Collin Gillespie went from one of the Suns’ best feel-good stories to one of their biggest pressure points in a hurry.
Last season, he turned a two-way contract with Phoenix into a four-year, $48 million deal, and he did it by blowing past expectations. He was one of the team’s top performers as the Suns got back to the playoffs, and for a while he looked like the kind of surprise success story every front office loves to find.
But the role waiting for him now is a lot less forgiving.
Gillespie is set to be Phoenix’s sixth man and the first guard off the bench on any given night, and that comes with a different kind of responsibility. He can handle it, but the cushion he had before is gone. Grayson Allen is no longer there to share the load with secondary playmaking and to help defend bigger scoring guards, and replacement Luke Kennard brings a more limited skill set as a 3-point shooter who won’t duplicate everything Allen did for the group.
That matters because Gillespie has already been targeted defensively for his lack of size, even if nobody has ever questioned his heart. Now, though, he’ll be entering games to replace either Jalen Green or Devin Booker, and that means Phoenix needs him to become an elite playmaker right away.
He showed last season that he can do that. But the playoffs also exposed the limits of what the Suns could ask from him, and it’s fair to remember that he was found wanting against the Oklahoma City Thunder. A former G League standout being asked to make a real playoff impact is a tough ask, and there’s nothing wrong with Gillespie being a regular-season innings eater.
The issue is that the bar has moved. He’s no longer the underdog story playing with freedom and winning over the fan base.
He’s being paid to perform like one of the league’s best backup floor generals, and that leaves far less room for mistakes. Dillon Brooks and Miles Bridges won’t be covering for him, either; both will want the ball in their preferred spots from the jump.
That’s why a move that made sense for everyone involved still carries real risk for Phoenix. Gillespie’s rise was the Suns’ best story last season. Now it may be one of their most delicate ones.
In Other News...
Lakers May Be Headed For A Suns Center Mistake All Over Again
The Lakers are trying to patch up a thin center rotation while operating with a full roster and very little financial wiggle room, which is why the names floating around them matter. Drew Eubanks and Mason Plumlee have both come up as possible fixes, and both would bring veteran size and familiarity without changing the basic problem Los Angeles is trying to solve.
For Suns fans, the comparison is hard to miss because this is the same kind of bargain-bin center search Phoenix has already lived through. The Lakers also brought in Deandre Ayton last season, only to find that the answer at the position was not nearly as simple as the name value suggested, and the concern now is that another quick fix could end up looking familiar in all the wrong ways. [Read more 🡒]
Suns Suddenly Have The Opening Fans Have Waited On For Years
The Suns spent the offseason doing what contenders are supposed to do: they added Miles Bridges, kept key free agents in place and brought in Luke Kennard to deepen a roster that already had enough talent to matter in the West. After years of waiting for the right mix, Phoenix suddenly looks like a team with real momentum again, and the timing matters in a Pacific Division that has been reshaped by what other rivals did not manage to accomplish.
Golden States inability to land the kind of upgrades it wanted has only sharpened the opening for Phoenix, especially with Stephen Curry still carrying the weight of an aging core around him. The Lakers have also changed the conversation in the division, but the Suns now have a clearer path than they have had in a long time, with a roster built to press the issue while the Warriors and Clippers try to sort out what comes next. [Read more 🡒]
Suns Have A Surprising New Favorite In Their All Star Debate
The Suns All-Star conversation is already starting to tilt in an unexpected direction as the focus shifts toward the 2026-27 season. Devin Booker will always have a place in that discussion because of his profile and staying power, but the more intriguing case right now belongs to Jalen Green, whose scoring punch gives Phoenix a different kind of candidate to watch as the roster settles into its next phase.
Greens appeal is rooted in the way All-Star selections often work: big scoring numbers, highlight moments and name recognition can carry as much weight as broader team context. Dillon Brooks also sits in the mix after a strong year and a near miss in the broader conversation, but the real tension for Phoenix is whether Green can turn that kind of offensive momentum into the sort of standing that gets players onto the stage when voting opens. [Read more 🡒]