Welcome to Inside the Suns, your weekly deep down analysis of the current Phoenix Suns team. Each week the Fantable — a round table of Bright Siders — give their takes on the Suns’ latest issues and news.
Fantable Questions of the Week
Q1: We all know that a quality starting power forward is at least in the top 5 things on the Suns’ Christmas wish list, but what else should be there?
GuarGuar: Wish #1: Good health! This team has had the injury bug with almost everyone at different points throughout the season. And no Jalen Green for almost the whole year! Let’s get healthy for 2026 and see what we got.
Wish #2: Better rebounding! We do play very small lineups, but we need to improve upon our 24th rank in rebounding. Box out and crash the glass!
Wish #3: Book’s 3-point shooting to come back! He’s been in a funk when it comes to the 3-ball since November, and I’d love to see him regain form and confidence and make him even more lethal. Seems like it’s mental right now.
Wish #4: Dillon Brooks to pass just a LITTLE bit more. He really can be a possession stopper at times, and it hurts us. I love his overall aggressiveness and scoring, though I just would like a little more passing awareness.
OldAZ: This is tough because I’m pretty happy with where the Suns are and their newfound direction, but here goes:
Better health. These injuries have been a long-term plague on the franchise, the resurrection or reincarnation of Joe Proski (basically a redo of #1, but there was a time when older players came to Phoenix and were rejuvenated.
A fair and consistent whistle across the league. This is not some conspiracy theory where I blame the officials for every loss, but officiating has been terrible and inconsistent, and while certain teams have benefited greatly (like the Lakers for years and OKC currently), I think the Suns would adapt quickly and benefit overall if officials suddenly became better at their jobs and a lot more consistent.
Some relief in the next CBA. The whole league has problems with the current setu,p and there was decent balance before the latest CBA limited teams. Now that the Suns have an owner with means, willingness to spend, and (hopefully) has already learned his lesson about star chasing some fiscal relief in the CBA would be great.
Rod: Well, Jalen Green getting and staying healthy for the rest of the season is #1 for me. I can only imagine what the Suns’ record would be right now if he hadn’t missed so many games. I’d say that 20-9 instead of 16-13 would be a reasonable estimate.
Next, see the Nash, be the Nash, Collin! Gillespie’s been great for us so far this year but I think there’s even more potential there. I hope that he’s getting plenty of opportunity to pick Steve’s brain and soaking up every tidbit of advice he can get from him.
With Ryan Dunn’s free throw percentage up to 70.0% this season (he was hitting less than 50% of his FTs last year), he’s about half way to where he needs to be. Now I’m using one of my Xmas wishes to get his 3-point percentage up to at least league average. I want defenders thinking, “oh, crap!” whenever they see him undefended at the 3-point line.
And finally, to dream the seemingly impossible dream, PLEASE give Oso at least a reliable 15-16 ft jumper! A three point shot would be great but I’d be deliriously happy with him just having something other than that push shot to rely on when he’s more than 2-3 feet away from the basket.
Q2: At what point during the season do you believe Rasheer Fleming and/or Khaman Maluach could start getting meaningful minutes in games?
GuarGuar: Honestly, I don’t know if either is going to get much meaningful run this season. It would take a big man injury for Khaman. He looks every bit like a project, and honestly, Fleming hasn’t been inspiring at all when he plays either. His 3-ball looks atrocious coming off his hands, and if he can’t be somewhat reliable from there, he’s not ready to get PT on a team competing for a playoff spot.
OldAZ: I feel like Jordan Ott talking about injured players and always saying the same thing without saying anything new. They have both been progressing in their time in the G League. Fleming looks like he is very close to needing reps with the big club to continue progressing. The key will be giving him room to figure out where to be, what to do, and get comfortable without always looking over his shoulder, afraid of getting pulled if he screws up. Both will need room to screw up and learn when they get their opportunity.
For Fleming, this next stretch of 14-15 games may be that time as he appears to be able to fit in and contribute at least defensively and on the boards. Maluach is also getting closer, but with Oslo’s newfound role with the 2nd unit and Williams’ contributions, it is hard to do those same rotational minutes for a third center at the moment. Luckil,y he is also still more raw and not quite as ready as Fleming.
Rod: I can’t really give a specific time/date, but I could see one or even both of them getting some real court time as soon as the Suns make a trade. We all know that Nick Richards is likely to be moved before the trade deadline automatically making Maluach the Suns third-string center. If the Suns intend to continue holding Williams out on the 2nd night of back-to-backs, KM should definitely begin getting meaningful minutes then.
