Suns Rumors

And-Ones: Gores, WNBA, Micic, Bibby, Williams, NIL

March 24th, 2025 at 9:43pm CST by Dana Gauruder

A new development plan for the Detroit riverfront includes building a multi-sports complex that would support the city’s bid to gain a WNBA franchise, JC Reindl of the Detroit Free Press reports. Pistons owner Tom Gores and a team of local investors plan to use the site to host the team’s practice facility and headquarters. The Pistons and their G League affiliate, the Motor City Cruise, play their games in downtown Detroit.

Reports surfaced in late January that Detroit was one of the cities bidding for a new WNBA franchise.

We have more from around the international basketball world:

Anadolu Efes guard and former NBA player Shane Larkin said that Suns guard Vasilije Micic could wind up in the EuroLeague next season, as Eurohoops.net relays. “Me and Vasa talk all the time. He’s one of my good friends,” Larkin said, per Meridian Sports. “Obviously we have a lot of history together. And, you know, he’s happy where he’s at, but he’s definitely open to opportunities.” Micic has appeared in just two games with Phoenix since he was traded by Charlotte. Phoenix holds an $8.1MM option on Micic’s contract for next season, which is a virtual lock to be declined.
Mike Bibby, a 14-year NBA veteran, has agreed to become the head coach at Sacramento State, ESPN’s Shams Charania reports. Bibby played the prime of his career with the Kings.
Kam Williams of Tulane will test the NBA draft waters, Jonathan Givony of ESPN tweets. The 6’8” wing was named to the American Athletic Conference All-Freshman Team after averaging 9.3 points per game and shooting 41% on 3-point tries in his first college season.
Writing for The Stein Line (Substack link), Jake Fischer interviews agent Daniel Poneman regarding the NIL and how it impacts the NBA draft and college basketball.

Coby White, Kevin Durant Named Players Of The Week

March 24th, 2025 at 2:38pm CST by Rory Maher

Bulls guard Coby White has been named the Player of the Week for the Eastern Conference, while Suns forward Kevin Durant has won the award in the West, the NBA announced today in a press release.

It’s the second straight week that White has claimed the honor in the East. According to the Bulls (Twitter link), White joins Michael Jordan as the only players in team history to win the award in back-to-back weeks (Jordan accomplished it twice).

White, 25, helped guide Chicago to a 3-1 record last week, averaging 30.3 points, 4.0 assists and 3.3 rebounds on .556/.394/.848 shooting in four appearances (35.5 minutes). All four games came on the road.

Durant, meanwhile, averaged 27.3 points, 6.3 assists and 4.3 rebounds per game on .588/.471/.933 shooting in victories over Toronto, Chicago and Cleveland last week. It’s the 33rd time he has won the weekly award in his career, per the Suns (Twitter link via Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic), tying Kobe Bryant for second-most all-time (LeBron James has by far the most with 69).

According to the NBA (Twitter link), White beat out Giannis Antetokounmpo, Paolo Banchero, Cade Cunningham, his teammate Josh Giddey, Quentin Grimes, Pacers teammates Bennedict Mathurin and Myles Turner, Celtics teammates Kristaps Porzingis and Jayson Tatum, and Trae Young in the East.

The other nominees in the West were Deni Avdija, Durant’s teammate Devin Booker, Luka Doncic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Kawhi Leonard.

Suns Notes: Gillespie, Ighodaro, Big Win, Allen

March 22nd, 2025 at 8:34am CST by Tristan Tucker

Suns two-way guard Collin Gillespie drew the first start of his career on Monday in place of injured Bradley Beal, writes The Arizona Republic’s Duane Rankin. Gillespie has since started twice more and Phoenix has won all three games, its first such streak since late January. Gillespie is in his third year in the league, all of which have been on two-way contracts. He missed his rookie season due to injury and joined Phoenix this past offseason.

