The Phoenix Suns enter training camp Tuesday, Sept. 29, with five burning questions entering the 2026-27 NBA season. Here's a rundown.
Is Maluach the starter after Williams' injury?
Injuries continue to haunt Mark Williams.
The 7-footer will miss a significant part of the 2026-27 season after having surgery on Sept. 10 to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder. Williams suffered the injury during an offseason workout, the team announced Sept. 11.
This is after Williams played a career-high 60 games in 2025-26, his first season in Phoenix following three injury-plagued seasons with the Charlotte Hornets to begin his NBA career. He did miss 15 games late in the regular season with a left foot third metatarsal stress reaction. Averaging 11.7 points and a team-high eight rebounds, Williams re-injured
his foot and missed the play-in win against the Golden State Warriors for the eighth seed in the Western Conference playoffs and the first round of the playoffs.
The Oklahoma City Thunder swept the Suns.
Phoenix signed Williams, who was a restricted free agent, to a three-year, $38-million deal in the offseason.
Now he’s injured again. The Suns didn’t provide a timetable for his return after the surgery, but recovery time for this type of procedure can range from three to six months.
The Suns could easily start Oso Ighodaro at center or go with 7-footer Khaman Maluach.
Ighodaro didn’t miss a game last season as a backup to Williams. He handles the ball, finishes above the rim and is a solid passer, but Ighodaro has shown little offense outside the paint in two NBA seasons. He shot 45.3% from the free-throw line last season.
Earlier this summer at his youth basketball camp, Ighodaro said he's been working on his perimeter offense as far out as the 3-point line.
Maluach hardly played last season as a rookie after being the 10th overall pick in the 2025 draft out of Duke.
However, he shined in NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, where he averaged 19.5 points, a summer-best 12.8 rebounds and shot 40% from 3.
Maluach still hasn’t reached the level of strength needed to consistently battle on the interior in the NBA, but Williams’ injury has forced the Suns to take a closer look at giving him meaningful minutes.
Phoenix added big Duop Reath as a training camp invite. Like Maluach, he's from South Sudan.
Reath averaged 2.9 points and 1.2 rebounds last season. His most productive NBA season was his first in 2023-24 with the Trail Blazers, when he averaged 9.1 points and 3.7 boards.
The Suns already had 15 players on their standard roster after re-signing Haywood Highsmith.
They rolled with three bigs last season. This is an opportunity for Reath, but the Suns will have to make a roster decision. Teams have to reach 15 players on their standard roster by Oct. 19 at 2 p.m. MST.
Is Booker’s championship window in Phoenix closed?
Devin Booker is one of the NBA’s best guards at the two spot. He can score on all three levels and make plays for teammates. The five-time All-Star averaged 26.1 points and six assists last season.
He’s been the face of the franchise for most of his time in Phoenix, but a notable number of Suns fans have been openly critical of Booker, with some even calling for a trade. Booker's postseason performance last season only fueled that chatter.
In losing to Oklahoma City in four games, Booker averaged a playoff career-low 21.3 points, shot just 25% from 3 and had nearly more turnovers (16) than assists (19) in the series.
Suns team owner Mat Ishbia has repeatedly said they’re not dealing Booker, who signed a record two-year extension for $145 million in July 2025 that’ll keep him in Phoenix through the 2029-30 season.
Phoenix isn’t a title contender. The Suns appear play-in bound again. So, Booker’s championship window is currently closed.
He reached the Finals in 2021 and later was part of a Big 3 with Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal that fell way short of expectations. The Suns hit the reset button when trading Durant and buying out Beal. They won a surprising 45 games in their return to the playoffs last season.
Phoenix established a tough, physical identity last season with Dillon Brooks setting a culture tone. Jordan Ott is back for a second season as head coach to end a stretch of three coaches getting fired in as many seasons.
So, a foundation is set. The Suns are young and talented, but Booker, entering his 12th NBA season, will have to wait again to be part of a Phoenix team with a shot at a title.
That screams the following question: Will Booker have to go elsewhere to win a championship?
He’ll turn 30 on Oct. 30. Booker starts the second half of his career with a number change, going from No. 1 to 15 to pay homage to his father, a decision that Suns fans hope will provide extra motivation to lead the Suns and possibly start reopening that championship window.
How do Bridges, Green fit in Phoenix?
Miles Bridges and Jalen Green are known for finishing plays, not initiating them.
Bridges, 28, is averaging just 2.8 assists in seven NBA seasons. Green, 24, is at 3.3 in five NBA seasons.
Both can score. Green has two NBA seasons in which he averaged at least 21 points a game while Bridges has averaged at least 20 points in three seasons.
Can Ott maximize the offensive talents of perhaps his two most athletic players, who attack the rim in the half court and transition but are streaky 3-point shooters?
Bridges is new to the team, after being acquired in the offseason. Green's first season in Phoenix in 2025-26 never showed his true potential, as he missed much of it while hampered by a hamstring injury.
Booker will get his looks. He’s the franchise’s all-time leading scorer at 18,120 points and counting. Brooks has earned the green light after averaging a career-high 20.2 points in his first year in Phoenix and 26 in the playoffs.
Booker, Green, Brooks and Bridges are expected to start, giving the Suns four perimeter players who can go for 20-plus on any given night. If Green or Bridges — or both — can create offense for teammates, the Suns will be even tougher to defend.
How will Suns deal with loss of key 3-point shooters?
Phoenix dealt Grayson Allen, Royce O’Neale and an unprotected 2033 first-round pick this summer to the Hornets for Bridges, a 2029 first-round pick and a 2027 second-round pick. The Suns are now younger and more athletic with Bridges, but they lost two of the league’s better 3-point shooters.
Allen shot just 34.9% last season from deep, but he’s a career 40.3% 3-point shooter who led the league in 3-point percentage in his first year in Phoenix in 2023-24 at 46.1%. O’Neale nailed 40% of his 3s in his last two seasons in Phoenix.
The trade frees Collin Gillespie to take even more 3s after setting a single-season franchise record for made 3-pointers at 232 last season on 40.1% shooting from deep. Gillespie led the Suns in 3-point attempts last season at 578, but Allen averaged the most hoists at 8.9 in 51 games.
Gillespie was second at 7.2 in 80 games.
The Suns also added sharpshooter Luke Kennard in free agency. He’s even more lethal. Leading the NBA in 3-point shooting three times in his career, Kennard, 30, shot an NBA-best 47.8% from distance last season.
If Booker, Green, Brooks or Bridges could raise their 3-point percentage, the better for the Suns, who look to play fast and win the possession game.
Will Bridges earn an extension?
Suns general manager Brian Gregory said at Bridges’ introductory press conference that Bridges is a big part of their future.
With Bridges entering the final year of his three-year, $75 million deal, giving him an extension is the only sure way to show that long-term commitment.
The Suns have time to get that done during this season, but they must consider their future salary cap. Phoenix is just under the second tax apron right now.
Bridges’ off-court history can’t be overlooked, either. The Suns are trusting he stays clear of trouble.
At the same time, Bridges can show in his actions and play that he’s worthy of an extension.
Both sides understand the situation.
Bridges isn’t necessarily in a position to get too frustrated waiting on an extension, but if he holds up his end and plays well, it falls back on Gregory and the Suns to keep their word.
Have opinions about the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-810-5518. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Maluach time? Booker's window? 5 questions as Phoenix Suns open camp
