Phoenix Suns Trade for Royce O’Neale & David Roddy: Why They Went This Route and How They Fit

Phoenix Suns Trade for Royce O’Neale & David Roddy: Why They Went This Route and How They Fit

The Phoenix Suns did in fact make a trade at the NBA trade deadline on Thursday we all expected that what we did not expect is that nir little stayed put and the Phoenix Suns got David Rody on today’s episode of lockon suns will break down the acquisition of Royce

O’Neal and why they chose this path over the others let’s go you are locked on suns your daily Phoenix Suns podcast part of the locked on podcast Network your team Team every Day we are back this is locked on Phoenix Suns we are part of the locked on podcast Network I’m your host Brendan clean a credential media member covering the Suns for the past seven seasons a writer ATS suns.com and the host of the just basketball show wherever you get

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The show get a new episode in your feed every single Monday through Friday becomeing every day or get locked on to the Phoenix Suns right here all season long today’s show the trade deadline we will have another episode post this Utah Jazz game provided that it is competitive it could be a little

Weird we’ll get there in a second but the Suns made two deals well they made one deal and brought in two players reyce O’Neal in David Rody from the Memphis Grizzlies in chimzi metu k B steop udawat Na and Jordan Goodwin out that’s not anything we expected I would say

Right like 8:30 Wednesday night when I recorded we all sort of assumed the miles Bridges thing was the strongest possibility maybe no O’Neal was an obvious backup plan but okay and all along we thought the package no matter who they acquired was very likely to include nir little and probably two second round

Picks instead the suns are able to package four of their minimum salaries to add up to Royce O’Neal’s number and they give up three seconds instead so what I would assume just to clear up the package of everything first here is that the Suns had technically 4 seconds to trade

Okay one of them is this year’s Spurs pick protected through the top 25 selections of the of the second round meaning it’s not going to convey I’ve never been able to find any anything beyond that in terms of the protections which makes me think it goes

Away as fake of a second round pick as there can be barely even should be counted so my assumption and I have not seen this confirmed yet is that the Suns will be trading the other three that they had which are memphis’s 2020 28 second round pick

Boston’s 2028 second round pick which is also fairly fake protected the top 25 picks but at least it’s far enough out that we we don’t know for sure that it is going to um not exist and then the 2029 Memphis second round pick those are going to be the three I would expect

Will will go out and that Spurs pick will just expire on draft night because it it will not it will not convey the Spurs are not a good team right now their their second round pick’s going to be probably in the top five of the second round so it’s not even going to

Be close so let’s talk about the players first we’ll get into more of the specifics of the minations of everything in the second segment but they didn’t well no let’s let’s flip that we’re already on the minations we might as well stay here we’ll do the more on the players next so

Bridges apparently wanted to stay in Charlotte or let’s put it this way Bridges wanted to maximize the amount of money he could make in the summer and not only did the trade deadline factor in or the trade no trade clause factor in at the deadline which got a lot of attention

But it’s not just the Suns right that that would have had a hard time resigning him and I think that’s maybe what was going under the radar I feel like people assumed that because of the Suns being over the second apron and whatever that well that’s why they

Can’t keep Bridges no the reason that it would be hard for anybody to keep ridges and the reason that he has this no trade clause is that he would be giving up his bird rights meaning whoever acquired him would not be able to really give him a a much of a big salary

At all they’d be giving him I mean it’s somewhere in the neighborhood of like 10 11 12 million a year would be the max or in year one would that would be the maximum and he didn’t want to do that maybe there’s eventually a sign and

Trade in the summer we’ll see but or he just goes somewhere somewhere with cap space but agreeing to a trade would have made all of that even more complicated for him and so he didn’t go that route and so the Suns pivots Royce O’Neal and they are able to use this trade

Exception for Dario shich which expired today that was part of the subsequent move that the Sun made at the deadline last year after the Durant deal to send shich to Oklahoma City that exception was a little bit bigger than Rody’s salary and I was hopeful they could potentially do a

