Suns' Offseason Moves Deserve More Credit Than They’re Receiving

Bleacher Report gave the Phoenix Suns a D for their offseason so far.

That feels too harsh.

Phoenix did not have a flawless summer. There are fair questions about the Miles Bridges trade, the long-term direction of the roster, and whether Koa Peat is the right kind of prospect to invest in. But a D grade makes it sound like the Suns spent the offseason making reckless moves without any clear positives.

That is not what happened.

The best part of Phoenix’s offseason was keeping Collin Gillespie and Jordan Goodwin. Good teams need affordable, productive rotation players who understand their roles. The Suns already found two of them, and instead of letting those players walk, they kept them in place on manageable deals.

Gillespie was one of Phoenix’s best success stories last season. His shooting gives the Suns something every team needs: reliable spacing. He does not have to dominate the ball to affect the game.

He brings defensive pressure, toughness, and energy. He gives Phoenix a guard who can compete at the point of attack, rebound from his position, and play with a level of edge that does not always show up in a box score.

These two are the foundation of the argument against the D grading. 

The Luke Kennard signing also helps.

Kennard is not a complete player, but he is an elite shooter. After moving Grayson Allen and Royce O’Neale in the Bridges trade, Phoenix needed to recover some of that spacing. Kennard gives them a clean, obvious skill that fits any offense. He can come off the bench, space the floor, and punish defenses for losing track of him.

The Bridges trade is where the evaluation gets more complicated. There is a version of the deal where it works. Bridges gives Phoenix a bigger forward, more athleticism, and another scorer who can help at the four. But there is also real risk. The Suns gave up useful shooting and a valuable future asset, and Bridges may eventually need another contract. That deal could age well or poorly depending on fit and future cost.

The Peat pick is another swing worth questioning.

Peat has talent, size, and pedigree. But in the modern NBA, non-elite athletes who enter the league without a dependable jumper can be tricky bets. That does not mean he cannot work. It just means Phoenix needs the shot to develop for the pick to make complete sense.

Still, those concerns do not erase the good.

The Suns kept Gillespie. They kept Goodwin. They added Kennard. They maintained much of a roster that already outperformed expectations.

That sounds more like a solid offseason than a bad one.

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Wes Dixon is a contributing writer to SunsRoundtable. He can be reached at [email protected].