Luke Kennard has done exactly what the Suns asked of him. The problem is that Phoenix has too many bigger problems to let his shooting matter yet.
In just two games, Kennard has shown why the Suns brought him in on a two-year, roughly $12 million deal. He’s hit 60 percent of his 3-pointers, taking five attempts a night and giving Phoenix the kind of perimeter pop it was supposed to add this summer.
That’s the easy part. The hard part is everything happening around him.
The Suns have opened the season in rough shape, and the biggest issue is glaring: they own the worst defensive rating in the league at 124.5. Kennard was never expected to fix that side of the floor.
He’s there to provide shooting, stretch defenses, and help replace some of what Grayson Allen and Royce O’Neale brought last season. Right now, though, even that upgrade gets swallowed by the mess.
Kennard has often shared the floor with Miles Bridges, another new face who has struggled badly to start the year. Dillon Brooks and Devin Booker haven’t delivered the kind of consistent impact Phoenix needs, either. So when Kennard checks in and gives the Suns 10 points while forcing defenders to stay honest beyond the arc, it still doesn’t move the needle much if the other end keeps breaking down.
If Kennard were a true two-way presence, this would look different. That’s part of why Allen mattered so much last season.
His departure doesn’t fully explain Phoenix losing its defensive edge, but it does matter. He was an underrated piece of how the Suns contained opponents, and even spent a stretch successfully guarding Victor Wembanyama.
That’s why Kennard may end up being more of a luxury than a central piece unless the Suns rediscover what made them difficult to play against. If this were the same scrappy team from last season, his role would be simple: come off the bench, catch fire for short bursts, and let the defense carry the rest. But there’s no real pressure being put on opponents right now, which leaves head coach Jordan Ott with bigger decisions to make.
Ryan Dunn and Koa Peat could become the more important names if Phoenix is trying to rebuild that defensive identity. Giving Dunn a larger role could also make him more attractive to the reeling Oklahoma City Thunder, opening the door for the Suns to land badly needed future assets.
Kennard was a smart addition by the front office this summer. He just landed in a situation where the Suns have already spent the first three games putting out fires before they can fully benefit from what he does best.
In Other News...
Suns Suddenly Have Real Trade Leverage With West Contender
Oklahoma Citys 4-0 start has done little to ease the strain of losing Jalen Williams and Cason Wallace for the long haul, and that reality has quietly created an opening for Phoenix. The Thunder have the kind of depth and ambition that usually keeps them in the market for help, and from the Suns point of view, that makes a couple of their rotation pieces suddenly look more valuable than they did a week ago.
Ryan Dunn and Jordan Goodwin fit the sort of profile a contender can talk itself into when injuries start to squeeze the margins, especially if Oklahoma City wants to patch specific holes without reshaping its core. For Phoenix, the bigger point is not that a deal is close, but that a team with clear needs and an obvious timeline has given the Suns real leverage if those conversations keep moving. [Read more 🡒]
Suns Are Already Wasting Devin Bookers Best Work
Through three games, the Suns have already leaned hard on Devin Bookers scoring to keep themselves afloat, and that has become its own early-season storyline in Phoenix. At 1-2, the bigger issue is not Bookers output, but how often the team seems to be asking him to cover for a roster and rotation that do not always make his job easier.
The criticism around the Suns has quickly turned toward roster construction and coaching choices, with outside voices pointing to recent trades and lineup tweaks that appear to have pulled them away from the formula that worked better last season. For a team built around Bookers prime years, the concern is obvious: if this is the way the opening stretch looks, it raises the question of whether Phoenix is making the most of its best player at the very moment it can least afford to waste him. [Read more 🡒]
Suns Are Feeling Oso Ighodaros Absence More Than Expected
Oso Ighodaros oblique injury has become more than a temporary lineup note for the Suns. The second-round pick has been out with no clear return date, and the effects have shown up in ways that go beyond the box score, with Phoenix losing some of the extra ball movement and defensive activity he helped provide. His value has been tied as much to organization and versatility as to any scoring output, which is part of why his absence has been noticeable.
What has stood out is how much the Suns leaned on Ighodaro as a connective piece on both ends. His absence has come with drops in assist and steal percentages, a sign that Phoenix has missed his ability to facilitate offense and switch defensively across different matchups. For a team that wants flexible, reliable minutes from every spot on the floor, replacing that kind of presence is not as simple as plugging in another body. [Read more 🡒]