Phoenix Suns rookie Koa Peat had a productive debut in the NBA Summer League, and the team is eager to see him take the court when training camp begins next month.
Peat logged four appearances with the Suns in Las Vegas, averaging 16.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.5 steals while shooting 51% from the field. He scored 12 or more points in each game, highlighted by a 19-point effort on July 19.
The 30th overall pick faces an uphill battle to carve out consistent playing time on a team that qualified for the playoffs last season. But Suns CEO Josh Bartelstein, speaking on the "Burns & Gambo Show" on Tuesday, said Peat will have the chance to prove himself.
I think we'll have an incredibly competitive training camp. We are deep. When you
look at our depth, I think that is one of our strong suits. At the wing, you have Rasheer (Fleming), who is young, and Ryan Dunn, who is young, and Koa, who is young, on top of Miles (Bridges) and (Jordan Goodwin) and Dillon (Brooks), so Koa's job is to come compete every day and earn rotation minutes. I think we are deep there.
You saw the success of Khaman (Maluach) and Rasheer playing in the G League a little bit and ultimately really contributing the last half of the year, but Koa's mindset after a really good summer league is to come in and earn minutes right away. ... I want Koa to go out and say, 'I want to earn 20 minutes a game from the start.' Luckily, we've really built some depth at that position where there won't be pressure on him to do just that.
How much of Koa Peat can we expect to see this season?
— The Burns & Gambo Show (@BurnsAndGambo) August 5, 2026
CEO of the Phoenix Suns and Mercury Josh Bartelstein joined us yesterday and talked about the Suns' rookie!
Full interview: https://t.co/9uKCqzh2hm pic.twitter.com/BB9GfkjZ6Y
Peat established himself as a first-round pick this year because of his paint scoring, with his ball-fakes, hesitation moves and jump shot. He displayed those qualities last month and will be looking to continue refining them ahead of next season.
The 6-foot-8 Peat had the opportunity to log minutes with several teammates in game action and practice, including Maluach, Fleming and Koby Brea. Those reps should help smooth his transition when the team convenes for training camp on Sept. 29.
Peat enters next season with plenty of hype as the Phoenix native who spent one year at Arizona. His exact role for next season is to be determined, but the organization is excited about his future.
This article originally appeared on Rookie Wire: Suns CEO Josh Bartelstein reveals possible role for rookie Koa Peat
