The Phoenix Suns wasted little time to start a busy offseason by retaining their own key free agents.
Both unrestricted free agent Collin Gillespie and restricted free agent Mark Williams were re-signed to team-friendly deals.
Gillespie signed a four-year, $48 million fully-guaranteed contract to return to The Valley after a breakout year in which he averaged 12.7 points, 4.6 assists, 4.1 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game while playing 80 games (58 starts) and breaking the Suns franchise record for 3-point makes in a single season.
Williams, meanwhile, signed a three-year $38 million deal (also fully guaranteed) to stay in Phoenix after he played a career-high 60 games during his first year as a Sun.
The Suns are not only getting the band back together, but they’re also inking deals with potentially massive return on investment.
Suns’ Gillespie, Williams contracts viewed favorably by value add
Steph Noh, senior NBA writer for SportingNews who previously worked for The Athletic, shared how this summer’s NBA free-agent deals grade out by his salary model. Essentially, Noh is looking at the expected value of each contract relative to the money being invested.
Here's how some of the most prominent signings of the summer grade out in my salary model that translates expected impact --> dollar value. Green is a good contract, red is bad.
— Steph Noh (@StephNoh) July 6, 2026
Most contracts have been either good or neutral-ish, with one notable exception: pic.twitter.com/UcGrRFHcJW
By Noh’s analysis, Gillespie adds a surplus value of 60.2 million to his contract, the second-best mark of any free-agent signee this offseason behind Boston Celtics breakout big man Neemias Queta.
“Gillespie signed on a four-year, $48 million contract that was surprisingly low given that he was one of the better free agents in this class,” Noh wrote. “That was a steal for the Suns, who will retain the 27-year-old throughout his prime years.”
Noh added that Gillespie is a great shooter, smart floor general and competes on the defensive end to offset his 6-foot-1 frame.
By all accounts before news of the signing became official, Gillespie reiterated his desire to return to the Suns in free agency. Both sides got a deal done that keeps Gillespie in an ideal situation in terms of fit that may actually provide Phoenix with surplus value relative to the dollars invested, based on Noh’s salary model.
The same can be said for Williams, which may come as a bit of a surprise to Suns fans.
Williams missed 22 regular season games during his debut season in Phoenix, and that still equated to a career-high in games and minutes played for a season in his young NBA career. The 7-foot-1 center missed time toward the end of the year and in the playoffs due to a stress reaction in his foot. Questions about his health have followed him throughout his career, even dismantling a trade to the Los Angeles Lakers after LA pulled out based on results they didn’t like from a failed physical exam.
Still, Noh’s salary model views the Williams deal favorably, with 25 million worth of added value relative to his three-year, $38 million actual figure.
It’s safe to say that will ultimately come down to whether or not Williams can stay healthy, but the Suns at the very least are giving more runway for 19-year-old Khaman Maluach to develop by keeping their starting center from last season in the mix.
The Suns’ latest offseason trade was met with widespread criticism, so at least their free agent signings are being viewed more favorably.
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