Grades and reaction: Suns fare well in 3-team trade involving Cole Anthony
After acquiring Cole Anthony from the Bucks in a three-team trade, analysts around the NBA give their thoughts on how the Suns fared in the trade.
Watch: Empire of the Suns: Phoenix ducks the tax with Nick Richards trade at the deadline | 43 mins
The Suns were active ahead of Thursday’s NBA trade deadline as Phoenix acquired guards Cole Anthony and Amir Coffey in a three-team trade that sent Nick Richards to the Chicago Bulls and Nigel Hayes-Davis to the Milwaukee Bucks.
With the move of Richards and his $5 million salary, the Suns get under the luxury tax threshold for the first time since the 2021-22 season.
The Suns moving on from Richards should come as no surprise due to his salary and falling out of the rotation behind center Mark Williams and forward Oso Ighodaro.
The addition of Anthony and Coffey gives the Suns more bench help. Arizona Sports’ John Gambadoro reported Thursday that the trade sets up Phoenix to sign Jamaree Bouyea to a standard contract.
Here’s how analysts around the league graded how the Suns fared in the trade.
Suns’ trade grades
Suns: B
Bucks: C+
Bulls: B
They’ve climbed all the way from the second apron at the start of the offseason to avoiding the luxury tax altogether.
Hayes-Davis and Richards, the latter acquired before last year’s deadline, have both fallen out of Jordan Ott’s rotation. They’ve played fewer than 25 minutes combined since New Year’s Day, so Phoenix’s playoff push won’t be hurt for financial reasons.
In fact, the Suns might benefit if Coffey can get back to the kind of shooting we saw during his final two seasons with the LA Clippers. Coffey hit a combined 40% of his 3s in 2023-24 and 2024-25, starting 13 games both years and averaging 24.3 minutes per game as the Clippers made the 2025 playoffs.
Suns: B
Bucks: C
The Suns made this trade for financial reasons. Getting off Richards and Hayes-Davis gets them out of the tax, saving them substantial money.
Suns: A
Bucks: A-
The Suns get under a tax apron without having to include a draft pick. The Bucks use their remaining room beneath the tax to pick up a backup center. I like it for both teams.
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