The Phoenix Suns didn’t just lose to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday. They got a pretty clear answer on one of their stopgap lineup experiments.
With Oso Ighodaro sidelined again, head coach Jordan Ott turned to Miles Bridges as a small-ball five. It didn’t work. The Thunder’s size overwhelmed Phoenix, and Bridges’ stint in the middle only underlined how much the Suns need a different solution if they want to keep using a smaller look.
That’s where Ryan Dunn comes in.
Dunn is the Suns’ best bet for that kind of role right now, even if he doesn’t fit the typical profile of a center. He wants the challenge, he brings more defensive intent than Bridges, and his length gives Phoenix a better chance to bother opponents around the rim and on the perimeter.
There’s a reason the Suns have held onto him despite bringing in veterans Duop Reath and Pat Spencer on two-way contracts and adding rookie Koa Peat to the mix. Even after not making a big leap in his first two seasons, Dunn has kept himself in the conversation. His preseason play helped, and Mark Williams’ injury earlier opened another door for him.
The offensive side is still the sticking point. Dunn is not going to be a big scorer, and that has to be part of the equation.
But after Devin Booker said again that he needs to be more aggressive following the loss to the Thunder, and with Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks each capable of giving Phoenix 20 points a night, the Suns don’t need Dunn to carry an offense. They just need him to space the floor enough to make the rest work.
What Phoenix cannot afford is another night like Monday, where a bigger opponent just bullied its way inside. Dunn may still get moved around based on matchup and need, and that’s the nature of a jack-of-all-trades player.
It may not come with a huge payday. It may never make him a full-time starter.
But it does give him a lane.
And for the Suns, that lane looks a lot more realistic than asking Bridges to handle the middle again.
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Suns Suddenly Have Real Trade Leverage With West Contender
Oklahoma Citys 4-0 start has done little to ease the strain of losing Jalen Williams and Cason Wallace for the long haul, and that reality has quietly created an opening for Phoenix. The Thunder have the kind of depth and ambition that usually keeps them in the market for help, and from the Suns point of view, that makes a couple of their rotation pieces suddenly look more valuable than they did a week ago.
Ryan Dunn and Jordan Goodwin fit the sort of profile a contender can talk itself into when injuries start to squeeze the margins, especially if Oklahoma City wants to patch specific holes without reshaping its core. For Phoenix, the bigger point is not that a deal is close, but that a team with clear needs and an obvious timeline has given the Suns real leverage if those conversations keep moving. [Read more 🡒]
Suns Are Already Wasting Devin Bookers Best Work
Through three games, the Suns have already leaned hard on Devin Bookers scoring to keep themselves afloat, and that has become its own early-season storyline in Phoenix. At 1-2, the bigger issue is not Bookers output, but how often the team seems to be asking him to cover for a roster and rotation that do not always make his job easier.
The criticism around the Suns has quickly turned toward roster construction and coaching choices, with outside voices pointing to recent trades and lineup tweaks that appear to have pulled them away from the formula that worked better last season. For a team built around Bookers prime years, the concern is obvious: if this is the way the opening stretch looks, it raises the question of whether Phoenix is making the most of its best player at the very moment it can least afford to waste him. [Read more 🡒]
Suns Are Feeling Oso Ighodaros Absence More Than Expected
Oso Ighodaros oblique injury has become more than a temporary lineup note for the Suns. The second-round pick has been out with no clear return date, and the effects have shown up in ways that go beyond the box score, with Phoenix losing some of the extra ball movement and defensive activity he helped provide. His value has been tied as much to organization and versatility as to any scoring output, which is part of why his absence has been noticeable.
What has stood out is how much the Suns leaned on Ighodaro as a connective piece on both ends. His absence has come with drops in assist and steal percentages, a sign that Phoenix has missed his ability to facilitate offense and switch defensively across different matchups. For a team that wants flexible, reliable minutes from every spot on the floor, replacing that kind of presence is not as simple as plugging in another body. [Read more 🡒]