The Charlotte Hornets’ latest move has only made the Phoenix Suns’ side of the trade look worse.
Phoenix sent out Grayson Allen and Royce O’Neale in the deal for Miles Bridges, along with an unprotected first-round pick in 2033. That pick may wind up being the biggest part of the transaction down the line, but the damage was immediate too. The Suns also lost two of their top seven rotation players, and that kind of depth doesn’t just disappear without a cost.
What stands out now is what Charlotte has done since acquiring Allen and O’Neale: nothing. There has been no buzz about the Hornets flipping either veteran for draft capital or younger pieces, which says plenty about how they view both players. If you’re trying to push toward the playoffs, or trying to reshape a team’s identity, guys like this matter.
The Hornets were entertaining last season, but they also moved on from Bridges and franchise cornerstone LaMelo Ball without hesitation. They want to be seen as a serious organization, and veteran role players who understand their jobs can help set that tone. Allen and O’Neale fit that mold.
That was true in Phoenix, too. Both players handled minutes alongside Devin Booker and Kevin Durant, and both were able to take on larger responsibilities once Durant and Bradley Beal were gone. For a team in transition, that kind of reliability matters.
Allen has dealt with injuries, and they have a habit of showing up at the worst possible times. Even so, Charlotte’s situation is different. The Hornets have young talent, and they also added Naz Reid in the Ball deal, so Allen and O’Neale won’t be asked to carry nearly as much as they did in The Valley.
That’s why the Suns’ decision feels so questionable in hindsight. Phoenix has talked about building for the long term and getting the culture right, but it may have moved on from two useful veterans too early.
There is a fair argument that this was the right moment to cash in on both players, since their value was as high as it has been. But if the return was only Bridges, the price looks steep. Phoenix gave up stability, depth and proven rotation pieces from a roster that still made the playoffs.
Head coach Jordan Ott, along with the people working behind the scenes, did a strong job maximizing that group. Now the Suns are banking on younger players to help close the gap they created themselves.
And if the Hornets continue to look smart in trades, this one may end up haunting Phoenix all over again.
In Other News...
Suns Just Made The Kind Of Move Fans Have Been Begging For
The Suns spent the early part of the summer making sure two of their most useful pieces were not going anywhere, re-signing Collin Gillespie and Mark Williams on multi-year deals that lock in backcourt steadiness and frontcourt size. Gillespies rise was one of the quieter success stories on the roster, a breakout season that gave Phoenix a reliable shooting presence and a new franchise benchmark from beyond the arc, while Williams gave the team the kind of interior production it has long needed when he was on the floor.
For a front office that has been under pressure to get value and continuity right, both contracts look like the sort of business fans have been asking for. Analyst Steph Noh viewed each deal as favorable relative to the impact the Suns can reasonably expect, which matters for a team trying to build around players who can actually fit together. The bigger question now is how much more of the roster Phoenix can stabilize after checking off two important boxes. [Read more 🡒]
Two Young Suns Suddenly Face A Brutal Fight To Stick
With the Suns roster now set for the season, the attention has shifted from building the team to sorting out who actually fits in the nightly rotation. Ryan Dunn and Oso Ighodaro are both expected to get a longer look, but the path to steady minutes is anything but clear, especially with the front office having added more bodies who can crowd the same spots on the floor.
Ighodaro has the cleaner case right now because of his versatility and the way he can fill different roles, while Dunn is facing a tougher climb as the competition tightens around him. If either player gets squeezed out of the rotation, the pressure only grows from there, because the Suns are already in a position where every developmental decision has to be weighed against immediate help and the possibility of moving pieces before the deadline. [Read more 🡒]
Suns May Have Just Reopened A Problem Fans Thought Was Gone
The Suns latest swing has already drawn plenty of second-guessing, and its easy to see why. Phoenix sent Miles Bridges to Charlotte and brought back Grayson Allen, Royce ONeale and an unprotected 2033 first-round pick, a package that gives the roster more shooting, more wing depth and a future asset to point to if the move works out.
Still, the reaction around the deal has been far less settled than the Hornets side of it, where the focus has been on veteran help and draft capital after moving on from players viewed as bad influences. For Phoenix, the bigger question is whether this was a clean basketball upgrade or the kind of transaction that reopens old concerns about whether the Suns are buying into a short-term fit without much certainty about what comes next. [Read more 🡒]