“It was really cool,” Gillespie said of earning a starting opportunity. “Really surreal moment for myself after just battling that stuff, all the injuries and stuff. It was cool, it was fun. Most importantly, we got a win.”

There’s no concern about Gillespie reaching his 50-game limit on his two-way deal, since he has been inactive 35 times so far this season. However, he won’t be eligible for the playoffs unless he’s promoted to the active roster.

If the Suns wanted to convert Gillespie to a standard deal, they would need to waive a player, as they’re at the limit of 15. His energy has helped Phoenix get back into the play-in picture at 10th in the West. They’re two games behind the Kings and tied with the 34-37 Mavericks, who rank 11th due to tie-breaking procedures.

Gillespie scored 13 points on a trio of made three-pointers on Friday in a victory against the Cavaliers.

“If I’m out on the floor, I’m going to play hard,” Gillespie said. “I’m going to exhaust myself and then if I need a breather, they’ll probably get me out of the game, but when I’m out there, I’m going to play hard and I’m going to exhaust myself.“

We have more from the Suns:

Suns rookie Oso Ighodaro earned his third career start on Friday, playing a career-high 44 minutes. He finished the upset win over the Cavaliers with six points, 13 rebounds and four assists. “He’s shown a unique ability where he doesn’t seem to get winded or tired,” coach Mike Budenholzer said, per Rankin (Twitter link). “He plays at such a great pace. Mentally, he’s very calm. He understands and sees the game. So there’s not a lot of wasted energy mentally. We scheduled to give him a few more breaks, but he was just playing so good, we just kind of stuck with him.” The rookie No. 40 overall pick is playing much more as of late, averaging 7.0 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.0 blocks in 28.8 minutes over his past six games. Ighodaro earned the start over an injured Nick Richards.
The Suns picked up one of their biggest wins of the season on Friday, defeating a healthy but slumping Cavaliers team. As Rankin writes, Phoenix was down four rotational players but their new-look starting lineup is providing an identity and generating good vibes. Alongside Kevin Durant (who scored 42 points on Friday) and Devin Booker, the Suns are starting Gillespie, Ighodaro and rookie No. 28 overall pick Ryan Dunn. When Beal, Richards, Grayson Allen and Mason Plumlee return to the lineup, Budenholzer will be forced to make some lineup decisions, Rankin notes.
In a similar story, The Athletic’s Doug Haller points out that Cody Martin is helping bring a defensive intensity off the bench for Phoenix. “I keep saying, just being connected,” Booker said of what’s fueling the team. “You’re moving as one. We’re covering (for) each other on defensive breakdowns and everybody’s making the extra effort to rotate for each other, and at the same time, making sure we secure the ball and rebound.”
Allen’s missed game on Friday was his sixth in a row, Rankin adds (via Twitter). “I think this has been a little bit more than what we anticipated, but I think he’s in a really good place,” Budenholzer said. “I think he’s making really good progress. We feel really good about it.” Allen, who is dealing with a foot sprain, was able to get some work in after shootaround on Friday. Budenholzer said the Suns feel “upbeat and optimistic” regarding his chances to play either Monday against the Bucks or Wednesday vs. the Celtics.

Western Notes: Bogdanovic, Durant, Rockets, Mavs, Nuggets

March 21st, 2025 at 8:29pm CST by Luke Adams

Veteran guard Bogdan Bogdanovic was having the worst year of his NBA career in Atlanta this season, averaging 10.0 points per game on 37.1% shooting (30.1% on three-pointers). He has looked more like his usual self since being traded to Los Angeles, bumping his scoring average to 12.6 PPG while making 48.5% of his shots from the floor (and 40.0% of his threes).

Bogdanovic has emerged as an X-factor for the Clippers, writes Janis Carr of The Orange County Register, due to his ability to read the floor, his decision-making, and the way he complements star guard James Harden.

