If you caught the Phoenix Suns’ amazing win over the Oklahoma City Thunder (and if you didn’t you need to get your priorities right), then a number of things will have jumped out at you.
Devin Booker is most certainly back as the guy, while Dillon Brooks is the perfect co-star for the franchise cornerstone.
Jordan Goodwin has to be kept beyond this season
But it was the career night of Jordan Goodwin that caught the interest of many fans in The Valley. He was instrumental in clawing back an 18 point deficit, and was out there in crunch time when it mattered most.
His 26 points were also a career high which led the entire team, and after the game the point guard who has a bit of everything in his game (as well as a whole lot of heart) said all of the right things about it is to play Suns basketball this season.
"That's our culture...We gonna go in and play hard every day."
— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) January 5, 2026
🗣️ Overcoming double digit deficits, diving for every loose ball, fighting for rebounds, Jordan Goodwin talks about the culture of this group@MountainAmerica | #SunsUp pic.twitter.com/Fs3WXkFYUs
This all sounds great, until you realize Phoenix can only bring back so many players on the contracts they deserve next season. Goodwin has been cut by the Suns once before, and they’d be foolish to make the same mistake again.
But it is hard to see how he will get the money he deserves from the Suns, because they are surely going to bring back both Collin Gillespie and Mark Williams before even considering Goodwin.
Gillespie has been a revelation both off the bench and more recently as a starter, all those hours spent with Steve Nash clearly paying off. He’s not going anywhere if the Suns can help it, unless another organization offers a monster deal they can’t compete with.
The situation is even easier with Williams, the big man they need moving forward and who the franchise traded a pair of first round picks to acquire. You don’t give that amount of draft capital up for a one year rental.
Williams will be getting an extension on his rookie contract that will be as high as Suns are allowed to pay him, and nobody is going to have any complaints when that happens.
But where does that leave Goodwin? More than deserving of some long-term security in the league, but having found himself in a situation in Phoenix yet again where that may not be possible.
The emergence of Jamaree Bouyea also hurts his case for sticking around, because right now the Suns could still talk him into a minimum deal to sign on again next season. That possibility dwindles by the day with how well Bouyea has performed, but it’s already out of the question with Goodwin.
This will be one of the trickiest situations the front office has to navigate this coming offseason, but it was all made possible by their ability to identity talent. We want Goodwin back in The Valley next season.