For a moment after Phoenix’s season ended, the Suns were tied to a trade for Aaron Gordon of the Denver Nuggets. That chatter faded fast once the franchise already had Dillon Brooks on the roster, and the idea gave way to the disappointing overpay for Miles Bridges.
Now, after just a couple of Summer League games, Phoenix looks like it may have found its own version of Gordon without ever making the deal. Rookie Koa Peat has flashed the same kind of energy and aggression in the paint that Gordon brings when he’s at his best.
Peat is more than a decade younger than Gordon, which makes the comparison even more appealing for the Suns. He is also cheaper and healthier. Of course, Summer League can fool people plenty of times, and a strong showing or two does not guarantee anything once the games count.
Still, the fit is obvious. Phoenix needs a forward who can battle inside and use strength to overpower bigger bodies, the same kind of job Gordon handles for Denver.
Peat’s ability to do that, while also being someone who should have no issue coming off the bench, gives the Suns another useful piece. And unlike a trade, it cost them nothing to bring him in.
That matters for a front office that was willing to part with an unprotected first in 2033 for Bridges. There is no telling what it might have been talked into surrendering to land Gordon.
The Suns also have to keep showing Devin Booker that they want to win now. That is part of why Brooks is expected to be extended, and why Bridges - whether you want to admit it or not - and Jalen Green are in The Valley to win games now.
At the same time, the team is clearly keeping one eye on what comes after Booker. Peat, Rasheer Fleming, Khaman Maluach and even Oso Ighodaro are all on a timeline that points toward the end of this decade.
So Phoenix faced a simple choice: chase a proven veteran right now, or draft a younger version and let him grow into the role later. The Suns went with the long game, and early signs suggest it may already be working out - at a much lower cost.
In Other News...
Suns Offseason Leaves One Huge Question Hanging Over Devin Booker
The Suns spent the offseason trying to steady a roster that has been reshaped around Devin Booker, re-signing Collin Gillespie, Jordan Goodwin and Mark Williams while bringing in Luke Kennard and swinging the trade for Miles Bridges. Phoenix also moved on from Grayson Allen and Royce ONeale, part of a wider reset that still leaves Booker as the focal point of everything the team wants to do on offense and in the half court.
What makes the picture more complicated is that the supporting cast around him is still very much in flux. Bridges arrives with off-court baggage that will keep attention on him for reasons the Suns would rather avoid, while the summer offered a glimpse of possible internal help from Khaman Maluach and Koa Peat. If either young player can grow into a real rotation piece, it would ease some pressure, but for now Phoenix is still waiting to see whether the offseason actually solved enough around its star. [Read more 🡒]
Two Young Suns Are Already Forcing An Uncomfortable Rotation Question
Rasheer Fleming and Koa Peat have spent Summer League making the kind of impression that can complicate a coachs depth chart before the real games even begin. Fleming has flashed the defensive presence and scoring upside that make him look more than like a developmental flier, while Peat has brought the kind of rebounding and relentless energy that tends to stick with decision-makers long after July ends.
For the Suns, the bigger question is not whether either young player has looked good in a summer setting, but how that translates once the rotation tightens and the competition changes. Fleming and Peat have both put themselves in the conversation for more regular-season minutes, and even if Summer League is an imperfect measuring stick, their play has at least created an uncomfortable kind of pressure on a roster that still has established names ahead of them. [Read more 🡒]