Phoenix Suns trade rumors will make them a key player at NBA trade deadline

While the NBA trade deadline isn’t until Feb. 13, 2026, the Phoenix Suns are already having to grapple with the reality that they'll be heavily involved.

Whether the Suns intend to be big sellers at the deadline or beforehand remains to be seen. However, with a number of contending teams around the league surely looking to add talent, Phoenix at the very least will be listening to offers.

Rumors have been swirling since Summer League that Phoenix may look into trading some of its key pieces — including but not limited to sharpshooters Grayson Allen and Royce O’Neale.

The team as currently constructed won’t be competing for a championship. It’s more likely they’ll be in the hunt for a playoff spot.

So, for a team positioned so poorly in terms of future draft capital, the front office can’t simply sit on their hands.

Let’s take an early dive into the Suns’ 2026 trade deadline reality.

Phoenix Suns future draft picks paint bleak picture

It’s no shock the Suns are thin on draft resources after blockbuster trades for Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal shipped away virtually all remaining first-round assets Phoenix had left.

Due to a combination of traded first-round picks and pick swaps, the Suns don’t hold their own first-round pick until 2032 (not a typo).

For a team on the fringes of a playoff spot, the current reality is close to the worst-case scenario.

Trades are the only way for Phoenix to recoup draft assets the franchise can use to build the roster back up.

Trade rumors include Suns shooters Grayson Allen, Royce O’Neale

As it stands, two players on the Suns sure to garner league-wide interest ahead of the deadline are Allen and O’Neale.

Allen continued to up his trade stock by setting a franchise record with 10 made 3-point field goals in a 42-point explosion against a shorthanded New Orleans Pelicans team Nov. 10.

The Duke product is under contract through the 2026-27 season with a player option worth roughly $19 million for 2027-28. As a controllable asset this season and beyond, that ups his trade value beyond being a rental for the second half of 2025-26.

O’Neale is likewise going to be an attractive trade piece, as he’s under contract through 2027-28 at a relatively modest $10M-$11M per season. His 12.7 points per game, 1.5 steals per game and 44% shooting clip from beyond the arc are all career bests. Throw in 5.6 rebounds and 3.2 assists per contest and O’Neale can impact the outcome of a game in a variety of ways.

Both guys rank in the top five in the NBA in 3-point makes this season at the time of writing. In an ideal scenario, the Suns can leverage their skills for a solid trade return that would include draft assets and cap flexibility.

Could Collin Gillespie, Oso Ighodaro and others hit the Suns trade block?

For new Suns general manager Brian Gregory, no stone should be left unturned ahead of this year’s trade deadline.

Allen and O’Neale are both veterans in their 30s, but could the Suns opt to move some of their young talent if the price is right?

As Dan Favale wrote recently for Daily Knicks, the New York Knicks are in the market for a backup point guard behind Jalen Brunson to fill out the roster. Favale listed Gillespie as a possible trade target.

The 26-year-old is in the midst of a breakout season for the Suns, notching career highs in points (10.0), assists (5.3), rebounds (3.6) and steals (1.1) per game while limiting his turnovers (1.5 per contest).

The possible Sixth Man of the Year candidate has been great for Phoenix, providing ball-handling stability on a squad that otherwise doesn’t have a true point guard. Other teams will no doubt see that value, but Phoenix can ill afford to get worse in the turnovers department.

Ighodaro, meanwhile, is a young big man jockeying for minutes with trade acquisition Mark Williams, Nick Richards and, to a lesser extent, No. 10 draft pick Khaman Maluach who has played sparingly if at all this season as a 19-year-old rookie.

The 23-year-old Ighodaro as a result has seen his minutes take a (slight) hit in the early stages of his sophomore campaign — 16.1 minutes per game this season compared to 17.1 minutes last year as a rookie.

That’s not exactly an ideal scenario for either party. Ighodaro needs quality minutes to continue his development, but the Suns invested in Maluach at No. 10 overall in this year’s draft and shipped away two first-rounders to acquire Williams.

Perhaps freeing up more minutes long term for Maluach is the call, but the Suns shouldn’t decide to trade Ighodaro simply to free up playing time. They need enough return to justify parting ways with a young talent who’s shown a lot of promise in a limited window.

The most difficult part of the trade speculation for fans is the Suns are actually a fun team to watch. Booker surrounded by a supporting cast who know their roles and play them unselfishly makes for an interesting product. But the organization’s hands have been tied by past decisions nullifying their ability to build through the draft, and selling high on Allen and O'Neale makes some sense.

Difficult decisions have to be made. The onus is now on Gregory to prove his GM chops by winning those possible deals.