Suns’ Ishbia, Gregory Discuss 2025/26, Offseason, More
The Suns have made major changes each of the past three offseasons under owner Mat Ishbia. However, unlike last year, when Ishbia’s buzzword was “alignment,” he was preaching “continuity” at Thursday’s end-of-season media availability, writes Doug Haller of The Athletic.
Phoenix exceeded external expectations in 2025/26, winning 45 games and making the playoffs one year after finishing 36-46 with the most expensive roster in the league. The Suns were only projected to win 31.5 games entering the season, and they were swept in the first round by Oklahoma City, Ishbia viewed ’25/26 as a building block for the future.
“Can we win more games?” he said. “Can we win a playoff series? That’s what we’re going to focus on. … I like the culture that we’ve built. We’re not going to do anything silly to mess that up.”
Player development was another talking point for both Ishbia and general manager Brian Gregory, who replaced James Jones last year, Haller notes.
“We have a young, ascending team,” Ishbia said. “Where in years past we had players that were maybe on the decline, we have players that are getting better, and they’re going to continue to get better.”
“This is an ongoing process for sure,” Gregory said (subscriber-only story via Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic). “Mat talked about it. Our continuity, our development, our internal development is so critical for us right now and that’s just the players and we’re going to demand the best out of them.”
Here’s more from Ishbia and Gregory:
- According to Haller, Gregory is confident Devin Booker, Dillon Brooks and Jalen Green will look better together in ’26/27 after injuries limited their opportunities to share the court this season. “One hundred percent,” the GM said. “You’re talking about three guys who are driven to become better, to do what is asked of them and help the team be successful to win. When you have that baseline, it puts you in a pretty effective spot to move forward.”
- Gregory spoke in general terms about the team’s approach to the offseason, according to Rankin. “Where are the gaps we need to fill?” Gregory said. “You can’t fill them all to the top, but what are the critical ones that we have control over? Does that mean tighten up systems, schemes, or whatever the case might be? Was there one thing that led to the other that if you eliminate the first, now you can get better at the second? All those things are done at this time and if it has to be a personnel issue, then we’ll have to address it at that time, but a lot of times, you see dramatic improvement from Year 1 to Year 2 simply because of the understanding and the ability to execute automatically where it comes who we are every single day.”
- Gregory mentioned the Suns plan to have their players back in the gym in a couple weeks rather than taking extended time off, Rankin writes. Gregory also praised the roster for buying into the team’s identity of “grit, toughness and unselfishness” while stressing that maintaining that culture is an ongoing process.
- Ishbia, who lauded head coach Jordan Ott‘s work ethic, stressed the team isn’t satisfied despite the positive steps that were taken this season. “I’m really proud of where we are and hopefully you realize that although I’m proud of where we are, we have a long way to go to where we’re going,” Ishbia said, per Rankin. “I’ve got the right people and the right vision and the right organization here with me and we’re going to do it together.”
- In case you missed it, we passed along several more items of interest from Phoenix in the past few days. You can find those stories here and here.
Suns Rumors: Brooks, Gillespie, Goodwin, Williams, Booker, Izzo
The Suns are interesting in signing forward Dillon Brooks to a contract extension this offseason, reports Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link). Brooks, who will be entering the final year of his current deal, would be eligible to sign for up to four years and a little over $125MM.
However, the Suns are unlikely to go all the way up to that maximum for Brooks, according to Fischer, who explains that the team is cognizant of the fact that a new deal would begin in the Canadian’s age-32 season. And while Brooks averaged a career-high 20.2 points per game in 2025/26, his efficiency was “spotty” and his scoring average was buoyed by the fact that Jalen Green missed significant time due to injury, Fischer notes.
For his part, Brooks sounds enthusiastic about sticking with the Suns, expressing at the end of the season that he wants to “run it back” with his teammates and is optimistic about the club taking another step forward next year, per Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic.
“I’m just happy that (Suns general manager Brian Gregory) and the Suns traded for me and believed in me and understood how I work,” Brooks said. “And what I can do for the team and just let me go and be myself and I’m happy for that.”