“Bogey, him coming to our team really gave us a shot in the arm and helped us out in all of those areas,” assistant coach Brian Shaw said. “(His) spacing, being able to handle the ball takes some of the pressure off of James … and then when we want to seek out mismatches, they have to account for him out on the three-point line and that leaves the paint and everything open.”

Bogdanovic has a guaranteed $16MM salary for next season and a $16MM team option for 2026/27, so he won’t simply be a rental for his new team.

We have more from around the Western Conference:

Within a mailbag for SI.com, veteran NBA reporter Chris Mannix says he thinks Suns forward Kevin Durant would like to end up with with the Rockets this summer. While Mannix makes it clear that’s just his opinion, John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 (Twitter link) notes that he shares that opinion. Houston controls a handful of Phoenix’s draft picks, making the two teams an obvious match, but the question is how much interest the Rockets would have in giving up significant assets for a player who will be 37 next season — past reports have suggested they’ve sought to complement their young core with a more “age-appropriate” star.
The Mavericks held Kessler Edwards out of their game against Detroit on Friday, as Tim MacMahon of ESPN tweets. Edwards, who is on a two-way contract, can only be active once more and Dallas didn’t want to burn his last game quite yet, so he’ll join the team on its upcoming road trip. Another two-way player, Brandon Williams, is active for the Mavs on Friday and will have just four active games of his own left after tonight (Twitter link).
Bennett Durando addresses a series of Nuggets-related topics in a mailbag for The Denver Post, exploring what the team’s playoff rotation might look like, discussing the latest on Aaron Gordon‘s nagging calf injury, and evaluating who’s to blame for Denver’s subpar defensive play.

Suns Notes: Durant, Budenholzer, Plumlee, Booker

March 19th, 2025 at 8:46pm CST by Arthur Hill

Kevin Durant‘s relationship with Suns coach Mike Budenholzer has been an ongoing storyline for several weeks, and Durant offered some insight after this morning’s shootaround, writes Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. The topic arose again after Durant snapped at Budenholzer during a timeout in Sunday’s game at Los Angeles (Twitter video link).

“I don’t say, ‘Coach, we’ve got to do this.’ It’s his team,” Durant told reporters. “I’m there to be of assistance. If he needs me to do anything. If I got some suggestions on what may happen, I’m asking him. I’m not telling him what to do. I’m asking him, ‘Yo, Coach, what you think, we should do this right here?’ If he doesn’t think so, all right, then I’ll move on.”

A potential rift between Durant and Budenholzer has been one of the subplots of a disappointing season in Phoenix. Budenholzer is in his first season with the team after replacing Frank Vogel last summer, and Sunday’s incident was the latest evidence of possible tension behind the scenes. In a March 4 game, Durant was seen slapping away Budenholzer’s hand while returning to the huddle.

However, Durant has been supportive of his coach in his public comments, and he believes his long career gives him the right to offer input when he thinks it’s appropriate.

“I’ve never been that guy telling somebody what to do,” Durant said, “but I’ve been in the league for a long time and if I see something, Coach gives me the leeway to come to him if I see something out there that may be different. I think everyone on the team has that type of confidence to go to Coach with that stuff. I’m not telling him what he needs to do. I’m listening and giving suggestions and if it helps, it helps. If he doesn’t take it, then you move on to the next thing.”

There’s more from Phoenix:

After losing to the Lakers on Sunday, the Suns responded with one of their best games of the season the next night in a 40-point win over Toronto. In a separate story, Rankin notes that injuries to Bradley Beal and Grayson Allen created more playing time for newcomer Cody Martin and rookies Ryan Dunn and Oso Ighodaro, who provide a better defensive foundation. “(Martin) does a little bit of everything,” Devin Booker said. “But most importantly, he’s been vocal even in the times that he hasn’t been in the game, and just seeing things that he sees out there, and it translates. And you know, it was a big part of what we did today.”
Backup center Mason Plumlee will miss tonight’s game against Chicago with a left quad strain. Budenholzer isn’t sure when it happened, saying it might be “a little bit of a cumulative effect,” tweets Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports. Budenholzer adds that the team will monitor Plumlee for the next 24 to 48 hours in hopes that it’s not more serious.
Owner Mat Ishbia stated last week that trading Booker this summer would be “silly,” but Mark Deeks of HoopsHype lists four potential landing spots for Booker in the event that the Suns change their minds. Deeks views the Pistons, Thunder, Rockets and Knicks as the best options.

