news-engine

I think no one expected the Phoenix Suns to actually be that good last season, and I believe it gets forgotten a little because of how badly it ended. They went 45-37, finished seventh in the West during the regular season, survived the Play-In to grab the No. 8 seed, and then got absolutely nowhere against the Thunder, losing 4-0 in the first round. Still, going from 36 wins in 2024-25 to 45, right after moving on from Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal, was a pretty solid first year for Jordan Ott. Phoenix didn’t go crazy this summer either, but the moves were interesting. Grayson Allen and Royce O’Neale are gone, Miles Bridges came back in that deal along with a 2029 first-round pick, Luke Kennard signed for two years and $13 million, while Mark Williams, Collin Gillespie, Jordan Goodwin, and Dillon Brooks all got new deals. Basically, the Suns looked at a team that was competitive but kinda limited and decided to add more scoring, more size, and a ridiculous shooter without blowing everything up again. They’ve got the talent to be taken seriously again, especially if Jalen Green actually stays on the floor this time, but I also don’t think this is suddenly some hidden West contender. Devin Booker is still carrying a massive amount of offensive responsibility, the projected starting five has some pretty ugly spacing issues, and there isn’t a second guy on this roster who I fully trust when teams start throwing everything at Booker. Still, this roster is fun. Let’s get into it. Starting Lineup Point Guard: Devin Booker Shooting Guard: Jalen Green Small Forward: Dillon Brooks Power Forward: Miles Bridges Center: Mark Williams Everything starts with Booker, obviously, and last season was actually one of his less efficient years. He still put up 26.1 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 6.0 assists in 64 games, but he shot 45.6% from the field and only 33.0% from three, his worst three-point mark since 2018-19. Even with that dip, Booker made another All-Star team and scored 101 clutch points, the 12th-most in the NBA, so Phoenix still had one guy who would close out those scrappy games. The interesting part now is whether having more talent around him can bring the percentages back up instead of forcing him into so many difficult shots. Jalen Green is basically the giant swing piece of the entire season for me. His first year in Phoenix was messy as hell because hamstring problems limited him to only 32 games, and when he did play, he finished at 17.8 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 2.8 assists on 42.2% from the field and 31.3% from three. At least there were some really good signs late, as Green went nuts in the Play-In, dropping 35 and 36 points in the two games while putting up 35.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 3.0 assists on 57.1% from the field and 47.6% from three, including eight threes in the win over the Warriors. The Thunder series was way rougher, but he still got to 21.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 3.5 assists across the four games, including 26 points in Game 3 and 23 in Game 4. Then there is Dillon Brooks, who randomly decided to have the best scoring season of his career at age 30. Brooks jumped to 20.2 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.8 assists in 56 games, shooting 43.5% from the field and 34.4% from three while adding 1.0 steals. I wouldn’t expect another 20-point season with Bridges and hopefully more Green games, but that’s fine. Brooks doesn’t need 17 shots every night anymore. Let him guard the annoying wing, take open threes, bully smaller defenders when the matchup is there, and bring the same edge that helped Phoenix become a top-10 defense last season. Miles Bridges changes the lineup more than people probably realize because the Suns didn’t really have this type of scoring forward last year. He gave the Hornets 17.1 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 3.2 assists in 77 games on 46.0% from the field and 33.3% from three, and he scored 20-plus in 25 games. The outside percentage isn’t amazing, but Bridges can do a lot of things offensively to have a pretty balanced all-around game. At center, Mark Williams isn’t some superstar big man, and he doesn’t need to be. He put up 11.7 points and 8.0 rebounds in only 23.6 minutes last season, shot 64.4% from the field, and posted a 21.8 PER, then Phoenix brought him back on a three-year, $38 million deal. My favorite number is probably the 3.1 offensive rebounds per game because Booker and Green