Which Suns are most likely to be traded? Let’s start with this trio
Dec 18, 2024, 7:10 AM | Updated: 8:41 am
Dec. 15 marked the day most players who signed this NBA offseason were cleared to be included in the trade season before the February deadline.
It’s the unofficial unlocking of the season, so of course that means, uh, the Phoenix Suns and Jimmy Butler are linked.
We’ll allow that situation to marinate.
In the time being, it’s time to familiarize ourselves with what the Suns have to offer. They’ve got a couple second-round picks (2026, 2031) courtesy of the Denver Nuggets, plus a 2031 first-rounder and their own second to add as sweetener.
But about the players on the roster who could be tradeable, the conversation is mainly focused on three guys.
Grayson Allen, Jusuf Nurkic and Josh Okogie are the Suns’ trade deadline assets
Grayson Allen
Salary: $15.6 million this year, $16.9 million next year and $18.1 million in 2026-27 with a 2027-28 player option
What’s his value on the court? Allen made himself a bit of money last year, proving capable of challenging a variety of starting-caliber perimeter opponents while simultaneously putting up his most efficient scoring season in the largest role of his NBA career.
Coming off the bench in 2024-25 has coincided with Allen’s efficiency falling off about 8% in both overall shooting (41% this year) and 3-point accuracy (39%). He missed time early on after the birth of his child, and that combined with a role change may have stunted how he evolved as the returnee with the biggest role change from a year ago.
He’s actually getting to the foul stripe more (2.2 times to 2.0 from 2023-24), all despite playing 10 fewer minutes. He’s not a one-trick pony.
That’s all to say he’s come down to earth as expected, but Allen is by far Phoenix’s best trade asset in terms of on-court value.
Why would the Suns make a move? People will be quick to list Allen as the most easily tradeable Sun this season because of the above fact, but a counterargument would be that he is the least likely to get a return that makes up for what he provides.
Ask this: Would you trade Allen for a perimeter shooter, one who can’t get to the rim as much nor hold up on defense as well? It’s unlikely you get two players for one who are noticeable upgrades.
An Allen trade would say, “We got enough shooting as is and really need a significant upgrade at the 4 or 5.”
At present, the Suns are a top-five 3-point shooting team and top 10 in terms of volume per game. In gravity terms, the Suns would need to acquire a legitimate rim-roller in such a deal. If they get a guy who can shoot and won’t be frequently attacked on the defensive end, all the better. It’s just as a lot to ask for.
Allen’s salary could flip easily for one of the many centers on the trade market, but the center market is blah for a reason, as The Ringer’s Zach Kram wrote this week.
Trading Allen for a big would likely coincide with a secondary move involving the player the Suns might want to find an upgrade over. That player is …
Jusuf Nurkic
Salary: $18.1 million in 2024-25 with 1 more year at $19.4 million
What’s his value on the court? Whispers: It’s surprisingly Bradley Beal’s plus-minuses and on-offs that should grab your attention more than Nurkic’s.
Phoenix’s most-used lineup this season is actually the starting lineup when at full strength. It has a -12.2 overall rating in 98 minutes, a bleh sight.
Swap Royce O’Neale for Bradley Beal and it’s a wild 34.1 net rating, and that group has played the second-most minutes among five-man units.
Nurkic has more games on the positive plus-minus end than the minus this year, and take away two October clunkers against the Lakers and he’s not been as terrible as Phoenix fans might believe.
All of that is to say he’s getting lots of blame pinned on him when the results aren’t that different from last season. Yep, Nurkic is going to be an acquired taste any place he lands because he’s best utilized in the 25-minute-per-game range. Maybe he is a third wheel to lubricate the trade wheels in any Brandon Ingram or Jimmy Butler blockbuster.
So could you convince a competitive team to take on Nurkic’s deal?
Why would the Suns make a move? Well, it’s a stretch, but you could maybe argue a souring situation elsewhere makes him a replacement piece.
No reporting here, but the Hawks have long been rumored to be looking for a new Clint Capela home. Maybe they need Nurkic as a time-splitter and swing a separate Capela trade. They send Larry Nance Jr. plus salary filler to Phoenix to open the starting job for Onyeka Okongwu.
Again, I’d be really surprised if the Hawks would think that is worth taking on money next year, too. But for the Suns, such a deal would represent getting a rim-roller who also has stretch juice flashing this year (Nance is shooting 55% from 3 on 2.9 attempts per 15 minutes each game).
That’s a super optimistic example for sure. Overall, any Nurkic trade means another team is doing a lot more shapeshifting around a separate deal with the Suns. In any case, the Suns would be throwing draft picks behind that kind of move.
Josh Okogie
Salary: $8.3 million in 2024-25 and $7.8 million next season, which becomes guaranteed on June 30, 2025
What’s his value on the court? Okogie and rookie Ryan Dunn appearing on the roster out of training camp appeared redundant, and their brief time playing together shows just how much having two non-shooters on the court — even if they take 3s — can change the shape of an opposing defense. Indeed, both players have value because of their defensive profiles, but it’s the latter who is most expendable.
Okogie was absolutely necessary to appear for the Suns in the postseason the past two years, but the fact he was such an offensive liability in that setting remains inescapable.
Why would the Suns make a move?
As my Empire of the Suns podcast co-host Kellan Olson pointed out to me, an Okogie trade could look like a mini version of the Dennis Schroder trade between the Nets and Warriors.
Brooklyn sent the very good Schroder and a second-round choice to Golden State for an ACL-injured De’Anthony Melton and three seconds. Would the Suns be able to flip Okogie and a couple seconds for a more well-rounded player, say, like Detroit’s Malik Beasley. He’s on an expiring $6 million deal and has been averaging 16 points in just 28 minutes per game.
That could cover if the Suns traded Allen for a frontcourt upgrade. Again, note the multiple steps to improve the roster.
It was clear Okogie was about to become the most tradeable Sun when, instead of bringing him back on a minimum, Phoenix signed him to a much larger deal. He was going to be valued for how much he made more than what he could provide on the court.
You, too, would be down to make twice as much on a long-term deal even if it meant you probably would have to move to a city you didn’t get to pick within a year’s time.
