Grayson Allen is back at the Mortgage Matchup Center on Thursday, and the return comes with plenty of good memories attached.
One of the biggest came during his time with the Phoenix Suns, when he erupted for 42 points and came close to breaking the franchise record for made 3-pointers in a game. That was the kind of night that showed how far his game had come in just one season.
Allen entered Phoenix known mainly as a shooter, but his role expanded fast. He turned into a downhill scorer, a playmaker and the kind of microwave scorer who could flip a game in a hurry. Suns head coach Jordan Ott challenged him last season, and Allen answered.
The partnership didn’t last beyond the offseason. Phoenix sent Allen and Royce O’Neale, along with the 2031 first-round pick, to Charlotte in the deal for Miles Bridges.
Even so, Allen’s feelings about the Suns clearly haven’t faded.
“It’s good to be back … Probably the team or place I feel like I have the most connection to,” Allen said via PHNX Suns reporter Gil McGregor on X (formerly Twitter).
That connection ran both ways. The Suns and their fans got a player who made an impact on the floor and around the community, and Allen also spent three seasons living through the franchise’s ups and downs. In that stretch, he played some of the best basketball of his career in purple and orange.
Now he’s bringing that veteran presence to a young Charlotte Hornets group. With injuries piling up, head coach Charles Lee has moved Allen into the starting lineup, and the production has looked familiar.
With the Hornets short-handed, Allen could be in line for another one of those nights that Suns fans remember.
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Suns Roster Buzz Just Shifted To A Much More Complicated Name
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Jalen Green is the name that complicates things the most because Mat Ishbia already stressed how important Green and Dillon Brooks were in the Kevin Durant deal. Green has not found much consistency this season, which only adds to the uncertainty around how Phoenix views him going forward. For now, the Suns are left balancing what they need in the present with the long view of a roster that still feels like it could shift again. [Read more 🡒]
Suns Just Got Pulled Into A Live Dejounte Murray Situation
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Phoenix is reportedly among the clubs keeping tabs on the situation, which is enough to make this worth watching but not enough to say where it goes next. There is no trade agreement in place and no specific package has been confirmed, so the Suns are still in the familiar position of monitoring a name that could reshape the board without any guarantee he actually moves. [Read more 🡒]
Oso Ighodaro Just Changed A Suns Debate That Was Going Nowhere
The Suns have looked noticeably steadier since Oso Ighodaro entered the starting lineup five games ago, winning four of them and giving the frontcourt a different kind of balance. The 2024 second-round pick has not piled up eye-catching numbers, but his value has shown up in the less glamorous places, with playmaking and defense helping settle a team that had been searching for a workable formula.
That shift has also sharpened the conversation around the center rotation, especially with Phoenix still investing in Khaman Maluach, the 2025 No. 10 pick, who is currently more of a bench presence. Ighodaros rise does not close the book on the Suns long-term plans, but it does make the present-day debate harder to ignore, because the team has found something that is functioning while the bigger-picture questions remain very much alive. [Read more 🡒]