Suns Rumors

Suns Notes: Ighodaro, Booker, Brooks, Allen

Oso Ighodaro put his name in the Suns’ record book Thursday night by posting a plus-52 in a win over Indiana, writes Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. The second-year big man put up the gaudy number in 26 minutes off the bench as Phoenix pulled away and led by as many as 46 points.

“I thought it was a typo,” coach Jordan Ott said as Ighodaro recorded the highest single-game plus-minus rating in franchise history and the third best in the NBA’s play-by-play era. He finished with a career-high 17 points, along with seven rebounds, three assists and a career-best three steals.

“Felt like I was going after winning,” Ighodaro said. “That’s been my focus the last four, five games. Not worrying about stats. Not worrying about anything like that. Just trying to impact the game in a positive way.”

There’s more from Phoenix:

  • The Suns are one of the league’s early-season surprises at 8-5, but the schedule has been somewhat grueling with 13 games in 23 days, Rankin adds in the same piece. Devin Booker, who posted his seventh 30-point game of the season on Thursday, admits he was feeling worn down, but he got a lift from his teammates. “It’s been tough,” Booker said. “I know I didn’t have a lot of juice coming in, but I was looking around the locker room and everybody was ready to go. Kind of revived me.”
  • Dillon Brooks, who has helped to spark the Suns’ revival after arriving in an offseason trade, was asked after the game about the last time he hasn’t felt confident on the court. He pointed to a 2023 playoff series against the Lakers when he was still with the Grizzlies, Rankin tweets. “I couldn’t shoot the ball. The GM (Zach Kleiman) is telling me to only shoot six shots,” Brooks recalled. “Not giving me the confidence I needed and you can feel that energy coming from front office and coaches. Never the players, the players want to win, but you feel that energy. Even if you’re working and put in the time, it’s not falling. Probably that was the last time.”
  • Ott is getting the most out of Grayson Allen by trusting him as a ball-handler, observes Fred Katz of The Athletic. He notes that Allen had already run 160 pick-and-rolls this season going into Thursday’s game, which is already more than halfway to his previous career high. He’s also averaging 3.2 pull-up three-point attempts per game and is sinking 45% of them.

Suns’ Jalen Green To Miss At Least 4-6 Weeks

After re-injuring his right hamstring in his second game back, Suns guard Jalen Green will be reevaluated in four-to-six weeks, according to Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).

Charania’s report lines up with the timeline first projected by Suns insider John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM (Twitter link). Even if Green is able to return in four weeks, he’ll still miss the team’s next 13 games.

The hamstring has been an ongoing problem this fall for Green, who initially suffered a strain early in training camp, then aggravated it during his ramp-up process in mid-October. The 23-year-old sat out the first eight games of the regular season, played 23 minutes in his return last Thursday, then exited Saturday’s game after just seven minutes of action when he aggravated the injury again.

Green reportedly felt a sharp pain after passing the ball to Ryan Dunn for a corner three-point shot late in the first quarter on Saturday. He hobbled toward the team’s bench while grabbing at the hamstring and had to be helped off the court by two staff members. He was declared out for the game shortly afterward, with reporting at the time indicating he’d undergo medical imaging to assess the severity of the injury.

Green spent the first four years of his NBA career in Houston before being sent to Phoenix along with Dillon Brooks in the blockbuster Kevin Durant trade over the summer. Injuries were rarely an issue for the former No. 2 overall pick during his time as a Rocket — he appeared in all 82 regular season games in each of the past two seasons and hadn’t missed a game since February 2023.

While Green’s extended absence will prevent the Suns from getting a longer look at how he fits alongside Devin Booker until later in the season, the team has outperformed expectations in the early going even without having the former Rocket available. Phoenix has won five of its last six games to improve its record to 6-5.

Grayson Allen and Royce O’Neale are logging big minutes on the wing in Green’s absence, with guards Dunn (24.4 minutes per game), Collin Gillespie (23.9 MPG) and Jordan Goodwin (14.9 MPG) all playing regular rotation roles as well.

Cade Cunningham, Nikola Jokic Named Players Of Week

Pistons guard Cade Cunningham has been named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week, while Nuggets center Nikola Jokic has been chosen as the Western Conference Player of the Week, according to the NBA (Twitter links).

Cunningham led Detroit to four consecutive wins during the week of November 3-9 while averaging 31.0 points and 9.8 assists per game on 54.7% shooting. This marks the second time in his career that Cunningham has received a Player of the Week award.

