The Phoenix Suns’ summer move for Pat Spencer looks like the kind of signing that won’t stay quiet for long. A two-way contract usually suggests a player who’ll spend time back and forth with the G League, but Spencer’s game sounds tailor-made to force Jordan Ott’s hand once the season starts.
The reason is simple: he does a little bit of everything the Suns need, and he does it in a way that stands out. The 30-year-old former Golden State Warrior brings the edge of a feisty lead guard, can work without the ball, is willing to defend anybody, and is expected to provide about seven points and three assists when he’s available. That mix should make him hard to keep out of the conversation for rotation minutes.
That puts pressure on the back end of Phoenix’s guard group. In theory, Jamaree Bouyea fills that same general lane, and he brings a longer frame and better defense.
He could also be useful in those unusual lineups alongside Jordan Goodwin, the kind Ott had success with last time out. But Spencer’s presence changes the math.
He isn’t just a challenge for Bouyea, either. The article points to Spencer taking minutes from Goodwin and even Collin Gillespie when the chance is there. There’s already talk of Spencer as the next Gillespie in Phoenix, though he’s three years older and not nearly as good a 3-point shooter or passer as Gillespie.
Where Spencer separates himself is in control. He can run the game in short stretches, and that gives him a skill set nobody else on the roster quite matches.
There’s also a possible fit with Jalen Green that could matter a lot. Green and Devin Booker haven’t worked to this point, and Green is under pressure to prove he should have been the second overall pick. Spencer could help by handling the ball, setting Green up, and then sliding out of the way while taking on the tougher guard assignment on defense.
That pairing could come in a bench group or in lineups that include younger players like Khaman Maluach and Rasheer Fleming. If Green starts looking more like the player the Suns gave up Kevin Durant for, and if that happens next to Spencer, his value would rise quickly.
The only thing holding Spencer back is the two-way label. But if he’s as good as he looks on paper, that won’t matter for long. Like Gillespie before him, he’ll find a way to matter - and in the process, give Ott another underrated option to work with.
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