The Phoenix Suns wasted little time this offseason re-signing key free agents. Breakout guard Collin Gillespie, starting center Mark Williams and Dan Majerle Hustle Award winner Jordan Goodwin were all retained to run it back in The Valley.
And while the majority of free-agent signings from Phoenix this summer targeted internal talent, the Suns shored up outside shooting after trading away Grayson Allen and Royce O’Neale in the Miles Bridges deal by reaching an agreement with former Los Angeles Lakers sharpshooter Luke Kennard.
While the blockbuster trade with the Charlotte Hornets was met with broad criticism, the Suns’ free agency decisions received high praise from ESPN.
Here’s a breakdown of grades the Suns earned on those free-agent deals.
Luke Kennard signing nets Suns an A
Phoenix no doubt needed to address its 3-point shooting in the aftermath of the Bridges trade. Allen and O’Neale were both lights out from beyond the arc throughout a breakthrough 2025-26 campaign for Phoenix, and losing both of them flipped a team strength to a notable weakness.
But General Manager Brian Gregory addressed that need by bringing in arguably (or perhaps inarguably) the best 3-point sniper of the 2026 free agent class.
In a season split between the Lakers and Atlanta Hawks, Kennard led the league in 3-point percentage by a comfortable margin at 47.8 percent from downtown. The second-best mark from deep was former Milwaukee Bucks forward Bobby Portis at 45.6 percent. ESPN wrote that the Kennard signing “can't be construed as anything other than a stellar deal” for Phoenix.
There are questions about Kennard’s defense and being able to stay on the court come postseason time. However, ESPN noted that Kennard was actually quite solid on that end of the court for Atlanta and LA and should be able to fit Jordan Ott’s system just fine.
Mark Williams deal gets a B+
Although I was beating the drum that Williams should have been the odd man out for the Suns in free agency, thus paving the way for young lottery pick Khaman Maluach to get more minutes in year two than he did as a rookie, Phoenix opted to keep Williams in the desert on a three-year deal.
While ESPN noted that his new three-year, $38 million contract is reasonable “in a vacuum,” they noted the Suns are effectively pushing into luxury tax thresholds to run it back with a roster that won 45 games and was swept out of the first round of the playoffs (after needing the play-in tournament to get there).
Williams is also a poor interior defender for his size, surrendering roughly a 65 percent shooting clip at the rim throughout his career—significantly worse than both Maluach and Oso Ighodaro.
Nonetheless, his offensive acumen can be a difference-maker when Williams is healthy. But that, too, remains an ongoing concern. Williams played a career-high 60 games throughout his first season in The Valley. He hadn’t played more than 44 games in a season prior.
At the very least, Williams “can help hold down the fort as Maluach develops,” as ESPN writes. But if you’re among those who believe in Maluach’s talent, watching him spend yet more time in the G League is a head-scratching move for a team that likely isn’t a title contender.
Collin Gillespie signing gets A-, Jordan Goodwin deal earns B+
ESPN’s Zach Kram wrote that Gillespie topped the list of his most underrated 2026 NBA free agents, so the Suns being able to retain him on a four-year, $48 million deal is a big win for Phoenix. In fact, the Gillespie deal created the second-best value relative to dollar amount according to a salary model created by Steph Noh of Sporting News.
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
Goodwin, meanwhile, established himself among the best offensive rebounders in the league despite his 6-foot-3 frame. “One of the most incredible statistics of last season is that the 6-foot-3 Goodwin ranked 15th among qualified players with a 9.4% offensive rebounding rate,” Kram wrote for ESPN. “All 14 players ahead of him were centers.”
Goodwin was a more than deserving winner of the Dan Majerle Hustle Award for his efforts, and he’ll continue to be a key role player in The Valley next season.
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