Bradley Beal Out At Least One Week

March 18th, 2025 at 7:54am CST by Luke Adams

Suns guard Bradley Beal will miss at least one week before having his left hamstring strain reevaluated, head coach Mike Budenholzer told reporters on Monday night, per Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic.

Beal exited Sunday’s loss to the Lakers after playing just 15 minutes. The team initially referred to his injury as left hamstring soreness but has since changed the diagnosis to a strain.

The veteran guard subsequently sat out Monday’s blowout win over Toronto and will also miss games on Wednesday vs. Chicago and Friday vs. Cleveland before having his injury reassessed ahead of next Monday’s matchup with Milwaukee.

It has been a challenge for Beal to stay healthy this season. While he has appeared in 48 of Phoenix’s 69 regular season games to this point, the 31-year-old has also missed time over the course of the year due to calf, toe, ankle, knee, and elbow issues.

“I feel bad for Brad,” Budenholzer said on Monday. “We’ve just got to find a way to try to keep him healthy. Hopefully, get him right.”

In his 48 appearances (33 starts), Beal has averaged 17.3 points, 3.6 assists, and 3.4 rebounds in 32.2 minutes per game, with a strong shooting line of .505/.395/.813.

Two-way player Collin Gillespie took Beal’s place in the lineup on Monday, making the first start of his NBA career. Gillespie logged 23 minutes on Sunday and 16 on Monday, well above his season average of 8.0 MPG, and appears poised to continue playing a rotation role this week.

Suns Still Hoping To Salvage Disappointing Season

March 17th, 2025 at 10:00am CST by Arthur Hill

Kevin Durant‘s heated sideline exchange with coach Mike Budenholzer (Twitter video link) may be the only positive to come out of the Suns‘ loss to the Lakers on Sunday, writes Joe Vardon of The Athletic. It suggests that Durant is still locked in enough to care about the team amid widespread reports that he plans to ask for a trade this summer.

Durant and his teammates are struggling to make up ground on the 10th-place Mavericks, whose season is imploding amid a constant string of injuries. Phoenix has gone just 4-6 in its last 10 games and remains a game and a half behind Dallas with less than four weeks to play.

“This group is — there’s still (14) games left. We need to get into the play-in, we need to get into the playoffs and try and do something there,” Budenholzer said. “Like, there is a lot of talent in our locker room. There is a lot of fight in our locker room. So we got to get in (the play-in), and then we got to play good basketball, win games. But we got to start winning to get there, (and) I think the guys know that. And I think the mindset and the fight, in the first quarter, wasn’t where it needs to be.”

Budenholzer dismissed the latest run-in with Durant, saying it involved defensive rotations and calling it “pretty normal stuff.” Durant didn’t talk to reporters after the game, according to Vardon, telling them he was going to shower first and then quickly slipping out of the locker room after he was done.

Vardon states that there’s no easy explanation for what has gone wrong with the Suns, who looked like one of the NBA’s best teams in October and early November with an 8-1 start. There’s plenty of firepower on the roster with Devin Booker and Bradley Beal playing alongside Durant, and the front office thought it had upgraded the coaching staff by hiring Budenholzer, who has an NBA title on his resume.

Some observers have labeled Beal a disappointment, but Vardon points out that he has been playing pretty well as a third option, averaging 17.3 PPG while shooting better than 50% from the floor and nearly 40% from three-point range. However, Beal suffered a hamstring injury on Sunday that prevented him from playing in the second half and he’s considered questionable for tonight’s game against Toronto.