Phoenix will also be facing a handful of free agent decisions this summer, and John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 (Twitter links) expects the team’s top two priorities on that front to be re-signing guards Collin Gillespie and Jordan Goodwin. Addressing readers’ inquiries about how Mark Williams fits into the Suns’ offseason plans, Gambadoro followed up to clarify that he believes the front office wants to retain the restricted free agent center as well, but that it may be behind new deals for Gillespie and Goodwin on the club’s to-do list.
We have more on the Suns:
- Speaking to the media on Thursday, Suns owner Mat Ishbia sought to shut down any potential offseason Devin Booker trade rumors before they begin, as Rankin relays (Twitter video link). “Devin Booker’s our franchise player,” Ishbia said. “I love Devin Booker. Devin Booker loves to be here. Our coach loves Devin Booker. Our GM loves Devin Booker. Devin Booker’s going to be here. Devin Booker’s going to lead us to a championship here in Phoenix, that’s what he’s going to do. … The national media just says stuff to say stuff sometimes. Sometimes I like to respond and sometimes I don’t, because it’s just ridiculous, but Devin Booker’s not getting traded.”
- Ishbia also said during today’s presser that the comments Tom Izzo made about the Suns’ coaching job several weeks ago were “misunderstood” (Twitter video link via Rankin). Izzo suggested during a TV interview that he was offered Phoenix’s head coaching position in 2025 before the team hired Jordan Ott, but Ishbia disputed that claim while noting that he talks to the longtime Michigan State coach “about everything, all the time.”
- Within a breakdown of Phoenix’s upcoming offseason for The Arizona Republic, Rankin writes that upgrading at power forward should be one of the front office’s primary goals in the coming months after the team ranked 27th in defensive rebounding rate in 2025/26. Rankin also wonders if the Suns will remain comfortable moving forward without a true point guard after only getting a look at the Booker/Green duo for 27 games together.
Fischer’s Latest: Snyder, McCollum, Kennard, Bulls, Morant
After leading the Hawks on a 19-5 run to close out the season after the team traded away star point guard Trae Young, head coach Quin Snyder is believed to have “strong” front office support for a new contract, according to Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link), who notes that Snyder has one more year left on his current deal. Extension talks between Snyder and the Hawks are expected to happen soon after the team’s season ends, Fischer adds.
CJ McCollum, who will be an unrestricted free agent, was identified as a possible extension candidate shortly after he was acquired by Atlanta in January. Nothing that has happened since then has changed that, with Fischer suggesting there’s mutual interest between the veteran guard and the Hawks in working out a new deal this summer.
Here are a few more rumors from around the NBA, via Fischer:
- Although the Lakers could have a significant amount of cap room this summer, that will depend in large part on what happens with their own free agents. It remains to be seen whether LeBron James will be back, but Austin Reaves will almost certainly require a lucrative new deal, and according to Fischer, sharpshooter Luke Kennard is increasingly viewed as a player Los Angeles would like to re-sign. Kennard will only have Non-Bird rights, which would allow the Lakers to offer a starting salary worth up to $13.2MM (120% of his current $11MM salary), though they could theoretically go higher than that using cap room or – if they operate as an over-the-cap team – the non-taxpayer mid-level exception.
- Restricted free agent centers like Jalen Duren of the Pistons, Walker Kessler of the Jazz, and Mark Williams of the Suns are expected to try to generate interest from Chicago, Fischer reports. As he explains, the Bulls project to have the most cap room of any NBA team, so they have the means to make a big-money offer to an RFA center — the threat of an offer sheet could be the best way for a player like Duren, Kessler, or Williams to gain leverage and maximize his earnings, either with his current team or an outside suitor like Chicago.
- The Jazz aren’t viewed as a plausible landing spot for Ja Morant this offseason, so don’t expect him to reunite with his former Grizzlies teammate Jaren Jackson Jr., Fischer writes. However, Fischer has heard “predictive murmurs” that the trade market for Morant should be more active in the summer than it was in February, when league-wide interest in the star guard was “extremely minimal.”
Suns Notes: Ott, Booker, Gillespie, Offseason, Lawsuit
The Suns became the first of this year’s 16 playoff teams to be eliminated from the postseason, falling at home on Monday as the defending champion Thunder completed a four-game sweep. It was the third straight conference quarterfinal sweep for Oklahoma City, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPN, who notes that the team is 12-0 in first-round games under head coach Mark Daigneault.