Jokic also led his team to a 4-0 week, with home victories over Sacramento, Miami, Golden State, and Indiana. The three-time MVP averaged a triple-double, with 31.3 points, 13.3 assists, and 11.3 rebounds per contest. His biggest game of the week came last Wednesday against the Heat, when he racked up 33 points, 16 assists, 15 rebounds, and three steals.

Giannis Antetokounmpo (Bucks), Jalen Duren (Pistons), Kon Knueppel (Hornets), Donovan Mitchell (Cavaliers), Norman Powell (Heat) and Karl-Anthony Towns (Knicks) were the other Eastern Conference nominees.

Devin Booker (Suns), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Thunder), Trey Murphy III (Pelicans), Julius Randle (Timberwolves) and Alperen Sengun (Rockets) were also nominated in the West.

Suns’ Jalen Green Aggravates Hamstring Strain

The Suns fear that Jalen Green could miss multiple games after aggravating his right hamstring strain in Saturday’s win over the Clippers, according to Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic.

Green felt a sharp pain after passing the ball to Ryan Dunn for a corner three-point shot late in the first quarter, Rankin writes. Green hobbled toward the team’s bench while grabbing at the hamstring and had to be helped off the court by two staff members. He was declared out for the game shortly afterward.

Green was playing for just the second time since being acquired from Houston during the summer as part of the seven-team Kevin Durant trade. After missing the season’s first eight games due to the hamstring, Green scored 29 points on Thursday in his debut.

“That’s tough,” teammate Dillon Brooks told reporters. “Injuries suck, but he’ll work hard. He’ll be diligent with it.”

Medical imaging on the hamstring will likely be conducted when the Suns return home, tweets John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7, who estimates that Green could sidelined for another four-to-six weeks.

That would be a tremendous loss for a Suns team that has gotten off to a promising 5-5 start after last year’s disappointing season. However, new head coach Jordan Ott made it clear that his expectations won’t change.

“This team will have no excuses,” Ott said. “We lace them up, go out and play.” He also expressed sympathy for Green, adding, “You just feel for him. He worked so hard to get back.”

Dunn and Grayson Allen may see more playing time while Green is unavailable.

Phoenix got some positive injury news on Saturday as Brooks returned to the lineup after missing six games with a core muscle strain. He had 16 points, two rebounds and three assists in 28 minutes, including a late three-pointer that helped to quell a Clippers comeback.

Brooks Questionable Saturday; Green Has Impressive Debut

  • Suns forward Dillon Brooks is questionable for Saturday’s rematch against the Clippers in Los Angeles, tweets Law Murray of The Athletic. Brooks has missed the past six games with a core muscle strain. Kawhi Leonard will miss his third straight game for the Clips as he continues to battle a right ankle sprain, Murray adds.
  • The Clippers have gotten off to a rocky start — they hold a 3-5 record after being dominated by the Suns on Thursday. Head coach Tyronn Lue is preaching patience with some new faces on the roster, as Janis Carr of The Orange County Register relays. “We really haven’t had the chance to get to our full potential as far as lineups and things like that,” Lue said. “So, we just gotta be patient, let our guys get healthy and then we’ll see.”
  • After missing the first eight games of 2025/26 with a right hamstring strain, Jalen Green had an impressive Suns debut on Thursday, according to Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. The former No. 2 overall pick scored a game-high 29 points (on 10-of-20 shooting) while chipping in three rebounds, three assists and two steals in just 23 minutes during the blowout victory. “Body wise, I felt really good,” the 23-year-old shooting guard said. “Overall, I was just really excited to get out there. I was telling the guys I couldn’t even sleep. Usually I take a pregame nap. I couldn’t even get my nap in. I was so excited.”

Bradley Beal Criticizes Usage With Suns In Return To Phoenix

After getting a hostile reception from Phoenix fans on Thursday night, Clippers guard Bradley Beal indicated that he doesn’t have fond memories of his two years with the Suns, writes Law Murray of The Athletic.

Beal was booed during pregame introductions and again each time he touched the ball during a 13-point loss. He turned in his worst performance of the season, finishing with five points in 19 minutes on 2-of-14 shooting before being removed from the game with 6:02 left in the third quarter.

A prolific scorer in Washington, Beal was supposed to form a Big Three along with Devin Booker and Kevin Durant when the Suns acquired him from the Wizards during the 2023 offseason. Injuries limited him to 53 games during both of his seasons in Phoenix, and his reported refusal to waive his no-trade clause limited the Suns’ ability to alter their roster and made him an unpopular figure with fans.