Phoenix is 27th in the league in defensive rating, and Budenholzer cited the need to improve in that area several times after Sunday’s loss. Vardon also notes that the three-point shooting has been inconsistent as the Suns missed 18 of their first 20 attempts from beyond the arc against the Lakers.

“I think it’s more than one thing,” Booker said. “In spots, we’ve shown we can do it, and that’s what makes it even more frustrating. We have a game like last game (a 122-106 win over Sacramento), and then we come in and miss a few shots, which affects our defense, which, you know, affects our offense. So, it’s a domino effect. If you’re playing with energy and effort, you know, you can sleep well at night, regardless. And I don’t think we’re doing that right now.”

Pacific Notes: Sabonis, Kings, Lakers, Reaves, Suns, Plumlee

March 15th, 2025 at 8:31am CST by Rory Maher

Friday’s loss to Phoenix was the latest in a string of ugly defeats for the Kings, writes Chris Biderman of The Sacramento Bee. The Kings were blown out for the third game in a row and have now dropped four straight and five of their past six.

“I expected a way better performance out of our guys,” interim head coach Doug Christie said to open his postgame press conference.

Opposing teams have been feasting from behind the arc of late against Sacramento, which gave up a season-high 24 three-pointers to the Suns and made only eight of their own. As Biderman notes in another story, things went from bad to worse in the fourth quarter, when star center Domantas Sabonis appeared to aggravate the left hamstring injury that had sidelined him for the past six games.

“I think he wanted to continue to play,” Christie said. “But (there’s) no conversation. Sit down. When I see you do that, I’m not even playing around with that one. You are way too important to us.”

The Kings, who are currently the No. 9 seed in the West, have dropped to .500 at 33-33 and are only one game up on Dallas and 2.5 games ahead of Phoenix as they vie for a postseason spot.

Here’s more from the Pacific:

Prior to Friday’s game in Denver, Lakers head coach JJ Redick said that LeBron James, Rui Hachimura and Jaxson Hayes all have a good chance to suit up within the next week, tweets Mike Trudell of Spectrum SportsNet. “They’re all very close to returning,” Redick said. James has missed the past three games with a groin strain, while Hachimura and Hayes are battling knee injuries. The Lakers wound up losing their fourth straight game to conclude their road trip.
Austin Reaves was a bright spot for the Lakers in their shorthanded road loss to the Nuggets, as Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times relays. Reaves wasn’t sure whether he’d play after injuring his right wrist on Thursday in Milwaukee, but he wound up recording 37 points, 13 assists, eight rebounds and four steals in 39 minutes. “We know when we’re full healthy and got everybody on the team that we have a really good chance to beat anybody,” Reaves said. “I just see this group, coming together, locking in on one common goal and that’s to win. And tonight I think is the biggest testament to that. Very shorthanded and went and played a really good basketball team with probably the best player in the world. And went toe to toe and had an opportunity to win it and just didn’t execute the last 50 seconds.”
Suns star Kevin Durant credited the play and professionalism of Ryan Dunn and Oso Ighodaro following Friday’s victory over Sacramento, according to Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports (Twitter video link). “It was incredible. … Love playing with those guys and it’s something we need to build on,” Durant said. “We’ve been talking about it for so long, but each game matters, every possession matters. They came out there with that type of mindset.” Both rookies have been in and out of the rotation over the past month.
Suns backup center Mason Plumlee was ejected for the second straight game on Friday after elbowing Sabonis in the neck area (YouTube link via ESPN). The play was reviewed and Plumlee’s actions were deemed “unnecessary and excessive with contact above the shoulders,” leading to a flagrant 2 foul and automatic ejection. Plumlee was also ejected from Wednesday’s game vs. Houston after a brief scuffle with Steven Adams.