How should the Suns feel about their season? As Doug Haller of The Athletic writes, the team lost momentum in the second half, posting a record of 16-23 after February 1 (including play-in and playoff games). However, injuries played a part in that slide, and Phoenix’s performance in the first three months of the season far exceeded outside expectations for the club entering the fall. The Suns’ over/under was set at 31.5 wins and they finished 45-37.
“We were counted out,” forward Dillon Brooks said on Monday. “We were supposed to be a laughing-stock, losing team. And we proved a lot of people wrong.”
The general consensus among Suns players and coaches is that their 2025/26 performance represents a positive first step, with head coach Jordan Ott suggesting his team “should be proud” of what it accomplished, per Haller. Still, after Phoenix needed two games to advance through the play-in tournament and then didn’t register a win in the playoffs, star guard Devin Booker was disappointed the club couldn’t do a little more this spring.
“We exceeded everybody else’s expectation, but not ours,” he said.
Here’s more on the Suns:
- Ott earned praise from Suns players after Monday’s loss for the work he did and the foundation he set in Phoenix during his first year on the job, per Shane Young of Suns.com (Twitter link). “This is a building block to some stability and chemistry,” Booker said. “Something that’s been needed around here.”
- Booker didn’t score more than 24 points in any of the four playoff games vs. Oklahoma City and made just 5-of-20 (25.0%) of his three-pointers. While scoring against the Thunder’s league-best defense is no easy task, Haller of The Athletic notes that Booker no longer seems as capable of flipping the “alpha switch” as he once was, while Gerald Bourget of Suns After Dark evaluates the upside of Phoenix’s roster as long as the veteran guard is their leading man.
- After signing a one-year, minimum-salary contract to remain in Phoenix last offseason, guard Collin Gillespie enjoyed a breakout year, with career highs in points (12.7), assists (4.6), and rebounds (4.1) per game across 80 appearances (58 starts). Gillespie’s confidence is soaring as he prepares to reenter free agency, he told Logan Stanley of The Arizona Republic. “I learned a lot. I learned that I can play at a high level and that I belong,” Gillespie said. “I learned a lot, especially here in the playoffs, about championship-level stuff, playing a really good basketball team — the details in that.” Gillespie added that he hopes to remain with the Suns and said he and the team have had “good conversations” about that possibility.
- Besides negotiating a new deal with Gillespie, the Suns will also have to see if they can re-sign guard Jordan Goodwin and center Mark Williams, ESPN’s Bobby Marks writes within a preview of the team’s upcoming offseason. Brooks will also be entering the final year of his current contract and will be eligible to sign an extension that could be worth up to a maximum of $125.4MM over four seasons.
- A discrimination lawsuit filed against the Suns by former security employee Gene Traylor has been dismissed with prejudice. Baxter Holmes of ESPN has the story.
Pacific Notes: Kerr, Williams, Goodwin, James
Steve Kerr is thankful that he’s gotten the opportunity to coach future Hall-of-Famer Stephen Curry for the past 12 seasons, as Nick Friedell writes for The Athletic, and that relationship will be a significant factor Kerr takes into consideration as he weighs his decision on his coaching future.
“I don’t want to walk away from Steph,” Kerr said after the Warriors’ season ended. “I’m definitely not going and coaching somewhere else next year in the NBA. I would never walk away from Steph, but all the stuff has to be aligned and right.”
Kerr said that much of the success he experienced while building the team’s culture over the years came from the fact that he and Curry share the same values, not just in basketball but in life.
The 60-year-old coach will not rush his decision, nor will the team push him on it, according to Anthony Slater at ESPN. Instead, Kerr will take a week or two to gauge what he’s looking for over the next few years.
“It’s April,” a team source told Slater. “We don’t need to rush.”
We have more from around the Pacific Division:
- Mark Williams is out for the Suns‘ Game 3 against the Thunder on Saturday, Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic notes (via Twitter). Williams has missed the start of the series due to a stress reaction in his left foot that has kept him sidelined since April 10 and also forced him to miss 15 games in March. Oso Ighodaro started Game 2 in his place, though rookie big man Khaman Maluach closed the game, playing the entire fourth quarter.
