The Phoenix Suns’ first day of free agency didn’t just feel quiet - it may have ended up producing one of the sharpest moves around the league. While Phoenix earned praise for landing sharpshooter Luke Kennard on a two-year, $13 million deal to fill the spot left by Grayson Allen, another familiar name from the Suns’ past found a big payday elsewhere.
Jock Landale is staying put with Atlanta after agreeing to a one-year, $14 million deal, a nice reward for the Australian center as the Hawks try to push back into the playoff race. For Suns fans, it’s the kind of deal that brings a little sting. Landale, in some ways, feels like the one that got away.
He would fit cleanly as a backup center for head coach Jordan Ott’s group, especially with Khaman Maluach and Oso Ighodaro in the mix alongside him if he were in the Mark Williams slot. That kind of depth would give Phoenix a better and less injury-prone setup.
But Landale’s exit from The Valley made sense at the time. The Suns were trying to win, and there simply wasn’t room to keep paying him. Of course, that plan led to Bradley Beal being on the payroll in Phoenix for what feels like forever, and Landale’s departure looks better in hindsight than it did then.
If the Suns could go back and redo that decision, Landale would have been an ideal backup through the Devin Booker/Kevin Durant era - and maybe even more valuable now.
Atlanta clearly believes the Eastern Conference is wide open, and Landale should help them during the regular season. Phoenix fans also remember that he outplayed his own teammate, former first overall pick Deandre Ayton, in a playoff series when they shared the floor.
Things didn’t fully click for Landale after Phoenix, either. His stops with the Houston Rockets and Memphis Grizzlies didn’t work out, but this new contract gives him the kind of money he has earned for 2026-27 at least.
And it wouldn’t be a shock if the Suns looked at him again down the road. There’s no guarantee how long Williams will be around, and this coming season could unravel quickly after the Bridges trade.
For now, though, it’s a good story for a player Suns fans have never forgotten.
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Lakers Just Made The Same Risky Bet Suns Fans Know Too Well
For Suns fans, the Lakers latest roster shuffle looks familiar in all the wrong ways. Phoenix has already lived through the kind of aggressive win-now push that brings in useful veterans, sends out rotation pieces, and chips away at future flexibility, from the re-signings of Collin Gillespie, Jordan Goodwin, and Mark Williams to the trades and additions that brought in Miles Bridges and Luke Kennard. It is the sort of balancing act that can make a team look deeper in the moment while quietly narrowing the path forward.
Los Angeles has now stepped into a similar lane after losing LeBron James, bringing back Deandre Ayton, adding Quentin Grimes, Collin Sexton, and Sandro Mamukelashvili, and making major commitments around Luka Doni, Austin Reaves, and Walker Kessler. The Suns know how quickly that kind of approach can tighten the margins, especially once multiple future first-round picks are already gone, and the real question now is how much patience either franchise will have left when the bill for all this boldness eventually comes due. [Read more 🡒]