The Suns and Hornets have had discussions about the idea of a trade that would send Jusuf Nurkic and draft capital to Charlotte and Nick Richards to Phoenix, confirms John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 (Twitter links). The talks, described as “ongoing” by Gambadoro, were first reported by Evan Sidery of Forbes (Twitter link), who referred to them as “preliminary.”
Nurkic has fallen out of the rotation in Phoenix. After serving as the Suns’ starting center for most of the season, he came off the bench on Monday and Tuesday, then was a DNP-CD in Thursday’s and Saturday’s games. The veteran big man is known to be on the trade block, but his $18.13MM salary this season and a guaranteed $19.38MM salary for next season will make it difficult to move him.
Richards is a younger, more versatile center whose contract is also far more team-friendly than Nurkic’s — the Hornets’ big man is owed $5MM this season and another $5MM in 2025/26. He has averaged 9.2 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks in 21.2 minutes per game through 20 games this season.
Given the disparity between the two players’ salaries, the Hornets would have to send out at least one more player (earning at least $5.63MM) to make a trade legal. The Suns would likely prefer Cody Martin ($8.12MM), a versatile wing who is having a solid bounce-back year after a couple injury-plagued seasons, while Charlotte may want to include veteran point guard Vasilije Micic ($7.72MM), the former EuroLeague MVP who has struggled with his shot since making the move to the NBA in 2023.
Both Martin and Micic have one more year of team control beyond this season, but neither player’s 2025/26 salary is guaranteed at this point. The same goes for Richards.
The Suns, who are facing second-apron restrictions, could also legally acquire Grant Williams ($13.03MM) or Josh Green ($12.65MM) along with Richards in exchange for Nurkic, though Williams is out for the season following knee surgery. Both he and Green have two more guaranteed years on their contracts after this season.
Phoenix currently has three tradable second-round picks: Denver’s 2026 and 2031 picks and the Suns’ own 2031 second-rounder. Even if the Suns were willing to include all three of those picks, it’s unclear whether the Hornets would have the appetite to take on Nurkic, whose sizable guaranteed salary would significantly reduce their flexibility in ’25/26 — especially if Charlotte can’t get out of a multiyear deal of its own in the process.
As we wrote earlier today in a Front Office article, the Hornets have several potential trade chips who are earning mid-level money or less, which could make them an intriguing trade partner for a team facing apron-related restrictions. The Suns wouldn’t be able to trade Nurkic for a player earning more than his $18.13MM salary, but could potentially acquire multiple rotation-caliber players from Charlotte if they’re able to sufficiently sweeten the pot with draft assets.
Trade idea 1
Grant Williams and Richards for Nurkic/filler
Trade Idea 2
Josh Green and Richards for Nurkic and 3 Seconds
Trade Idea 3
Miles Bridges for Nurkic, Okogie and 2031 top-10 protected First
Suns don’t want Grant Williams, so Trade idea 1 is not feasible.
You tell him Sillivan. Glad you caught that guy’s crazy trade idea.
Nurkic isn’t worth Richards and Green. Make the suns a whole lot better, though.
Greens underwater as well with an extra year
Not a nurk fan but I’d rather have him for 2 years than Green for 3 years
I’d rather Richards and Green than Nurkic. Green plays hard, brings toughness and energy off the bench. Not a big contract. Richards and Plumblee can do the job for Phoenix. It’s good for Phoenix if they can make it happen.
Nurk being scapegoated bad. I’m not saying Nurk ain’t a bad player, but he hasn’t been the problem on that team.
Not the problem, but a problem. Suns +/- is pretty bad with him on the court this year, better without him. Maybe losing the weight made him a worse Nurkic instead of a better modern center?
(And your collar is too big.)
Richards would be an upgrade. But the way the Suns handle the Nurkic Situation is not ok.
They made a fundamental mistake by going after overrated, untradable and always injured Beal wo is with Booker on the team basically – if he plays – the most overpaid sixth men of all time.
The Suns are desperate to get rid of him, but cant damage him. So the are looking for scapegoats.
What a joke, why the **** would Hornets have any interest in this? For a couple stupid/useless second round picks?
If CHA can get rid of Grant Williams or Josh Green in the deal, then maybe it’s worth it. But I still think CHA should focus more on the product they’re putting on the court, and less on trying to extract value for their backup C.
That would be a terrible idea. Charlotte sucks at drafting. Phoenix barely has any draft capital IIRC. Ishbia needs to trade KD or Booker, and try to trade Beal. And if they think they can get significant draft capital for them, just trade the other one and rebuild. James Jones is a questionable GM at this point. It just doesn’t seem feasible to keep doing lateral moves as they bleed out. If they rebuild, they better draft well. I would keep Booker and try to soft rebuild. But they can’t screw up like they did with KD and Beal and Ayton frankly.
They should trade KD, Booker, and Beal. The Devin Booker era is over. Stash draft capital with the intention to trade for a super star in the near future. The longer this drags out the more the value of KD and Booker declines.
Ownership is still in fantasy land. Poor Coach Bud!
Definitely have mentioned him several times here over the years b/c I’ve been a Nick Richards fan since he was first in summer league, and I’m glad to see how much he’s been brought up this year…I’ve long thought this dude was really good, but was in a bad situation