Suns Have A Lot More Trade Options Entering 2025-26 Season

The Suns are no longer a second apron team heading into the year.

Jun 10, 2025; Scottsdale, AZ, USA; Phoenix Suns general manager Brian Gregory during an introductory press conference at the Verizon 5g Performance Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

PHOENIX -- The Phoenix Suns opened up a lot of financial flexibility by waiving Bradley Beal in July, and it could lead to more trade opportunities beginning in the 2025-26 season.

Although Phoenix will continue to pay Beal $19.38 million in dead money over the next five seasons (via Spotrac), the Suns moved under the second apron with the buyout, which now allows them to aggregate players and take back more money than they send out in trades.

Even before waiving Beal and with the second-apron restrictions, Phoenix was aggressive in trades since the NBA's latest Collective Bargaining Agreement kicked in July 2023, notably trading away Kevin Durant, swapping Deandre Ayton for Grayson Allen, Jusuf Nurkic and others, trading for Royce O'Neale, facilitating three separate trades with the Charlotte Hornets and making several trades involving draft picks, among other moves in this time.

New general manager Brian Gregory will be tasked with continuing to make these sort of trades that he already began this summer as Phoenix tries to build a team that fits best around Devin Booker.

ESPN Lays Out Suns' Trade Guide

ESPN NBA front office insider Bobby Marks wrote about the new flexibility that Phoenix's revamped front office has entering the season:

"The Suns are in an organizational reset under new GM Brian Gregory.

"Though still limited in draft assets to trade (they have no firsts and only three seconds), the Suns are allowed to take back more money in a trade and, more importantly, aggregate contracts for the first time under the apron rules.

"The aggregation rule allows Phoenix to combine the contracts of Grayson Allen and Nick Richards, for example, even if the salary taken back is less.

"Since trading Durant and waiving and stretching Bradley Beal, the Suns' roster has no player other than Devin Booker earning more than $34 million.

"Last season, Durant, Beal and Durant combined to earn 71% of the Suns' salary cap."

Right now, Allen, O'Neale and Richards seem like the most likely trade candidates for the Suns with their new-look roster, which you can read more about by clicking here.

Some more players such as Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks could join this conversation as well depending on how they fit in with their new team and how the Suns perform with them.

Phoenix is not projected to have much success at all this season, so trades could end up being a big theme closer to the trade deadline and offseason, but the Suns will now have much more flexibility in how they can go about them even with limited future draft assets.