The Phoenix Suns have already heard the easy solution. Put Collin Gillespie in the starting five, give Devin Booker a real point guard, and let the rest sort itself out.
That idea makes sense on the surface, and Gillespie has earned a look. But if the Suns are hoping one lineup tweak will pull them out of their early slump, they’re asking too much of one player.
Gillespie, 27, re-signed with Phoenix on a four-year, $48 million deal over the summer, and there’s no question he belongs in the conversation for a bigger role. In the right setup, he can function as both a starter and a closing option. Offensively, his profile looks a lot like Grayson Allen’s, and that’s part of why his absence has been felt so sharply during Phoenix’s 1-2 start.
The catch is what happens on the other end. Gillespie is a willing defender and a pesky one, with 2.7 steals so far, which puts him in the 74th percentile, per Cleaning the Glass. Last season, the numbers backed him up too: the Suns finished ninth in defensive rating at 112.9 points allowed per game, and that dipped to 110.0 with Gillespie on the floor.
Still, this isn’t the same roster he worked with before. Miles Bridges is disrupting the flow at starting power forward, while Oso Ighodaro and Mark Williams are both sidelined by injury. Gillespie is much more effective when he can be tucked onto a third or fourth option, especially one without a major size edge.
Phoenix already saw how valuable he can be in heavy minutes. He averaged 28.5 minutes per game in the regular season last time out, and that carried into the playoff sweep by Oklahoma City.
The Suns had no real choice but to lean on him, and his offensive usefulness showed. But the Thunder also exposed the downside, repeatedly targeting him with their bigger lineups.
That matters now, because the current frontcourt picture is messy. Bridges has not delivered on the “matchup nightmares” label he got at media day, and Khaman Maluach has been asked to do too much as a starter. Simply sliding Gillespie into Jalen Green’s spot won’t magically turn this group back into last season’s surprise team.
There is still a case for starting Gillespie with Booker, and he has already played just over four fewer minutes per game than he did last season. The timing, though, matters. Head coach Jordan Ott should wait until Ighodaro is healthy before making that call, because Gillespie and Ighodaro together look like the best path to stabilizing the starting defense.
That would also clear the way for Green to come off the bench, where his scoring could be used more cleanly. And it would let Maluach develop at a slower pace, with Duop Reath and Drew Timme taking on more of the load.
Gillespie can help the Suns. He just can’t fix everything that’s gone wrong in Phoenix by himself.
In Other News...
Suns Suddenly Have Real Trade Leverage With West Contender
The Thunders 4-0 start has come with a rough cost, because Oklahoma City is already dealing with long-term injuries to Jalen Williams and Cason Wallace. That kind of early-season adversity can push a contender into the market fast, and it has naturally put a few Suns role players on the radar as possible answers to those rotation holes.
Ryan Dunn and Jordan Goodwin are the kinds of names that fit what a team like Oklahoma City would be looking for in a pinch, which is why Phoenix suddenly has a little more trade leverage than it might have had a week ago. Nothing is done, of course, but with the Thunder trying to hold together a strong start while absorbing those injuries, the Suns have found themselves in a spot where even deeper rotation pieces could draw real attention. [Read more 🡒]
Suns Small-Ball Problem May Not Be On Jordan Ott
The Suns have been leaning on small-ball because they have had to, not because it is their preferred way to play, and the early returns have been uneven through the first three games. With key big men sidelined, Phoenix has had to improvise with lineups that can look nimble on one end and undersized on the other, creating a mix of stretches that have worked well and others that have been difficult to survive.
What makes the situation tricky is that the small-ball issue is only part of a broader lineup puzzle. The starting group has had its own problems, and the numbers on some of the smaller combinations suggest the answer is not simply to abandon the approach or to pin everything on Jordan Ott. For now, the Suns are sorting through roster limitations more than making a philosophical statement, and the next step may depend more on health than on scheme. [Read more 🡒]
Suns Already Facing A Frustrating Luke Kennard Problem
Luke Kennard has been one of the few bright spots in Phoenixs rough start, giving the Suns a needed lift as a three-point shooter while the rest of the roster searches for consistency. It has made him one of the more useful early-season pieces in a lineup that badly needs reliable offense, even as the bigger issue continues to hang over everything the Suns do on the floor.
Phoenixs defense has been the real problem, sitting at the bottom of the league and forcing the staff to weigh fit against production. If Kennard keeps supplying offense but the Suns keep bleeding points on the other end, the conversation may turn toward bigger minutes for players such as Ryan Dunn or Koa Peat, the kind of move that would signal a stronger defensive identity even if it comes at a cost elsewhere. [Read more 🡒]