Beal contends he was never properly used by head coaches Frank Vogel or Mike Budenholzer during his time in Phoenix.

“When you allow me to be that guy, I’ll be that,” Beal said. “But when you have two coaches that want you to set screens and play in the dunker, you’re not Brad Beal. You’re somebody else.”

Beal had two years and $110MM remaining on his contract, but he and the Suns were both eager to end their relationship after two frustrating seasons. He agreed to give back $13.9MM as part of a buyout agreement during the summer and joined the Clippers on a two-year, $11MM deal that includes a player option.

He told reporters that he didn’t feel he had anything to prove in his return to Phoenix, pointing out that the Clippers scored a decisive win over the Suns earlier in the season.

“To me, it wasn’t about get back,” Beal said. “We whooped y’all a couple weeks ago. So it wasn’t like, you know, I don’t think it’s about that. For me, it was — no disrespect to Phoenix — but it was more meaningful for me to go back to D.C. and play, after being there for 11 years and that’s my franchise, you know? I feel like I was more geeked about that than coming back here. There’s no disrespect … but they have their way how they feel.”

Injury issues have continued to hamper Beal as he tries to establish himself with another new franchise. He underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee during the offseason and remains on a minutes restriction. He hasn’t exceeded 22 minutes or played in the fourth quarter yet this season, but coach Tyronn Lue remains confident that he’ll eventually be a reliable scorer once he’s back to full health.

Beal emphasized that he has no hard feelings toward Phoenix fans or the organization, and he displayed that by signing autographs after Thursday’s game and embracing his former teammates, according to Murray. He won’t have to wait long to see them again, as the Suns will travel to Los Angeles for a rematch Saturday night.

“That’s basketball — we wouldn’t be pros if we couldn’t be mentally tough enough to move on to the next game or be mentally tough to move on to the next play,” Beal said. “It happens, man. It’s going to be games dudes might not make a shot. Might not get a rebound. But how you bounce back and how you respond to that is a testament to your character, who you are as a player. So, see you Saturday.”

Jalen Green Probable To Make Suns Debut Thursday

Suns guard Jalen Green has been upgraded to probable for Thursday’s matchup against the Clippers, according to Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic (Twitter link). If he is able to suit up, it would mark both Green’s season and Suns debut.

Green came over to Phoenix in the trade that sent Kevin Durant to the Rockets and was expected to be a major part of the Suns’ new-look offense, but a right hamstring strain has kept him on the sidelines since early in training camp.

He missed all of camp as well as the first eight games of the season — the Suns are off to a 3-5 start without him. First-year head coach Jordan Ott has experimented with different starting lineups while Green and fellow former Rocket Dillon Brooks have been out with injuries, but Green’s return should help provide stability to the team’s backcourt rotation.

The fifth-year shooting guard holds career averages of 20.1 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 3.4 assists in 307 career regular-season games, but he struggled with consistency in terms of shot selection and defensive focus. He expressed excitement this summer about playing off of Devin Booker, with whom he believes he can form a two-headed scoring and play-making attack.

The Suns will still have to wait to see their team at full strength, as Brooks continues to be listed as out due to the core muscle strain that has caused him to miss the last five games.

Devin Booker Wants To Finish Career With Suns

The Suns are no longer considered a serious contender in the Western Conference following their failed big three experiment with Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal joining forces with Devin Booker. Durant and Beal are now playing for the Rockets and Clippers, respectively.

Despite that, Booker is content to remain with the organization long-term, he told Nick Friedell of The Athletic. Booker believes there’s something special about an elite player remaining on the same team and playing in the same city throughout his career, as Stephen Curry is doing with the Warriors.

“I was adopted as an 18-year-old coming in,” Booker said of Phoenix before playing Curry’s Warriors in Golden State. “I was embraced through tough times, all the way to making a Finals run. The city watched me grow up. I enjoyed growing up in the city. I’m sure Steph can say a lot of similar things about this area.”

Booker, who is in his 11th season, can’t see Curry leaving the Warriors for the remainder of his career. Booker, who just turned 29, wants it that way with the Suns.

“I don’t think he’s going anywhere,” Booker said of Curry. “And I don’t think I am either.”

Contractually, Booker is tied to his organization. He signed a two-year extension this summer worth an estimated $145MM that runs through the end of the 2029/30 season.