are going to miss shots around the rim, and Williams can turn some of those into free points. The rim protection wasn’t dominant at only 0.9 blocks, but at 7-foot-1, he still gives this group a vertical target and actual size behind a pretty aggressive perimeter defense. So yeah, there is talent. Booker, Green, Brooks, and Bridges can all score 20 on a random night, while Williams doesn’t need touches to be a good fit. My issue is more with the top-end talent, because after Booker there isn’t another guy I fully trust to play like a real No. 2 option every night. Bench Point Guard: Collin Gillespie, Pat Spencer Shooting Guard: Jordan Goodwin, Luke Kennard Small Forward: Haywood Highsmith, Rasheer Fleming Power Forward: Ryan Dunn, Koa Peat Center: Oso Ighodaro, Khaman Maluach This time, the bench is probably the part of the roster I like more than I expected. Collin Gillespie might technically start some games because Ott already used him 58 times in the opening five last season, but with the projected lineup we’re using here, he’s an awesome sixth-man option. Gillespie went from an undrafted two-way guy to 12.7 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 4.6 assists across 80 games, drilling 40.1% from three on 7.2 attempts. Phoenix rewarded him with four years and $48 million, which tells you pretty clearly that he’s way more than just a backup point guard now. Jordan Goodwin gives the second unit something totally different. He finished with 8.7 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 2.2 assists while shooting 37.1% from three, and 4.9 rebounds from a 6-foot-3 guard is exactly the type of weird number that explains his fit. Goodwin creates extra possessions, plays tough on defense, and doesn’t need to be featured on offense. The Suns liked that enough to give him a three-year contract this summer, and between him and Gillespie, they can actually manage Booker sitting without turning the game into chaos. Luke Kennard might end up being the bench player who changes the offense the most. He only scored 8.4 points last season between the Hawks and Lakers, but who cares when he shot 47.8% from three and literally led the entire NBA in percentage. That’s the third time Kennard has led the league in three-point accuracy, and he has now shot at least 40.0% from deep in seven straight seasons. Phoenix lost a ton of shooting when Allen and O’Neale left, so I don’t want Kennard playing a small 14-minute role. Let him take seven or eight threes when the defense allows it and force defenders to chase him everywhere. Ryan Dunn and Oso Ighodaro are the two young returners whose roles could get squeezed a little. Dunn played 70 games and gave Phoenix 5.8 points and 4.2 rebounds while hitting 33.1% from three, which was at least enough improvement to be on the floor more often, but the jumper still decides almost everything with him. Ighodaro was more productive, playing all 82 games with 6.5 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 2.3 assists on 65.3% from the field. The problem is that Oso didn’t make a single three and shot only 45.3% from the line, so fitting him next to another non-shooting big man can be an issue. Pat Spencer is a pretty funny depth addition because he went from fringe Warriors minutes to actually playing 18.6 minutes per game last season. He finished with 7.2 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 3.5 assists across 66 games, shooting 42.7% from the field and 35.7% from three, and then earned a two-way deal in Phoenix. He isn’t going to steal Gillespie’s role, but as a third point guard who already understands how to keep an offense organized, that’s totally fine depth. Haywood Highsmith is basically the adult wing sitting at the end of all these young forwards. His 2025-26 numbers are kind of useless because he didn’t sign with Phoenix until February and only appeared in seven games, putting up 5.4 points and 1.9 rebounds in 13.0 minutes. The Suns actually waived him and brought him back later on a new one-year deal, so his spot clearly isn’t untouchable, but a healthy Highsmith can still defend two or three positions and give Ott another option as a 3-and-D guy. Rasheer Fleming is another one I wouldn’t forget about. The 2025 second-rounder appeared in 55 games as a rookie, scoring 4.3 points with 2.3 rebounds in 12.2 minutes while hitting 34.6% from three. Nothing there screams future star, obviously, but 6-foot-9 forwards who defend this hard, rebound with heart, and become respectable shooters are always worth developing. If that three-point number gets closer to 37.0% and he becomes a little stronger defensively, he can absolutely eat into Dunn’s minutes over an 82-game season. Koa Peat is one to watch, as Phoenix traded into the first round to get the 19-year-old at No. 30 after he produced 14.