Which second year Suns player is more important to their future?

The Phoenix Suns might have had the season from hell in 2024-25 - but in drafting Ryan Dunn and Oso Ighodaro - they at least got one thing right. The front office has actually done a nice job in recent years of identifying the right young talent to add to their roster, even if they still feel the scars of trading away the best of the bunch.

Both Dunn and Ighodaro had solid rookie outings too, it certainly wasn't their fault that the team won only 36 games and both Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal jumped ship this summer. If anything the Suns were a notably better defensive outfit when the pair were on the court, and the numbers do back that up.

Which of Dunn or Ighodaro is more important for the future?

But if the Suns could only keep one as part of their rebuild around Devin Booker, then which one should it be? Already we put forward the idea of adding Ighodaro to the trade package to try and acquire Jonathan Kuminga - and as you can see from the poll results below - that was not received well by the fanbase.

There's also real value to having Ighodaro on this roster, because of his ability to play both the four and the five. He's a nice insurance policy if rookie center Khaman Maluach doesn't work out - and it is going to take a lot of time to get him to where the Suns need him to be - but Ighodaro can also play alongside him too.

He's got the athleticism to be a dominant forward, he just needs some more consistency to his offensive game. He currently doesn't shoot 3-pointers but more than that, the 4.2 points he averaged last season came often through put backs and having a bigger and bouncier frame than some of the defenders tasked with stopping him.

Which is why Dunn is the safer bet of the two here. It probably says it all that - if the Suns decided to make both available today - it is Dunn who would garner more interest. As a first round pick to Ighodaro's second there is no shame and that, but he has legitimate two-way potential as a small forward and he showed an impressive shooting stroke from deep for periods of last season.

The comparisons to Mikal Bridges are obvious, although Dunn has some way to go to being as important as he once was to the Suns. The arrival of Dillon Brooks doesn't help his quest for a bigger role either. But already he can competently defend some elite scorers in this league, and he's got the wingspan and body type to get even better as time goes on.

So harsh as it may be for Ighodaro - if the Suns are ever in a position where they can trade one of these two in order to get back more picks and perhaps another young player in a different position - Ighodaro is the guy who would have to go. Given all the problems this franchise has had in the last few years though, this is a great spot to be in and The Valley is grateful to have both right now.