- After grinding his way from depth piece to a valuable part of the rotation, the Suns need Jordan Goodwin‘s energy more than ever, Doug Haller writes for The Athletic. Goodwin made just 10 starts for Phoenix during the regular season, but six of those starts came in the final month, and he also started Game 1 before his calf injury sidelined him after just five minutes. Goodwin is a game-time decision for Saturday, Rankin writes (via Twitter), as is Grayson Allen.
- LeBron James added yet another magical playoff moment to his impressive collection in the Lakers‘ Game 3 victory over the Rockets on Friday, The Athletic’s Dan Woike writes. James capped off a 30-second, six-point comeback by hitting a three-pointer in front of the Rockets’ bench. His attempted game-winner moments later rimmed out, but he and the Lakers sealed the victory in overtime. “In the moment right now, I don’t really think about it,” teammate Rui Hachimura said of playing alongside James. “But I think in the future, I’ll start thinking about how crazy this whole thing was. Almost like in a dream, you know.”
Devin Booker Fined $35K For Criticizing Officials
Suns star Devin Booker has been fined $35K for his public criticism of the Game 2 referee crew, the NBA announced (via Twitter).
Following Wednesday’s loss, Booker was not shy in expressing his displeasure about receiving a technical foul, which he claimed was prompted by the Thunder’s Alex Caruso telling the referee to call it. The technical foul was rescinded after the game.
“In my 11 years, I haven’t called a ref out by name, but James (Williams) was terrible tonight, through and through,” Booker said. “It’s bad for the sport, bad for the integrity of the sport. People are going to start viewing this as a WWE if they’re not held responsible.”
Suns owner Mat Ishbia backed Booker up following the game, taking to Twitter to say that while the officiating wasn’t the reason they lost, it was still unacceptable.
“If the referees are going to demand respect from the players — as they should — then the players should demand respect from the referees,” Ishbia said. “When a referee is missing calls and clearly disrespecting the players, almost mocking them, they must be held accountable.”
The league said that following video review and inquiries, they “found no basis to any claim of bias or misconduct by game officials.”
Game 3 of the first-round series between the Suns and Thunder will be Saturday.
Suns’ Booker, Brooks Rip Officiating After Game 2 Loss
After losing a second consecutive game in Oklahoma City on Wednesday, Suns guard Devin Booker and forward Dillon Brooks aired their displeasure with the game’s officials during their respective post-game media sessions, according to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon and Doug Haller of The Athletic.
Asked about a technical foul he received during the third quarter, Booker said he never received an explanation for the call. The Suns guard was bumped by Thunder big man Jaylin Williams and threw the ball behind him as he was falling out of bounds, attempting to save it and throwing it off Williams in the process (Twitter video link). Although Williams was called for a personal foul on the play, Booker was also hit with a tech after some lobbying from Thunder guard Alex Caruso.
“It’s definitely something that has to be looked into,” Booker said. “I heard Caruso tell him to call the tech and he ended up doing it. In my 11 years, I haven’t called a ref out by name, but James (Williams) was terrible tonight, through and through. It’s bad for the sport, bad for the integrity of the sport. People are going to start viewing this as a WWE if they’re not held responsible.”
Booker was also called for a pair of offensive fouls while being defending by Caruso, including one where the two guards got tangled up running down the court (video link) and another where Caruso was defending him in the post (video link). Addressing the latter call, Booker said he was told he made an “unnatural shooting motion,” a ruling he strongly disagreed with.
“It just feels disrespectful,” Booker said of the officiating. “I know I haven’t won a championship in this league, but I have been in it for 11 years now. So to get to this point to be treated like that, for me to even be saying something out loud, it’s bad. … This is my first time (criticizing the officiating) in 11 years, but it’s needed. Whatever I get fined for it, everybody can pull the clips and see where the frustration is from.”
Brooks, meanwhile, was asked during his post-game presser about a fourth quarter play where he was called for his fifth foul while defending Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (video link).
