Suns Reward Big Man With Fully Guaranteed Contract

PHOENIX -- The Phoenix Suns have reportedly made their first roster move of the offseason.

ESPN's Bobby Marks reported on X Monday that the Suns recently guaranteed Oso Ighodaro's contract for next season.

A nice gesture by the Hornets.

Phoenix recently did the same with Oso Ighodaro for next season.

Little things like this matter in the long run. https://t.co/G3t8gU5zVA
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) June 1, 2026

According to Spotrac, only $250,000 of Ighodaro's $2.296 million salary next season was guaranteed until Phoenix made this move.

The Suns originally signed Ighodaro to a four-year, $7.895 million contract after drafting him 40th overall in 2024.

Phoenix now has two more decisions to make on next season's contracts, as Haywood Highsmith is only guaranteed $1 million of his $3.018 million salary and Jamaree Bouyea has a team option.

Suns Reward Oso Ighodaro After Strong Season

New Suns coach Jordan Ott was very high on Ighodaro all season, and he surprisingly established himself as the team's backup center from the beginning of the year.

Going into this season, Phoenix had a lot of viable options behind Mark Williams that also included Nick Richards and rookie Khaman Maluach, but the Suns stuck with Ighodaro in this role, and he also started 24 games when Williams was injured or Phoenix was easing him back into the lineup.

Ighodaro was also the only Suns player to play in all 82 games, averaging 6.5 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.3 assists while shooting 65.3% from the floor in his second season.

Poster slams, slick passes, high-energy defense, and more. Oso showcased it all in year two ☄️

📺 Watch his full season highlights: https://t.co/1UaLhiUoSE pic.twitter.com/STQFhyXoHX
— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) June 1, 2026

The center position is a big question mark for the Suns this offseason, as Williams is set to hit restricted free agency and Maluach is waiting for a bigger role after being drafted 10th overall last season.

With that said, it appears the Suns have a lot of trust in Ighodaro moving forward, especially after he filled in for Williams in the starting lineup in Phoenix's first-round series loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder and averaged 7.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists in 32.3 minutes per game.

"I thought I got more comfortable each game, and did a lot of good things. Now it's just learning the game and the mental things I can do to get an edge on my opponent and impact winning in a better way," Ighodaro said in his exit interview about what he learned in the series.

"I think I had stretches where I impacted the game, offensive rebounding, or attacking the rim, or playmaking, and now if I can just put it all together and defend at a high level and contribute on offense at a high level, that'd be really good."

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