The Phoenix Suns’ offseason signaled to the rest of the NBA that they were leaning into a youth movement. They made three selections in the 2025 NBA Draft, all the players they acquired for Kevin Durant were under 30, and they traded for Mark Williams.
Two of the main players that the Valley surrounded Devin Booker, Durant, and Bradley Beal with were veterans Grayson Allen and Royce O’Neale. Going into the year, their roles with the team were murky. Both players are over 30, and have three years left on their deals, owed nearly a combined $90 million.
Now 12 games in, both of the veterans have found their roles on the team. Both are in the starting lineup and are having great starts to the season. Because of the reliability they’ve provided, the Suns should be cautious when fielding offers for both of them if teams call to inquire about their services as the trade deadline slowly approaches.
Allen has started every game this season and is averaging a career-high in points, and just set a career high for points with 42 and a franchise record for most threes made in a game with 10 on Monday against the New Orleans Pelicans. He followed up his historic game with a 13-point fourth quarter to seal a win over the Dallas Mavericks Wednesday night.
His ability to space the floor at an elite level, put the ball on the ground and drive to the cup and play make for others, Allen has been the Suns’ clear-cut second-best player so far, and has given Devin Booker a reliable partner in the back court with Jalen Green missing most of the start of the season. Allen is one of three players on the team that hasn’t had a game scoring in single digits.
For O’Neale, just like Allen, he’s having a career year. Shooting well-beyond 40% for the year, O’Neale has started amid Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks’ flurry of absences. Defensively, he’s tied with Allen for the most steals to start the year. O’Neale’s length and experience have provided the Valley with strong wing play while Brooks was injured.
With Green out at least the next 4-6 weeks, both are expected to be in the starting lineup together, but their value goes beyond Green’s absence.
Allen and O’Neale, just like Devin Booker, have seen the Suns’ transformation from a team that was expected to be one of the best in the association, to one of the most disappointing teams, to now one that is flying more under the radar after the absence of Durant and Beal from the Valley.
Both have been main contributors to start the year and are reasons the Suns are exceeding expectations right now. If dealt, the Suns run the risk of losing pieces that have not only helped them start the year strong, but also help add continuity.
With Jordan Ott being a first-year head coach, O’Neale and Allen’s voices are ones that can help the young players continue to build the culture and fortify the goal of having franchise alignment that was constantly expressed by the front office this past summer. Both were on multiple team’s that had 50-win seasons before coming to the Phoenix, they’ve started alongside stars and contributed in establishing continuity for franchises.
The Suns should be very careful when negotiating with other teams about their services. Because of their experience, both fit the mold of veterans that contending teams tend to look for at the trade deadline. Obviously, the Suns are low on draft assets and ways to build around Devin Booker, so if an offer is too good to pass up with draft capital, they need to consider it, but the Suns need to truly understand what they are giving up.