The Phoenix Suns have a chance to find out just how far Dillon Brooks can go, and that’s a door the Houston Rockets never really wanted to open.
Devin Booker remains the face of the franchise, the most important player on the roster without question. But the bigger question inside Phoenix is who comes next.
Right now, Brooks looks like the clearest answer. With no obvious young star breaking through and Jalen Green dealing with injuries in his first season in The Valley, Brooks has a real path to becoming the team’s No. 2 option.
That creates a strange but intriguing setup for the Suns. They can lean into Brooks more often and see what happens.
For anyone uneasy about that idea, there isn’t an obvious alternative sitting there. Phoenix has already moved out everything of value it was willing to trade, so any real improvement has to come from the players already in the building.
Brooks, at 30, is in his prime and coming off a season in which he averaged over 20 points per game while also giving opponents problems on both ends. He can score, he can defend, and he can punish teams from 3-point range. That’s the profile of a player who deserves a bigger role, even if it comes with some risk.
There’s also a longer-term angle here. All signs point to Brooks getting extended by the franchise, which would make sense for both sides.
And if Phoenix is going to keep him around, why not use this stretch to see whether he can grow into something even more? By 2026-27, the Suns could have a much clearer answer on whether Brooks has All-Star potential.
The Suns are not in the same place as the Golden State Warriors, who are sliding. Phoenix made the playoffs last year, so this isn’t a team playing with house money. Still, the reality is that Booker needs help, and Brooks may be the best internal option to give it to him.
A step backward would not help keep Booker engaged in The Valley. But a leap from Brooks could change the conversation quickly. Outside of a Miles Bridges jump that few see coming - and plenty don’t even want on the roster - this may be the only realistic route to getting better than a 45-win team.
It’s easy to see why the Rockets, and even the Memphis Grizzlies before them, were cautious about making Brooks the focal point night after night. He was never supposed to be the best player they got in the Kevin Durant trade.
But Phoenix might end up showing that both teams missed something. Brooks already proved last season that he can handle the moment. Give him more freedom, and the Suns may learn just how high his ceiling really goes.
In Other News...
Suns Are Suddenly Asking Much More From A Fan Favorite
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The challenge is that the cushion around him looks thinner now. Grayson Allen is gone, and Luke Kennard is not expected to provide the same secondary playmaking or defensive support, which means Gillespie may have to shoulder more of the load when the starters sit. For a player who has already been targeted at times because of his size, the question is whether the Suns are asking him to do a little more, or a lot more, than his game can comfortably absorb. [Read more 🡒]
One Former Suns Problem Still Hasnt Gone Away
The Suns spent the offseason trying to stabilize the edges of the roster, keeping Collin Gillespie, Mark Williams and Jordan Goodwin while adding Luke Kennard and Pat Spencer. Even with those moves, the market still has a familiar Suns theme hanging around it, because several former Phoenix players remain unsigned as teams fill out their own camps and training rosters.
Among the names still out there are Amir Coffey, Isaiah Livers, Bismack Biyombo, Mason Plumlee, Drew Eubanks and TyTy Washington, which gives the front office a chance to monitor familiar options if injuries or roster churn create openings. Nick Richards is also still available after being traded during the season, leaving Phoenix with a pool of old faces to watch even as the organization keeps moving forward. [Read more 🡒]
Suns Cannot Let Devin Booker Fall Into Stephen Currys Trap
The Suns have spent enough time living off Devin Bookers brilliance to know the danger of assuming the window stays open on its own. Phoenix still has work to do before it can talk seriously about a title run, and the front office cannot afford to treat Bookers prime like a background detail while the roster around him drifts into place.
Golden State is a useful cautionary tale here, with the Warriors appearing more focused on what comes after Stephen Curry than on squeezing every last win out of the present. Phoenix should be doing the opposite around Booker, pressing to improve the roster now rather than waiting for the moment when the timeline feels less urgent and the path back to contention gets even harder to find. [Read more 🡒]