Many Phoenix Suns fans have been quick to assume Luke Kennard is the clean answer to the Grayson Allen-sized hole, but the more complete replacement may already be on the roster in Collin Gillespie.
Kennard brings one obvious calling card: shooting. He and Allen have both finished as the league’s best 3-point shooters at different points, but that’s where the overlap mostly stops.
Kennard is expected to provide floor spacing and not a whole lot else on a nightly basis. His defense can be a problem, and if the shot isn’t dropping, he has a tough time leaving a mark in other areas.
That doesn’t make him a bad addition - in fact, it’s fair to call him one of the best signings of the summer for Phoenix - but it does limit how much more he can be than a specialist.
Gillespie, on the other hand, looks much more like Allen in terms of overall role. He isn’t nearly as dangerous from deep, but he has still knocked down 40.6 percent of his 3-pointers in two seasons in The Valley.
Opponents have to respect that shot, and his passing may be the more important part of the package. He is a willing creator, and you could argue he enters 2026-27 as the best playmaker on the Suns roster.
That gives Gillespie a real path to working his way into the starting lineup conversation as the season goes on, the way Allen once did. Allen first arrived in Phoenix with the expectation that he’d be a bench scorer who could punish second units. Instead, he became a legitimate two-way wing threat and an underrated defender with athletic traits that neither Kennard nor Gillespie can match.
Gillespie won’t bring Allen’s body type or that level of defensive versatility, but he does compete and is willing to take on stronger matchups when the team needs it.
Phoenix did lose Allen, but the front office used that move to bring back an upgrade in Miles Bridges while adding Kennard to cover Allen’s best trait from beyond the arc.
That leaves Gillespie to handle the rest, and there’s even a world where he shares the floor with Devin Booker and Jalen Green if he can hold up defensively. If he proves capable there, he could even push his way into the starting five over Green, though that would be a tough outcome for the Suns’ own plans for Green.
In Other News...
Suns Just Turned Devin Booker Criticism Into A Public Statement
A recent podcast take on Devin Booker quickly spilled beyond the usual noise cycle, and the Suns made sure it did not hang in the air unanswered. On Players Choice, Suns Valley Podcast co-host Gabe Guerrero questioned whether Bookers game impacts winning enough to carry a team to a championship, and the reaction from within Phoenix was immediate. The Suns own social media team followed by highlighting Bookers playmaking, a clear nod to the value he brings beyond scoring.
Collin Gillespie also chimed in by reposting the clip in support of Booker, giving the pushback a little extra weight from inside the locker room orbit. Guerrero later offered a clarification on his comments, saying he was talking about Booker in the context of playing point guard, even though that framing was not explicit in the original segment. For a player whose role keeps expanding, it turned a debate about style into a broader reminder of how closely Phoenix is watching the conversation around its star. [Read more 🡒]
Suns Season May Ride On 3 Young Names Fans Are Overlooking
A quieter storyline around the Suns this offseason has centered on three young players who could end up shaping the rotation more than casual fans realize. Fleming is in position to see a larger workload, Goodwin has already shown he can bring useful defense when healthy, and Maluach is viewed as a center whose development could matter if Phoenix needs more size and steadiness up front.
The appeal here is that none of the three needs to become a headline-grabbing star for the Suns to get value out of them. Flemings path opens after the departures on the wing, Goodwin is working back from an injury that cut short his postseason minutes, and Maluachs upside at center gives Phoenix another long-term variable to watch as the season unfolds. [Read more 🡒]
Mat Ishbia Just Drew A Firm Line On Devin Booker
Mat Ishbia used a fan Q&A to make one thing clear about Devin Booker: the Suns are not treating their franchise scorer like a name to be shopped around. The team owner, who is originally from Michigan, said he has no interest in moving Booker despite a fan request, reinforcing how central Booker remains to Phoenix after being drafted in 2015 and becoming the face of the clubs long-term plans.
The exchange also carried a little extra edge because of the destination involved, with the Pistons mentioned in the request and Ishbia drawing a firm line in response. For a team trying to keep its identity anchored around Booker, the message mattered less as a headline-grabber than as a reminder that Phoenixs most important player is still being treated as untouchable from the owners seat. [Read more 🡒]