2024–25 Phoenix Suns season

The 2024–25 Phoenix Suns season will be the 57th season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as well as their 32nd season at the Footprint Center.^[1] It is also their second full season under the ownership group led by Mat Ishbia and Justin Ishbia after the brothers purchased the team on February 8, 2023, and their second season with their "Big Three" superteam of Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, and Bradley Beal together. This will be their third season in a row with a new head coach taking over following the announcement of Frank Vogel's firing on May 9, 2024, this time having 2021 NBA Finals champion coach Mike Budenholzer taking over as the new head coach two days later.^[2] This is also their first season since the 2019–20 season where the Suns would properly utilize the NBA G League again with their own squad (this time, the Valley Suns) after previously selling the Northern Arizona Suns to the Detroit Pistons during that season's suspension/reinstatement period and subsequently shutting down that G League team for the following season afterward in a move unrelated to their sale,^[3] thus marking the first time where every NBA team would utilize their own G League affiliate during a season.^[4] Entering this season, the Suns are looking to improve upon their previous season's record of 49–33, which left them with a sixth-place finish in the Western Conference, as well as look to enter the playoffs for the fifth straight season after previously missing the playoffs for a decade straight and improve upon their first round exit from the last postseason.

Round	Pick	Player	Position(s)	Nationality	College / Club
1	28	Ryan Dunn	SF/PF	United States	Virginia
2	40	Oso Ighodaro	C/PF	United States	Marquette

The Suns entered this draft period (which would last for two days instead of just one day like it was ever since the NBA draft was only two rounds long back in 1989) with only their own first-round pick (that was made 22nd after a tiebreaker with two other teams with the same record as them and that they also kept as their own pick following multiple trades revolving around a first-round pick swap that they made last season^[5][6]) after also trading away their own second-round pick this year as a part of their massive Bradley Beal trade from last season.^[5] They also originally had a second-round pick that was from the Denver Nuggets (which would have been made late into the second-round) that they acquired from the Orlando Magic the previous season,^[7] but that pick was ultimately vacated from them early on into that season after the NBA discovered the Suns had engaged in conversations with then-Portland Trail Blazers center Drew Eubanks before that season's free agency period officially began.^[8] They also held draft rights to the San Antonio Spurs' second-round pick as well had it fallen into a certain condition due to a previous trade involving Cameron Payne, but that pick would not be conveyed to them due to the Spurs performing far below expectations of that draft pick's range limitations.^[9] On the first night of the 2024 NBA draft, the Suns traded their only pick they had at the time (which became Dayton power forward DaRon Holmes II) to the Denver Nuggets in exchange for their 28th pick in the draft (which became Virginia forward Ryan Dunn), their 56th pick in the draft (which became Kansas shooting guard Kevin McCullar Jr.), and two future second round picks in 2026 and 2031.^[10] On the second day of the draft, the Suns would later trade Kevin McCullar Jr., the 56th pick, and the Boston Celtics' protected 2028 second round pick to the New York Knicks in exchange for the 40th pick in the draft (which became the Arizona born and raised Marquette power forward/center Oso Ighodaro).^[11]

On April 16, 2024, assistant coach Kevin Young was hired as a head coach for Brigham Young University's men's basketball team (though he would stay for the team's brief 2024 playoff run) after their previous coach, Mark Pope, left BYU to be the new head coach for the University of Kentucky, replacing John Calipari there after he left them for the University of Arkansas. Young had previous hints of leaving for a head coaching position with him being considered a serious candidate for the head coach position for both the Brooklyn Nets and Charlotte Hornets before being hired by BYU.^[12][13] He was also the highest paid assistant coach at the time of his departure.^[14] On May 9, following weeks of deliberation after a disappointing first round exit against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 2024 NBA playoffs, the Suns decided to fire head coach Frank Vogel after finishing only one season of his five-year, $31 million deal that he had originally signed with the team. Unlike the previous season's coaching search where it was an extensive one, the Suns would only look at a select few candidates to replace Vogel's position, with Holbrook, Arizona native Mike Budenholzer (the head coach the won the 2021 NBA Finals over the Suns) being considered a prominent part of their new head coach search before ultimately getting the position two days later with a five-year deal worth $50 million.^[15][2]

