D’Angelo Russell is back on the market, and the timing could make him a name to watch for the Phoenix Suns.
The veteran guard was waived by the Memphis Grizzlies on Sept. 25 before training camp even got underway, another sharp turn in a career that has already sent him through a string of stops. Russell is now staring at the possibility of joining his fourth team since February, after being traded to Washington in the blockbuster Anthony Davis deal and then landing in Memphis as part of the sprawling six-team trade in July.
That Grizzlies stint never really had a chance to get going, and if no NBA team steps in, Russell’s next move could even be overseas. For Phoenix, though, there are a couple of reasons the fit at least makes sense on paper.
The biggest one is Devin Booker.
Booker and Russell have a longstanding friendship, one Booker described as "deeply rooted," and that connection is hard to ignore when a player is looking for a new landing spot. The Suns also have a clear need at point guard. Booker is projected to handle that role in the starting lineup, with Collin Gillespie coming off the bench, though there’s at least an argument for Gillespie to start instead.
Beyond those two, the depth chart gets thin fast. Jamaree Bouyea, promoted from a two-way contract, and Pat Spencer, who signed a two-way deal with Phoenix this offseason after time with the Golden State Warriors, are the only other point guards on the roster.
Russell would give the Suns another body at the position, but there are obvious questions about what he has left. Phoenix already signed Duop Reath as a stopgap after Mark Williams went down with a torn labrum that required surgery, so this isn’t exactly a clean roster opening. And Russell’s recent production hasn’t exactly screamed comeback season.
In Dallas last year, he appeared in just 26 games and made three starts, posting a career-low 10.2 points per game while shooting 40.5 percent from the field and 29.5 percent from 3-point range. That’s a long way from the version of Russell who made his lone All-Star team with the Brooklyn Nets in 2018-19, when he was 22 and put up 21.1 points, 7.0 assists, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.2 steals per game while shooting 43.4 percent overall and 36.9 percent from deep.
No one is pretending Russell is about to rewind the clock all the way back to that level. But the Booker factor matters, and it could be the one thing that keeps his name in the conversation.
Booker, Russell, and New York Knicks big man Karl-Anthony Towns have been linked through a long friendship that has fueled fan speculation about the three of them teaming up someday. Russell’s career hasn’t followed the same arc as the other two, but Phoenix could still take a look, especially if Booker pushes for it.
At minimum, the Suns don’t appear to have much to lose by kicking the tires. There are already plenty of people who believe the offseason move for Miles Bridges left Phoenix still looking like a Play-In team, so taking a flyer on Russell - even on a non-guaranteed deal - would be a pretty low-stakes swing.
It may be a long shot, but if Booker wants D-Lo in Phoenix and thinks there’s still something left to unlock, the Suns would have a hard time not at least considering it.
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The mix gives Phoenix options, but it also creates a real competition for minutes as the staff sorts out how all of these pieces should fit. Some of the newcomers look better positioned than others to claim a regular place in the rotation, and one addition in particular has a chance to alter the teams structure more than the rest once the season gets going. [Read more 🡒]
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Mondays Suns media day arrives with a few of the usual preseason talking points, but this one carries a little extra weight because of who is expected to step to the podium. Dillon Brooks is coming in after signing a three-year extension, which gives Phoenix at least one clear piece of continuity heading into camp. On the other side of the room, Jalen Green will be one of the more closely watched players after working back from a hamstring injury, and rookie Koa Peat will be trying to carve out his place in a roster that has already changed around him.
Greens situation is especially interesting because the Suns still need to figure out how he fits when the season gets rolling, and media day should offer the first real clues about where he stands. Peat brings a different kind of pressure as a first-year player who was selected 30th overall and now has to show he can handle the adjustment. With roster spots, roles and rotations all in flux, the answers Phoenix gets on Monday could matter well beyond the first day of camp. [Read more 🡒]
Suns Title Doubts Just Got Louder Around Devin Booker
ESPNs latest top-100 player rankings offered a familiar reminder of where the Suns stand heading into the 2026-27 season: Devin Booker remains the centerpiece, and Dillon Brooks came in as the only other Phoenix player to crack the list, landing at No. 76. For a team trying to stay in the title conversation, that kind of recognition can be useful, but it also underscores how much of the burden still falls on Booker to carry the offense and the identity of the roster.
The bigger concern is what those rankings say about the rest of the Suns supposed support system. Miles Bridges and Jalen Green both came up short of the list, leaving Phoenix without another obvious top-tier co-star to pair with Booker, and that makes the internal growth of younger players even more important. If the Suns are going to look like more than a team leaning on star power alone, they may need real steps forward from prospects such as Khaman Maluach and Rasheer Fleming. [Read more 🡒]