Suns face roster trade-off after Thunder sweep exit

Suns must – A surprise 45-win regular season for the Phoenix Suns ended with an Oklahoma City Thunder sweep in the first round. Now Phoenix’s front office faces a tough roster question: keep the core that powered the turnaround, or use salary and contract status to find a

For most of the 2025-26 season, the Phoenix Suns looked like a team nobody needed to “transition” anymore.

Before the year even began, the story sounded familiar: Phoenix had traded Kevin Durant away and bought Bradley Beal’s contract out, a move that was supposed to usher in a rebuild-style reset. Instead, the Suns won 45 games in the regular season and made it to the 2026 NBA playoffs.

Then came the moment that shuts the calendar pages fast—an opening-round sweep by the Oklahoma City Thunder, the reigning champion.

The disappointment was immediate. But so was the optimism hiding underneath it. Head coach Jordan Ott built a system grounded in pace. space. and defensive disruptiveness. a formula that players and fans can feel has a long-term shape to it. The bigger issue is what comes next, because Phoenix’s next few years don’t come with unlimited freedom.

The Suns still owe their first-round picks in 2027 and 2029 to the Houston Rockets. Washington has swap rights over Phoenix’s 2030 first-round selection. And the Utah Jazz outright own their pick in 2031.

So, Phoenix has to keep winning—but it also has to decide whether it’s willing to be aggressive in the trade market, and which parts of the roster can actually move.

That’s where this gets sharply specific: the Suns “must protect their core,” at least if the organization wants the turnaround to mean something beyond one feel-good season.

Devin Booker sits at the center of that. The article’s player-protection list calls him untouchable, along with Dillon Brooks, Collin Gillespie, Khaman Maluach, Oso Ighodaro, Ryan Dunn, and Rasheer Fleming.

Booker, in particular, was never meant to be a bargaining chip. He’s expected to hear his name in “fake trades. ” including scenarios involving teams that fell short in the playoffs this year. with the Detroit Pistons explicitly mentioned as an example. The fit is straightforward in the logic presented: the Pistons need additional offense and an established primary ballhandler. and Booker brings exactly that.

But Phoenix doesn’t need the temptation to be real to understand the risk. Booker has at least three more years remaining on his contract. and Phoenix still owes future first-round value it must cover with consistent production. Trading the face of the franchise too quickly would leave a roster with contracts and obligations that won’t give it much time to recover.

Dillon Brooks is similarly protected. The piece emphasizes that he has become an essential player for Phoenix and has proven himself as a culture-setting presence wherever he goes. It also notes that Suns owner Mat Ishbia has said there’s “no way” they will trade Brooks.

And for the younger group, the argument is preservation of upside. Khaman Maluach is the 10th overall pick of the 2025 NBA Draft and is set to be 20 years old entering next season. Oso Ighodaro. Ryan Dunn. and Rasheer Fleming each appear as part of the Suns’ rotation. and the total next-season figure for their salaries is listed as $7.2 million combined.

Collin Gillespie is also marked as safe, even with his free agency coming into play. He shot over 40 percent from deep on 7.2 attempts per game and averaged 13/4/5 next season in the piece’s line. Just as importantly. he’s described as the only natural point guard on the roster and a success story for Phoenix’s development team.

If those names are the foundation, the roster question becomes which contracts—especially the “mid-sized” ones—Phoenix can dangle without breaking the vision.

That’s where the players labeled “up in the air” enter: Jalen Green, Grayson Allen, Royce O’Neale, and Jordan Goodwin.

The first name is Jalen Green. He is listed as making $36.2 million next season. and the Suns are still expected to think about acquiring someone who is a better long-term fit alongside Booker. Even though Gillespie’s emergence is treated as real and valuable. the piece argues that Booker was at his best alongside a more natural playmaker—and Green might be too similar in play style as a backcourt partner.

Still, the article doesn’t erase the case for keeping Green. It stresses that Green was “so much better for the Suns towards the end of the season,” and notes his age as 24.

Grayson Allen and Royce O’Neale are described as the kind of players every winning team would want. Allen is said to provide ballhandling and shooting when needed. O’Neale is characterized as a three-and-D wing who can fit in any lineup.

Both are listed as having two years left on their contracts, and the Suns could consider trading them if it means bringing in an upgrade through a consolidation move.

Jordan Goodwin is different. He’s an impending free agent, but the piece says he was an important role player this past season and is a candidate for a multi-year contract. He could also become a salary-matching tool in a trade for Phoenix if the front office needs to line up numbers.

At the center of the Suns’ future, the piece keeps coming back to one question: is Mark Williams the answer at center?

Phoenix acquired Mark Williams on draft night in 2025, and the logic is direct. He’s described as a perennial double-double threat and a quality starting center who can hold down the fort while Maluach comes into his own. But Williams is “up for a new contract. ” and the article suggests Phoenix would have to keep him at least to protect him as an asset.

It also adds a caveat that could put him back into trade-rumor territory: the piece warns that Williams remains an injury risk and that Phoenix has a replacement waiting in the wings.

Taken as a whole. the story reads like a team that can dream—because it earned a playoff spot with 45 wins after a Durant departure and a Beal contract buyout—but also like a franchise that can’t afford to dream without math. The Thunder swept them. the picks and rights are locked up for years. and the roster decisions now determine whether Phoenix’s pace-space-defense idea becomes a dynasty plan or just another promising season that runs out of runway.

The Suns don’t have to tear everything down. But they do have to pick one move—one real trade direction—if they want to match the West’s contenders after the sweep ends the first chapter of this turnaround.

Phoenix Suns Oklahoma City Thunder 2025-26 NBA playoffs Devin Booker Dillon Brooks Jordan Ott Jalen Green Grayson Allen Royce O’Neale Mark Williams Collin Gillespie Khaman Maluach