The 2026 offseason will reveal what moves the Phoenix Suns are willing to make, including which of their free agent crop they’ll aim to re-sign, but it appears more and more likely the franchise is willing to run it back.
Owner Mat Ishbia has made it clear on several occasions that he intends to continue building around face of the franchise Devin Booker. Book reached the NBA Finals once before in 2021, but that’s when he was 24 years old and had a future Hall of Fame point guard in Chris Paul as the team’s floor general.
Fast-forward to the present, and Booker is set to celebrate his 30th birthday in October. He’s logged more than 25,000 regular season minutes and arguably has a slim window remaining to compete for a title on a team wherein he’s the unquestioned star.
Without yet another big swing trade — something the rumor mill suggests isn’t in the cards for Phoenix — the roster for next season will probably look very similar to the 2025-26 team.
That’s not necessarily a bad thing, provided the most recent iteration of the Suns shattered expectations by making the playoffs before getting swept by OKC. However, it also makes clear that to raise the ceiling of this Suns team, someone is going to have to take a big leap forward.
Can Jalen Green make an All-Star-caliber leap in 2026-27?
Enter Jalen Green.
The former No. 2 overall pick played a career low 32 regular season games in his first season in The Valley thanks to a recurring hamstring injury that kept him sidelined for most of the season’s first half. That was after playing in all 82 regular season games for two consecutive seasons with the Houston Rockets.
The injuries obviously played a big role in Green’s debut season with the Suns, but if Phoenix is going to improve significantly moving forward, Green needs to be the guy who raises his own ceiling.
Since being drafted in 2021, Green has accumulated 11 career win shares. That ranks 20th in his draft class.
For comparison, Evan Mobley of the Cleveland Cavs (the No. 3 pick in that draft) has amassed 34.8 win shares while winning a Defensive Player of the Year award and making an All-NBA team. Scottie Barnes (27.2 win shares), the former No. 4 pick who plays for the Toronto Raptors, is a two-time All-Star who has also established himself as one of the best defenders in basketball.
Others still, like Alperen Sengun of the Houston Rockets (30.5 win shares) and Jalen Johnson of the Atlanta Hawks (15.9 win shares), have made All-Star leaps as their respective careers progress.
It’s time for Green to do the same.
Suns fans saw flashes of what Green is capable of despite an injury-riddled year. While facing a level of pressure he hadn’t faced before, Green exorcised the demons from his poor 2025 postseason showing by saving the Suns’ season in a play-in tournament matchup against the Golden State Warriors.
Green splashed a career-high eight 3-pointers en route to 36 points on a ridiculous 14-of-20 shooting overall to guide Phoenix into postseason proper against a Warriors squad he struggled against a year prior.
Unfortunately for the Suns and their fans, Green’s reputation as a streaky shooter proved true against the Thunder. He shot just 38.6% from the field and an ugly 20.6% from 3-point range in the four-game first round sweep.
If the Suns have any hope of raising their ceiling next season, Green has to make a leap toward consistency that many of his draft class compatriots have already made. If he doesn’t, don’t be surprised if Green and his contract find their way back onto the trade block.
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