Devin Booker remains the center of the Suns’ plan, no matter how much the roster has changed around him.
Phoenix spent the offseason reshaping pieces of the rotation, but the basic assignment did not move. The Suns re-signed Collin Gillespie, Jordan Goodwin and Mark Williams, brought in free-agent sharpshooter Luke Kennard and traded for forward Miles Bridges.
At the same time, they moved on from Grayson Allen and Royce O’Neale, two of the team’s steadier 3-point threats from last season. The organization is also counting on a healthier year from Jalen Green.
Even with all of that turnover, Booker is still the one expected to drive the offense and carry the playmaking load next season. The Arizona Republic’s Duane Rankin noted that Booker, who has won a playoff game since 2023, will need to lead the Suns toward a better 2026/27 campaign.
Bridges, meanwhile, is back in the news for off-court reasons. He and his ex-girlfriend are once again accusing each other of wrongdoing.
Mychelle Johnson said Bridges filed criminal charges against her after she threw water on him in an effort to harass her and get her arrested so she would be taken away from their children. Johnson also claimed Bridges tried to run her over with a golf cart during a custody exchange, which she says prompted the water-throwing incident, TMZ reports.
Earlier this year, Bridges was granted a temporary restraining order against Johnson after saying she cyberstalked him and showed up at one of his games in an attempt to damage his car. Johnson denied those allegations.
Bridges missed the 2022/23 season and then served a 10-game suspension the following year after domestic violence charges.
On the court, Khaman Maluach has opened Summer League looking like a player ready to make noise. The second-year big man put up 19 points and 11 rebounds in Phoenix’s opener against Portland, then left early in the fourth quarter because of leg cramps.
“They didn’t really kick in until the fourth quarter,” Maluach told Rankin. “That’s when I started feeling the cramps, but I just got to figure it out.
Do a better job of hydrating.” He followed that with another double-double on Sunday, finishing with 15 points and 15 rebounds.
Rookie Koa Peat is also trying to carve out a role as a point forward. The late first-round pick from Arizona started slowly in his Las Vegas Summer League debut, but he found his rhythm after halftime.
Peat scored 13 of his 17 points in the second half, shot 4-of-5 in that stretch, and showed the downhill handles and passing feel that make him intriguing. Rankin also noted that he made an impact at both ends during the second half.
In Other News...
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 🡒]
Suns May Have Made Their Smartest Aaron Gordon Decision Yet
Phoenix once spent time as a possible landing spot for Aaron Gordon, a fit that made sense for a team looking for a rugged forward who could defend, finish and fit alongside star talent. Instead, the Suns went another direction, adding Miles Bridges and then using the draft to bring in Koa Peat, a rookie whose early Summer League play has already started to turn heads because of how closely his game resembles the kind of versatile forward Phoenix once had in mind.
Peats encouraging start gives the Suns something more interesting than a simple fallback plan. With Dillon Brooks and Bridges helping the club stay competitive now, Phoenix also appears to be layering in younger talent for what comes next, and that is where the Peat storyline gets intriguing. If his early flashes keep building, the Suns may have found a version of the Gordon idea without having to pay the price a trade for the veteran would have demanded. [Read more 🡒]