Mark Williams’ injury has thrown the Phoenix Suns into a scramble just before training camp, and it may have opened the door for Ryan Dunn to claw his way back into the picture.
Dunn, 23, had been pushed out of the rotation after the Suns’ offseason additions. Miles Bridges and Koa Peat were ahead of him, and the same was true for Haywood Highsmith and Rasheer Fleming, leaving Dunn looking like an odd man out in Phoenix.
That outlook has changed because Oso Ighodaro will need to spend more time at center than expected. He can handle that role off the bench, but with Khaman Maluach still only 19, the Suns do not have the flexibility to pair the two together.
That leaves Dunn in a much more important spot than he was supposed to occupy. His defensive willingness could matter right away, especially if Phoenix leans small against certain opponents - or simply has no replacement for Williams before the season begins. In that scenario, Dunn could end up defending much bigger bodies in the paint.
It is a risky experiment, no question. But Dunn does not have much choice. He remains a useful defender against low to medium-level scoring threats, while his own 3-point shooting has been frustratingly inconsistent, which has been a major reason he has not locked down a steady role.
If the Suns try him at the five and it does not work, or if he is used alongside Bridges and Dillon Brooks without the hoped-for results, Dunn could slide right back to the edge of the rotation. For now, though, this injury has handed him a chance he did not expect.
That defensive versatility may end up being the piece Coach Jordan Ott leans on as he tries to build another top-10 defense without his most intimidating interior presence.
If Dunn can also lift his production beyond the 5.8 points he averaged last season - no sure thing - he could start working his way back into Phoenix’s long-term plans.
It is a sharp turn for a player who had already fallen so far down the depth chart. But with the Suns’ outlook suddenly looking even thinner, they may have no choice but to turn to Dunn and see what he can give them. How he handles that opportunity could shape the rest of his career.
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Golden State has not taken any official action, but the interest alone says plenty about how aggressively the market can move around a player of Bookers caliber. From Phoenixs side, the stance has stayed firm, with ownership making clear there is no intention of moving him, leaving the bigger question less about a deal being available and more about how long this kind of speculation can keep building. [Read more 🡒]
Suns Suddenly Face A Risky Khaman Maluach Decision
Mark Williams shoulder surgery has left the Suns in a difficult spot, with a proven big man suddenly unavailable for an extended stretch and the middle of the roster under more scrutiny than expected. Phoenix has been planning to bring Khaman Maluach along carefully as a sophomore center, and this latest setback only sharpens the tension between developing him and trying to stay competitive right now.
Maluach has the size and long-term appeal to matter down the line, but the current roster picture makes it harder to ask him to carry too much too soon. The Suns have leaned on veterans to steady the group, and the next move in the frontcourt will say plenty about how aggressive they want to be with Maluachs role while they try to bridge the gap left by Williams. [Read more 🡒]
Suns May Have One Starting Fix That Creates A New Problem
Collin Gillespie has become an intriguing part of the Suns lineup discussion because the fit questions around Miles Bridges keep pointing back to the same issue. In Charlotte, Bridges was at his best when he had a skilled passer like LaMelo Ball setting the table, and Phoenix does not really have that kind of true point guard in its current starting group. Devin Booker and Jalen Green are both scorers first, which has left the Suns weighing whether a different kind of lead guard would make the whole group work better.
Starting Gillespie could help solve one problem while creating another. It would likely push Booker back to shooting guard and give Bridges a more natural playmaker next to him, but it also raises the uncomfortable question of who gets squeezed out of the first unit. Green or Dillon Brooks would be the most obvious candidates to head to the bench, and how that group would react is part of what makes the decision more complicated than it looks on paper. [Read more 🡒]