Little more there but considering that they really only had 3 seconds to play with really more like two and they were trying to do multiple things in the end all you’re really able to get is a minimum player not a minimum but David Rody is on his rookie contract as

A first round pick so he’s making about the same as a veteran minimum would make and he’s somebody that frankly you know the Grizzlies didn’t have any real use for he had more than more than an opportunity the past couple of seasons to prove himself there and he

Has not done so we’ll get into the specifics of who these guys are next in the next segment but that’s where the Suns end up so they clear two roster spots by trading away four players and getting only two back so they set themselves up for the buyout

Market they avoid having to give up nir little who I would hope will now get more of an opportunity to play but even if he doesn’t do that they continue to have that salary chip has a trade option in the summer and they get a

Player who is going to be a a solid rotation guy for them and very well could start for this team down the line in Royce O’Neal so we’ll break his game down how he fits as well as what the potential is with David Rody if any next first Today’s Show brought to you

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Ride or die live eBay motors.com eBay guaranteed fit only available to us customers eligible items only exclusions apply let’s keep it rolling here Royce O’Neal 30 years old been in the NBA for this is his seventh season has played in 44 playoff games which is already very appealing including last year with the

Nets in a sweep by the Philadelphia 76ers but prior to that the 2021 playoffs where Utah made a Deep Run 2018 playoffs where Utah made a Deep Run he has basically been in that postseason environment every single season of his career we brought this up Brandon dwas

And I on Tuesday’s show when O’Neal came up that his height has a discrepancy depending on where you’re look where you look He’s listed at 64 on basketball reference he is listed at 66 on nba.com and I don’t know what the real answer is in my head I kind of always had it

As 65 so maybe we just split the difference and we go with that but uh either way is he a perfect side for a small forward maybe not you know you look at Denver plays Michael Porter Jr at the three right Oklahoma City plays Jaylen Williams at the three Minnesota plays Jaden

McDaniels at the three the Clippers play basically one of Paul George or Kawhi Leonard at the three that position is not as small as it used to be but the best thing I think you would have to say is that for O’Neal the he’s bigger than Grayson Allen and

He does have a 69 wingspan regardless of whatever you would say about his height and just figures to be able to defend some of the players I just listed a little bit more easily than Grayson Allen who I think Grayson is has shown himself to be a much better guy guarding down where

As O’Neal his whole life has had to guard up you know so that’s how I would put it let’s say in the first round the Suns do play The Wolves O’Neal can be an option against Anthony Edwards maybe even option an option against Carl Anthony towns in a way that

Allen just would have really been at a disadvantage trying to do I’m not saying it’s perfect I’m not saying O’Neal is some sort of explosive athlete not convincing you of any of that but he is a steady veteran Defender who can guard up more easily has a decent track

Record of creating turnovers which is a nice thing to see another thing that the Suns need and because he’s a little bit bigger you could see him helping in those Duran at the five lineups a little bit better wouldn’t be hard to imagine him in the slot that we had seen metu or

Aogi Phill in some of those lineups recently or Allen maybe the Suns can close now with Grayson on the bench and the big three O’Neal and Gordon right so defensively I think it gives them some more flexibility and an option that’s just bigger as for the offense

It’s a little bit odd okay because the past two years have just not been as good he seems to be somebody who really benefited from the Quin Snider structure and there’s a few things about about O’Neal he’s somebody who the majority of his shots are going to be

Threes all right so he averaged per 36 minutes six and 6 and8 per 36 minutes in each of his seasons in Brooklyn prior to that he was around four or five but if you look at it as a percentage more than half of his shots almost every single season of his career

Have come from Deep that’s just what you’re getting and in this this case this season eight out of every 10 shots he’s taken have been threes so he’s a floor spacer he’s also been a guy who turns the ball over a lot for whatever reason and that’s not what you’d love to

