[13] The Suns then made a three-team trade at the February 8, 2024 trade deadline with the Brooklyn Nets and Memphis Grizzlies to acquire Nets forward Royce O'Neale and Grizzlies forward David Roddy alongside a 2026 first-round pick swap with Memphis in exchange for mostly free agent acquisitions from earlier in the season in Keita Bates-Diop, Jordan Goodwin, Yuta Watanabe, Chimezie Metu, and three of the Suns' four remaining second-round picks they had at the time, and also signed veteran free agents Thaddeus Young and Isaiah Thomas (the latter of whom had played with the Suns during the 2014–15 season) in a final attempt to bolster up their roster for the season.
Throughout this season, the Suns dealt with constant challenges that had them performing below expectations early on, such as the delayed debut of their Big Three of Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, and Bradley Beal together until December 13, 2023 (with them not even seeing consistent playing time together until the end of 2023 and the start of 2024) alongside injuries and poor fourth quarter production by comparison to the rest of their quarters of play that would cost them some games, especially earlier in the season.
After a dramatic April that went down to the wire at times, the Suns secured the sixth playoff spot in the Western Conference, avoiding the play-in tournament altogether due to a combination of a 125–106 blowout win over the Timberwolves and a 124–108 Los Angeles Lakers win over the New Orleans Pelicans, with the Suns holding the series victory over the Pelicans 2–1 this season.
It also was Vogel's only season in his original five-year, $31 million deal that he served with the team, as he was eventually fired from his position on May 9, 2024, following their disappointing playoff appearance.
Camara signed a four-year, partially-guaranteed rookie-scaled deal on July 3, with years after his first season being guaranteed later on via his production with the team.
[18][19] During the in-season tournament period, the Suns competed in Group A of the Western Conference, which included the Memphis Grizzlies, the long-time rivaling Los Angeles Lakers, the Utah Jazz, and the Portland Trail Blazers.
They then won through more convincing, double-digit victories over the Trail Blazers and Grizzlies, thus securing a +34 point differential for the open Wild Card spot.
Following an initial scare with the New Orleans Pelicans on November 24 through them almost matching their point differential, the +34 score was enough of a difference maker for the Suns to advance as the Wild Card team of the Western Conference.
^ IV: The Phoenix Suns initially held the rights to only the least valuable first-round pick between themselves and the Washington Wizards in 2030 due to the Bradley Beal trade in June.
^ V: On October 25, 2023, the NBA punished the Phoenix Suns for tampering violations via engaging in free agency conversations with former Portland Trail Blazers center Drew Eubanks earlier than they were allowed to do so by taking away the 2024 second-round pick they had acquired from the defending champion Denver Nuggets via the Orlando Magic from their July trade with the Magic.