The Phoenix Suns have traded reserve center Nick Richards and reserve forward Nigel Hayes-Davis to the Milwaukee Bucks for guards Cole Anthony and Amir Coffey, a league source confirmed to The Athletic.
The Bucks are then re-routing Richards to the Chicago Bulls in exchange for forward Ousmane Dieng, a league source told The Athletic.
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The trade drops Phoenix under the luxury tax for the first time since the 2021-22 season. It also gives them more depth in the backcourt. The Bucks, meanwhile, are expected to keep superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo past the trade deadline.
The 6-11 Richards, who is on an expiring $5 million deal, had fallen out of the Phoenix rotation. He had not played since Jan. 7 and was averaging 3.2 points and 3.3 rebounds. He becomes the only active true center the Bulls have at the moment.
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The Suns (31-20) were not expected to make a major deadline move, mostly because they had played so well, and also because they viewed guard Jalen Green, who has missed most of the season with a hamstring injury, to provide a boost once he returned. A major part of the Kevin Durant summer blockbuster deal, Green has played in five games.
The 6-7 Hayes-Davis signed with Phoenix over the summer after spending the last seven years playing overseas. With the Suns, he averaged 1.3 points in 7.2 minutes.
The 6-foot-2 Anthony has averaged 12 points over six NBA seasons, but this season with the Bucks he has come off the bench and averaged a career-low 6.7 points in a career-low 15.1 minutes. He also averages 3.5 assists and shoots 30.6 from 3-point range. He is the son of former NBA guard Greg Anthony.
The 6-7 Coffey spent his first six NBA seasons with the LA Clippers. In his first season with the Bucks, he averaged 2.4 points in 8.8 minutes. In Wednesday night’s overtime win over New Orleans, Coffey scored 16 points on 7-of-8 shooting. Both Anthony and Coffey are on expiring contracts.