Suns Free Agency Primer: Getting you ready for the free agent frenzy

Are you ready for lift off? Because in a matter of hours, the movement in the NBA will mirror that of SpaceX. To the moon!

The Phoenix Suns have plenty of work to do as it pertains to their roster. After successfully navigating the NBA Draft, the team is still left with numerous holes. Given the restrictions the organization is faced with due to being a second apron team, Phoenix will be looking to add to their roster via free agency.

Today at 3:00pm Arizona time is when teams may begin negotiating with free agents. It is not until July 6 that teams may start actually signing their new acquisitions, but this afternoon is when the fireworks begin. Today is when your Woj and Shams notifications begin vibrating your phone to the point that, if it’s on the table, it is most certainly bound for the floor.

Let’s get into the nitty gritty of who the Suns are and where they stand.

Second Apron Cap Situation

We know the term and we use it nearly every day. But what does being in the second apron mean? Designed to disincentive those teams willing to spend money, here is a list of what the Suns can’t do:

• No access to the taxpayer mid-level exception. These teams can only sign players for the minimum.
• No access to buyout players. Phoenix can’t sign players if they are waived during the season if their salary at the start of the league year is more than the non-taxpayer mid-level exception.
• No aggregating salaries in trades. AKA no stacking salaries to make a deal.
• No flexibility in matching salaries through transactions. Second-apron teams must send out as much or more money as they receive in any deal.
• No giving away cash in trades. And Ishbia has the cash.
• No sign-and-trading your own players in exchange for other players.
• No trading first-round picks that are seven years away. This applies to teams who are in the second apron three out of four years. 2024-25 is year two for Phoenix.

Would like a nice graphic to help you understand the tax restrictions? Have no fear, John the graphics maker is here.

Suns Roster

The Suns have 11 players on their roster, two of which are the newly drafted Ryan Dunn and Oso Ighodaro. Of the four players who could opt into the second year of their contract, none did. Josh Okogie, Eric Gordon, Damion Lee, and Drew Eubanks all chose to opt out and test the free agent market rather than run it back in Phoenix.

What does that say about the state of affairs in the Valley? We’ll certainly discuss that over the summer. Numerous players are opting into their contracts around the league. But not in Phoenix. That being said, rumors are that both Lee and Okogie could be re-signing with the Suns, so we should know more on that today.

Unrestricted free agent Royce O’Neale will re-sign with the Suns as will Bol Bol, so Phoenix needs to fill four roster slots. The Suns will be big game hunting with only a BB gun, having the ability to bring free agents in on veteran minimum contracts due to the second apron restrictions mentioned above.

What another graphic looking at the Suns roster as of 6:00am Sunday? I got you.

So how will they be able to build out their roster and who should they be targeting? Who is available? When you begin to run through the list of names, it thins out real quick, especially when you consider who is willing to take a veteran minimum deal.

Available Free Agents

What follows is a tier list of free agents. Nope, we’re not starting with the big names—I’m diving right into the players who are most likely to ink those veteran minimum deals. The tiers presented below are totally subjective, based on my highly sophisticated observations (and maybe a dartboard). Are they wrong? Probably. But let’s not debate the tiers; let’s focus on who’s available and get excited about our bargain hunting.

Guards

You’ll find names like Klay Thompson, James Harden, Kyle Lowry, and Buddy Hield on this list. But let’s be real, they aren’t coming to Phoenix on a vet min deal. So, let’s take a peek further down the list to those who made under $4 million last season.

Raise your hand if you’d like a graphic. Okay. Put your hand down.

Some of these players are shooting guards, which you may need, but it’s not where the Suns’ true needs lie. It’s in the playmaking department that they need a boost. Kris Dunn is the obvious win here if the Suns can get him to sign on the dotted line. He’ll bring both playmaking and defense to the Suns’ second team unit, and maybe even some much-needed sanity to our rotations.

Wings

The UFA names on this list are once again sprinkled with players who wouldn’t touch a veteran minimum deal with a ten-foot pole. PG13? LeBron? Tobias Harris? DeMar? Yeah, right. We’ll dig a bit deeper to see who’s actually available. Ready to spot some familiar faces? Because there are plenty of former Suns on the list.

Re-signing Bol Bol and Royce O’Neale gives Phoenix a nice boost in wing depth. But don’t think the Suns are stopping there. Just like last season when they snagged Keita Bates-Diop, Yuta Watanabe, and Chimezie Metu, the Suns (like most teams) are always on the lookout for another wing. It’s like they’re collecting Pokémon cards—gotta catch ‘em all.

Bigs

Lastly, we come to an area where the Suns undoubtedly need a boost. I mean, sure, rookie Oso Ighodaro probably won’t stroll in on day one and magically replace Drew Eubanks’ production, although, how hard could that be, right? I kid, I kid.

Unfortunately, the free agent market isn’t exactly overflowing with big men. Goga Bitadze is the prize catch if Phoenix can snag him, but this might be a need the Suns look to address via the trade market. If only someone, somewhere, found the unsexy contract of Nassir Little irresistibly attractive. A guy can dream, right?

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This list is chock-full of names, and the tiers they’re ranked in are purely my own observations. I’m sure some of you are already drafting your strongly-worded emails about where some of these players ended up. But as you peruse these lists, with the Phoenix Suns’ roster needs in mind, who are your targets? Who do you want to see donning the Suns’ jersey next season?

Stay tuned to Bright Side! We’ll have an open thread, an updated free agent tracker, and a Playback live stream as the action unfolds tomorrow afternoon. Grab your popcorn and your hot takes—it’s going to be a wild ride!