Suns Send Dillon Brooks Message After Massive Trade
The Phoenix Suns have been one of the more active teams during this offseason period and for good reason. They finished the regular season with a 36-46 record and failed to qualify for a spot in the NBA Playoffs or the NBA Play-In Tournament. As a result, owner Mat Ishbia began making changes immediately, by firing Mike Budenholzer after just one year of a five-year, $50 million contract.
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Ishbia then made a major change in the front office when he demoted James Jones from his role as the president of basketball operations and general manager to just a senior advisory position. Ishbia later installed Brian Gregory as the new general manager.
Phoenix Suns guard Bradley Beal (3).Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Suns send Dillon Brooks message after massive trade
With the front office taken care of, Ishbia and Gregory went to work seeking a trade partner to acquire Kevin Durant ahead of the 2025 NBA Draft and found one in the Houston Rockets. In the deal, they landed a talented young scorer in Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, the No. 10 selection in the draft, and five second-round picks in what turned out to be a record-breaking seven-team trade.
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On Wednesday, the Suns sent a message regarding Brooks after his first day in Phoenix.
While the Suns now have an influx of guards, they are almost certainly better defensively, especially after drafting Duke Center Khaman Maluach and trading for Charlotte Hornets center Mark Williams.
Brooks scored 14 points per game for the Rockets this season as they finished as the No. 2 team in the Western Conference during the regular season and shot a career-high 39.7% from 3-point land. There will likely be additional moves made during this busy offseason, particularly as the Suns are looking to buy out Bradley Beal. That would help free up minutes at the guard or small forward position where Brooks would likely take many of his minutes.
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This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 9, 2025, where it first appeared.
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