With Fleming, I think it could start happening at almost any time…especially when it’s obvious that his defensive talents are needed at PF. Any trade the Suns make might also hasten his debut, depending on who’s leaving and who’s returning. I’d really like to see him in particular playing in the main rotation. He’s looked pretty good with the Valley Suns, and I’d like to see him get accustomed to playing with our better players. The garbage time minutes he’s been getting make it hard to judge just how well he could perform, as those guys just aren’t used to playing with each other ,which makes those minutes more of a period of semi-controlled chaos than real team basketball.
Q3: Other than Book, Brooks and Green, which Suns player do you believe could bring back the best possible return in a mid-season trade?
GuarGuar: I think Grayson would net a pretty decent return given his production, and he’s on a pretty reasonable contract. Teams love floor spacers, and he certainly is an excellent one.
OldAZ: We have talked a lot about RO and GA being values to other contending teams, but those require a trade partner that has a surplus in an area the Suns need in order to trade. More likely is finding a trade partner that is not contending, and those teams want young talent and/or picks, which the Suns don’t have. This leads me to believe Dunn would actually bring the most return because he has shown NBA ability and highlight-level athleticism. Packaging him with one of Royce or Grayson could be the combination that brings the best return. However, the Suns are exceeding expectations, and this totally depends on how they view Dunn for their future and who that returning player might be. I honestly don’t see them moving Dunn, but that wasn’t what the question asked.
Rod: I’ve got to say Grayson Allen. He’s been off his game lately, but I don’t expect that to last and when he’s playing at his best, he’s very, very good. Any team wanting to boost their 3-point shooting would want him just for that, but he’s shown much more to his game this year as a ball handler and facilitator, which makes him a great plug-and-play guy in almost anyone’s backcourt. I think the Suns could get back a solid player or two in retur,n and possibly a draft pick or two in return for him.
As always, many thanks to our Fantable members for all their extra effort this week!
“It’s going to make us better. All these close games against really good teams with really good players in real tough environments.” – Jordan Ott
“We’ve consistently played hard. We’ve been in a lot of dogfights, a lot of late-game situations. A lot of situations to learn from. Moving forward, hopefully we don’t make the same mistakes, specifically late game and close out some of these close games better.” – Devin Booker
“Every night, every night he (Jamaree Bouyea) has been great, under control. Always talk about his personality, just even keeled. He goes out there and plays like a vet, been fantastic, super helpful with that second group.” – Jordan Ott
“He (Oso Ighodaro) communicates and he’s a high-IQ player. So he understands what’s going on, and he’s always a play or two ahead.” – Devin Booker
“Whether or not the fans or whoever on the outside thinks, that’s all we care about is winning.” – Oso Ighodaro
On December 25, 1968, the Suns made their national television debut on Christmas day as an ABC audience and a season-high Coliseum crowd of 10,355 witnessed the Los Angeles Lakers post a 119-99 victory.
On December 29, 2006, the Suns defeated the New York Knicks 108-86 to begin what would be a (then) franchise record win streak of 17 games. The previous franchise record of 15 games was accomplised by the same team earlier in the season and ended only 10 days before the new win streak began. This record would stand unti the Suns surpassed it with an 18 game win streak between Oct. 30 and Dec. 2 in 2021.
On December 30, 1992, the Suns defeated Houston 133-110 to finish December with a 14-0 record, tying for (then) the third-best month in NBA history and, at the time, the longest win streak in franchise history.
This Week’s Game Schedule
Thursday, Dec 26 – Suns @ New Orleans Pelicans (6:00 pm)
Saturday, Dec 27 – Suns @ New Orleans Pelicans (5:00 pm)
Monday, Dec 29 – Suns @ Washington Wizards (5:00 pm)
Wednesday, Dec 31 – Suns @ Cleveland Cavaliers (1:30 pm) NBA TV
This Week’s Valley Suns Game Schedule
Saturday, Dec 27 – Valley Suns @ Memphis Hustle (7:00 pm)
Monday, Dec 29 – Valley Suns @ Memphis Hustle (7:00 pm)
Jan. 5 – 10-day contracts may now be signed
Jan. 10 – All NBA contracts are guaranteed for the remainder of the season
Feb. 5 – Trade deadline (3:00 pm ET)
Feb. 13-15 – 2026 NBA All-Star weekend in Los Angeles, CA
March 1 – Playoff eligibility waiver deadline
March 28 – NBA G League Regular Season ends
March 31 – 2026 NBA G League Playoffs begin
April 12 – Regular season ends (All 30 teams play)
April 13 – Rosters set for NBA Playoffs 2026 (3 p.m. ET)
April 14-17 – SoFi NBA Play-In Tournament
April 18 – NBA Playoffs begin