December 15th is a big day in the NBA calendar, as a slew of players who signed contracts with organizations this offseason are eligible to be traded.
One such player who this applies to for the Phoenix Suns is Nigel Hayes-Davis, the former EuroLeague Final Four MVP who has failed to catch on in The Valley.
Time has come for Hayes-Davis to leave Phoenix.
Which is why it is time for the 30-year-old to leave the franchise, and there are several obvious reasons why this should happen as soon as possible.
Before delving into what those are, we must also accept the reality that the Suns might not be able to get anything at all back for a veteran on a minimum deal who will be a free agent next summer.
It is more likely right now that he sees out his time in Phoenix, before heading back to Europe to hopefully rekindle his career over there. That remains the most likely conclusion here.
Here's a minute of Nigel Hayes-Davis: pic.twitter.com/pFhXh9jjIE
— John Voita, III (@DarthVoita) December 7, 2025
But if the Suns can get even a second round pick back for his services, they should do so without hesitation. Why? Head coach Jordan Ott has already revealed his playoff rotation, and Hayes-Davis is not a part of it.
Even without Devin Booker (who has since returned) and Jalen Green unavailable through injury, Hayes-Davis did not see his minutes increase.
Instead coach Ott has favored giving them to players he trusts more to execute his game plan on both ends of the court, such as Jordan Goodwin and Jamaree Bouyea.
It is unfortunate that Hayes-Davis is caught between being a liability defensively and not making enough of the few shots he does take that he has instead slipped through the cracks here.
Really though the biggest impediment into the rotation, and the reason he will be traded if the Suns can find a suitor, is the emergence of Isaiah Livers.
It says a lot that if he has not currently out injured himself, he would be playing an even bigger part in the rotation. As a forward he is everything coach Ott wants, especially defensively.
When the Suns have the ball he has no problem doing the dirty work and allowing Dillon Brooks and Grayson Allen, who have had to take on more responsibility scoring the ball, to step into bigger roles themselves.
It is unfortunate that it didn't happen for Hayes-Davis in Phoenix, and it was worth the risk. But this team is better than anybody could have predicted, and they have a head coach who has set this roster up in a way that doesn't play to the strengths of Hayes-Davis. Time to go.