Small Forward - Royce O'Neale
The early goings of the 2024-25 season for the Suns are filled with important games against fellow Western Conference contenders, and so having some veterans fill out the second unit will be massively important. Which is where Royce O'Neale enters the conversation.
Signed to a new four-year, $44 million contract this offseason - which represents fantastic value for the 31-year-old - O'Neale's role on this roster is perhaps the hardest to pin down. Right now he looks like an excellent choice to be the sixth man, his 3-point shooting and defending a valuable asset as the first player off the bench each night.
Royce O’Neale dropping his mom. This is the kind of dog Suns have. Anything to get the job done. #Snark pic.twitter.com/OXA7bOYKbM
— Espo (@Espo) July 2, 2024
But O'Neale also played well in the playoffs for the Suns last season, and showed a degree of comfort and understanding next to Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal. It is going to be extremely hard to squeeze Jones out of the starting group - and Beal is another conversation altogether - but it is not impossible.
The value of O'Neale is obvious then, and that's without even considering what a trade could look like. His contract is so team-friendly - and his skill set so easily moved elsewhere - that other teams are likely to enquire about him as well. All in all a perfect fit off the bench for the Suns, but he could become so much more as the games become more important.