The Phoenix Suns have landed 3-and-D wing Royce O'Neale in a three-way trade with the Brooklyn Nets and Memphis Grizzlies, according to The Athletic's Shams Charania. The Nets will get three second-round picks in the deal, and the Grizzlies, who are sending reserve forward David Roddy to the Suns, will get a pick swap with Phoenix.
O'Neale fills a major hole for the Suns in terms of wing defense. Though he hasn't been quite as good in Brooklyn as he was at his Utah peak, O'Neale is a massive improvement on the wing over Phoenix's other options. The best defenders the Suns have on the perimeter are players like Josh Okogie and Keita Bates-Diop who hurt them offensively. The alternative for Phoenix has been small-ball lineups with Grayson Allen and Eric Gordon filling in alongside stars Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal. Those lineups are unstoppable offensively but leave plenty to be desired defensively.
In O'Neale, the Suns get a bit of a middle ground. He immediately becomes one of the team's best defenders, but he is also a 38.1% career 3-point shooter. He's also never played on a roster with this much shot-creation, so the looks he gets will be better in Phoenix than they were elsewhere. O'Neale and Durant overlapped for a few months in Brooklyn, so the Suns should have a good idea of what they're getting.
As for the Nets? They move off of a veteran wing in what has become a lost season. They pick up a bit of extra draft capital from the Suns for a player they likely didn't plan to re-sign.
The Grizzlies, who have been trading frontcourt players left and right this season, do the same with Roddy. All in all, the Suns did a good job of upgrading their supporting cast with very limited assets to move.
