Devin Booker is still the Suns’ centerpiece, still the player everything in Phoenix runs through. At 29, he’s in the middle of his prime and trying to keep this team competitive. But if the Suns are going to get back to the playoffs, Booker can’t carry the load alone.
The real pressure now sits on Dillon Brooks and Jalen Green.
Phoenix can talk all it wants about Miles Bridges helping the offense or Khaman Maluach’s progress at Summer League, but the Suns need more scoring from their second- and third-best players next season. That’s the path back to relevance. And it starts with Brooks and Green doing more than just fitting in.
Brooks already gave Phoenix plenty. He posted a career-high 20.2 points per game, defended at an elite level at times and was the best player in a series against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
That’s a strong season by any standard. So asking for another leap feels like a big ask.
Still, if he can push even a little higher and spend stretches in that All-Star conversation he hovered around for parts of last season, it changes the shape of the Suns’ offense. It gives Booker relief.
It gives Phoenix another scorer to lean on when Booker sits. And in the playoffs, it would give the Suns a second weapon, just like Brooks unexpectedly did against the Thunder.
Green is the more obvious swing piece. This needs to be the year he becomes a steady 20-point threat every night. The Suns are asking less of him on the defensive end, and with Koa Peat joining Maluach, the team should, in theory, be sturdier on that side of the floor anyway.
What Booker needs most from Green is simple: availability and production. The fit next to Booker has looked awkward, which is why head coach Jordan Ott needs Green to handle more of the offense alongside Brooks, the same way Booker already does.
Phoenix has made it clear it is still all-in on trying to win now. That means the improvement has to come from the players already in the building. For the Suns, the cleanest answer is also the most obvious one: get more from the two best players after Booker, the pair acquired in the Kevin Durant deal.
In Other News...
Suns Offseason Progress Came With A Tradeoff Fans Will Feel
Phoenixs offseason brought a little more stability than splash, with Collin Gillespie, Mark Williams and Jordan Goodwin all back in the fold and Koa Peat, Miles Bridges and Luke Kennard joining the mix. ESPN rewarded that work by nudging the Suns up in its latest NBA power rankings, a small but meaningful bump that reflects both last seasons competitiveness and the front offices effort to keep the roster from slipping further.
Miles Bridges is the headliner among the newcomers, and the Suns are also hoping for a healthier version of Jalen Green after a hamstring issue wrecked his first season in Phoenix. Even so, the roster still has some familiar questions hanging over it, especially when it comes to balance and the kind of guard play that can steady a team over the long haul. [Read more 🡒]
Suns Already Facing Big Miles Bridges Question After Bold Trade
Miles Bridges is already giving the Suns a new kind of offseason dilemma, because the trade that brought him over from Charlotte looks like more than a one-year rental. Phoenix moved to add the power forward with an eye on what comes next, and league chatter has already turned to whether the team wants to keep him around long term after this upcoming season. General manager Brian Gregory has publicly highlighted Bridges competitiveness and energy, while Bridges has said his focus is on helping the Suns chase a championship.
The contract situation is what makes this so interesting for Phoenix. Bridges is on an expiring deal, which means the Suns have to decide quickly whether this is just a bold swing for immediate help or the start of a deeper commitment. After sending Royce O'Neale, Grayson Allen, and draft-pick swaps to Charlotte, the front office has made clear it sees real value here, and the next step will tell the story of how far it wants to go. [Read more 🡒]
Jordan Ott Looks Like The Coach The Suns Desperately Needed
Jordan Otts first season in Phoenix gave the Suns something they had been missing for a while: stability with a clear identity. After a summer of low expectations, the team pushed its way back into the playoffs and did it with a top 10 defense, while also finding ways to fold new pieces into the rotation. Dillon Brooks and Mark Williams were among the additions that had to be absorbed on the fly, and Otts ability to keep the group organized through the inevitable bumps was a big part of why the season did not go sideways.
The bigger reason the year matters for Phoenix is that Ott appears to fit the structure above him as much as the roster around him. Brian Gregory and Mat Ishbia have been looking for a coach who can turn a perceived weakness into a strength, and Otts first run suggested that might be exactly what they found. The next test is whether that same approach holds when the roster changes again, especially with the Miles Bridges acquisition looming as the kind of move that can reshape the conversation fast. [Read more 🡒]