Report: Suns trade David Roddy to Hawks in exchange for EJ Liddell

The Phoenix Suns have reportedly agreed to a trade with the Atlanta Hawks. Phoenix sends forward David Roddy to Atlanta in exchange for forward EJ Liddell.

The motivation behind this trade goes deeper than the surface level and hinges on the financials, which we’ll get to below.

Arizona Sports’ John Gambadoro says that David Roddy was not going to make the Suns roster and he does not expect the newly acquired Liddell to either.

Gambo also tweeted this: “The Suns can waive and stretch Liddell before the end of August or cut and take the full cap hit and not have any dead money on the books.”

It is obviously a financially motivated move from the Suns' front office as they look for a way to save money on a player they were likely cutting anyway. The extra roster spot (Liddell) will now be cheaper to cut. There are several free agents still available who will likely have to settle for less than they hoped for, so Phoenix is putting themselves in a positon to move quickly if needed.

Liddell makes just $2.1M compared to the $2.8 Roddy is owed and he has a $2.5M cheaper team option on the books.

The recently acquired Roddy was a fixture in the Summer Suns roster in Vegas, fighting for his roster spot. Atlanta now has until October 31st to exercise his option.

Photo by Stephen Gosling/NBAE via Getty Images

EJ Liddell was drafted by the New Orleans Pelicans in 2022. They used the 41st overall pick on the Ohio State product.

Liddell was shipped from the Hawks to the Pelicans on July 6 as part of the Dejounte Murray trade. He has played very little (8 appearances) in the NBA. He burst onto the scene at OSU his junior year, averaging 19.4 points, 7.9 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 2.6 blocks per game.

Liddell also played in the Summer League for the Hawks and looked impressive, including this 22-point, 5-rebound, 4-block game.

The link to the video can be found here: https://www.nba.com/hawks/videos/e-j-liddell-drops-22-pts-5-reb-and-4-blk-in-summer-league