Two Suns in Danger of Losing Roster Spot

These two Suns are most in danger of not making the 15-man roster.

Dec 27, 2023; Houston, Texas, USA; Phoenix Suns forward Nassir Little (25) against the Houston Rockets during the third quarter at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Erik Williams-USA TODAY Sports / Erik Williams-USA TODAY Sports

PHOENIX -- With just about nine weeks until the opening of 2024-25 training camp, the Phoenix Suns have what could be the finalized 15-man roster in place.

Head coach Mike Budenholzer, governor Mat Ishbia, and general manager James Jones have clearly been on the same page in terms of curating a roster that will better suit the trio of stars on the squad - but are all the players currently on the roster completely safe?

Devin Booker, Bradley Beal, Kevin Durant, Grayson Allen, and Jusuf Nurkic are presumably penciled in as the starting five. Royce O'Neale, Monte Morris, Damion Lee, Mason Plumlee, Ryan Dunn, Oso Ighodaro, Josh Okogie, and Bol Bol are locked in pertaining to the bench group.

That leaves Nassir Little and David Roddy as two players that could be on the move before the season.

Little, 24, and Roddy, 23, are both former first-round picks. Little was actually the MVP of the McDonald's All-American game in 2018. Roddy was a standout all-around talent at Colorado State University and was the catalyst of putting the program back on the national radar.

Both players have quite arguably underachieved throughout their pro careers.

Injuries, inconsistent role, and poor developmental coaching have all held back Little throughout his five-year career - which were all evident last season in Phoenix.

Little certainly flashed, but bouts with injuries and the inability to secure a consistent spot in Frank Vogel's rotation clearly undermined him in the grand scheme of things.

Roddy was seen as something of a plug-and-play talent for the Memphis Grizzlies, but never truly took off due to the lack of translation of a jump shot and general inconsistent play made him expendable for the franchise.

He didn't get much of an opportunity to play over the second half of the season in Phoenix - and many in the fanbase were calling for him to lose his roster spot after a horrendous performance in Game 1 of Summer League.

Roddy ultimately rebounded throughout the next four games - setting him up well to make the roster - but is he truly a lock to make it?

For starters, a frequent critique of the roster building has been that Okogie, Roddy, Dunn, and Little are redundant in terms of build, role, etc. The Suns have too many wings that haven't proven to be consistent floor-spacers and that quite arguably needs to change.

Could a squad be intrigued in either Roddy or Little as a last-ditch reclamation project? Could the Suns net a second-round pick for either?

While it is unlikely either gets waived by the Suns, watch out for a potential small-scale trade in the coming weeks that could give the front office a little more wiggle room while being extremely constrained by the second apron.