The Suns’ rocky start to the 2026-27 season has put plenty of names under the microscope, but Collin Gillespie has mostly avoided the harshest heat. That’s partly because the problem isn’t just him. Phoenix has put him in a spot that doesn’t suit what he does best, and his dip in production reflects that.
Through 10 games, Gillespie is putting up 7.2 points and 4.4 assists per night. His scoring has dropped by nearly five points from last season, and the biggest reason is his shooting.
He went from hitting 40.1 percent of his 3s on 7.2 attempts a game to 31.7 percent on six tries a night. His minutes have also slipped, falling from 28.5 to 24.2.
That’s a rough return for a 27-year-old who signed a four-year, $48 million deal to stay in Phoenix this offseason. But the numbers tell a bigger story than just a cold stretch. The roster around him no longer seems built to bring out his strengths, and that’s on the Suns as much as it is on Gillespie.
The clearest fix would be a move into the starting lineup, where his impact could be amplified. He’s still doing useful things when he’s on the floor, and the best-plus-minus lineups show that. But Phoenix hasn’t made that move, and it doesn’t appear Coach Jordan Ott is ready to do it now.
Part of the issue is who Gillespie is sharing the court with. Players like Dillon Brooks and Miles Bridges don’t do much to open space for him, and even Ryan Dunn and Khaman Maluach - who have been part of the Suns’ best plus-minus groups - don’t exactly maximize what an elite passer and shooter like Gillespie can offer.
Some fans hoped he could simply step in as the replacement for the scorching Grayson Allen, but that was never a clean fit. Gillespie’s lack of versatility on defense made that a tough sell from the start. The better role for him would be in place of Jalen Green in the starting five, but that doesn’t look like a change Ott is ready to make.
Instead, Gillespie is coming off the bench and being asked to steady a rotation that hasn’t been balanced. That’s not the best use of his game.
There’s also a bigger team issue hanging over all of this: the Suns are one of the five worst defenses in the league. That matters for Gillespie, because he’s at his best when he has bigger defenders around him taking on elite scorers while he pesters opposing point guards.
Last season, Phoenix was a nightmare to face every night, and Gillespie fit that identity perfectly. Brooks even gave him the nickname “Villain Jr.”
Right now, though, the Suns don’t look like they have the personnel to get back to that level. Green and Bridges aren’t built to play that way every night, and Devin Booker can only cover so much.
Gillespie is still the right player to have brought back. Phoenix just changed the pieces around him, and he hasn’t found the right way to fit them yet.
The quicker that changes, the quicker the Suns have a chance to get moving in the right direction.
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