The Suns’ Summer League run has done exactly what the coaching staff would want: given two young players a chance to flash real reasons for bigger roles once the regular season arrives.
Phoenix has already beaten the Portland Trail Blazers and lost to the New Orleans Pelicans in Las Vegas, though the results themselves are beside the point. What matters is that Rasheer Fleming and Koa Peat have started to look like more than just Summer League standouts.
Fleming, in particular, is making an early argument for minutes. With Grayson Allen and Royce O'Neale out of the picture, and Ryan Dunn still searching for consistency through two seasons in The Valley, the 22-year-old could wind up filling a major need.
He has the length to bother opponents on defense, and the shot-blocking has already stood out. Offensively, he’s comfortable letting it fly from 3-point range, and there’s a real sense that his scoring touch at all three levels can keep growing over the next couple of seasons.
Peat has been every bit the player he was advertised to be, but it’s still been encouraging to see him bring the kind of rebounding punch the Suns hoped for. He’s been a wrecking ball on the glass, and that nonstop energy - the willingness to chase every loose ball - is the sort of thing head coach Jordan Ott is surely going to appreciate.
The road to taking minutes from Dillon Brooks, or even Bridges, is still a tough one. Oso Ighodaro may also have reason to glance over his shoulder. Peat doesn’t have the same athletic profile or physical build, but he does seem to have that dog in him, the kind of edge that’s harder to measure and hasn’t always shown up in Ighodaro’s game.
Neither Fleming nor Peat was expected to start when the roster is fully healthy, but injuries to Jalen Green have already shown how quickly opportunities can open up. Summer League can be a tricky place to read too much into things, especially with plenty of opponents who won’t stick in the NBA. Even so, both players look like they bring pieces this Suns roster needs, and they’re using this stretch in Las Vegas as a launchpad.
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Suns Offseason Leaves One Huge Question Hanging Over Devin Booker
The Suns spent the offseason trying to steady a roster that has been reshaped around Devin Booker, re-signing Collin Gillespie, Jordan Goodwin and Mark Williams while bringing in Luke Kennard and swinging the trade for Miles Bridges. Phoenix also moved on from Grayson Allen and Royce ONeale, part of a wider reset that still leaves Booker as the focal point of everything the team wants to do on offense and in the half court.
What makes the picture more complicated is that the supporting cast around him is still very much in flux. Bridges arrives with off-court baggage that will keep attention on him for reasons the Suns would rather avoid, while the summer offered a glimpse of possible internal help from Khaman Maluach and Koa Peat. If either young player can grow into a real rotation piece, it would ease some pressure, but for now Phoenix is still waiting to see whether the offseason actually solved enough around its star. [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 🡒]