Dionte Christmas
At a glance: 6-5, 205 pounds, 27 years old
2013 Summer League stats: 20.9 minutes, 10.1 points, 2.7 rebounds, 2.0 assists per game
How he got here: Free agent signee on Sept. 13
What he brings to the table: A catch-and-shoot game and confidence, the combination of which convinced General Manager Ryan McDonough to ink Christmas to a contract before training camp. His game is easy to like. He runs well on curls around screens and off the ball, boasts a textbook catch-and-release motion and he brought competitive edge that rubbed teammates the right way in Summer League. When he was open from deep, the Suns on the bench usually rose as one, expecting the shot to go in.
Goal: Make the opening-night roster (played mostly overseas since coming out of college)
Best game as a pro: July 20, 2013 vs. Toronto in the NBA Summer League. Having already established himself as a scorer off the bench in previous games, Christmas came through again with 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting, five rebounds and a steal in a five-point win over the Raptors.
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SUNS PLAYER PREVIEWS
Sept. 16: Ish Smith
Sept. 16: Viacheslav Kravtsov
Sept. 17: Malcolm Lee
Sept. 18: Miles Plumlee
Sept. 19: Dionte Christmas
Sept. 20: Gerald Green
Sept. 21: Kendall Marshall
Sept. 22: Shannon Brown
Sept. 24: P.J. Tucker
Sept. 25: Archie Goodwin
Sept. 26: Alex Len
Sept. 27: Marcus Morris, Markieff Morris
Sept. 28: Marcin Gortat
Sept. 29: Eric Bledsoe
Sept. 30: Goran Dragic