Hear if you’re a Suns fan who’s watched this team struggle in that category this season but I don’t expect it to be terrible yes even in Utah even in Brooklyn he has been in a relatively small role but still he’ll probably be in an even smaller role

Here ah I can’t even say that the Jazz season he had a usage right under 10% some of those Utah Seasons so maybe the maybe the turnovers are just part of the package but the good thing is to complete the offensive side of the ball the good thing is that he has

Improved as a playmaker lately he is somebody that can keep the ball moving and when you watch him in any place but the fact that he played with the Nets is a great indicator when Durant was there the beginning of last season he is somebody that I think think will be an awesome

Fit within the sort of playground style basketball the Suns kind of want to get to now obviously I’m the same person who’s been advocating for them to run a little bit of more structured offense and they should but there’s a happy medium there there’s a balance there

That I think they can get to and I think O’Neal can be a really good part of that somebody who if the ball swings to him but really the shot they want maybe is a like he catches it in the corner and the close out is coming he’s going to

Identify and execute a pass to just keep rotating the ball to the top of the key or the wing where maybe Booker is there even more open than him right just some of those basic keep the offense churning types of plays I think you have to trust

Him to make and if somebody’s turnovers are high but they are somebody who also can make those plays you live with the bad and you take the good and I think he’ll be one of those players as for David Rody to me my best read on

It is they didn’t want to let that TP completely go to waste it expired today they they exist for a year so shich was traded a year ago now it it would have expired and just gone away so by keeping him or by getting him you fill that roster spot he’s young

You at least give yourself a chance to see him in practices see him in you know film rooms maybe give him some run down the stretch run of the Season here and there and in the summer he will be um I believe he was I can just also look

Rather than guessing I do have a computer in front of me after all he’s in year two so next summer as in 2025 he will be extension eligible and the year after that he will become a restricted free agent so if for whatever reason he is able to hit you

Have a player that is cost controlled and who you could eventually flip or pay and have on a bigger salary which is something the suns are going to need even I’m not saying he’s going to be a $20 million player all of a sudden but maybe he becomes like a nir little in

The future that becomes the next you know in the 2026 deadline when the suns are like crap what are we going to do we don’t have a lot of stuff oh we have David Rody on this extension we just gave him making 789 million great now is

That going to happen I’m not sure he’s been one of the most negative players in the NBA statistically for on offense for both of the seasons he’s been in the league if his three-point shot does not come around it’s hard to see what the pathway

Is for him but for a team we know wanted PJ Tucker who is likely unlikely to be bought out and we’ll get to that in just a moment Rody is like the number one guy in the NBA compared to PJ Tucker physically they have almost the same exact dimensions

Small but Stout with long arms and that’s a best case scenario for him if he hits even a little bit that gives you another versatile Defender somebody with physicality and defensive toughness and some upside but to even get to playable I think is asking a lot given what we’ve

Seen from Rody and the fact that he’s already 22 this is not a guy who came into the league very very young and is just getting his legs under him he should be showing something by now and if he doesn’t show something the rest of this season not just in games but in

Practices I think you’ll see the Suns probably move on from him let’s close out the show talking about the buyout Market who did not get traded that may be available as a buyout player the Suns have two openings what are they going to do to fill them we’ll get into that

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Use to sign by out players the first thing I will just say is that after getting Durant and increasing their Championship odds quite a bit and thinning out their roster and really needing depth the sun’s last season got Terrence Ross and well they got basley and that didn’t end up doing anything

And by the time the playoffs rolled around Ross was not really in the rotation so even being a team that can promise playing time and promise postseason possibilities in terms of hey we can make a run that still does not guarantee you anything so far we have seen Thaddius young Corey

Joseph and Victor Oladipo be cut as well as Daniel house Jr so of the guys that got traded today that’s the four that we saw there are going to be more and locked on Sons Insiders those rumors are not going away guys if you want to know who’s an option on the buyout

Market who the suns are connected to as well as game day analysis exclusive content once we get more subscribers we are trending in the right direction I will say once we get to 50 and we’re pretty close I will do an exclusive mailbag episode with just questions from Insider

