Suns believe in depth of team, Koa Peat’s potential to shoot

Phoenix Suns general manager Brian Gregory spoke on Wednesday at the conclusion of the NBA Draft, and even though free agency is a few days away, he might not end up as that busy of a man this summer.

With the addition of Koa Peat using the 30th overall selection after a trade-up, Phoenix has 14 rostered players. If we include restricted free agent Mark Williams, that’s a full roster right there.

Haywood Highsmith has a non-guaranteed deal and Jamaree Bouyea still has a team option that requires a decision. So up to three spots could still be open. But if that duo is back and so is Williams, there is your 2026-27 Suns roster all complete.

G: Devin Booker, Collin Gillespie, Jamaree Bouyea (team option)

G: Jalen Green, Grayson Allen, Jordan Goodwin

F: Dillon Brooks, Royce O’Neale, Haywood Highsmith (non-guaranteed)

F: Rasheer Fleming, Ryan Dunn, Koa Peat

C: Mark Williams (RFA), Oso Ighodaro, Khaman Maluach

Depth is good in the NBA. Too much depth, however, can lead to unsettled players who aren’t satisfied with their role. The redundancy in the roster, as previously covered in this space with duos like Green and Brooks or Allen and O’Neale, seems like something worth cleaning up regardless.

There is also the inability down low to get Ighodaro, a good player for them last year, legitimate minutes while also developing Maluach in Year 2 if Williams is back.

But Arizona Sports’ John Gambadoro is reporting that the current priority for the Suns is to re-sign Williams, and that continuity is top of mind. No rumblings just yet of looking to move any of those perimeter players, even after re-signing Gillespie and Goodwin to cement the logjam.

Gregory was asked on Wednesday if he sees it as an issue.

“I think everybody in the NBA gets to have 14 or 15 guys on their roster so it’s not like we have any more players than anyone else and the simple fact that if you take a look, depth is something that’s very, very critical in the league right now,” he said. “Guys get injured, they get hurt, all those different things.

“So having great depth I think is always a positive and you also have different guys in different stages of where they’re at in their career. Younger guys are developing, getting better and so forth and then obviously in Year 1 or 2 or even in Year 3 are going to have a much different role than a guy who is a proven 8-9 year veteran.

“So when it comes to the playing time and so forth, we have a pretty good coach that will be able to figure that stuff out. And when situations come up, we’re bringing in guys that are professionals, that their No. 1 objective is to do whatever’s necessary to help us win and I think last year proved that our depth is critical for us because we wouldn’t have won the amount of games if we didn’t have that depth. … I feel confident in the type of character and sacrifice and the unselfishness of the guys that we brought in.”

It’s a pretty definitive statement from Gregory, believing that the types of players he is bringing in as people will allow him to navigate this type of maze better than most. That a veteran like Allen or O’Neale isn’t going to let career-low minutes affect them, their play or the team. Or that a young player unable to crack the rotation like Dunn or Peat will remain in a good headspace while still improving enough behind the scenes where playing time isn’t as necessary in their eyes.

The latter part is the most interesting, because on the scale of the Suns trying their absolute best to win every second last year versus sacrificing some effectiveness to give younger players an opportunity, it was a 90/10 split.

Fleming, even after doing more than enough to earn a concrete role for the rest of the season in March, saw his minutes fade as the postseason soon arrived. Maluach only got playing time because Williams got hurt late in the year, and even then, it was a very limited role.

Second-year players like Dunn and Ighodaro did get consistent roles, albeit out of necessity for their skillsets and a lack of options elsewhere.

It should be more of a 50/50 split this year, at minimum.

But the Suns either want to win at any cost next year, believe the young guys will develop just fine without consistent minutes, or both. They seem more than confident head coach Jordan Ott will figure it out so the smooth dynamic of the team is maintained, and if this roster is indeed sticking to this core form, he’s going to have to be even better than he was last year to make it all work.

Suns believe Koa Peat will be a ‘very good shooter’

Peat did not fall in the draft because of his intangibles, athletic profile, skill with the basketball or defensive ability. He fell because he can’t shoot.

While the 19-year-old forward has decent touch in the midrange, it has yet to show itself from either the free-throw or 3-point line.

Peat shot 62.3% from the foul line on 162 attempts, while he hoisted up only 20 triples and made seven (35%).

His identity as a player revolves around the idea of being a jack-of-all trades type of contributor, but that one trade has eluded Peat so far. He revamped the mechanics on his jumper since leaving Tucson, and the Suns are confident that’s the first step toward a good shooter in the NBA.

“Obviously was a topic and I think he’s a guy that’s gonna develop into a very good shooter,” Gregory said. “Didn’t shoot a ton of 3s and I think at this level as a 19-year-old with the work that he’s going to put in — tireless worker, wanting to get better — that the shooting piece is going to come. When you’re that young at this stage, there’s gonna be areas that you need to develop.

“And you just do your homework on the work ethic and the desire to improve.”

Gregory went on to bring up Peat’s downhill ability unprompted, spotlighting how Peat does it with strength and the ability to make passes while attacking the basket.

That is how Peat is going to still be an offensive contributor while the shot develops, either as a screen-setter in the short roll or directly handling the ball to run some ball-screen actions, something he did a decent bit of at Arizona. How effective those attributes are right away will determine if he can get into the rotation sooner rather than later.

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