The Phoenix Suns surprised a lot of people last season, but keeping that momentum going is going to be a tougher climb in 2026-27.
Phoenix won 45 games a year ago, made the Play-In Tournament and then reached the first round of the NBA Playoffs. That run came fast after the Kevin Durant trade changed the mood in The Valley, but the roster and the rest of the Western Conference both point toward a rougher road ahead.
The Suns did bring back a good chunk of last year’s group in free agency, re-signing Dillon Brooks, Collin Gillespie, Mark Williams and Jordan Goodwin. Still, the subtraction of Grayson Allen and Royce O’Neale to make room for Miles Bridges cuts into the team’s shooting on the wings, and that matters. Luke Kennard was added as a 3-point specialist, and that was a necessary move, but he cannot replace 371 missing 3-pointers on his own.
Jordan Ott’s offense is also going to need some reshaping to fit Bridges, who is more of a traditional interior power forward. That adjustment will affect everyone.
Phoenix also needs a better version of Jalen Green. He played only 32 games in his first season with the Suns because of recurring hamstring trouble, and the team never got enough time to settle him into Ott’s rotations. The results told the story: the Suns went 17-15 when Green played and 28-22 when he was out, then finished 1-5 in postseason play with him in the mix.
Health remains a concern for Williams as well. The starting center appeared in 60 games last season, which was a career high after he had topped out at 44 games in three seasons with the Hornets. Phoenix does at least have Khaman Maluach waiting in the wings.
Even if the Suns sort out their own internal questions, the conference around them is getting harder. Teams across the Western Conference have used the trade deadline and the 2026 offseason to upgrade, and Phoenix is looking at a deeper field than the one it navigated a year ago.
ESPN’s post-Finals power ranking had the Suns down at No. 21 in the league, a drop from No. 15 before that. Another ESPN ranking on July 24 barely nudged them upward, moving Phoenix to No. 20.
The teams around them are making noise, too. The Utah Jazz, who finished last in the conference, added Jaren Jackson Jr. in a trade and landed Kansas star Darryn Peterson with the No. 2 pick.
The Portland Trail Blazers, who beat the Suns in the Play-In Tournament behind a strong showing from Deni Avdija, are getting Damian Lillard back from injury and also added Ja Morant via trade. If either player looks like himself again, Portland could be climbing as well.
Dallas is set to get healthier with Kyrie Irving running the point next to Rookie of the Year winner Cooper Flagg. And the Spurs, Thunder, Nuggets, Lakers, Rockets and Timberwolves all look better than the Suns until proven otherwise.
Phoenix had a feel-good season in 2025-26, but the league rarely rewards good feelings for long. There’s no guarantee the Suns fall back, but 2026-27 will tell a lot about whether Ott’s group can beat expectations again or whether last year was just a one-year burst.
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Suns Just Showed How They Want To Build Around Booker
The Suns have been busy reinforcing the roster around Devin Booker, and their latest move says plenty about the direction they want to take. Phoenix agreed to a new deal with veteran forward Dillon Brooks, another sign the front office is leaning into continuity after adding other players on multiyear contracts and bringing in fresh talent to stabilize the group.
Brooks gives the Suns the kind of edge and experience they have clearly valued as they reshape the roster. He was already under contract for one more season, but Phoenix moved early to keep him in place for the long run, a decision that fits the teams broader push to build a more settled core around Booker rather than keep cycling through short-term fixes. [Read more 🡒]
Suns Send A Clear Message With Dillon Brooks Commitment
The Suns have spent the offseason making one thing clear: they are not treating last years roster as a temporary fix. Dillon Brooks is the latest example, with Phoenix agreeing to a three-year, $73 million extension that keeps the forward in place through the 2029-30 season. Since arriving in a trade last July, Brooks has become part of a broader push by the Suns to add stability, after he had already carved out a reputation with the Grizzlies and Rockets.
For a team that has already handed out several multi-year deals and made more roster changes this summer, the commitment to Brooks fits the pattern. Phoenix is signaling that it wants more than short-term patchwork around its core, and it is willing to pay to keep players who match that direction. The next question is how far the Suns keep going as they continue shaping the roster around those longer commitments. [Read more 🡒]
Dillon Brooks Just Reinforced The Identity These Suns Want To Be
Dillon Brooks is sticking around in Phoenix, and the Suns made sure of it by locking up the forward with a three-year, $73 million extension that runs through the 2029-30 season. The deal is fully guaranteed and has no options, a clear sign the organization values the edge, toughness and edge-of-the-seat style Brooks has brought as he headed into the final year of his previous contract.
For a team trying to define what it wants to look like moving forward, this is a fairly loud statement about identity. Brooks will earn just over $22 million in the first year of the extension, and the length of the commitment suggests the Suns see him as more than just a useful piece for the moment. They see him as part of the tone they want setting nightly. [Read more 🡒]