Archie Goodwin making the most of opportunity after Phoenix Suns’ roster reshuffle

The most common headline surrounding the Phoenix Suns’ Archie Goodwin this season has either had to do with the second-year guard being sent down to Bakersfield or being recalled from the D-League affiliate.

Those kinds of headlines might be a thing of the past for Goodwin after the Suns made multiple trade deadline moves last week, including shipping out four backcourt players.

The roster reshuffle opened up the rotation a bit for the 20-year-old Goodwin, who has made the most of the opportunity in two games since.

From Oct. 29 to Feb. 10, Goodwin had produced just 51 total points with the Suns in limited minutes. In his last two outings, though, the former Kentucky Wildcat contributed a total of 24 points in 38 minutes, shooting 50 percent or better in each of the contests.

With a short-handed Suns roster Friday in Minnesota, Goodwin got to run the point for a portion of his season-high 21 minutes, and he responded with 12 points, four assists and three rebounds. The 2013 first-rounder also made his lone three-point attempt, just his third basket from long range this season.

The 6-foot-5 guard again dropped 12 points Saturday in Chicago, this time in 17 minutes while shooting 6-for-8 from the floor and adding an assist and a rebound.

Goodwin’s knack for getting to the rim has been on full display since Phoenix’s roster reboot. And although he will continually battle Eric Bledsoe, Gerald Green, Brandon Knight and possibly Marcus Thornton for backcourt minutes, Goodwin is making a case to be a permanent part of Jeff Hornacek’s rotation going forward with the new-look Suns.