PHOENIX -- The biggest swing factor for the Suns heading into 2026-27 is staring them right in the face: 3-point shooting.
That’s the cleanest answer for a team trying to make a new-look starting five work. Phoenix is lining up with four ball-dominant scorers in Devin Booker, Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks and Miles Bridges, and the challenge is obvious. They have to share touches, create enough playmaking and, just as importantly, keep the floor spaced.
ESPN’s Zach Kram identified Phoenix’s perimeter shooting as the stat most likely to decide how this season goes.
The numbers behind that concern are hard to ignore. Booker shot 33% from deep last season.
Green was at 31%. Brooks hit 34%.
Bridges finished at 33%. Oso Ighodaro went 0% on one attempt.
“The highest mark among that group is Brooks' 34%, which is still below league average. Meanwhile, Booker has been stuck at 33% for two seasons now, Green has never been above 35% in any season, and Bridges has exceeded that mark just once (in 2020-21)," Kram wrote.
He also pointed out that Collin Gillespie gives Phoenix a legitimate shooter off the bench, with a 40% mark last season, and that he could eventually need to crack the starting five to add more spacing. But the Suns also lost Grayson Allen and Royce O'Neale in the Bridges trade, and that could leave a real hole.
"The Suns were a surprising success story last season, but they might not have enough spacing to repeat in 2026-27."
That puts a lot on coach Jordan Ott and the way Phoenix builds its offense. If Ighodaro wins the starting job over Khaman Maluach, his elite basketball IQ could help generate cleaner looks for the group. But the broader issue remains the same: the Suns need more reliable shooting from the players expected to carry the load.
Even beyond the starters, the bench has a chance to matter in a big way. Gillespie is the clearest deep threat right now, while Luke Kennard arrives after leading the league in 3-point percentage last season.
Phoenix, though, will need more volume from him. Rasheer Fleming and Haywood Highsmith could also give the Suns useful 3-and-D production if they settle into their roles.
For this team, the 3-point line is not a side note. It’s the question. And everyone on the roster is going to have to answer it.
In Other News...
Devin Booker Trade Talk Says Everything About The Suns Right Now
Devin Booker trade chatter tends to say as much about the Suns present situation as it does about Bookers future, and this latest round is no exception. Yossi Gozlan floated the Clippers as a possible destination down the line, pointing to their need for an older star and the kind of win-now profile that Booker would obviously fit if the conversation ever got serious.
For Phoenix, though, the more important reality is that the noise does not line up with the teams stance or its leverage. Bookers contract is a difficult one to move in the abstract, but the Suns have no real incentive to engage unless a deal truly changes their outlook, and the Clippers do not appear to have the kind of package that would push Phoenix in that direction. So while Bookers name will keep surfacing whenever star-hunting teams come up, this particular rumor feels more like a reminder of how central he remains to the franchise than a sign that anything is close. [Read more 🡒]
Devin Booker Just Got A Reminder Of How The League Sees Him
Devin Bookers place in the leagues pecking order got a small but noticeable nudge this preseason, with ESPN slotting the Suns guard 20th in its player rankings. It is the kind of reminder that can feel louder than the move itself, especially for a player who has long been judged not just on scoring, but on how he carries a team that now leans on him more heavily than it did a year ago.
Bookers profile last season came with more on his plate after the exits of Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal and Chris Paul, and ESPNs evaluation folded in both his changing responsibilities and the dip in his efficiency. There is still the familiar sense of Booker as the Suns benchmark star, but the ranking conversation also reflects the reality that the league is weighing production, context and projection all at once, leaving his standing as much a talking point as a verdict. [Read more 🡒]
Suns Training Camp Just Put Several Rotation Spots In Play
Training camp is already shaping up as a real battleground for the Suns, with several players entering the mix for rotation minutes before the season even gets going. Jalen Green is expected to have a role, but nothing about his place feels locked in yet, and Jamaree Bouyea is among the players trying to make enough noise to carve out a spot on a crowded roster.
Ryan Dunn is also in the middle of that fight, getting a chance to show what he can do as Phoenix sorts through its options. The camp competition has only become more interesting because the Suns are dealing with a fresh opening that could shift how the frontcourt is managed, and that gives Dunn a path to playing time if he can take advantage of it. [Read more 🡒]