NBA Free Agency: Channing Frye Turns Down Suns’ 5 Year, $25 Million Offer; Wants Full Mid-Level Exception

Channing Frye apparently wants Drew Gooden money. And honestly, who can blame him. After the peripatetic Gooden somehow landed a $32 million, five year deal from the Bucks, John Gambadoro of 620 KTAR reports Frye has turned down a $25 million, five year offer from the Suns, and wants the team’s full mid-level exception, which would come out to roughly equivalent to what Gooden received: $32-34 million over five seasons.

The 26-year old Frye averaged 11.2 points and 5.3 rebounds per game for the Suns last season (and for the more APBR-inclined of you, a 15 PER), in addition to connecting on nearly 44% of his three-point attempts, as a key reserve for the surprising Suns. Considering the relative dearth of “stretch fours” -- at least affordable ones -- the full mid-level for a 6-foot-11 sharpshooter of Frye’s caliber seems fairly reasonable. indeed, SB Nation’s Bright Side of the Sun has issued a constant refrain of “Pay Frye” throughout Thursday, after lesser players like Gooden and Darko Milicic have set the market at absurd early levels.

Still, it’s not immediately clear what other teams could be in the market for Frye. Early reports indicated he was waiting for the superstar troika of LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh to settle, presumably between Chicago and Miami, before making his own decision. It wasn’t clear whether Frye was hoping to catch on with one of those hypothetical super-teams, which wouldn’t be possible since teams that started the summer with cap space don’t have mid-level exceptions, or if he thought a team that missed out on one of those max players would offer him the full mid-level (for teams looking for sign-and-trades) or more (for those with the cap space).

For more on Frye and the Suns, check out Bright Side of the Sun.