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 2.6 assists on 52.8% from the field for Arizona, helping the Wildcats reach the Final Four. He technically shot 35.0% from three too, but that came on only 20 attempts all season, so please don’t start calling him a stretch four yet. What I do like is the big frame, the ability to score inside, and the fact that he already passed reasonably well for a freshman forward. He doesn’t need to play 25 minutes immediately, but I would be surprised if he spends the whole year watching from the bench. Finally, Khaman Maluach remains the long-term lottery ticket at center. His rookie numbers were tiny because he played only 8.9 minutes per game, ending at 3.0 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 0.7 blocks across 46 appearances, but getting nearly one block in nine minutes tells you why Phoenix is still excited about a 7-foot-1, 250-pound big man who won’t even turn 20 until late September. Williams is much more ready right now; Ighodaro gives them another style completely, and that means Maluach can develop without being thrown into 30 minutes he isn’t ready for. That’s a pretty deep group. Not everybody is getting minutes, and Ott is probably going to annoy people by changing the rotation depending on the opponent, but having too many playable guys isn’t exactly a bad problem. Strengths Last year’s Suns weren’t elite at anything offensively, yet they still found ways to win 45 games because the roster was really versatile and ready to survive the injuries. This version takes that idea even further. The center rotation might be the best example. Williams is the main starter, Ighodaro is the smaller and more mobile connector, while Maluach can become a much longer defensive option if his development speeds up. That’s three big men with completely different games, and it means Ott isn’t stuck forcing the same coverage against Jokic, Wembanyama, and some small five-out lineup. There are enough wings for the same thing. Brooks, Bridges, Dunn, Highsmith, Fleming, and Peat are all between 6-foot-5 and 6-foot-9, so Phoenix shouldn’t have to play small every time Booker shares the court with another guard. That’s a huge difference from the old Suns teams where one injury could suddenly have three guards trying to defend somebody’s 6-foot-8 scorer. The other thing is that the Suns finished 10th in defensive rating last season at 113.9, which was probably the biggest surprise of their entire year. Even better, they ranked fourth in steals with 9.5 per game, so this wasn’t a passive group just sitting around hoping opponents missed. They attacked passing lanes, pressured the ball, and created the kind of ugly possessions that helped a pretty mediocre offense survive. Brooks obviously drives a lot of that personality, but Goodwin is a pain, Dunn can take big perimeter assignments, Highsmith has made a career through defense, and Williams at least gives them more size at the rim. Bridges isn’t replacing O’Neale as a pure defensive specialist, so there could be some slippage, but Phoenix still has enough defensive pieces to mix lineups instead of asking Booker and Green to please try on defense themselves. For me, keeping that defense around the top 10 is probably the easiest path to another playoff season. If Phoenix drops back to 18th while the offense remains middle of the pack, their surprising 2026 year could remain in the past. The last thing is that now the bench can really score. There were nights last year when Booker sat, and you could almost feel the offense asking who was supposed to do something. Gillespie’s rise helped a lot, and now putting Kennard next to him can become one of the steadiest bench connections in the league. One guy can run the action, the other shot 47.8% from three. Nothing complicated. Goodwin can push tempo, Peat gives them another guy who can attack inside, and one of Green, Bridges, or Brooks should almost always be staggered with that group anyway. Phoenix scored only 112.6 points per game last season, 26th in the NBA, despite taking the fifth-most threes per game. Getting better bench efficiency is one of the easiest ways for that number to move without Booker suddenly needing to score 30 every night. Weaknesses This is the part that bothers me most. Booker led them at only 6.0 