The Phoenix Suns have dealt with a slew of injuries this season, and now Dillon Brooks is the latest casualty who’ll reportedly miss four-to-six weeks with a broken left hand.
The Suns made an under-the-radar pickup during All-Star Weekend by signing free agent wing Haywood Highsmith to a multiyear deal after he was released by the Brooklyn Nets. The defensive-minded forward would be an ideal substitution over the next month-plus with Brooks sidelined, but that won’t be happening any time soon.
Unfortunately for Phoenix, Highsmith will reportedly be re-evaluated in two-to-three weeks as he continues his own recovery from knee surgery to repair a torn meniscus.
Needless to say, the Suns are now incredibly thin in the frontcourt. They traded Nick Richards along with forward Nigel Hayes-Davis ahead of the trade deadline. They missed out on adding former lottery pick Jeremy Sochan, who was released by the San Antonio Spurs and ultimately signed with the New York Knicks.
Highsmith’s defensive upside makes him a solid addition who fits the culture, but that he’s not able to slot in right now after Brooks went down certainly isn’t ideal timing for Phoenix. If Jordan Ott had Highsmith healthy and available, he’d be the perfect guy to slot in for Brooks as a switchable defensive wing who’s spent the bulk of his career playing both small and power forward — exactly where Brooks has been this season.
So, where do the Suns look in their search for Brooks' interim replacements?
Who will sub in for Suns while Brooks is out with injury?
Since Highsmith is going to need at least two more weeks before being re-evaluated on whether or not he'll be cleared to compete in NBA games, other players on the roster must fill Brooks’ void.
If the Suns' first game after Brooks’ injury is any indication — a 92-77 drubbing in the second game of a back-to-back at the hands of the Portland Trail Blazers — second-year player Ryan Dunn is going to get that call.
Dunn, however, struggled against Portland. In 31 minutes of action, he went 1-of-9 shooting (0-of-4 from 3-point range) for two points. He added six rebounds, two assists and a steal to the box score, but ultimately finished the loss with a game-worst -18 plus/minus.
Newest #Sun Haywood Highsmith staying late after shootaround to work on his game 👀🏀@sportscronkite pic.twitter.com/oOhPzz67UU
— Andy Romike (@AndyRomike) February 24, 2026
While Dunn showed signs in early February of turning his lackluster shooting around by making more than half of his 3-point attempts, he’s been ice cold since those first five games of the month. Over his past four games, Dunn is shooting an ugly 1-of-12 from long range. That torpedoed his 3-point shooting percentage in February from 54.5% all the way down to 30.4% from deep.
Normally, the Suns wouldn’t need Dunn to be a scorer. But without Brooks healthy, Phoenix needs offensive contributions from everyone, and 1-of-12 shooting from long range isn’t going to cut it.
Perhaps rookie forward Rasheer Fleming — the 31st overall pick of the 2025 draft — is ready for a bigger role. The 21-year-old New Jersey native played 22 minutes off the bench for the Suns in the loss to the Trail Blazers. He made two of his four 3-point tries, snatched two steals and finished with a positive plus/minus at +2.
Fleming is shooting just 26.9% from long range overall throughout his rookie campaign, but his performance in the G League suggests a much higher ceiling for the youngster.
In nine games played for the Valley Suns (which includes the G League Tip-Off Tournament and regular season), Fleming is shooting 50.4% from the field and 37.3% from 3-point territory for an average of 17.1 points per game.
Now, nobody is expecting the rook to average 17 points per game right away if he gets extended NBA minutes with Brooks out, but the potential of Fleming’s outside shooting on offense and length on defense is certainly intriguing.
This will be a challenging stretch for the Suns as they look to tread water without their tone-setter, but Ott has a clear opportunity to give young guys more opportunities to gain confidence at the professional level.
If the Suns weather this stretch without losing ground in the Western Conference playoff picture, Ott's Coach of the Year case suddenly gets even stronger.