Cody Martin On Track To Make Suns Debut

March 14th, 2025 at 7:39pm CST by Luke Adams

Veteran forward Cody Martin, traded from Charlotte to Phoenix at last month’s deadline, has yet to play for the Suns as he recovers from a sports hernia injury. However, he has been upgraded to questionable for Friday’s game vs. Sacramento and is expected to be available if all goes well during his pregame workout, per head coach Mike Budenholzer (Twitter link via Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports).

Martin, who missed most of the 2022/23 and ’23/24 seasons due to injuries, was healthy for the first half of ’24/25 with the Hornets, appearing in 39 of the team’s first 41 games. He averaged 7.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 2.3 assists in 24.8 minutes per night, with a shooting line of .433/.323/.694, before being sent to the Suns along with Vasilije Micic and a second-round pick in exchange for Jusuf Nurkic and a first-rounder.

Martin has never been a significant offensive threat, but he’s known as a solid, versatile defender who can guard multiple positions. That could make him a useful piece for a Suns team that currently ranks 27th in the NBA in defensive rating (116.8), though he admitted today that he’s not sure whether Budenholzer plans to immediately incorporate him into the rotation.

“I’m the player. I’m coming to do my job and making sure I stay prepared and I’m going to come here to work. They make the decisions,” Martin said (Twitter video link via Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic). “I’m just going to show up, be myself and when it is time to play and I get my opportunity, go in there and be myself and do everything I can to help win.”

Martin did tell reporters that a recent stint in the G League with the Valley Suns provided him the opportunity to go through “game situations” and got him ready for his NBA return.

“High-intensity workouts,” he said. “They did a good job getting me prepared and put me situations that I feel like are going to be able to simulate the game as much as possible.”

The Suns remain firmly in the hunt for a play-in spot — they’re currently 2.5 games back of Dallas for the No. 10 seed in the West. And while Martin is technically under contract for next season, his $8.68MM salary is non-guaranteed, so he’ll be have plenty of motivation to play well down the stretch if he gets the chance to earn regular minutes.

Wolves Didn’t Offer Jaden McDaniels In Kevin Durant Trade Talks

March 14th, 2025 at 12:11pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Timberwolves were aggressive in trying to land Kevin Durant before last month’s trade deadline, but their offers to the Suns didn’t include Anthony Edwards or Jaden McDaniels, sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.

Scotto’s sources say Minnesota wanted to build the deal around power forward Julius Randle and shooting guard Donte DiVincenzo, both of whom were acquired from New York last October in the Karl-Anthony Towns trade.

The Wolves are expected to continue their pursuit of Durant this summer, but Randle would have to pick up his $30.9MM player option before he could be included in trade talks. Scotto notes that Minnesota has won the last 11 games in which Randle has played, while DiVincenzo, who is signed through the 2026/27 season, is shooting 39.4% from three-point range and averaging a career-best 3.7 assists per game.

It’s worth noting that the Wolves were operating more than $16MM above the second tax apron and Durant’s $51.2MM salary is about $7MM more than Randle and DiVincenzo combined, so they would have needed to trim over $20MM in additional salary to make the deal possible, since teams above the second apron can’t aggregate salaries.

Assuming Rudy Gobert was also off the table, Minnesota would have needed to part with either Naz Reid and Mike Conley or Reid and several lower-paid players. At least one additional team would have been necessary because Phoenix is also over the second apron and couldn’t take back more salary than it sent out in any deal.

Any version of the trade would have been difficult to complete without including McDaniels’ $23MM salary. The 24-year-old forward is averaging 12.6 points and 5.9 rebounds per game this season and is an important part of Minnesota’s defense.

The Suns expressed interest in Reid during trade talks, sources tell Scotto. The reigning Sixth Man of the Year has a $15MM player option for next season that he’s expected to decline, but the Wolves intend to sign him to a long-term deal, Scotto’s sources add.

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