With the trade deadline now in the rearview, the Suns are turning the page. Nick Richards is off to Chicago. Nigel Hayes-Davis landed in Milwaukee. In return, Phoenix brought in Amir Coffey and Cole Anthony.
At least on paper.
As of now, Cole Anthony has still not reported to the team, according to Duane Rankin. There has been no welcome graphic. No photo. No announcement. Nothing. Coffey is here. Anthony, for the moment, exists in theory.
It might not seem like much, but a welcome graphic is usually the tell. If a player is with the team, you see it. Simple as that. We already got one for Amir Coffey, posted Saturday, loud and clear.
So what gives?
This is speculation, but it is educated speculation. Reading the tea leaves, looking at the timing, the silence, and the roster math, it feels like the Suns are preparing to waive Cole Anthony.
Right now, Phoenix is sitting at 14 players with one open roster spot. Waiving Anthony would open flexibility. It creates room to add two players instead of one, which matters with the buyout market coming into view.
One path is obvious. Convert both Jamaree Bouyea and Isaiah Livers to standard contracts. Do that, and the Suns still stay under the luxury tax. That feels like the cleanest route. They do not have to rush it either. Teams have until the end of the season to convert two-way players for playoff eligibility. Still, moving earlier would help, especially with the March 4 deadline to sign waived players. If you want optionality later, getting those conversions done sooner helps. It keeps doors open. Names like CJ Huntley live in that space.
The other path is, following the waiving of Anthony, converting one player (most likely Bouyea) and signing a buyout player. Chris Boucher, anyone?
So why hold onto Cole Anthony at all?
Because insurance matters. Guard depth has been a recurring issue all season. Bodies go down. Rotations stretch thin. Anthony becomes a break-glass option if things get sideways again. And honestly, I do not hate that idea. He was a lottery pick back in 2020, going 15th overall to the Orlando Magic. The production has dipped in the past couple of seasons, but the edge is still there. He plays with some bite. Some stubbornness. That part fits.
The problem is everything else. He is a career 34.3% shooter from deep. He does not generate many steals. He does not tilt possessions. And this team is built on volume, pressure, and connectivity.
So while nothing is official yet, all signs point in the same direction. The welcome graphic never came. The reporting is quiet. The roster math makes sense. Cole Anthony feels like a placeholder, not a plan. And sooner rather than later, the Suns are probably going to move on.