assists per game last season, Gillespie was second at 4.6, and now the projected starting five puts Booker next to Green at 2.8 assists, Brooks at 1.8, Bridges at 3.2, and Williams at 1.0. There is scoring everywhere, but scoring and organizing an offense aren’t the same thing. Booker can play point guard. We’ve seen it plenty, and he is good at it. I just don’t love making your best scorer responsible for initiating almost everything for 82 games and then expecting him to still have fresh legs when playoff defenses start trapping him 30 feet from the basket. Gillespie helps, and Bridges can make secondary reads, but neither is some second high-level offensive engine. If Green makes a jump as a passer, this looks much better, but he’s always been a score-first shooting guard, and making that adjustment would be changing the way he approaches the game. Another thing is that the Suns have Kennard on the bench, yet the starters can still have a spacing problem. Booker shot 33.0% from three last season, Green 31.3%, Brooks 34.4%, and Bridges 33.3%, while Williams basically doesn’t take them. Every single perimeter starter was below the 36.1% that Phoenix shot as a team. The Suns were actually 12th in three-point percentage overall at 36.1% and fifth in makes at 14.8 per game, but a lot of that shooting just walked out the door. Allen and O’Neale accounted for 31% of Phoenix’s made threes last season, and replacing both of them with Bridges makes the starting group bigger but definitely not more dangerous from outside. That puts a lot of pressure on Kennard and Gillespie to keep lineups spaced. I could easily see Kennard finishing some games instead of Green, Bridges, or even Brooks, depending on who’s hitting shots, because putting a career 44.2% three-point shooter next to Booker changes the game immediately. If the starters are all sitting around 33.0% again, Ott is going to have to make uncomfortable choices. Now the last, and honestly main, problem this team has: there are a lot of dudes I like, but only one player I fully trust at a star level. Brooks scoring 20.2 points was awesome, but it was also a career high by a lot. Bridges gave Charlotte 17.1. Green was at 17.8 and couldn’t stay healthy. Gillespie made a huge jump, Williams is a solid center, and Kennard might be the best specialist shooter in basketball, yet when Phoenix plays the Thunder, Spurs, Nuggets, or Lakers in a seven-game series, who is the second guy you’re actually scared of? That’s why Green is so important. The Suns don’t need him to become Booker 2.0, but they probably need something closer to the guy who has already shown he can score 22-plus over a full season, with better efficiency and more consistency. If Green is still around 18 points on 42.0% from the field, I don’t think Phoenix has enough top-end offense to scare the best West teams four times. I Like The Suns… But Not As A Huge Contender Yet I actually like this Phoenix roster more than I expected when the offseason started. They won 45 games last season with Booker missing 18, Green playing only 32, Brooks playing 56, and Williams appearing in 60, and then added Bridges and Kennard without destroying the younger group. Gillespie and Goodwin are back, Peat gives them another interesting development piece, and three centers mean one injury doesn’t completely ruin the rotation. Booker is too good for this offense to completely suck; the defense already finished 10th once under Ott, and having Gillespie plus Kennard leading the second unit is way better than what a lot of Play-In teams can throw out there. If Green stays healthy and Brooks doesn’t fall too far from his career year, getting back around 45 wins feels very realistic as their floor. I just can’t call them a proper Western Conference threat yet. The starting shooting worries me; Booker has too much creation responsibility, and there isn’t an obvious No. 2 star next to him. The Thunder won 64 games last season, the Spurs won 62, the Nuggets won 54, the Lakers won 53, and the Rockets won 52. Phoenix isn’t jumping into that group just because Bridges arrived. My guess is around 44 to 47 wins and another fight somewhere between sixth and ninth in the West. That’s better than saying they’re just some random Play-In team, because I think this roster can absolutely win a playoff series if the matchup is right, but I’m not putting them next to the true contenders yet. For now, the Suns look like the kind of team nobody really wants to play, which is a pretty nice place to be after how dead this whole thing looked only two summers ago.