The Suns may be headed toward another playoff push next season, but Ryan Dunn does not look like part of the long-term picture in Phoenix.
For a player entering his third season, Dunn has barely registered in the conversation about who will help Devin Booker get back to the postseason. That silence says plenty. The forward has not made the kind of leap the Suns needed, and the expectation here is that he will be moved before the trade deadline in 2027.
From Phoenix’s side, the logic is pretty clear. A second-round pick still might be on the table for Dunn, but that return gets less realistic the longer he goes without becoming a reliable shooter or an elite defender. Right now, he has not done enough in either area to make the Suns hold on.
There is also a simple roster reality working against him. Phoenix brought in Miles Bridges, added Dillon Brooks, and now has other young names pushing for minutes. Jamaree Bouyea has opened some eyes with an unexpected role in The Valley, sophomore center Khaman Maluach appears set for more time, and Oso Ighodaro already carved out the kind of place Dunn still has not found.
That makes Dunn’s situation even tougher, because he does not have the offensive game to force his way into the league’s real 3-and-D conversation. The Suns are trying to win, and that leaves little room for a developmental wait-and-see approach.
The frustrating part is that Dunn seems like the sort of player head coach Jordan Ott would want on his bench. He fits the idea of a coach’s player. But fit alone is not enough when the team is clearly moving in a different direction.
The arrival of Koa Peat may have sealed it. Even now, Peat looks more like an Aaron Gordon type, while Dunn has not become the next Mikal Bridges, even for 10 minutes a night.
Dunn’s Summer League photography initiative was a nice touch, and by all accounts he sounds like a good teammate and a good guy. Still, the basketball side of this has not worked, and both sides may be better off with a fresh start.
The next stop could give Dunn the chance to prove he belongs as a rotation player. If he stays buried on the bench in Phoenix next season, that path only gets harder.
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Miles Bridges Just Validated What Suns Fans Knew About This Team
After trading Kevin Durant in the 2025 offseason, the Suns still found a way to make the playoffs, with Devin Booker carrying the offense and Dillon Brooks and Jalen Green giving Phoenix real support around him. The run ended quickly with a first-round sweep by the defending champions, but the season still offered a clearer picture of a team that did not fall apart the way plenty of outsiders expected.
Miles Bridges has now added an outside voice to that internal belief, and his view of Phoenix is part of what makes the next chapter interesting. He has been impressed enough by what he has seen to sound genuinely optimistic about joining the group for 2026-27, a sign that the Suns' identity may be stronger than the post-Durant skepticism suggested. [Read more 🡒]
Brian Gregory Is Already Changing The Suns Conversation
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Some of those decisions already look encouraging, including the draft call on Rasheer Fleming and the move to bring in Khaman Maluach as part of the Durant deal. The Suns also have more questions still hanging over the roster mix, especially with the Miles Bridges trade still waiting for a clear verdict, but Gregory has already changed the tone around Phoenix by making the front office feel more proactive than reactive. [Read more 🡒]
Brian Gregory Just Put Massive Pressure On The Suns With Bridges
Miles Bridges met the media as a new Suns player, and the arrival came with the kind of language that immediately raises the stakes. General manager Brian Gregory framed Bridges as a fit for what Phoenix wants to be, a move that signals the front office is not treating this as a simple talent grab but as a piece meant to slide into a much bigger plan.
The problem with declaring a perfect fit in July is that the roster still has to prove it on the floor. Bridges brings a different look to a group that already has players competing for the same minutes, and the way he meshes with the current frontcourt and the rest of the rotation will shape whether this feels like a clean upgrade or the start of a more complicated adjustment for Phoenix. [Read more 🡒]