Jalen Green had a nightmarish debut season with the Phoenix Suns, playing a career-low 32 games amid a recurring hamstring injury. The Suns are banking on the 24-year-old bouncing back to the durability he showed previously. But if that doesn’t happen and Green misses significant time, Phoenix at least has a surefire substitute who can fill in perfectly: breakout guard Collin Gillespie.
Team-friendly deal gives Suns a backcourt failsafe
After cementing his fan-favorite status by prioritizing comfort and team fit in free agency, Gillespie and the Suns reached a new four-year, $48 million guaranteed contract to keep him in The Valley.
Setting aside the obvious — that Gillespie enjoyed a breakout year setting career highs nearly across the board while breaking the franchise record for 3-point makes in a season — the Villanova product remains the perfect fill-in piece if Green’s injury-prone year wasn’t a fluke. He started 58 games a season ago in Green’s absence and flourished as a result.
Despite the down year from Green, though, all signs seem to indicate the Suns remain high on him and believe that the injury-riddled debut campaign was an aberration instead of a new norm.
“The Suns internally are very high on Jalen Green, especially since he’s still only 24,” Gerald Bourguet of Suns After Dark said while speaking on the Third Apron Podcast. “They’re big believers in him finally figuring it out with a healthier season.”
While Bourguet hedged that he doesn’t necessarily agree with the Suns’ internal assessment, he said that’s where the franchise’s “heads are at” with regard to the explosive young guard.
Green has what it takes to bounce back
Of course, even if Green stays healthy in Year 2 with the Suns, he’ll need to lock in in terms of shooting efficiency. He shot a career-low 31.3 percent from 3-point range last season on 7.1 attempts per game. Juxtapose that with Gillespie’s 40.1 percent shooting from deep on 7.2 attempts per contest, and it’s abundantly clear who was the more reliable outside shooter.
Now, that may simply be the byproduct of Green missing so much time and not feeling comfortable with his legs underneath him. That being said, Green’s career shooting mark of 33.9 percent from long range doesn’t jump off the page.
Green is at his best when he’s using his quick first step and explosiveness to glide to the basket and finish at the rim. Suns fans should see more of that if he stays healthy in 2026-27, but the security blanket Gillespie provides remains invaluable.
Add us as a preferred source on Google