Valley Suns acquire David Stockton, trade rights of Jahlil Okafor and Garrison Brooks
Sep 27, 2024, 8:13 AM | Updated: 2:15 pm
David Stockton #5 of G League Ignite warms up before an NBA G League Fall Invitational game against the Perth Wildcats on September 08, 2023 in Henderson, Nevada. The Wildcats defeated Ignite 127-112. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
(Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
The Phoenix Suns’ G League team, the Valley Suns, traded the rights of expansion draft picks Jahlil Okafor and Garrison Brooks to the Indiana Mad Ants for the rights of point guard David Stockton, the son of NBA all-time steals and assists leader John Stockton.
Okafor was the third overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft and piled up 247 games of NBA experience that ended in 2020-21 with 27 games played for the Detroit Pistons.
Knee injuries and then inconsistencies tanked his career after a promising rookie year with Philadelphia (17.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game).
Stockton, 33, played for the Phoenix Suns in the 2017 Summer League.
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He appeared in just three G League games last season for the now-folded G League Ignite, where he averaged 8.7 points and 6.7 assists in 27 minutes per game on a roster of mostly young NBA prospects. Stockton’s rights were deferred to Indiana with the G League Ignite ceasing operations.
He has stints with the Sacramento Kings and Utah Jazz since going pro in 2014 but has also played in Croatia, New Zealand, Germany, Puerto Rico and for several G League squads.
Valley Suns roster continues taking shape with David Stockton trade
The Valley Suns will likely heavily involve two-way players Jalen Bridges, Collin Gillespie and TyTy Washington, but the team added a wealth of options to its roster with an expansion draft in June.
That gave the G League team returning player rights to 14 players, giving them the ability to sign the players if they opted to play in the G League this season.
The team has been busy in the trade market preparing for the debut season of the franchise in November.
Of the 14 player rights acquired in the expansion draft, the Suns have dealt Okafor, Brooks, Justin Smith, Theo Maledon and Trevion Williams. They’ve acquired the rights to Stockton, guard Kaleb Johnson and big man Mamadi Diakite in those deals.
The Valley team, which will play at Arizona State University’s Mullett Arena in Tempe, also traded a 2025 NBA G League Draft first-round pick for Jaden Shackelford.
The G League’s Suns team opens its season at the Santa Cruz Warriors on Nov. 8.
