The Phoenix Suns must make adjustments this offseason, but these four players will be back for 2024-25.
The Phoenix Suns did not have a successful 2023-24 season. The inconsistent regular season was awful, but the sweep by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the playoffs was even worse. It was so awful that owner Mat Ishbia decided to host an end-of-season press conference to reassure everyone that there was no reason to panic.
We already know there will be massive roster changes before next season, but the smart money is on Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, and Bradley Beal staying. What about head coach Frank Vogel? It remains to be seen.
As well as their top three players though, there are four more individuals who – for better or worse – are sure to be back for another year with the team.
We’ve already looked at seven other players outside of their “Big 3” who will almost surely be gone next season, and supporters will be relieved to see the back of the majority of these people. If you believe this franchise will have an entirely fresh set of role actors to work with, think again.
4. Damion Lee
Suns supporters won’t mind seeing Damion Lee appear here because he’ll feel like a new signing anytime he plays for the team. Lee had meniscus surgery and missed the entire season, though he was back with the group before the end of the regular season.
Had he been healthy, he would not have improved the Suns’ season outlook, and at 31 years old, he’s unlikely to improve. Lee would have been a good addition to the rotation both when Beal was injured and when Royce O’Neale signed at the trade deadline.
He has a player option on his deal for 2024-25, and it is less than $3 million, which the Suns can absorb. Even if they are currently in salary cap nightmare, with no way out but to consider trading Booker.
Lee hasn’t had a chance to put himself in the store window yet, so you can bet he chooses that choice before contemplating his possibilities for next year.
3. Eric Gordon
Eric Gordon, like Lee, has a player option for next season, which he will almost certainly exercise. What is the explanation for this? The 35-year-old was a huge disappointment for the Suns, and there’s no guarantee he’ll get another offer to stay in the league if he decides to become an unrestricted free agency.
Gordon’s stint had held so much potential for the organization, and he was a steal when they persuaded him to accept the veteran’s minimum over two seasons to go to The Valley. However, at the conclusion of the season, he was losing minutes to Bol Bol on several evenings.
Gordon shot 37.8 percent from deep, which was not a horrible number, but he did not connect on the offensive end as well as desired. On defense, he didn’t contribute much, and while his strong body may make life difficult for larger players, this did not happen frequently.
Gordon was the Suns player you were most likely to forget was on the court at any given time, and his public complaints about his role early in the season set an uneasy tone from which the team could never really recover. Gordon will return, and the Suns’ front office will wish he had looked elsewhere to play.
2. Josh Okogie
Josh Okogie is pushing Gordon hard for the undesired award of “what is that Suns player actually doing while out on the court?” It’s hard to believe he’s only 25 years old. The player’s season also started well, as he started on opening night and appeared to be someone who would get a lot of run because of his defensive ability.
However, Okogie participated in 60 games, 11 of which were starts, and averaged only 16 minutes of action per night. For context, Gordon played 27.8 minutes throughout the regular season.
Okogie failed to make the playoff rotation, and despite appearing in all four games, he averaged less than eight minutes per game. This also appeared to be a strategy by coach Vogel to see if he could obtain any defensive aid at all to slow down the Minnesota Timberwolves, and Okogie was not up to the task.
Okogie has a player option for this season, and it only makes sense for him to return to the Valley. Given the Suns’ sad condition of a lack of depth, he is more likely to have another shot to establish himself there than anywhere else in the league. Better to spend just under $3 million on that and figure out his next move a year from now.
1. Royce O’Neale
The only player who supporters will undoubtedly want to see return next season is O’Neale, and while a deal has yet to be finalized, this appears to be one that will be completed shortly. The Suns, like Grayson Allen, have O’Neale’s Bird Rights, which allow them to sign him for a larger salary than he would get on the free market, but also having a less detrimental impact on their awful cap sheet.
The Suns are already paying the most penalty tax of any team in the league, at $116 million, which is larger than some rivals’ payrolls.
As the old saying goes, “in for a penny, in for a pound,” and Ishbia is currently in for the entire pound.
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