The Phoenix Suns are trading Jusuf Nurkic and a 2026 first-round pick to the Charlotte Hornets for Cody Martin, Vasijile Micic and a 2026 second-round pick, according to Shams Charania of ESPN.
The Phoenix Suns are trading Jusuf Nurkic and a 2026 first-round pick to the Charlotte Hornets for Cody Martin, Vasilije Micic and a 2026 second-round pick, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/epRJty7lid
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 6, 2025
Suns Take Their Loss
Jusuf Nurkic had fallen out of the rotation for the Suns this season after the acquisition of Nick Richards. Now, they’re wiping their hands of the entire Nurkic conundrum with this deal.
Nurkic is shooting 45 percent from the field this year, his worst mark since his sophomore season. Phoenix was seven points better per 100 possessions without him on the floor.
Grading The Deal
Phoenix Suns: D
The Suns are taking a huge loss here, not because they’ll miss Nurkic, but because an already asset-depleted team had to use a 2026 first-round pick to get off his salary. This is an unmitigated failure because Nurkic was the guy they moved Deandre Ayton for and hoped could be the answer at center around their star trio. Martin and Micic are ways to shed salary in the summer, if needed. But overall, the Nurkic experience was a disaster across a brutal 1.5 seasons for the Suns.
Charlotte Hornets: B
The Hornets just flipped Mark Williams to the Los Angeles Lakers and are in asset accumulation mode, getting Dalton Knecht, a future first and a first-round pick swap in the process. Now, they’ve added another pick from the Suns and brought in Nurkic, who can fill minutes at center for a team removed from win-now goals. This is good business for a rebuilding squad.
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