5 Buyout Names Worth Monitoring For The Phoenix Suns

BOSTON, MA - OCTOBER 15: Chris Boucher #99 of the Boston Celtics looks on during the game against the Toronto Raptors during Preseason on October 15, 2025 at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2025 NBAE (Photo by Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images

There is a natural cadence to everything. Winter turns into spring. Spring rolls into summer. God creates dinosaurs. God destroys dinosaurs. God creates man. Man destroys God. Man creates dinosaurs. Dinosaurs eat man. Woman inherits the earth.

And then there is the NBA calendar. Preseason. Christmas Day. The trade deadline. And now, the buyout market.

This deadline was a little different. A lot of teams spent the week ducking the tax. And doing that often means taking on players they never planned to keep. For different reasons. Maybe the timeline does not match. Maybe the depth chart is overcrowded. Maybe the fit never materialized. Whatever the case, those moves create opportunity elsewhere.

That is where the buyout market comes in. This is the cleanup phase. The part where contenders look for marginal gains, and smart teams look for the right fit rather than the loudest name.

With that in mind, here are five buyout targets the Suns can explore. Not all of them have been officially bought out yet, but the writing feels close to the wall for a few. Keith Smith does an excellent job tracking this space at Spotrac, and his perspective helped shape how I am looking at these options.

Khris Middleton

Khris Middleton was part of the Anthony Davis-to-Washington deal, and while he hasn’t been bought out yet, there is a path in which he is. The Dallas Mavericks are a team hard-capped in the second apron and the financial restraints are counterintuitive to what they ultimately want to accomplish: start the reset around first overall pick Cooper Flagg. Flagg is averaging 33.4 points on 53/39/84 splits over his last five games. The Mavs are 0-5.

The 12th-seeded Mavs could continue to embrace the suck, buying out Middleton and his $33.3 million contract, and focusing on continuing to build via the draft with their two first round picks next season.

I am not sure how I feel about Middleton in Phoenix. At 34, he is a 6’7” small forward, and I do not know if he actually fills a need beyond veteran guidance for a young core. If this is a veteran minimum conversation, fine. That part I can live with.

But the contrast is hard to ignore. The production is modest. He is averaging 10.3 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 3.3 assists. Useful numbers, not needle movers. And the bigger concern remains the same. The three-point shot continues to slide. For a team that survives on spacing and shot making, that matters.

So this becomes a question of role versus reality. Leadership has value. Experience has value. But if the jumper is trending the wrong way, it is fair to ask whether that value actually translates on the floor.

Cam Thomas

This is the darling of the buyout market, as Cam Thomas is officially available after Brooklyn cut him loose. You know Cam Thomas, right? He is the guard version of Jonathan Kuminga from last summer. A player who wanted more than his team was willing to give. He played hardball. He lost.

As the season went on, injuries slowed him down, and his place within what Brooklyn was trying to build became less clear. The fit never really materialized. Rather than letting that tension linger, the Nets chose to move on and cut bait.

Keith Smith says the following:

Thomas is the best player on this list. He’s a scoring-machine, if not always the most efficient bucket-getter. But any team that needs some scoring punch off their bench will have interest in Thomas. A team that has part of their Non-Taxpayer MLE leftover could even give Thomas a multi-year contract. The more likely path is a rest-of-season deal with a good team, where Thomas can rebuild his value before hitting unrestricted free agency in July.

He is a firecracker offensively. And given the guard issues the Suns have dealt with this season from a health standpoint, you can see the appeal. He would give you coverage. Someone who can step in and fill gaps when bodies are missing.

That said, I do not think he fits here. Not with the culture this team has built. Not with the way they play. The ball movement. The defensive expectations. The buy-in required night to night. There is no questioning the scoring. But fit matters more than talent at this stage. And in this environment, it feels like the wrong match.

Issac Jones

You want a power forward? Here is one.

Detroit, after bringing in Kevin Huerter as part of a three-team deal, decided to waive Isaac Jones. The 25-year-old out of Washington State, listed at 6’8” and 245 pounds, is now available.

Keith Smith says the following:

The Pistons waived Jones when they needed a roster spot to complete a deadline acquisition. Jones didn’t see much NBA action with Detroit, but was solid in the G League. He’s tough and athletic, if a bit undersized. Keep an eye on rebuilding teams with an open roster spot that could bring Jones in for a rest-of-season look.

This would be a development swing. Plain and simple. Jones has only appeared in 44 professional games across his first two NBA seasons, logging a total of 322 minutes. Most of his time has been spent in the G League, learning on the fly and filling out his frame.

If size is the priority, he checks that box. He brings real girth. Real physicality. The question is not about readiness. It is about appetite. Are the Suns willing to invest reps into a 25-year-old project, or are they looking for something more immediate?

Dario Saric

Now here is a re-tread I can actually get behind. Dario Saric makes sense with this version of the Suns. Right?

He brings size. He brings shooting from beyond the arc. And at nearly 32, the expectations would be different from those during his first stint in Phoenix. He would not be asked to be a central piece. He would be asked to fit. To space the floor. To survive defensively. To play within the margins.

Keith Smith says the following:

Saric hasn’t played much over the last two years. Injuries have sapped his ability to move on defense, and Saric isn’t big enough to be a deterrent in drop-coverage schemes. Offensively, he can still move the ball. But his long-range shooting has dropped off, and Saric doesn’t have the burst to take opposing bigs off the bounce anymore. The Pistons need a roster spot to convert two-way player Daniss Jenkins, and Saric is likely the one who will go. If so, he may find better offers to head overseas than trying to make it work in the NBA.

Since leaving Phoenix after the 2022- 23 season, he has bounced around. Four teams. Traded twice on deadline day alone. That tells you exactly where he is in his career.

I would have no issue bringing The Smoke Break back to Phoenix. In the right role, with defined expectations, this version of The Smoke Break feels like a clean fit rather than a nostalgia play. He’s a connector, like Oso. But with a jump shot.

Chris Boucher

If you have been around Bright Side long enough, you already know where I stand on Chris Boucher. I have been circling his name for four years now, and there may finally be a real path to bringing him in.

Boucher hit free agency last offseason and ended up signing with Boston. The stint barely registered. He appeared in nine games. When the trade deadline arrived, Boston moved him, attaching cash and a 2027 second round pick to send him to Utah. The plan is for the Jazz to waive him.

If you are looking for a power forward, this is a real option. He is not prototypical in terms of bulk, but the frame works. 6’8”. Long. A 7’4” wingspan that changes angles and disrupts space. At 33, he is not the same player he was during Toronto’s title run in 2019, even then in a muted role. But he does not need to be.

He is a role player. A motor guy. Someone who runs, contests, and plays within himself. That profile fits what the Suns value right now.

And there is a little connective tissue here, too. Boucher and Dillon Brooks were teammates on the Oregon Ducks from 2015 to 2017. That familiarity does not guarantee anything, but it does not hurt either.

If the Suns are scanning the buyout market for a forward who understands role, pace, and energy, this is one I would keep an eye on.

We can save the bigger debate for another time as to whether any of these are truly viable. Whether the Suns should stay the course or pivot and dip into the buyout market to add depth.

For now, that part is yours.

Let us know in the comments who you would target, or if you would leave this roster exactly as it is and ride with the plan already in place.