Following Budenholzer's hiring, the Suns later announced that none of Vogel's assistant coaches from last season would initially be retained for the new coaching staff led by Budenholzer this season.^[16] However, after an attempt to promote David Fizdale into a front office position later in the month instead, he was reported to return to his role as an assistant coach for the Phoenix Suns on May 29.^[17] The Suns would also look to hire Vince Legarza, a former assistant coach with the Milwaukee Bucks and Minnesota Timberwolves, on May 28 (with Legarza also taking on the head coach role for the Suns' Summer League team).^[18][19] On May 30, Utah Jazz assistant coach Chad Forcier would be named the next addition to the Phoenix Suns' coaching staff.^[20] A day after that, on May 31, former Wisconsin Herd head coach Chaisson Allen would be the next assistant coach to be hired onto Budenholzer's new staff.^[21] On June 11, the former University of Washington basketball coach Mike Hopkins would be reported as the next hiring for Budenholzer's coaching staff.^[22] Over a month later, on July 23, Brent Barry, the San Antonio Spurs' Vice President of Basketball Operations, was reported to be the most recent hiring for Budenholzer's coaching staff.^[23] A day after that, former Washington Wizards assistant coach James Posey would take on one of the open assistant coach spots for the team.^[24] Finally, the Suns would announce their official coaching staff for Mike Budenholzer's staff on August 6, with the last addition being former Los Angeles Lakers assistant coach Schuyler Rimmer.^[25]

In addition to coaching staff changes, the Suns also expressed interest in modifying their front office up a bit as well. Initially, assistant coach David Fizdale was offered a front office position with the team on May 12, 2024 following an initial firing from Frank Vogel's coaching staff, but he ultimately denied the job promotion in favor of staying with the Suns as an assistant coach for Mike Budenholzer's staff.^[26] Five days after trying to get Fizdale into a front office role, it was reported that the Suns would offer former Long Island Nets general manager and then-current Brooklyn Nets vice president of strategy member Matt Tellem (son of famous sports agent Arn Tellem) a key spot on their new front office instead.^[27] Matt Tellem would eventually be announced as a new assistant general manager for the Suns (with both Trevor Bukstein (who had previously been a part of their staff since 2013) and Morgan Cato being confirmed to not return to the front office as of May 21^[28]) on June 10, with former University of South Florida basketball coach Brian Gregory being named the vice president of player programming alongside the hiring of Tellem.^[29] Over a month later, on July 19, assistant general manager Gerald Madkins, personnel evaluation manager David Sevush, and team scouts Charles Payne and Darrel Johnson were announced to not return to the team's front office.^[30]

Entering free agency, Bol Bol, Royce O'Neale, Isaiah Thomas, and Thaddeus Young would all become unrestricted free agents, though O'Neale is considered very likely to earn a contract extension before June 29 in order to take himself off the market similar to that of Grayson Allen earlier in the year (albeit for less money due to him being traded to Phoenix in February last season). In addition to them, Drew Eubanks, Eric Gordon, Damion Lee, and Josh Okogie all held player options that they would need to pick up sometime before June 29 in order to avoid free agency, though they all decided to enter free agency by the 29th. Also joining the other players in free agency are the team's two-way contracts from last season in Saben Lee, Udoka Azubuike, and Ish Wainright, though two of those three players would be ineligible for a new two-way contract due to them already being in the NBA for four seasons now. They also currently have salary cap holds on the recently retired Terrence Ross and former two-way contract player Gabriel Lundberg since the Suns haven't renounced their player rights on the salary cap yet.^[31] Starting on June 18, the day after the 2024 NBA Finals ended, teams like the Suns would start talking with their own free agents in order to get potential agreements ready for them early before they sign new deals on July 6.^[32][33] Also, starting on June 30, the Suns will be one of a select few teams to be fully restricted by the NBA's newer second tax apron limitations, which will implement greater restrictions on teams that had a payroll of over $190 million during the previous season.^[34][35]

