During the forgettable 2024–25 season — one that ended with just 36 wins — the Phoenix Suns’ trade of Jusuf Nurkic felt logical. Head coach Mike Budenholzer didn’t have the veteran center in his long-term plans, and the franchise was scrambling under the weight of second-apron restrictions, desperate to clear some financial room and increase flexibility.
That panic led to two separate trades with the Charlotte Hornets — bringing in Nick Richards and Cody Martin while sending out Josh Okogie. But the return? Nowhere near enough.
What truly tanked the logic of that Nurkic trade was the Bradley Beal buyout.
The Suns not only parted ways with Nurkic but also broke up a valuable first-round pick into lesser future assets via a separate deal with the Utah Jazz — one of which they attached to Nurkic. The Bosnian center was off to Charlotte.
And now, with Beal off the books and Kevin Durant also gone, Phoenix is no longer in “win-now” mode. Suddenly, shedding Nurkic feels pointless. As it turns out, they may have thrown away a valuable first for nothing.
To make matters worse, the Suns might soon move off of Nick Richards — one of the centerpieces of that deal — and have already swung back to the Hornets to try and bring in Mark Williams, another big man. That’s a lot of back-and-forth with Charlotte for results that haven’t moved the needle.
Even Frank Vogel, the former head coach, once built a serviceable defense with Nurkic anchoring the middle — and that was during one of the healthiest years of Nurkic’s recent career.
But the final nail? The Beal buyout took Phoenix out of both the first and second aprons — exactly what they hoped to achieve by moving Nurkic. The kicker: Nurkic was on an expiring deal heading into his final contract year. That’s precisely why the Hornets flipped him to the Jazz this offseason — a smart move Phoenix could’ve made themselves without tossing in a first-rounder.
This kind of shortsighted thinking is a major reason the Suns spiraled last season. Now, with Beal and Durant both gone, there’s hope for a reset — one with actual long-term vision, ideally built around Devin Booker.
But that Nurkic deal? It’s going to be remembered — and not fondly.
