retiring Bryant’s number. Now in Phoenix, Ross is going back to No. 8. “The passing of Kobe kind of affected me in a personal way,” Ross said. “I just felt like with a new beginning, a new start, just change it up. Going with something new.”