On July 2, 2024, the Suns would officially sign former Denver Nuggets guard Collin Gillespie and Baylor University forward Jalen Bridges to two of their open two-way contract spots for the season.^[36][37] A day after that, both Mason Plumlee of the Los Angeles Clippers and Monté Morris of the Minnesota Timberwolves would officially sign one-year veteran's minimum contracts worth $3,303,771 and $2,800,834 respectively to join the team early due to the type of contracts they would sign,^[38][39] with Damion Lee also officially signing a one-year veteran's minimum deal worth $2.8 million to return to the team himself and help alleviate the team's tax penalties a bit for this season.^[40] On July 6, Royce O'Neale would officially re-sign with the Suns on a four-year deal worth $44 million (though $2 million would come from bonuses that are considered unlikely).^[41] A day after that, Bol Bol would officially re-sign with the Suns on a one-year veteran's minimum deal as well, with a chance to be eligible for a greater deal with Phoenix the next upcoming season due to them gaining his Early Bird rights.^[42] On July 10, both Ish Wainright and Eric Gordon would officially sign new contracts to play for the Hapoel Tel Aviv B.C. in Israel and the Philadelphia 76ers respectively.^[43][44] On July 13, the Suns would potentially get their last player from last season's roster returning to them via free agency by re-signing Josh Okogie on a two-year deal worth $16 million.^[45] On July 29, the Suns would officially trade David Roddy to the Atlanta Hawks for E. J. Liddell, who they plan to waive following the official signing of Washington Wizards point guard Tyus Jones to a one-year veteran's minimum deal worth $3,303,771.^[46][47] Then, to round out their initial roster, on August 2, the Suns would sign Milwaukee Bucks point guard TyTy Washington Jr. to their last open two-way contract spot.^[48]

After first reported as one of the first official removals from the team since free agency first began, Drew Eubanks would officially sign a new contract with the Utah Jazz on August 12.^[49][50] A week after that, Udoka Azubuike would officially sign an overseas contract with the KK Budućnost VOLI out in Montenegro.^[51] On August 27, it was not only confirmed that Saben Lee would play for Turkey's Manisa Basket,^[52] but it was also confirmed that the Suns would officially waive both E. J. Liddell and Nassir Little from their team as well.^[53][54] With Little's removal from the team in particular, the remainder of his now-three year deal worth $21,750,000 would now be paid by the Suns by an average of $3,107,143 per year throughout the next seven seasons, including this season until the end of the 2030–31 season.^[55]

This is the second regular season where all the NBA teams will compete in a mid-season tournament following the success of the 2023 NBA In-Season Tournament, though this season's tournament would be renamed to the Emirates NBA Cup starting this season onward. On July 12, 2024, the NBA announced the drawing of each team's groups for this season's tournament. For the Suns, they would join the rivaling Los Angeles Lakers and Utah Jazz from last season's Group A with the Oklahoma City Thunder and the rivaling San Antonio Spurs in Group B for the Western Conference this season.^[56]

• With a 98–87 win for Team U.S.A. over the hosts in France on August 10 in the 2024 Summer Olympics, Devin Booker won his second straight Olympic gold medal and Kevin Durant won his fourth straight Olympic gold medal for men's basketball.
• On October 12-13, 2024, both long-time former Suns player Walter Davis and one-time former Suns player Vince Carter will be inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame for the Class of 2024 (Davis' induction being posthumous) alongside former Phoenix Mercury All-Star Michele Timms.^[57]

June 26, 2024[58]	To Phoenix Suns Draft rights to Ryan Dunn (No. 28) Draft rights to Kevin McCullar Jr. (No. 56) 2026 second-round pick 2031 second-round pick	To Denver Nuggets Draft rights to DaRon Holmes II (No. 22)
June 27, 2024[59]	To Phoenix Suns Draft rights to Oso Ighodaro (No. 40)	To New York Knicks Draft rights to Kevin McCullar Jr. (No. 56) 2028 Top-45 protected second-round pick (from Boston)
July 29, 2024[60]	To Phoenix Suns E. J. Liddell	To Atlanta Hawks David Roddy

Player	Reason left	New team(s)
Ish Wainright[64]	Unrestricted free agent	Hapoel Tel Aviv B.C.
Eric Gordon[65]	Unrestricted free agent	Philadelphia 76ers
David Roddy	Traded	Atlanta Hawks
Drew Eubanks	Unrestricted free agent	Utah Jazz
Udoka Azubuike	Unrestricted free agent	KK Budućnost VOLI
Saben Lee	Unrestricted free agent	Manisa Basket
E. J. Liddell	Waived	Chicago Bulls
Nassir Little	Waived