Phoenix Suns wings Royce O’Neale and David Roddy are available for the team’s road game Saturday night at Chase Center versus Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors, per the team.
O’Neale is coming off the bench. He is someone who could start for the Suns, but coach Frank Vogel said Grayson Allen will be in the lineup with Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal, and center Jusuf Nurkic.
“You can hope for an ideal situation, you get a couple practices under your belt,” Vogel said. “Get to learn the system, all that.
“I want him to get his feet wet,” Vogel said of O’Neale. “I want to get him into the fold right away.”
O’Neale was traded to the Suns with just under two hours remaining before the NBA trade deadline Thursday for forward Keita Bates-Diop, guard Jordan Goodwin and three second-round picks. Phoenix also acquired Roddy, a former first-round pick, via trade with the Memphis Grizzlies.
The Suns have two open roster spots and must add one through the buyout market.
O’Neale is a former teammate of Durant with the Nets in 2022-23.
Vogel said the Suns could go small with Durant at the five.
“We’ve been looking at that on a gamely basis,” Vogel said.
The Suns are down to the Warriors, 84-82, after three quarters. O’Neale has three points, five rebounds, a steal and an assist.
O’Neale is someone who brings experience with 29 playoff starts and 44 total playoff games played. He is known as a playoff riser, something that Suns general manager James Jones said at his introductory press conference Friday.
“That was just something we couldn’t pass up,” Jones said.
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