{"id":584818,"date":"2026-02-05T20:57:20","date_gmt":"2026-02-05T20:57:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/584818\/"},"modified":"2026-02-05T20:57:20","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T20:57:20","slug":"phoenix-suns-acquire-cole-anthony-in-trade-with-milwaukee-bucks-ahead-of-deadline","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/584818\/","title":{"rendered":"Phoenix Suns acquire Cole Anthony in trade with Milwaukee Bucks ahead of deadline"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Phoenix Suns made a strategic move on the 2026 NBA<\/a> trade deadline, acquiring guard Cole Anthony and wing Amir Coffey from the Milwaukee Bucks<\/a> in exchange for center Nick Richards and forward Nigel Hayes-Davis. The deal will help the Suns manage their luxury tax situation while adding depth to their backcourt.<\/p>\n

Trade details and player movement<\/p>\n

Milwaukee Bucks receive: Nick Richards and Nigel Hayes-Davis.<\/p>\n

Phoenix Suns receive: Cole Anthony and Amir Coffey.<\/p>\n

This four-player swap involves players on expiring contracts, giving both teams flexibility moving forward. The Suns, sitting at 31-20 and firmly in the Western Conference playoff race, gain a proven backup guard in Anthony to ease the load on their primary options.<\/p>\n

Cole Anthony’s role in Phoenix Suns<\/p>\n

Cole Anthony, the former No. 15 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, has spent time as a backup in Milwaukee this season. He is averaging 6.7 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game while shooting 42.4% from the field and 30.6% from three-point range.<\/p>\n

In Phoenix, he will likely serve as a reserve behind guards like Collin Gillespie and Jordan Goodwin.<\/p>\n

The addition provides valuable ball-handling and secondary playmaking off the bench. It should reduce wear and tear on the Suns’ main rotation players as they push for a strong finish in the competitive West.<\/p>\n

Impact on Milwaukee Bucks<\/p>\n

For the Milwaukee Bucks, the trade brings in Richards, who has been a limited contributor in Phoenix. He is averaging 3.2 points and 3.3 rebounds per game on 49.3% shooting in a reserve role. Hayes-Davis, a former Wisconsin standout, has seen minimal action with 1.3 points and 1.2 rebounds per game.<\/p>\n

Amir Coffey, who signed with Milwaukee as a free agent last summer, heads to Phoenix after averaging 2.4 points in limited minutes. The move gives the Bucks frontcourt depth with Richards potentially offering an upgrade as a rim protector and rebounder.<\/p>\n

Why the Suns made the move<\/p>\n

The Phoenix Suns have outperformed expectations this season, staying in contention despite roster challenges. Trading Richards’ roughly $5 million salary helps drop them below the luxury tax threshold, creating about $2.2 million in relief and a potential $5 million trade exception. Anthony and Coffey, also on expiring deals, add immediate depth without long-term commitments.<\/p>\n

This low-key swap fits the Suns’ approach of fine-tuning their roster for the playoff push. It provides guard insurance and financial breathing room as the team eyes a deep postseason run.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Phoenix Suns made a strategic move on the 2026 NBA trade deadline, acquiring guard Cole Anthony and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":584819,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3791],"tags":[7,406,78692,78693,78701,78696,78691,78699,6,56047,15301,6553,78697,2065,472,78695,78700,4045,604,78698,78694],"class_list":{"0":"post-584818","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-phoenix-suns","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-cole-anthony","10":"tag-cole-anthony-nba-deadline","11":"tag-cole-anthony-phoenix-suns","12":"tag-cole-anthony-stats","13":"tag-cole-anthony-to-suns","14":"tag-cole-anthony-trade","15":"tag-milwaukee-bucks-roster-move","16":"tag-nba","17":"tag-nba-deadline","18":"tag-nba-trade-deadline-2026","19":"tag-nba-trade-news","20":"tag-nick-richards-trade","21":"tag-phoenix","22":"tag-phoenix-suns","23":"tag-phoenix-suns-bucks-trade","24":"tag-phoenix-suns-luxury-tax","25":"tag-phoenixsuns","26":"tag-suns","27":"tag-suns-acquire-amir-coffey","28":"tag-suns-trade-cole-anthony"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116020028607523793","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/584818","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=584818"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/584818\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/584819"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=584818"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=584818"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=584818"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}