Heading into the Feb. 6 NBA trade deadline, the Phoenix Suns were already stuck in a tailspin. After jumping out to an 8-1 start to the season, they spent the next few months hovering around .500.
They might have sealed their long-term fate with what they did ahead of the trade deadline.
The Suns reportedly tried to acquire disgruntled Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler, but Bradley Beal's no-trade clause proved to be an insurmountable obstacle. That caused them to pivot to a few relatively minor acquisitions (Nick Richards, Cody Martin and Vasilije Micić).
However, they also entertained the possibility of trading star forward Kevin Durant. Had Durant greenlit a return to the Golden State Warriors, he'd likely be back in the Bay Area with Stephen Curry and Draymond Green right now.
Being included in trade talks rubbed Durant the wrong way, according to Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic. Although he shot down a Warriors reunion ahead of the trade deadline, Durant explained during a recent episode of The Draymond Green Show that he did so because he was "committed to my teammates and coaches" and wanted to "see this through to the end." But when asked whether he wants to end his career with the Suns, he replied, "I want my career to end on my terms; that's the only thing I'm worried about."
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It seems like a foregone conclusion that the Suns will revisit Durant trade talks this offseason. In late February, ESPN's Brian Windhorst was even more straightforward, saying, "They're gonna trade him, and he knows that."
Barring a Luka Dončić-esque return for Durant, trading him might not be enough to dig the Suns out of the mess they've created for themselves.
The Bigger-Picture Problem
The Suns’ fundamental problem is that they have nearly $107 million committed to a pair of duplicative shooting guards (Beal and Devin Booker) in 2025-26 and more than $114 million in 2026-27. Unless Beal declines his $57.1 million player option for 2026-27 or waives his no-trade clause, it'll be difficult for them to build a championship-caliber supporting cast around him and Booker, regardless of what they get in return for Durant.
That's exacerbated by what it cost them to acquire Durant and Beal in the first place. The Suns have already traded away control of every one of their first- and second-round picks through 2031.
The Suns do still have six first-round picks over that span, along with a second-round pick from the Denver Nuggets this coming June. They appear to have found a pair of gems in guard Ryan Dunn (No. 28 overall) and forward Oso Ighodaro (No. 40 overall) in the 2024 draft, but their limited draft capital gives them a smaller margin for error moving forward.
Luckily, they should be able to replenish their cache of draft picks if they do trade Durant this offseason. Sources told Rankin that "the most ideal return on a Durant trade is regaining three first-round picks and a young player as part of a multi-team deal tied to getting under the second apron."
The Suns are nearly $26 million over the second apron this season, which was a major impediment for them at the trade deadline. Teams above the second apron aren't allowed to combine two or more contracts to acquire a bigger salary via trade, among other restrictions, which limited their options in negotiations for Butler. Getting below the second apron could give them some much-needed flexibility to rework their roster.
However, Beal's no-trade clause gives him power over the Suns. He was unwilling to waive it ahead of the trade deadline to facilitate a Butler trade, although he's "open to considering other possibilities this offseason," according to ESPN's Tim MacMahon. But because his no-trade clause would come with him in any deal, the combination of that, his age (32 in June) and injury history might cause other teams to demand additional compensation for taking his contract on. That would further cut into the Suns' already depleted pool of assets.
Not Trusting The Process
According to MacMahon, "plenty of rival executives" would advise the Suns "to consider listening to offers" for Booker. He specifically referenced the Houston Rockets, who have "repeatedly expressed interest in Booker" and own the right to swap first-round picks with Phoenix in 2025, along with their fully unprotected 2027 and 2029 first-rounders.
However, Ishbia told MacMahon that a Booker trade will "never happen."
"It's surprising to me that other people, other fans, they actually like the rebuild process," Ishbia added. "Like, 'Oh, let's rebuild it.' Are you crazy?! You think I'm going to go for seven years and try to get there? You enjoy the 2030 draft picks that we have holding? I want to try to see the game today. I want us to win today, and we're going to try."
That lack of long-term planning has already come back to bite Ishbia and the Suns, as evidenced by their below-.500 record this year.
To some extent, they were a victim of bad timing. They acquired Durant in February 2023, a few months before the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association ratified the league's new collective bargaining agreement. There was no such thing as a second apron when they swung the Durant trade. Teams that were tens of millions of dollars over the luxury-tax threshold weren't nearly as restricted as they are under the new CBA.
From that point forward—even if they didn't swing the Beal trade—they were likely to be a second-apron team. The new CBA contained a one-year grace period that allowed second-apron teams to aggregate contracts, which they took advantage of to acquire Beal, Jusuf Nurkić and Grayson Allen. But to some extent, their hands were tied either way.
With that said, the Suns didn't have to swing a trade for a third star, much less one who plays the same position as their franchise centerpiece. That all-in swing blew up in their faces, and they're left to sift through the wreckage this offseason.
If the Suns receive a godfather offer for the 36-year-old Durant, perhaps they’ll be able to offload Beal and successfully retool around Booker. However, Ishbia’s refusal to embrace a long-term rebuilding strategy does not bode well for their big-picture outlook. Pulling off an on-the-fly reload is far easier said than done, and if he continues to disgregard the value of draft picks, that could eventually push Booker closer to the exit as well.
Unless otherwise noted, all stats viaNBA.com,PBPStats,Cleaning the Glass orBasketball Reference. All salary information viaSpotrac and salary-cap information viaRealGM. All odds viaFanDuel Sportsbook.
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