Suns Acquire Royce O’Neale In Three-Team Trade

Keith Smith
Keith Smith, Resident NBA ExpertFebruary 09, 2024
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The Phoenix Suns didn’t have a lot to work with at the trade deadline. Phoenix had second-round picks to offer, along with cobbling together players on minimum contracts. That made the Suns getting Royce O’Neale and David Roddy one of the more creative deals of the weekend. Phoenix worked a three-team trade with the Brooklyn Nets and Memphis Grizzlies to upgrade their depth.

Here are the particulars:

Phoenix Suns acquire: Royce O’Neale, David Roddy

Brooklyn Nets acquire: Keita Bates-Diop, Jordan Goodwin, three future second-round picks

Memphis Grizzlies acquire: Chimezie Metu, Yuta Watanabe

Let’s dive in!

Phoenix Suns

Incoming salary: $12.2 million in 2023-24

  • Royce O’Neale (SF, one year, $9.5 million), David Roddy (SF, three years, $10.4 million, rookie scale team option in 2025-26, restricted free agent in 2026)

Outgoing salary: $10.0 million in 2023-24

  • Keita Bates-Diop (SF, two years, $4.6 million, player option in 2024-25), Jordan Goodwin (PG, one year, $1.9 million), Chimezie Metu (C, one year, $2.0 million), Yuta Watanabe (SF, two years, $4.6 million, player option in 2024-25)

This past offseason, the Suns tried to piece together a bench made up mostly players on minimum contracts. Phoenix had a couple of hits with Eric Gordon and Drew Eubanks, but no one else grabbed a regular rotation role. The Suns were also lacking in wing defenders. That made finding some additional depth a challenging, but important task at the deadline.

This trade solves those issues. O’Neale is an immediate defensive upgrade for Phoenix. He’s become a pretty solid 3&D player over his time with the Utah Jazz and Brooklyn Nets. The Suns will be hoping that O’Neale can give them what they had hoped to get from Bates-Diop and Watanabe.

Roddy is a nice flyer for Phoenix. He’s an undersized power player, who needs to shoot it better to find a real spot in the NBA. If he can start making jumpers consistently, Roddy could be a rotation player.

On defense, Roddy can maybe help Phoenix in some small-ball lineups. He’s very strong, so Roddy can hold up against bigger players. He’s also an excellent rebounder for his size.

For now, O’Neale is the focus, but long-term, it could be Roddy that makes this trade a winner for the Suns.

Brooklyn Nets

Incoming salary: $4.3 million in 2023-24

  • Keita Bates-Diop (SF, two years, $4.6 million, player option in 2024-25), Jordan Goodwin (PG, one year, $1.9 million)

Outgoing salary: $9.5 million in 2023-24

  • Royce O’Neale (SF, one year, $9.5 million)

O’Neale no longer had a real place on Nets team that is transitioning to a new phase. Getting three future second-round picks for a player that was no longer in the plans is really good for Brooklyn. That’s the real point of this trade.

Bates-Diop will get a look from the Nets. They can use another wing behind Mikal Bridges and Cameron Johnson. If Bates-Diop can rediscover the shooting form he had with the San Antonio Spurs last season, he’s a steal for Brooklyn the rest of this year and next. If not, he’s probably a trade candidate this summer, assuming he picks up his player option.

The Nets waived Jordan Goodwin following the trade.

Memphis Grizzlies

Incoming salary: $4.4 million in 2023-24

  • Chimezie Metu (C, one year, $2.0 million), Yuta Watanabe (SF, two years, $4.6 million, player option in 2024-25)

Outgoing salary: $13.7 million in 2023-24

  • David Roddy (SF, three years, $10.4 million, rookie scale team option in 2025-26, restricted free agent in 2026)

Memphis made a second move this trade season to clear out some long-term salary. After trading Steven Adams to the Houston Rockets, the Grizzlies lopped some more long-term money off their books by trade Roddy.

It’s somewhat of an admission that the selection of Roddy in the first round of the 2022 NBA Draft was a mistake. But Memphis can’t afford to be too precious with former draft picks. The roster is mostly full with multi-year players, and the Grizzlies still have picks coming their way. That means making some tough decisions.

This deal helped to open up a roster spot for Memphis to convert G.G. Jackson to a standard contract. Jackson has been a bright spot in a down season for the Grizzlies. Getting him on a long-term deal was a necessity. Between Jackson and Vince Williams Jr., the Grizzlies have done a nice job making lemonade out of a lemon of a season.

Memphis also made a smart upside play by signing Trey Jemison to a two-way contract to backfill Jackson’s spot. Jemison shined in the G League this year and has shown some potential on a pair of 10-day deals in the NBA. He’s a good developmental player to have in the system.

Yuta Watanabe was a fan favorite when he played for Memphis early in his career. For whatever reason, things didn’t work out for Watanabe in Phoenix. He’d been solid previously in other stops. Watanabe will make hustle plays, but it’s really about him getting back to being a good shooter. If he can do that, the Grizzlies might have a rotation guy on a cheap contract.

Memphis waived Chimezie Metu following the trade.

 


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