Seliga: It's time for Ishbia, Jones to blow up Suns roster
- Jacob Seliga
- Feb 6
- 5 min read
By Jacob Seliga
Lead Writer
The once wide open championship window for the Phoenix Suns has officially slammed shut.
Sitting at 25-25 fresh off losing the Jimmy Butler sweepstakes and having to trade the 2026 first-round pick to get off of Jusuf Nurkic’s contract, the Suns have hit a rock bottom level not seen in the last seven years in the Valley.
With three max contracts in Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal, and no trade market for the latter, the Suns must face reality.
For any chance to have a good future or to have any flexibility, one of Kevin Durant or Devin Booker has to be traded in order to retool the roster.
To most, Kevin Durant seems like the most likely of the two to be moved. After all, for multiple days leading into the trade deadline it appeared as if Durant was on the move to either Golden State or Miami.
But the option of trading Devin Booker has to be on the table.
Kevin Durant is a certified Hall of Famer, and is still playing at an all-NBA level after 17 years in the league. But his injury concerns at the age of 36 lowers his potential maximum value.
Devin Booker is 28, has been consistently one of the best, if not the best, shooting guard in basketball, and by all accounts is arguably the best player in franchise history.
With Beal’s immovable contract coupled with his no trade clause, the Suns have to figure how to improve the roster outside of minimum contracts, which haven’t paid off in the last two free agency’s.
The one lone positive from the deadline was the deal the Suns made with the Charlotte Hornets to receive Cody Martin, Vasilije Micic and a 2026 second-round pick.
With the deal, Micic and Martin can be waived at the start of free agency to move the team below the second apron to open some doors.
However, with how flawed the roster is it appears there’s three options the Suns have at this crossroads starting this offseason.
Trade Durant or Booker and try again with a revamped lineup
This feels like it may be the most likely option based on the activity by the Suns front office at the trade deadline.
According to 98.7 radio host John Gambadoro, the Suns had a trade package centered around receiving Jimmy Butler, Jonathan Kuminga, Jonas Valenciunas and multiple first round picks that Kevin Durant shot down to stay here.
Durant wants to be in Phoenix, but he’s the best player of any value to move off the roster.
Immediately, the two teams that could make a push for him are Houston and Oklahoma City.
Houston has an appealing package for both Booker and Durant. Due to a trade with Brooklyn in the offseason, the Rockets currently hold the Suns 2027 and 2029 first round picks and at the rate Phoenix is trending those picks hold plenty of value.
The Rockets, in a trade for either, could package both picks with more picks and due to the restrictions of the second apron, could send three of rookie Reed Sheppard, Jabari Smith Jr, Cam Whitmore or Tari Eason along with Dillon Brooks for Durant.
Oklahoma City has the more appealing package due to the number of picks the Thunder have and the young stars on the team.
The Thunder could package Jalen Williams, Lu Dort, Cason Wallace and Aaron Wiggins, plus some draft compensation, to go all in on a core of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren and Durant in a homecoming to bring Oklahoma City its first-ever championship.
The Pistons are a team constantly attached to Booker due to his connection to the city.
With Cade Cunningham having a career year and looking every bit like the franchise star Detroit has needed, pairing him with Booker could give the Pistons their backcourt of the future.
Detroit could package Jaden Ivey, Ausar Thompson, Ron Holland and Isaiah Stewart with draft compensation to go all in on Cade and Booker with cap space to go after another star before Cunningham’s contract extension kicks in.
Trade both Durant and Booker and start rebuild
Out of every option on the table this appears to be the least likely and it makes sense why.
This roster for the last two seasons has been the most expensive in league history and between the salary cap and luxury tax bill owner Mat Ishbia has paid, close to a billion dollars has been put into the team since he took over in February of 2023.
A return on investment is what he’s searching for and the only thing he’s looking for is a championship, and he wants it sooner rather than later.
However, if the Suns want to build a future this is the best way to do it. But it’s also the most risky option possible.
The draft is a crapshoot, as is developing talent. And as the Suns know during the Ryan McDonough era, you can hit on a Devin Booker … But for every Booker, you’ll draft an Alex Len, Josh Jackson and Dragan Bender.
If the Suns choose to do this, it’s resetting the franchise to the depths of the NBA basement and hoping a tank job pays off. Even then, the team doesn’t hold the rights to its own pick in 2026, 2028, or 2030.
It’s a commitment to a long term rebuild and one that’ll likely need a lot of luck and a lot of patience.
Stay put and try to make small changes again
This is a strong candidate to happen this offseason. After all, it’s what the team has done for the last two years.
The biggest downside to this is staying as a second apron team. That would make the 2032 frozen and untradeable in the process, limiting another asset that could be used as a trade chip to other franchises.
This would entail attempting to find another point guard to run the offense as the Tyus Jones experiment hasn’t gone well and Monté Morris looks to have played himself into a bigger deal elsewhere than what Phoenix could afford.
Once again, the wing position will need athleticism as the Suns haven’t been able to find anyone to push the floor and attack the rim throughout the Durant, Booker and Beal experiment.
Another big question in this decision would be the coaching choice. Mike Budenholzer is the third coach in three years for the franchise and the possibility of finding a fourth coach is on the table, which is a very risky proposition.
Overall, the Suns are a franchise that’s stuck in purgatory with no real path to championship status and no real ability to commit to a rebuild.
As of now, it stands as one of the biggest failures in league history and is the most embarrassing era for the franchise in quite some time.
What comes next is not my decision to make. However, whomever makes the decision and whatever the decision may be is the biggest question mark a franchise yearning for its first ever championship has ever had.
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