“You all should be interviewing the officials,” Brooks said, according to Haller. “That should be a new thing in the NBA. Officials got to explain themselves. It’s getting ridiculous, and you can see it starts getting fiery. And there’s no control out there. And now they’re just whistling on one side.”
Brooks also referred to Gilgeous-Alexander as a “little frail,” adding that he needs to “be smarter” when he’s guarding his Team Canada teammate, based on what the referees are willing to call.
” I used to watch this back when Michael Jordan was playing or whoever else, when LeBron (James) was younger,” Brooks said, per MacMahon. “This is physical basketball. I don’t get why all the dropping and the falling and the flopping and the flailing and all this stuff is allowed when we get to the playoffs. Leave that for the (regular) season for the fans. This is about who’s the better team, who’s a more with-it team. Don’t decide the games on no free throws.”
The defending champion Thunder have outscored the Suns by a total of 48 points through the first two games of the series, though star forward Jalen Williams‘ availability is uncertain as the series heads to Phoenix for Game 3.
Pacific Notes: Suns, Smart, Reaves, Doncic, Lakers
The Suns have ruled Mark Williams out for Game 2 against the Thunder on Wednesday, Joel Lorenzi of The Athletic notes (via Twitter), adding that the big man is still in a walking boot.
Williams, who was previously considered questionable, is still experiencing soreness related to a left foot third metatarsal stress reaction that kept him on the shelf for 15 straight games in March. He returned for four contests in early April before being sidelined again.
Jordan Goodwin has also been ruled out while Grayson Allen has been upgraded to available after both warmed up with the intention to play, Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic reports (Twitter link). Head coach Jordan Ott acknowledged earlier in the day that Allen was the most ready to return of the trio, having been a full participant in shootaround and shown the ability to sprint at full speed.
Goodwin missed the second half of Game 1 as he continues to fight through a calf injury that has limited him since February. Allen is dealing with a hamstring strain that has kept him sidelined since April 10.
We have more from around the Pacific Division:
- Marcus Smart was tasked with taking the Kevin Durant matchup for the Lakers in Game 2’s win over the Rockets and he delivered, Dave McMenamin writes for ESPN. Durant made 1-for-3 shots and committed three turnovers when guarded by Smart. The former Defensive Player of the Year served as the team’s tone-setter, according to Thuc Nhi Nguyen of the Los Angeles Times, scoring 25 points and adding seven assists along to go with his five steals.
- The Lakers are weathering their first-round series without their two top scorers, but they are encouraged by the progress Austin Reaves (oblique) and Luka Doncic (hamstring) have made, Khobi Price writes for the California Post. Reaves has already begun his return-to-play protocols, while coach JJ Redick says that Doncic will be following suit soon. There is still no exact timeline for either player to be reactivated.
- Through two games, Smart has joined LeBron James and Luke Kennard to form an unexpected “big three” for the Lakers, Broderick Turner writes for the Los Angeles Times. The trio combined for 76 points and 16 assists in the club’s Game 2 victory, led by James’ 28-point, eight-rebound, seven-assist performance. “When you’ve got two big guns out like we have, we all got to pick up our play,” the four-time MVP said. “And that’s all it’s about. We’re all just trying to contribute, make contributions in all facets of the game, pick up our play. Obviously, we’re missing Luka and missing AR, so we’re just trying to seize the opportunity. That’s all.”
Suns Notes: Williams, Allen, Goodwin, Ott, Brooks
Suns center Mark Williams, who missed 15 games in March due to a third metatarsal stress reaction in his left foot, sat out last Friday’s play-in game vs. Golden State and Sunday’s Game 1 against Oklahoma City due to what the team called left foot soreness. According to Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic, Williams was wearing a walking boot at the Suns’ facility on Tuesday.
However, when head coach Jordan Ott was asked on Tuesday if Williams would be ruled out for the rest of the first-round series, he said the club is “just continuing to take it day-by-day,” per Rankin. And the Suns’ injury report doesn’t suggest they’re necessarily expecting a lengthy absence for the big man — he’s considered questionable to suit up on Wednesday for Game 2.
Still, it’s worth noting that Williams’ injury designation has been updated to “left foot third metatarsal stress reaction,” confirming that the soreness he’s experiencing is directly related to the issue that sidelined him last month.
