The Suns traded reserve point guard Sebastian Telfair to the Raptors shortly before Thursday afternoon's NBA trade deadline in exchange for a 2014 second-round pick and veteran center Hamed Haddadi.
The 27-year-old Telfair had fallen out of the rotation in Phoenix recently with the emergence of rookie point guard Kendall Marshall, who has taken over as the primary backup to starter Goran Dragic. Telfair was averaging 6.0 points and 2.5 assists with the Suns but had not played in seven of the team's last nine games.
The Suns traded their 2013 second-round pick to the Rockets on Wednesday as part of the Marcus Morris deal, so they were able to recoup a similar pick by sending the expendable Telfair to Toronto. Because of a previous trade involving the Raptors and Kings, the pick the Suns acquired will be the one belonging to whichever of those two teams selects lower in the 2014 draft.
The 7-foot-2 Haddadi, who was the league's first Iranian-born player and is in his fifth year in the NBA, averaged 1.2 points and 1.8 rebounds in 13 games with the Grizzlies earlier this season but did not play for the Raptors after being acquired in a midseason trade. In 134 career games, the 27-year-old has averaged 6.8 minutes, 2.0 points and 2.1 rebounds.
The Suns will have a $1.4 million option on Haddadi for next year, although it is unlikely he will be a part of the team moving forward given the glut of frontcourt players and expected return of forward Channing Frye from a heart ailment next season.
Earlier Thursday, the Suns waived reserve forward Luke Zeller.