Booker embraces his role of being the team leader and spokesman.

“It’s a lot of pride,” Booker said. “It’s a lot of responsibility. It’s something that I try to communicate to the young guys. Having those couple deep playoff runs, and just getting the city to become electric, is a feeling that I’m chasing, want to get back to.”

Suns Notes: Green, Brooks, Livers, Williams

Jalen Green won’t be active when the Suns host San Antonio on Sunday night, but he appears to be getting closer to making his season debut, writes Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. Phoenix was counting on Green to help carry the scoring load after acquiring him from the Rockets as part of the Kevin Durant trade, but he has been out of action with a strained right hamstring. He took an important step toward returning on Saturday by participating in five-on-five drills.

“It was full-court before practice,” coach Jordan Ott said. “So that part is good. We’ll have to take a look tonight after this and into (Sunday).”  

Green was extremely durable during his time in Houston, playing in all 82 games the past two seasons, but he’s been dealing with the hamstring issue since early in training camp. He reaggravated it in early October when the Suns traveled to China for two games against Brooklyn.

There’s more from Phoenix:

  • Dillon Brooks will miss his fourth straight game on Sunday, Rankin states in the same piece, and his diagnosis has been changed from right groin soreness to a core muscle strain. “The soft tissue piece to it,” Ott told reporters before Friday’s game. “His pain tolerance being super high and trying to put a timeline on when Dillon Brooks can physically get out there. We know he’s going to step out there. That’s the thing we’re learning (about) Dillon in this process as he returns back.” Brooks was averaging a career-high 19.3 PPG before getting hurt.
  • Two-way player Isaiah Livers sat out the second half Friday with a right hip contusion and is considered doubtful for Sunday, Rankin adds. Livers missed all of last season with an injured right hip, but Ott said there’s no cause for concern. “Just got hit on his hip,” he explained. “Sounds like he’ll be day-to-day. It’s nothing from his surgery. Just an unlucky spot.”
  • Ott plans to build up Mark Williams‘ minutes as the season progresses, Rankin tweets. Williams, who has been plagued by injuries throughout his career, is averaging just 24.4 minutes per night through five games. “We’re going to be smart. We know it’s an 82-game season,” Ott said. “It’s going to continually be a talking point with our group based on how he played that night and physically how he feels the next day. Ideally, it continues to go up to where it’s lifted. We’re going to be pretty strategic in how we use him because we want him healthy, want him to play game after game after game.”

2025 NBA G League Draft Results

The NBA G League held its draft for the 2025/26 season on Saturday afternoon. Players who signed NBAGL contracts and whose rights weren’t already controlled by a team were part of the draft pool.

Affiliates from all 30 NBA teams took part in the draft, along with the unaffiliated Mexico City Capitanes.

Dillon Jones, who was a first-round pick in the 2024 NBA draft, was selected No. 1 overall by South Bay, which is the Lakers’ G League affiliate.

The 23-year-old small forward was drafted out of Weber State by Oklahoma City with the 26th pick last summer. He appeared in 54 games as a rookie, but only played 10.2 minutes per night and averaged 2.5 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.1 assists.

The Thunder traded Jones to Washington in June to clear a spot on their roster. The Wizards waived him last weekend and still owe him $2,753,280 for the remainder of the season.

Drafting Jones to South Bay won’t prevent another NBA team from signing him, since holding a player’s G League rights doesn’t mean teams control his NBA rights. However, it will give the Lakers a chance to take a first-hand look at him before potentially offering a standard or two-way contract.

With the second pick, the Osceola Magic selected Tyler Smith, who lost a battle for the Bucks’ final roster spot and was waived last Sunday. The 20-year-old power forward was expected to draw interest as a two-way target, but it doesn’t appear any offers have materialized yet. Smith, who started his career with the now-defunct G League Ignite, was taken with the 33rd pick in last year’s NBA draft.

The Wizards’ affiliate, the Capital City Go-Go, had three of the next four picks, selecting Ace Baldwin at No. 3, Nolan Hickman at No. 5 and Cam Carter at No. 6.

Two notable second-generation players were selected in today’s draft. Jamal Mashburn Jr. was taken at No. 8 by the Westchester Knicks, and Jabri Abdur-Rahim, whose father Shareef serves as G League president, went to the Stockton Kings at No. 29.

