With a new Phoenix Suns season approaching and a roster makeover complete, the dust has now fully settled to where we know what the organization will have at its disposal from an asset standpoint for the foreseeable future.
Here is a look at the war chest going forward.
Slim pickings for Suns’ tradable draft picks
While the Suns do still own some first-round picks they can use themselves to draft, they do not have one that is tradable at this time.
One that would have become eligible this summer is in 2032, but because Phoenix was in the second apron for too many years, that pick became frozen. That means it cannot be traded until it is unfrozen, and the Suns will accomplish that by staying out of that second apron three out of the four next seasons. So, the end of the 2027-28 season is the soonest that can be the case.
The flurry of movement during the 2025 NBA Draft used up just about all of the equity left.
Center Mark Williams was brought in for the No. 29 pick and a future first-rounder in 2029 that will likely land in the 20s. Phoenix still wanted to pick in that range, though, so it used four future second-rounders in a series of two different trades to get the 31st selection and take Rasheer Fleming. The Williams trade did net the Suns an extra second-round pick back, which is actually their own in 2029.
That has left Phoenix with two future second-round picks, with the other coming next year via Dallas, Oklahoma City or Philadelphia (it will be the second-most favorable of those three). The Suns technically do have a second-round pick in 2032, but it is essentially swapped.
Veterans available?
Phoenix exited the summer with a fairly unbalanced roster still, one that became easier to disassemble by getting out of the aprons. But since the move to accomplish that, waiving-and-stretching Bradley Beal, was done in mid-July, trade season had more or less passed and Phoenix likely missed its window to get any more of that work done.
On the wing, the two big names to watch over the course of the season are Grayson Allen and Royce O’Neale.
A two-guard backcourt and the defensive-minded pair of Dillon Brooks and Ryan Dunn will make it a chore for the Suns to find either guy at least 25 minutes per game, the total they are used to over their career. And Phoenix should be prioritizing the development of young talent, so that comes with finding extra wing minutes for Dunn and Rasheer Fleming, as well as the occasional minutes at the 4 for Oso Ighodaro and maybe even some time later for Koby Brea.
Allen and O’Neale have murky trade value right now, with two bad seasons of a team on-court product clouding the evaluation of how two complementary wings can contribute. A smart general manager on a contender, however, would be wise to look into acquiring either if the need arises.
Allen’s contract is not small. The soon-to-be-30-year-old is due $16.9 million this season, $18.1 million the next and $19.4 million the year after (as a player option). A lack of defensive personnel over two years with Phoenix has led to Allen getting exposed even more on that end, taking on defensive assignments he never should have. And even when that’s not the case, he can get picked on at times. Allen’s shown a propensity for poor decisions on drive-and-kick plays, although his rim pressure was a plus for the Suns each of the last two years. And his motor was one of a very few that was consistent the last two years.
He’s also one of the best shooters in the NBA. Allen is shooting 44.5% from 3 as a Sun on 5.7 attempts per game, and among the 140 players to take at least 500 3s over that time, Allen’s percentage is the best in basketball by almost a full 2%, per Stathead. That’s worth almost all of his contract alone.
O’Neale, 32, is at a much more affordable three years left for a little under $33 million. While he’s not the on-ball defender he once was, O’Neale remains a heady player on both ends and shot a career-high 40.6% on 3s last year with a career-high 5.9 attempts per game. There should be a market for that soon enough.
Maybe it takes until the trade deadline, but both of those guys should have their suitors. The return wouldn’t net much if anything at all, but Phoenix tidying up its long-term books even more would be of use, while adding any type of draft capital at all would be a bonus.
Nick Richards is seemingly the odd man out of the center rotation after he was acquired midseason to save it. He’s got clear strengths and weaknesses as a 27-year-old center and has the type of athleticism, finishing and rebounding profile that at $5 million could find a market.
Those are the main “chips” out there. When the Kevin Durant trade happened, both Brooks and Jalen Green seemed like names worth listing too. But the Suns sure appear to be fans of both, so we’ll put that on pause for now. And with that said, the duo are like Allen and O’Neale, where it’s not an easy read on what type of value they have.
“Do not open”
Pay attention to the signage!
As far as “trade value” goes, the Suns do have young players that possess some. No. 10 overall pick Khaman Maluach will top that list, while Dunn showed his exciting two-way potential last season as a rookie. Ighodaro has the type of skill set that certain teams are always a fan of, while it was well-known that Fleming had his fair share of suitors when the second day of the draft started.
In the event things aren’t gong well and the Suns get incredibly impatient, they would be able to accelerate things by moving those guys. That is by all accounts not the mindset the front office has shared and Phoenix understands (at least right now) this is going to be a long-term process of growth.
The big red button
The way to replenish the barren war chest, of course, is to trade Devin Booker. The concept has been covered in this space previously. Give that ol’ different-looking text a click if you care to indulge yourself on the premise. For what it’s worth, Booker just signed a new extension and the Suns have said time after time they are not interested in moving him.
