Twenty-six days. That is what separates us from the NBA trade deadline, which hits on February 26 at 1:00pm Arizona time. Twenty-six days for rumors to simmer, frustrations to leak, and trade machines to get a full workout. This is one of the final checkpoints of the season when it comes to roster construction, with the buyout market waiting on the other side before postseason rosters are set.
I will start here. Already? This season has flown by. They always do, but this one feels especially fast.
We are creeping toward mid-January, and October feels like it was sitting here five minutes ago. Maybe that is age. Maybe time really does slide off the counter faster now.
So what should the Phoenix Suns do? That is the question everyone keeps asking. It is easy to live in the day-to-day, because that is how the calendar moves, one game, one night, one reaction at a time. Trades do not work that way. Roster decisions demand a wider lens. You have to zoom out and look at the whole picture.
As Monty Williams used to say, you cannot be happy on the farm because things look good in the moment. Playing well right now does not remove the responsibility of thinking long-term. When you start talking about shaking up a roster, the big picture always has to come first.
So here is where I land on what the Phoenix Suns should do.
I will start by acknowledging the obvious. Grayson Allen and Royce O’Neale are the two names that show up in the trade machine the most, and that makes sense. They have transferable skills. Every team in the league can use shooting. The Suns happen to have two players who provide it at a high level. Their contracts are also clean. You can move them on their own or bundle them with other pieces to match salary and target a specific positional need, or create short-term relief depending on what comes back.
That said, I am not in a hurry to trade either one.
Are they perfect players? No. Royce can struggle defensively in certain matchups. Grayson goes through cold stretches. That is the league. No one is flawless. When you talk about price for value paid, both of these guys deliver exactly what you want. Grayson is shooting 37.5% from deep on eight attempts per night. Royce is at 42% on 6.9 attempts (giggity) and has knocked down the 11th most threes in the NBA.
Royce has started 33 of 38 games, more out of necessity than design, given the current roster construction. Is that the ideal long-term vision? Probably not. That is fine. Within the system, it works. There will be nights where he is overmatched. There will also be nights where his shooting bends the floor and wrecks defensive game plans. That matters.
Both players fit. Both contribute. And both are giving the Suns real value right now. When that is the case, I am not rushing to pull the plug.
You could argue that, based on how the Suns are playing right now, Grayson and Royce are sitting at peak trade value. That might be true in a vacuum. I look at it differently. I think their value grows this summer, once teams are knocked out of the postseason and start staring at their rosters, realizing they cannot shoot well enough to survive playoff basketball.
When it comes to the trade deadline, I think where the Suns need to live mentally is to understand what this season actually is. This was always a transitional season built around development. Instead, they have blown past expectations and landed in a best-case scenario. The chemistry is real. The basketball is connected. They play for each other, and that matters more than chasing a move for the sake of movement.
There is no reason to flip an asset like Grayson or Royce right now when there is a strong chance their value rises in the offseason. Sometimes the smartest move is staying put. Stick with the cards you have. Check at the table. Let the hand play out.
The only chip I am even willing to think about cashing in right now is Nick Richards. And even then, I hesitate. The only real reason to move him, given that he makes $5 million, would be cap-related. There is no player on the market at that salary who is coming in and changing anything in a meaningful way.
What Richards does give you is center depth. Mark Williams has been productive when available, but availability has never been a given. If Williams were to go down and Richards were already gone, that depth would get tested immediately. You could say you want to see more Khaman Maluach, and an injury might force that door open, but he may not be ready for that responsibility. I actually like that the Suns have not rushed him. A 19-year-old center learning the league, building habits, and soaking things in from quality players is a good thing. That patience will matter later.
So yeah, it is a strange place to land, but my conclusion is that the Suns should do nothing.
That is not short-sighted optimism because the team is playing well. It is alignment with the plan. This season was always about transition and development. That is why I did not spend the offseason chasing dreams like Jonathan Kuminga. I understood what this year was supposed to be.
If the Suns were losing, maybe you would rush a Royce or Grayson deal to squeeze value. That may have always been an option. But they are contributing to winning basketball, and they will still have two years left on their contracts when this season ends. Same strategy. Different timeline. Best case scenario.
It feels odd to say stand fast. January is usually when I live inside the trade machine. I do not see a clean path this year. I would love to give you targets. I cannot. I do not think the Suns should be trading anyone. And even if I tried to manufacture a deal, it would require draft capital to get the better player back. The Suns do not have enough of that to play that game.
So for me, this is a stand fast year. No panic. No forced creativity. Let it breathe. What do you think? Let us know in the comments.
