Miles Bridges trade frees cap space for Suns to add in free agency

If the Phoenix Suns pick up a player option on Jamaree Bouyea — a decision due Monday before free agency opens Tuesday — then they will have just a single roster spot remaining.

That they have any at all is courtesy of the Miles Bridges trade a day earlier, which shipped out guards Grayson Allen and Royce O’Neale for Bridges, among a shuffling of draft picks.

The trade moved out about $29 million in salaries this year and $31 million next on Allen and O’Neale’s combined deals for Bridges’ $22.8 million expiring deal this season. It moves them from too close the $222 million second apron, where they would have been hard-capped, to now hovering around the $209 million first apron.

Until February, the Suns can extend Bridges for three years and up to $86 million, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks.

But in layman’s terms, looking at this season alone, the deal now gives them $20 million in tax savings, another roster spot and more cap space to use the full taxpayer mid-level exception, a $6 million salary.

Surely, the Suns have to be looking at shooting, considering they lost two prolific marksmen and now have only one certified spot-up man on the roster in Collin Gillespie.

Arizona Sports’ John Gambadoro has a shortlist of free-agent targets, and Phoenix will hope at least one player falls out of the eight-figure salary range.

Which shooting guards could the Phoenix Suns target in free agency?

Luke Kennard

He’s been targeted on defense and hasn’t given enough there to be more than a 25-minute-per-night player in his career. Last year, the 30-year-old averaged 8.4 points and 2.2 assists while shooting 53% overall and 48% from 3-point range between the Lakers and Hawks. The shooting accuracy and enough play-making juice in limited time is appealing.

Kevin Huerter

Relegated to Sacramento, Chicago and Detroit the past two seasons, Huerter’s 37% shooting from 3 in his career has gone south lately. He shot 30% with the Kings in 43 games of the 2024-25 season, then got traded to the Bulls and hit at a 38% clip with a much larger role, where he got up more than seven shots a game. But last year in reduced roles between Chicago and Detroit, he shot just 31% collectively, which is a red flag for a team ideally posting him behind Devin Booker, Jalen Green, Gillespie and Jordan Goodwin.

Collin Sexton

The 27-year-old has proved to be a double-digit scorer in the NBA, and his numbers with the Hornets and Bulls last year aren’t bad: 15.4 points and 3.3 assists on 47% overall and 40% from 3 last season. But he’s an extremely high-usage player on a team that needs less of them — chances are he’d lead Booker, Green, Bridges and Dillon Brooks in usage rate. Sexton is also undersized. While he brings tenacity to the defensive end, it doesn’t always equate to being a sound defender.

Jordan Clarkson

Buried on the bench during the champion New York Knicks’ title run, Clarkson is just a year removed from being a solid high-volume scorer with the Utah Jazz (16.2 points in 26 minutes per game). Like some others on this list, his 3-point accuracy tanked (33%) with fewer minutes (17.8 per game in 2025-26). He is 34 years old, and in theory, will be a more realistic target than others on this list.

De’Anthony Melton (player option)

Suns fans who were on the train during the down years know Melton’s story. He was acquired by Phoenix as a rookie just before the 2018-19 campaign and ended up starting 31 of 50 games before he was traded to Memphis in the Josh Jackson dump that most notably netted Phoenix Jevon Carter. Melton has built a career as a glue guy since. He tore his ACL in 2024 but played 49 games (24 starts) for Golden State last year. A trusted on-ball defender as a combo guard, he is a 36% shooter from deep but was hitting 29% last season.

Landry Shamet

Gambadoro lists Shamet as a wild card after he played consistent spot minutes for the Knicks to win a title, shooting 48% from deep in the postseason. Shamet, who was on the Suns’ contending teams from 2021-23, averaged 9.3 points and 1.4 assists per game during the regular season.

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