Suns withdraw qualifying offer to Brooks

The Suns announced Saturday that they have withdrawn their qualifying offer to restricted-free-agent point guard Aaron Brooks. The four-year veteran is now an unrestricted free agent, meaning the Suns do not have the option to match an offer he receives from another team.

Brooks, who did not play with the Suns  last season because he signed a contract in China shortly before the completion of the NBA lockout, appeared in 25 games with Phoenix in 2010-11, averaging 9.6 points and 4.2 assists in 18.9 minutes per game.

The 27-year old became expendable when the Suns selected point guard Kendall Marshall with the 13th pick in the draft and then agreed to terms with free-agent point guard Goran Dragic -- whom the Suns traded to the Rockets to acquire Brooks at the 2011 trading deadline -- to a four-year, $40 million contract.

The Suns also have backup point guard Sebastian Telfair under contract for the next two years, giving them sufficient depth at the position despite the impending sign-and-trade of Steve Nash to the Lakers.