Subscribers so join the lockon Suns Insider community at the link in the show description below or visit join text.com loock ons to be in the know about the Suns all the time and get access to exclusive content straight to your phone where you can respond to me and

More I sent a list on the sub on the subtext to all of the locked un Sons insiders with my initial list of buyout candidates it’s the guys I just listed plus I would look at utto Porter Jr I think there is an outside chance that Andre Drummond gets

Cut but to me that would be his choice okay he would have to and not just his choice but he would have to really push for it because the Bulls are saying all sorts of crazy things as they always do indicating that they still want to win okay sure you guys want to

Win my biggest need for the Suns coming off of what they did today even though I think that they gave themselves one and a small chance of of two guys who can be a bigger who can help them be a better small ball team they still need another Center in my

Opinion even if you like Drew Eubanks and I go back and forth but I would say on the whole I still don’t fully trust him even if you do trust him and you do like him the reality is that he is small and we identified that from the minute that

The Suns signed him right even before we knew the nage trade was happening and he was eens back up we were all like well hold on the team that just eliminated the Suns has Nicole yic on on their team Aon nurkic those guys can match up

With joic but Eubanks can’t so are you asking for the sun starting center to play the same number of minutes as joic in the playoffs or I mean at this point you even have to look at the Clippers who have both zubats and plumbley with good

Size not to mention Minnesota who is a huge team too and always has one of goar and towns on the court so if you just look at it that way to me I think the Suns need another Center who is that going to be I don’t know the answer to

That I believe Jericho Sims in New York is still available but he has a team option so you know and at the end of the day he is 69 himself he’s not that different from what Eubanks is you know people have talked about the Orlando Magic with

Goa batad I could see that but they did not make a move at this deadline which makes me feel like they largely just want to St Pat and that they are ahead of schedule a little bit and they want to just see what their young

Guys can do in the playoffs so I’m not sure cutting somebody who’s played minutes for them this year makes sense I look around the rest of the league and it’s like would the Rockets cut jock landale the next three years of that four-year contract he signed are non-guaranteed so

Theoretically you could cut him now but I would imagine that they like the flexibility of going into the summer and saying well he’s non- guaranteed but if we need him for a trade we can guarantee that that 8 million for the follow next season and trade him on that contract and the team

That gets him has the same flexibility for the next two years so I doubt they would make that call right now and just cut him so probably not likely Dallas they did just get Daniel Gafford I could see that making Dwight Powell Expendable but he’s not on a one-year

Contract so cutting him doesn’t it’s not going to happen you don’t you don’t see that happen Charlotte I don’t really see any centers cutable Nick Richards is on a long contract they’re they’re going to keep him at this point it’s just it’s there’s not a lot of candidates out

There one I could see would be Bruno Fernando in Atlanta somebody who has never really caught on in the NBA and played a consistent role but is kind of like jock landale where his contract is only guaranteed this SE season but the reality is guys I’m I’m looking at this Marketplace and

Unless Drummond were to just surprise us and get cut there are just not a lot of centers that are going to be available so the Suns might be looking at a situation where they have to game plan and scheme and get creative against some of those questionable matchup type teams hope

That Durant plays out of his mind on defense and they can Cobble together some small ball units that work and that this offense is going to be the best thing about this team and that’s going to be their Pathway to winning keep up with all Suns rumors be in the know

About the Suns all the time with the lockon Suns Insider Community you can sign up in the link in the show description below or visit join sub.com lockon Suns to get every name who could or does hit the buyout Market straight to your phone I will be doing my homework constantly

To get those all to all of you in the meantime enjoy Suns jazz on Thursday night and I will catch you all post game

The Phoenix Suns made a trade on NBA deadline day, acquiring Royce O’Neale and David Roddy to bolster their roster for the playoffs.

Brendon Kleen of @justbasketballfans breaks down why they made these moves, how the players fit, and what to watch for in the buyout market.

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