As we inch closer to February’s NBA trade deadline, it seems increasingly likely that it will be a quiet one for the Phoenix Suns.
Phoenix has blown away expectations this season for a record well above .500 midway through January. They’re firmly in the Western Conference play-in window for the postseason and are even jockeying with the Houston Rockets for the No. 6 seed in the West.
The Suns could simply view Jalen Green’s eventual return from a hamstring injury as their own in-season acquisition, stand pat at the deadline and see what they have heading into the summer.
If the Suns do make a move, it would most likely be to get under the luxury tax threshold by dumping salary, or to acquire expiring contracts they could pivot toward re-signing Mark Williams and/or Collin Gillespie. Both of those standouts are set to hit free agency at the end of the season, and fans in The Valley would surely like to see them return.
Here are some potential options the Suns could pursue to retool their roster ahead of the deadline. (Note that all proposed trades were tested in Spotrac’s NBA trade machine.)
One-for-one swap sends Nick Richards to New York
FanSided’s Quinn Everts pitched this one-for-one swap after citing The Stein Line’s Jake Fischer who reported that the New York Knicks are in the market for frontcourt depth.
In the proposed deal, the Suns would send Richards and his expiring contract to New York in exchange for French forward Guerschon Yabusele.
Yabusele has had a dreadful season in New York following a breakout year with the Philadelphia 76ers a season ago. He’s averaging just 3.1 points and 2.2 rebounds for the Knicks while shooting under 40% from the field and just 31.7% from 3-point range.
With Philly, Yabusele averaged 11 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game while sinking 50.1% of his field goals and 38% of his 3-point tries.
He’s been a bit of Jekyll and Hyde since returning to the NBA after standing out in the 2023 World Cup and 2024 Olympics for France.
The fit in New York hasn’t worked out, as Yabusele has proven an ill fit in coach Mike Brown's system. So, maybe a change of scenery would get him back to how he was able to perform with the Sixers and Team France.
The Knicks add expiring money and a fresh face to provide frontcourt depth with Richards.
For the Suns, perhaps they wouldn’t want to take on Yabusele’s contract, which includes a player option for next season at a little under $6 million if he chose to exercise it. But if they can get him back to that Philly-era production? Yabusele could provide another depth option in Jordan Ott’s frontcourt.
Boston lands Richards, Grayson Allen for expiring contract
In this potential swap, the Suns would send Richards’ expiring contract along with Grayson Allen to the Boston Celtics in exchange for guard Anfernee Simons.
Simons’ contract of roughly $28 million is set to come off the books this summer, which would help the Suns free up salary cap space they’ll need to re-sign Williams or Gillespie.
Allen has been great for the Suns when he’s been healthy enough to play. But adding Simons’ expiring deal keeps a sharpshooting guard (40.5% from 3 this season) on the roster for the present while freeing up money this summer as well.
The Celtics get another big man to slot in with Neemias Queta and Luka Garza — former second-round picks who’ve seen increased workloads throughout the 2025-26 season — in addition to a sharpshooting guard who’s under contract through next season as well with a player option after that.
If the Suns could also pry away draft pick compensation from Boston to sweeten the deal, even better.
Get under first apron with a familiar face
An outside-the-box trade partner the Suns could check in on are the Chicago Bulls.
Chicago has a number of expiring contracts of its own the front office could choose to offload, among them is point guard Jevon Carter.
A former second-round pick of the Memphis Grizzlies who was traded to the Suns in 2019, Carter doesn’t turn the ball over and knocks down outside shots (42.4% on 3-pointers this season).
The Suns could trade Richards and Nigel Hayes-Davis to the Bulls for Carter, which would slip Phoenix under that first apron luxury tax mark. The potential problem? There’s not a ton of incentive for the Bulls to do this deal.
Chicago already has plenty of frontcourt options, so the combo of Richards and Hayes-Davis may not move the needle for the Bulls unless they’re also getting something like second-round pick compensation from the Suns as well.
With expiring contracts like Nikola Vucevic, Zach Collins, Kevin Huerter and Coby White also on the roster, the Bulls may start a fire sale just to see what they can get in return for those players. Maybe the Suns could work their way in to fill their own needs with an under-the-radar swap.
Outside of that, Phoenix should be open to playing third wheel in any number of multi-team trades ahead of the deadline. The Suns more than likely won’t bring a big name like Ja Morant or Anthony Davis into the fold, but if they can offload salary to assist other teams looking to make a blockbuster go through, that’s certainly an option they need to consider.