Here are the full 2025 G League draft results:


Round One:

  1. South Bay Lakers (Lakers): Dillon Jones
  2. Osceola Magic (Magic): Tyler Smith
  3. Capital City Go-Go (Wizards): Ace Baldwin
  4. Grand Rapids Gold (Nuggets): Adama Bal
  5. Capital City Go-Go (Wizards): Nolan Hickman
  6. Capital City Go-Go (Wizards): Cam Carter
  7. Motor City Cruise (Pistons): Stefan Todorovic
  8. Westchester Knicks (Knicks): Jamal Mashburn Jr.
  9. Greensboro Swarm (Hornets): Ethan Taylor
  10. Raptors 905 (Raptors): A.J. Hoggard
  11. Texas Legends (Mavericks): Kario Oquendo
  12. Grand Rapids Gold (Nuggets): Kenan Blackshear
  13. Oklahoma City Blue (Thunder): Vinicius da Silva (Brazil)
  14. Sioux Falls Skyforce (Heat): Josh Cohen
  15. Texas Legends (Mavericks): Cearius Warren (St. Thomas University)
  16. Osceola Magic (Magic): Ebenezer Dowuona
  17. Oklahoma City Blue (Thunder): John Harge (Adams State University)
  18. Birmingham Squadron (Pelicans): Tray Jackson
  19. Westchester Knicks (Knicks): Jaden Seymour
  20. Birmingham Squadron (Pelicans): Chris Mantis
  21. College Park Skyhawks (Hawks): Tyrin Lawrence
  22. Raptors 905 (Raptors): JP Pegues
  23. Greensboro Swarm (Hornets): Olisa Akonobi
  24. Oklahoma City Blue (Thunder): No pick
  25. South Bay Lakers (Lakers): Selton Miguel
  26. Motor City Cruise (Pistons): O’Mar Stanley
  27. Noblesville Boom (Pacers): Ben Coupet Jr.
  28. Salt Lake City Stars (Jazz): Des Watson
  29. Stockton Kings (Kings): Jabri Abdur-Rahim
  30. Salt Lake City Stars (Jazz): Carter Whitt
  31. Capital City Go-Go (Wizards): J.Z. Zaher

Round Two:

  1. Texas Legends (Mavericks): Sean Durugordon
  2. Stockton Kings (Kings): No pick
  3. Salt Lake City Stars (Jazz): Jermaine Couisnard
  4. Sioux Falls Skyforce (Heat): Dischon Thomas
  5. Valley Suns (Suns): Bryce Thompson
  6. Sioux Falls Skyforce (Heat): Darius Maddox
  7. Santa Cruz Warriors (Warriors): Derrin Boyd
  8. Austin Spurs (Spurs): Pierre Crockrell II
  9. Grand Rapids Gold (Nuggets): Markeese Hastings
  10. Maine Celtics (Celtics): Vance Jackson
  11. Texas Legends (Mavericks): Chandler Baker
  12. Osceola Magic (Magic): No pick
  13. Wisconsin Herd (Bucks): Onno Steger
  14. Iowa Wolves (Timberwolves): Donte Ingram
  15. Memphis Hustle (Grizzlies): Kobe Webster
  16. Sioux Falls Skyforce (Heat): Tyler Hawkins (Barry University)
  17. Motor City Cruise (Pistons): Jason Hubbard (Taylor University)
  18. Wisconsin Herd (Bucks): T.J. Weeks
  19. Grand Rapids Gold (Nuggets): No pick
  20. Austin Spurs (Spurs): No pick
  21. Capital City Go-Go (Wizards): No pick
  22. Noblesville Boom (Pacers): Ahmaad Rorie
  23. Maine Celtics (Celtics): Nicolas Timberlake
  24. Oklahoma City Blue (Thunder): No pick
  25. Rip City Remix (Trail Blazers): No pick
  26. Texas Legends (Mavericks): No pick
  27. Santa Cruz Warriors (Warriors): Franco Miller Jr.
  28. Motor City Cruise (Pistons): Ray Harrison
  29. Wisconsin Herd (Bucks): No pick
  30. Westchester Knicks (Knicks): Fousseyni Drame
  31. Osceola Magic (Magic): No pick

Teams will fill out their rosters with affiliate players, returning rights players, tryout players, and players who are assigned to the G League from the NBA roster (including those on two-way contracts).

G League training camps open on Monday, with this year’s NBAGL Tip-Off Tournament getting underway on November 7. The Tip-Off Tournament will be played over about a month-and-a-half and will be followed by the G League regular season, which begins on December 19.