The Suns spent the offseason reshaping the roster, and that usually means some minutes get squeezed while others open up fast. For three Phoenix players, the path points the other way: more trust, more responsibility, and more time on the floor.
Oso Ighodaro looks like one of the clearest winners. The third-year big man showed late last season that he was ready for a larger role, and Phoenix’s frontcourt setup all but invites it.
Mark Williams is back on an extension, but there’s no expectation he’ll be out there for all 82 games. That leaves room for Khaman Maluach to potentially move into the starting lineup if he’s ready, and if he isn’t, Ighodaro is the one who can slide in.
Even beyond that insurance role, Ighodaro has value because he can do a little bit of everything across the front line. He can start at center, come off the bench, and even spend time at forward. His workload has climbed quickly already - from 17 minutes per game as a rookie to 22 last season - and another jump feels baked in.
Miles Bridges is a more interesting case, but the opportunity is there. Phoenix brought him in to play starting power forward, and that alone should keep his minutes strong.
He averaged 31 minutes a night last season with the Charlotte Hornets, roughly the same as the year before, and he was up at 37 the season before that. He probably won’t get back to that number in Phoenix, but on a team aiming to win more than 45 games, he should still be heavily involved.
There’s also the contract angle. Bridges is looking for an extension, and if he delivers - especially on the boards, where the Suns need more from him - he could end up near the top of the team in minutes per game, trailing only Devin Booker. Phoenix did not send out two players and an unprotected first in 2033 to leave him on the sidelines.
Collin Gillespie is the other player positioned to gain ground, and his role may become obvious once Jordan Ott decides the backcourt pairing of Jalen Green and Booker can’t be played together all the time. Gillespie was brought back on a four-year, $48 million deal for exactly this kind of job: step into the starting lineup when needed and handle the point.
He’s not without questions, especially on defense, and his ceiling as a starter looks more league-average than anything else. But he keeps earning more responsibility in The Valley.
He started on a two-way deal before landing this contract, and now he’s in line to take some of the playmaking load off Booker and set up the offense around him. Green doesn’t bring the same thing, which is why Gillespie should clear the 28.5 minutes per game he logged last season.
In Other News...
Former Suns Finals Sparkplug May Be Drifting Out Of Phoenix Plans
With training camps getting closer, Cameron Payne still sits unsigned, and the former Suns sparkplug is looking at an uncertain NBA market after last playing for the Philadelphia 76ers. Phoenixs current backcourt picture makes a reunion increasingly unlikely, especially with the team choosing to evaluate younger guards and see who can carve out a larger role before the season begins.
Collin Gillespie, Jordan Goodwin and Jamaree Bouyea are all in the mix for those minutes, giving the Suns a different kind of guard competition than the one Payne would step into. For a player who once provided energy and playoff-shotmaking for Phoenix, the door does not appear completely shut around the league, but the path back to the Suns is getting harder to see. [Read more 🡒]
Luke Kennard Could Force A Real Suns Lineup Decision
Luke Kennards arrival gives the Suns something they have been short on around the edges of the roster: another shooter who can also keep the ball moving. If his passing gains carry over, he could become more than a specialist, because Phoenix has been looking for cleaner spacing and a little more playmaking to support the scoring around Jalen Green, Miles Bridges and Dillon Brooks.
The tricky part is that Kennards value may not be limited to spot minutes. His defensive limitations are still part of the equation, but the offensive fit is good enough to make the Suns think harder about how they want their best five arranged. At some point, that kind of balance can turn a bench addition into a lineup decision, and Phoenix may have to decide how much creation it wants on the floor without giving up too much defense. [Read more 🡒]
Suns Rotation Squeeze Puts Three Players In A Tough Spot
The Suns rotation picture is getting tighter, and the pressure is starting to show on a few familiar names. With new roster additions and more competition around the lineup, Ryan Dunn, Jamaree Bouyea and Jalen Green are all in line to see less floor time than they did before, which is never a comfortable place for players trying to carve out a steady role.
For Dunn, the squeeze goes beyond simply losing minutes, because his place in the long-term plan suddenly looks less secure as the season unfolds. Bouyea is expected to have a smaller part to play than he did a year ago, and Green, whose usage is already headed in the wrong direction, could wind up sliding even further down the pecking order if the minutes keep shrinking. [Read more 🡒]