The Phoenix Suns are likely to feel Royce O'Neale’s absence more than they expect next season.
That might sound odd at first, especially with bigger names and bigger usage taking up most of the oxygen in Phoenix over the past few years. But O'Neale carved out a spot as the kind of swingman every team wants: dependable, adaptable and willing to do the dirty work without making a scene.
He was never perfect. Opponents targeted him at times on defense, and his outside shot never reached the point where anyone would call him a true elite shooter.
Still, he knocked down 40.8 percent of his 3s with the Suns, the best mark he’s posted with any team in his career so far. That kind of floor spacing mattered, especially alongside Devin Booker and Kevin Durant.
O'Neale also kept finding ways to fit no matter how the Suns shuffled things around. In the final season of that failed experiment, he started 22 of 75 games.
Last season, even as the team’s outlook changed, he became even more central, starting 67 of 78 games. He handled the role switch without complaint and served as a steady presence for everyone from Collin Gillespie to Khaman Maluach.
His value went beyond the box score. O'Neale and Grayson Allen formed an unexpected defensive pairing that somehow helped slow down Victor Wembanyama last season. Offensively, he was the safety valve, the guy stationed at the 3-point line when a possession started to fall apart.
Now he’s headed to the Charlotte Hornets, and it makes sense why they wanted him. They’re trying to build a new culture, and O'Neale brings the kind of veteran habits that can shape one fast. Charlotte has moved on from Miles Bridges to the Suns and LaMelo Ball to the Minnesota Timberwolves, replacing them with veterans like O'Neale who understand how to stay in the league and help win games.
The 9.8 points per game he averaged last season were a career high, and that number could rise again in Charlotte. For Phoenix, though, his departure leaves behind the sort of steady professionalism that doesn’t always grab headlines but is hard to replace.
His time with the Suns had run its course, and a trade was always likely this offseason. Even so, watching him settle in and thrive elsewhere won’t be easy for Phoenix. Royce O'Neale was one of the most professional players the Suns have had on their roster this decade.
In Other News...
Luke Kennard Is Already Facing A Tough Suns Reality
Luke Kennard arrives in Phoenix with a familiar kind of expectation hanging over him: the hope that he can help replace what Grayson Allen gave the Suns. But the fit is not a clean one, and the early comparison points to some obvious differences. Kennard does not bring Allens athleticism or his defensive value, and he also does not offer the same secondary playmaking that made Allen useful beyond just spacing the floor.
For Suns fans, that makes the adjustment worth watching closely. Kennard can still be a useful piece, but the job description some people may have assumed for him is bigger than what his game naturally supplies. If Phoenix is counting on him to slide into Allens old role without a noticeable drop-off, there is already reason to think his minutes and overall impact may end up more limited than expected. [Read more 🡒]
Suns Fans Will Hate This Stephen Curry Draft Night What-If
On draft night in 2009, the Suns were at least in the conversation for a move that still stings in hindsight. Phoenix tried to trade up with Stephen Curry in mind, and when the dust settled it stayed put at No. 14 and took Earl Clark after Golden State grabbed Curry seven picks earlier.
The part that really turns the what-if dial up comes from ESPN's Brian Windhorst, who reported the Suns were even willing to include Amar'e Stoudemire in a package to get Curry. Stoudemire would later leave in free agency and was recently inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame, which only adds to the what could have been feeling around a draft night that might have changed the franchises path in a very big way. [Read more 🡒]