The Athletic‘s Shams Charania is the latest to report that Phoenix Suns veteran guard Eric Gordon will be declining his player option and entering free agency.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!“Phoenix’s Eric Gordon is declining his $3.4 million player option for the 2024-25 season and becomes a free agent, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. Multiple contenders are expected to pursue Gordon, who averaged 11 points on 37.8 percent 3-point shooting last season,” Charania posted on X.
Phoenix's Eric Gordon is declining his $3.4 million player option for the 2024-25 season and becomes a free agent, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. Multiple contenders are expected to pursue Gordon, who averaged 11 points on 37.8 percent 3-point shooting last season. pic.twitter.com/fQOp3zknsx
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 27, 2024
Gordon has a June 29 deadline to officially make a decision after signing a two-year veteran minimum deal with the Suns last summer that included this player option for the 2024-25 season.
Forbes Sports’ Evan Sidery also reported this on X on June 23:
Eric Gordon will soon decline his $3.4 million player option with the Suns.
Gordon will receive interest on the veteran’s minimum market from contenders in need of additional floor-spacing. pic.twitter.com/4C705O0vCX
— Evan Sidery (@esidery) June 23, 2024
On June 20, Gordon was reported by The Athletic’s Kelly Iko to be “50-50” on opting in our out of his option. Iko added Gordon is also interested in a reunion with the Houston Rockets. Later that day, Arizona Sports’ John Gambadoro posted that he did not expect Gordon back on the Suns next season.
I do not expect Eric Gordon back with the Suns next season. https://t.co/NtvKkpik5i
— John Gambadoro (@Gambo987) June 20, 2024
Four Suns players—Gordon, Drew Eubanks, Josh Okogie and Damion Lee—all have this same June 29 deadline to decide on their player options.
Sidery reports that Lee will opt in, while ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said Eubanks will decline his option.
Gordon, who will be going into his 17th NBA season in the fall, was given the title of “senior advisor” on the Suns this past season. He is currently playing exhibition games with Team Bahamas ahead of their Olympic qualifying tournament in Spain on July 2.
In his first regular season in Phoenix, the 35-year-old veteran averaged a career-low 11.0 points on 44/38/80 splits in 68 games (24 starts).
Phoenix finished 49-33 last season and was swept in the first round by the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Right now, the Suns have seven players under contract for next season: Devin Booker, Bradley Beal, Grayson Allen, Kevin Durant, Jusuf Nurkić, Nassir Little and David Roddy. According to multiple reports, the Suns are hoping to bring back Royce O’Neale and Bol Bol, who are unrestricted free agents. Okogie’s stance on his player option has not been reported yet, but he is said to love Phoenix, so he could be another returnee.
If Lee, O’Neale, Bol and Okogie are to return, this is how Phoenix’s unofficial roster looks now with the addition of yesterday’s first-round draft pick Ryan Dunn (unconfirmed players in parentheses):
- PG: Bradley Beal, ?, (Josh Okogie)
- SG: Devin Booker, (Damion Lee), David Roddy
- SF: Grayson Allen, (Royce O’Neale), Nassir Little
- PF: Kevin Durant, Ryan Dunn, ?
- C: Jusuf Nurkić, (Bol Bol), ?
General manager and president of basketball operations James Jones said at last month’s introductory press conference for new coach Mike Budenholzer that the team will be looking to add shooting this offseason. According to Arizona Sports’ John Gambadoro, the Suns are looking to fill three roster holes this offseason: a point guard who can play more than 20 minutes per game, a backup big upgrade and a young, athletic wing (did this with Dunn).
A backup, scoring guard could now certainly be considered area of need for Phoenix with the loss of Gordon. Lee can help in this area after missing all of last season following a 2022-23 campaign in which he shot 44.5% shooting from 3, but Budenholzer’s teams are known to like to shoot the three-ball and practically no ball-handlers off the bench won’t help in this area. Gordon averaged the third-most 3-point attempts on the Suns last season at 5.8 per game.
Phoenix could look to address this need in the second round of the NBA Draft, which begins today a 1 p.m. MST, free agency, which starts on June 30, or through trade.
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Brendan Mau is a senior writer covering the Phoenix Suns and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @Brendan_Mau