We have more on the Suns, including a couple more injury updates:
- Suns wing Grayson Allen hasn’t played since April 10 due to a left hamstring strain, despite being listed as available for each of the team’s past two contests. He went through a full practice on Tuesday and is “definitely making progress,” according to Ott (via Rankin). Allen is considered questionable for Game 2, though even if his status is upgraded, it’s unclear whether he’ll actually see any action.
- Suns guard Jordan Goodwin, who missed seven straight games in left February and early March due to a left calf strain, is dealing with soreness in that same calf. As Rankin notes, he missed the second half of Sunday’s game and is listed as questionable to play on Wednesday. “(He) feels pretty good,” Ott said on Tuesday. “I don’t think it’s quite as bad as it was in February. We know it’s the playoffs. We always talk about all hands on deck. So we’ll take whoever we can get at this time of the year. Any minutes from any of those guys is impactful and helpful for our group. We’ll wait and see (Wednesday).”
- Ott was impressive during his first regular season as a head coach, but he faces a new challenge in these playoffs against the defending champions and the No. 1 seed in the West, writes Doug Haller of The Athletic. While Haller acknowledges that no one expects Ott’s Suns to beat Oklahoma City, he says it’s important the team is competitive over the course of the series.
- Suns forward Dillon Brooks – who earned praise from rival Draymond Green for the impact he has made in Phoenix this season, as Taylor Wirth of NBC Sports Bay Area details – says he’s determined to make Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander work harder on defense in Game 2, per Rankin. “You see a guy like that going hard on the offensive end all game and trying to get a rest on defense,” Brooks said. “I’ll find a way to make him use his legs, use his hands, use his mind on that defensive end, most of the time, he’s going to break down and then you can go out and make plays.”
2026 NBA Draft Tiebreaker Results
Tiebreakers among teams with identical regular-season records were broken on Monday through random drawings to determine the order for this year’s draft prior to the lottery.
The NBA has posted a video of the tiebreaking procedure (Twitter link). The results are as follows, according to a press release from the league (Twitter link):
- Utah Jazz (No. 4) over Sacramento Kings (No. 5)
- The Jazz’s pick will land in the top eight, meaning their obligation to the Thunder will be extinguished.
- New Orleans Pelicans (No. 7) over Dallas Mavericks (No. 8)
- The Pelicans will get one more lottery ball combination (out of 1,000) than the Mavericks.
- The Pelicans’ pick will be sent to the Hawks (if it’s more favorable than Milwaukee’s) or Bucks (if it’s not).
- Phoenix Suns (No. 16) over Philadelphia 76ers (No. 17) over Orlando Magic (No. 18)
- The Suns’ pick will be sent to the Grizzlies.
- The Sixers’ pick will be sent to the Thunder.
- The Magic’s pick will be sent to the Hornets.
- Toronto Raptors (No. 19) over Atlanta Hawks (No. 20)
- The Hawks’ pick will be sent to the Spurs.
- Houston Rockets (No. 22) over Cleveland Cavaliers (No. 23)
- The Rockets’ pick will be sent to the Sixers.
- The Cavaliers’ pick will be sent to the Hawks.
- New York Knicks (No. 24) over Los Angeles Lakers (No. 25)
While the tiebreaker winner will pick ahead of the loser(s) in the first round, that order will be flipped in the second round.
For instance, the Magic’s second-round pick will be at No. 46, followed by the Sixers’ pick (traded to Phoenix) at No. 47, and the Suns’ second-rounder (traded to the Mavericks) at No. 48 — that’s the opposite of their order in the first round.
For lottery teams that finished with identical records, the second-round order is still to be determined depending on the lottery results.
For example, if the Jazz’s first-round pick stays at No. 4 and the Kings’ first-rounder stays at No. 5, Sacramento’s second-round pick would be at No. 34 and Utah’s (traded to San Antonio) would be at No. 35. But if the Kings win the No. 1 overall pick on lottery night, moving ahead of Utah in the first round, then the Jazz’s second-round pick (to San Antonio) would be No. 34, while Sacramento would move down to No. 35.
We’ll publish the full lottery odds and pre-lottery draft order for 2026 later today.