On Wednesday, Tyler Ulis underwent a “minor surgical procedure on his right ankle.”
The Phonex Suns expect him to return to full basketball activity in “approximately 12 weeks”. As a rookie this past season, Ulis averaged 7.3 points and 3.7 assists per game, and was named the Kia NBA Western Conference Rookie of the Month in April after averaging 20.7 points and 6.8 assists throughout the month.
Ulis began improving his play in early 2017, and had a good, consistent stretch of 22 games from March through April when he averaged 14.3 points and 7.6 assists per game. His ability to play at that level for that long bodes well for Phoenix in the future, this surgery, though – not so much.
While it’s been clearly stated this was a ‘minor’ surgery, with the other two-thirds of the Phoenix backcourt having injury-riddled pasts, it will be interesting to see how the Suns manage their guard situation this summer. The draft lottery is Tuesday night, and the Suns will in all likelihood have a top-5 pick in this year’s guard-heavy draft.
