The Suns are about to make a pretty unusual call: move a player who started most of last season to the bench, and do it without treating it like a demotion.
That player is Collin Gillespie, who is now projected to be Phoenix’s first guard off the bench after starting 70% of the team’s games last season. His spot in the opening lineup is going to Jalen Green, who joins Devin Booker in the backcourt. And even with that change, the Suns may still be able to lean on Gillespie like a starter.
Phoenix’s 2025-26 group does not have the same top-end starting power the 2023-24 Warriors had when Steve Kerr said his team had “six starters” after the Chris Paul trade. But the Suns do have a case for depth in the same spirit, because one of the biggest reasons they outperformed expectations last year is now headed to a reserve role.
Gillespie’s season was built on real responsibility. With Green out for most of the year, he handled plenty of starting-guard duties next to Booker, giving Phoenix spacing and another ballhandler.
He also posted career highs in almost every statistical category. Some of his best work came in the starting five: 28 points and eight 3-pointers against the Lakers, 30 points and a double-double against the Trail Blazers, and 25 points against the Wizards.
The team’s record with him in the lineup as a starter was 30-28, while Phoenix went 15-9 when he didn’t start. The Suns also had a better winning percentage when Gillespie started than when Green did, and their roughest stretch of the season came during Green’s starts.
That said, Green has the stronger résumé as a full-time starter. He averaged at least 17 points in four straight seasons, and his role with the 2024-25 Houston Rockets - who finished second in the Western Conference with 52 wins - only adds to the case that he belongs in the first unit. His efficiency is still an issue, but his scoring track record and his experience helping teams grow as a starter make him the fit beside Booker.
Gillespie’s finish to last season was far less tidy. Over his final 15 regular-season games, he averaged 7.7 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 3.3 assists while shooting 34.1/28.1/85.7. Still, that late slump has to be weighed against the full season, especially with the injuries Phoenix was managing and the challenge of putting Dillon Brooks and Booker back into the starting lineup.
So the real question isn’t whether Gillespie can help. The Suns already know he can play major minutes and help win games. The question is whether last season showed enough to convince them he can do that every night as a true starter, instead of only when the roster demands it.
In Other News...
Devin Booker Trade Talk Says Everything About The Suns Right Now
Devin Booker trade chatter tends to say as much about the Suns present situation as it does about Bookers future, and this latest round is no exception. Yossi Gozlan floated the Clippers as a possible destination down the line, pointing to their need for an older star and the kind of win-now profile that Booker would obviously fit if the conversation ever got serious.
For Phoenix, though, the more important reality is that the noise does not line up with the teams stance or its leverage. Bookers contract is a difficult one to move in the abstract, but the Suns have no real incentive to engage unless a deal truly changes their outlook, and the Clippers do not appear to have the kind of package that would push Phoenix in that direction. So while Bookers name will keep surfacing whenever star-hunting teams come up, this particular rumor feels more like a reminder of how central he remains to the franchise than a sign that anything is close. [Read more 🡒]
Devin Booker Just Got A Reminder Of How The League Sees Him
Devin Bookers place in the leagues pecking order got a small but noticeable nudge this preseason, with ESPN slotting the Suns guard 20th in its player rankings. It is the kind of reminder that can feel louder than the move itself, especially for a player who has long been judged not just on scoring, but on how he carries a team that now leans on him more heavily than it did a year ago.
Bookers profile last season came with more on his plate after the exits of Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal and Chris Paul, and ESPNs evaluation folded in both his changing responsibilities and the dip in his efficiency. There is still the familiar sense of Booker as the Suns benchmark star, but the ranking conversation also reflects the reality that the league is weighing production, context and projection all at once, leaving his standing as much a talking point as a verdict. [Read more 🡒]
Suns Training Camp Just Put Several Rotation Spots In Play
Training camp is already shaping up as a real battleground for the Suns, with several players entering the mix for rotation minutes before the season even gets going. Jalen Green is expected to have a role, but nothing about his place feels locked in yet, and Jamaree Bouyea is among the players trying to make enough noise to carve out a spot on a crowded roster.
Ryan Dunn is also in the middle of that fight, getting a chance to show what he can do as Phoenix sorts through its options. The camp competition has only become more interesting because the Suns are dealing with a fresh opening that could shift how the frontcourt is managed, and that gives Dunn a path to playing time if he can take advantage of it. [Read more 🡒]