The Phoenix Suns have plenty of moving parts in camp, and the preseason is already doing what it always does: forcing a long look at the edges of the roster while Jordan Ott tries to sort out who fits where. The core is mostly back, but the minutes picture is wide open enough that every possession matters for the guys fighting to stick.
Before the preseason opener in Detroit, three names stood out as the ones worth tracking most closely over the rest of the exhibition slate: Pat Spencer, Haywood Highsmith and Ryan Dunn.
Spencer came out of the first preseason game with the lightest workload on the team, logging just 7 minutes. He didn’t do much with them, either, taking only two shots, making one of two free throws and finishing with 1 point.
That said, his spot on a two-way contract changes the lens. In a fully healthy world, he probably isn’t in line for real rotation minutes.
But that’s not how a season works. Injuries happen, and when they do, Spencer is the kind of player who is expected to be ready.
Highsmith is a little more complicated. He looked rusty in his preseason debut, and the numbers showed it: 5 turnovers in 16 minutes.
Still, there were a few positives to pull from it. He grabbed 4 rebounds and knocked down his only shot attempt.
The bigger picture here is the roster fight, which appears to be centered on him and Jamaree Bouyea for the final spot. At this stage, everything suggests those two are the ones in the real battle unless an injury changes the picture.
Highsmith’s experience and current roster flexibility could give him the edge, but the Suns still have time to sort that out.
Then there’s Dunn, who is easy to overlook after a season that didn’t deliver the offensive leap plenty were hoping for. One rough preseason opener won’t settle anything, especially with lineups and rotations still in flux, but the pressure is real.
The sample size is getting large enough now that the conversation shifts from patience to proof. Dunn is facing competition for minutes from Rasheer Fleming and Koa Peat, and that makes his preseason run one of the more interesting things to watch.
The work ethic has been praised, but that alone won’t earn him time. He has to produce.
Bouyea, meanwhile, is still very much in the mix. He should continue getting plenty of preseason minutes as Phoenix weighs whether he or Highsmith is the better fit. From a roster-flexibility and positional-need standpoint, Highsmith seems to have the upper hand for now, but there’s still a lot of basketball left before anything is decided.
In Other News...
Suns Frontcourt Battle Is Putting Real Pressure On Oso Ighodaro
The Suns leaned into a three-guard look in preseason against the Detroit Pistons, but the bigger storyline sat in the frontcourt, where Oso Ighodaro got the start and Khaman Maluach continued making his case for a larger role. For a team still sorting out its rotation, that kind of competition matters, especially when the center spot can shape both the defense and the spacing around Phoenixs guards.
Maluach showed the kind of defensive presence that can change a coachs thinking, and he even flashed a bit more on offense with a three-point attempt. Nothing has been decided yet, and the Suns are not tipping their hand on any roster change, but the pressure is real for Ighodaro if Maluach keeps turning preseason minutes into evidence that he belongs in the starting conversation. [Read more 🡒]
Suns Fans Get An Early Look At A Rotation Battle Taking Shape
The early preseason minutes already offered a clue about how Jordan Ott wants to sort through the Suns frontcourt, and the next test comes against Chicago after the loss to Detroit. Phoenix is still in the stage where lineup choices matter more for what they reveal than for what they decide, and the staff is using these exhibition games to get a better read on fit, rhythm and chemistry.
Ott is keeping the same starting group in place for a second straight game, a sign that the battle up front is far from settled even as roles begin to take shape. The plan also calls for the starters to log more time against the Bulls, giving the Suns a longer look at how the group functions together before the rotation starts to tighten. [Read more 🡒]
John Collins Already Brought An Edge Pistons Fans Will Notice
The Suns preseason opener against Detroit had a little more bite than most October tuneups, thanks to a physical sequence between Dillon Brooks and John Collins that quickly turned into the kind of early-game skirmish both sides noticed. Brooks was whistled for a technical foul while Collins got hit with a flagrant 1, a brief but meaningful reminder that even in a preseason setting, neither player was interested in easing into the night.
Brooks later disputed the technical, while Collins said he was ready to compete physically. It was the sort of moment that can set a tone for a game, or even a longer stretch of the season, though the league would not treat Brooks preseason technicals as part of any regular-season suspension picture. For Detroit fans watching Collins in his new environment, the edge was the headline. [Read more 🡒]