The Phoenix Suns will enter the 2026-27 season again being overlooked, while also possessing the kind of sneaky depth that will make them a tough out each night.
The starting five looks far from perfect in terms of fit, and it will be on head coach Jordan Ott to figure out how to make all of that work. He also has another, more envious problem of who will be this team’s sixth man.
Suns have trio of players battling for appealing sixth man role
The importance of this spot on a roster that is trying to make the playoffs cannot be overstated. Coach Ott also has three different ways he can approach filling the role, and his decision on that direction will ultimately decide who gets the job.
The presumed favorite at this moment is Collin Gillespie. One of the breakout players across the entire NBA last season, he was brought back on a four-year, $48 million contract with a view to being a long-term contributor. The problem is he can’t start as long as Jalen Green is in town, so the best use of his skills is surely having him be the first man off the bench each night to allow Devin Booker to do what he does best, score the basketball.
Gillespie has experience both starting and coming off the bench, and appears to excel in both. He’s also the perfect bridge between the starters and second unit, capable of excelling in both scenarios and teeing up his teammates while he runs the offense. Coach Ott has built this team not only on high level defensive play but also controlling the game, and Gillespie helps him to achieve that.
So too does Jordan Goodwin, who you should write off at your own peril. Despite the franchise letting him go once before, he continues to fight for a role in this league and that attitude was what got him a second chance in The Valley. Like Gillespie, Goodwin can control the pace of a game and he’s also the taller player and better defender. He’s also as scrappy as Gillespie, an underrated skill.
Goodwin is not quite as consistent a shooting threat as Gillespie, but he proved in playing alongside Jamaree Bouyea last season that you can put him in more lineups than Gillespie thanks to his versatility.
He too was brought back this offseason, and he exhibits so many of the qualities that coach Ott preaches. The dark horse.
Finally there is Luke Kennard, whose only realistic way of landing this role is if he again leads the league in 3-point shooting as he did last season. Defensively he can be picked on and played off the court, but the Suns also need as much outside shooting as possible after the departures of Grayson Allen and Royce O’Neale. The organization made signing him a priority, although given Green’s injury issues he could find himself in the starting lineup at points throughout the season.
Right now we’re going Gillespie, Kennard, Goodwin for this spot. It is going to be a fascinating contest to see who wins out but this is a great problem for coach Ott to have. It speaks to the sneaky good depth in Phoenix this season.Â
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