Phoenix has let plenty of talent walk out the door over the years, and plenty of those ex-Suns are still out there producing for someone else. If you try to build the best active NBA five from former Suns, the group comes together fast - and it says plenty about how much quality has passed through The Valley.
At point guard, Ty Jerome gets the nod with the Memphis Grizzlies. His path has been a winding one.
Drafted No. 24 by the Philadelphia 76ers in 2019, he was dealt to the Boston Celtics for Matisse Thybulle, then moved again less than a month later when Boston sent him and Aron Baynes to Phoenix for a 2020 first-round pick. That pick became Desmond Bane, now with the Orlando Magic.
Jerome’s own Suns stint was brief, just 31 games over one season, before he was included in the trade that brought Chris Paul to Phoenix. Since then, though, he’s carved out a real role.
He broke out with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2024-25, averaging 12.5 points, 3.4 assists and 2.5 rebounds while finishing third in Sixth Man of the Year voting, then signed with Memphis in the summer of 2025. Injuries limited him, but he still posted a career-best 19.7 points per game on 47.4 percent shooting, including 42 percent from deep, across 15 starts.
Grayson Allen slots in at shooting guard. He’s one of the more recent former Suns to move on, but he still left his mark in Phoenix, ranking 10th in franchise history with 513 made 3-pointers.
That total came in parts of only three seasons, and it was lifted by the 205 threes he knocked down in 2023-24. He’ll now be with the Charlotte Hornets after the widely panned Miles Bridges trade.
On the wing, Mikal Bridges is the easy call. He was a fan favorite in Phoenix and formed “The Twins” with Cam Johnson, another wing the Suns moved on from. Bridges was part of the group that helped Phoenix reach the 2021 NBA Finals, and he has since gone on to win an NBA championship with the New York Knicks.
Kevin Durant takes the power forward spot, and his time in Phoenix ended with hard feelings. After being traded to the Houston Rockets in a blockbuster that brought back Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks, Durant said he felt “scapegoated” by the organization. His Suns run never really got the runway it needed, with the Bradley Beal trade and the coaching situation making the fit tougher than it should have been.
At center, Jusuf Nurkic gets the call over Deandre Ayton. Ayton is another option, but given the source here goes with Nurkic, that’s the choice.
Nurkic lasted parts of two seasons in Phoenix before being traded to Charlotte, and while his Suns stay was uneven, he’s still been productive. A season ago with the Utah Jazz, he averaged 10.9 points, 10.4 rebounds and 4.8 assists in 41 games.
More recently, he turned in a strong showing for Bosnia and Herzegovina in a FIBA World Cup qualifier, putting up 25 points and 14 rebounds in a tight win over Italy.
In Other News...
Suns Just Raised The Stakes On Miles Bridges Fast
The Suns missed out on Jonathan Kuminga, but they still came away with a swing for the present in Miles Bridges, a player who arrives with both upside and a ticking clock attached. Phoenix is clearly trying to sharpen the roster around Dillon Brooks and add more scoring punch, and Bridges gives the front office another chance to see whether a bigger role can turn into something more lasting.
The catch is that this kind of move usually comes with a second decision not far behind the first. The Suns already showed with Mark Williams that they are willing to extend a player after trading for him, and Bridges could push them into a similar conversation if he settles in as one of the teams core pieces. The question now is whether Phoenix sees him as a short-term fit or as someone worth paying to keep around if his impact grows quickly. [Read more 🡒]
Ryan Dunn Is Running Out Of Chances With The Suns
Ryan Dunn is heading into his third season in Phoenix with his place on the roster looking less secure than it once did. The Suns have several other young players and established veterans in the mix, and that has left Dunn fighting for a consistent role rather than stepping into one cleanly.
The longer that logjam lasts, the more his situation starts to look like a make-or-break stretch with the team. If Phoenix decides to move in another direction, Dunn would still have avenues to keep his career moving, whether that means finding work overseas or trying to reopen an NBA door later on. [Read more 🡒]
Kevin Durant Just Reopened A Brutal Debate About His Suns Run
Kevin Durants time in Phoenix is still being measured against the promise that came with it, and his latest reflections only sharpen that conversation. He said the Suns had the pieces to be successful and entered with championship expectations, but the results never matched the vision, and his exit to the Houston Rockets last summer marked the end of a short, high-profile run that never quite found its footing.
The most difficult part for Suns fans is how quickly the window closed on the Durant-Booker-Beal era, with the partnership never delivering the breakthrough the franchise was chasing. Phoenix did at least recoup real value in the deal, landing a top ten draft pick along with Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks, but the lingering question around Durants Suns tenure remains the same one that followed him out the door. [Read more 🡒]