Suns Trade Jusuf Nurkic, First-Round Pick to Hornets For Cody Martin

The Phoenix Suns are trading center Jusuf Nurkic and a 2026 first-round pick to the Charlotte Hornets for Cody Martin, Vasilije Micic, and a 2026 second-round pick.

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ESPN's Shams Charania shared via X.

The Suns have had Nurkic on the trade block for some time, and now they finally offload him in return for two key players that will bolster their backcourt.

While the Suns wanted to trade Nurkic for some time, they had to pay a hefty piece to do just that. The Suns traded away their 2026 first-round in the process.

Phoenix acquired first-round picks in the Utah deal to attach to a potential deal to unload a player.

This is the third player trade the Hornets have made this season. In the span of a few weeks, the Hornets have lost Nick Richards to the Suns, Mark Williams to the Los Angeles Lakers, and now Cody Martin and Vasilije Micić to the Suns.

This trade, while pricey, is an upgrade for the Suns. Martin was a highly sought-after player. He stands at 6-foot-6 and weighs 205 pounds and is a solid wing defender.

Martin is averaging 7.8 points per game in the season, 4.5 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.1 steals while shooting 43.3 percent from the field and 32.3 percent from three.

Martin spent the last five-plus seasons with the Hornets. Charlotte drafted Martin with the No. 36 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft out of Nevada.

In his NBA career, he has averaged 6.3 points per game, 3.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.0 steals in 245 games.

As for the Nurkic side of things, the writing was on the wall for him during his time in Phoenix.

The seven-foot center has not played for the Suns since Jan. 7. He started 23 games this season before being moved to the bench in early January.

Nurkic told reporters last month that he and coach Mike Budenholzer "don't have a relationship."

"It's hard to understand why," Nurkic said last month about Budenholzer moving him to the bench. "As you know, I try to do whatever they want from me. I play my role or whatever, but at the end of the day, it's the NBA."

The veteran center is averaging 8.6 points and 9.2 rebounds per game. Phoenix acquired him from the Portland Trail Blazers in a three-team trade before the 2023-24 season.

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