4 Suns Role Players Who Could Emerge As Starters Next Season

PHOENIX -- The Phoenix Suns were surprisingly one of the deeper teams in the NBA this season because of how well players stepped up when their names were called.

Heading into next season, the Suns will likely have almost the same roster, which means the biggest changes could end up coming internally.

Throughout the 2025-26 season, Phoenix really had seven players establish themselves as capable starters: Devin Booker, Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, Mark Williams, Collin Gillespie, Jordan Goodwin and Royce O'Neale.

Here's who else could emerge as a starter in the 2026-27 season:

1. Rasheer Fleming

Fleming might not open the season as the team's fifth starter alongside Booker, Green, Brooks and whoever the starting center is, but could eventually fill in this role based on how he performs with more minutes in his second season.

The Suns need size, which is why fans have pleaded for Fleming to either start or get increased minutes, but the reality is he will need to prove himself more first after not seeing a lot of playing time in his rookie season.

Still, Fleming makes a lot of sense as a prime candidate for the fifth starter based on what he brings to the table, but it might take some time for him to get there.

Read more about what Fleming said about potentially starting by clicking here.

2. Oso Ighodaro or Khaman Maluach

If Mark Williams leaves in restricted free agency, one of Oso Ighodaro or Khaman Maluach will likely take his place as the starting center.

Phoenix has a lot more trust in Ighodaro at this point, so he would almost certainly be the choice over Maluach right now, as evidenced by the end of this season, but like Fleming, Maluach would have a chance to prove himself with more minutes.

Ideally, Maluach develops rapidly for the Suns after they selected him No. 10 overall last season and ends up being the center of the future, but that might not be the case as of now with how well Ighodaro performed in his role this season.

3. Grayson Allen

Injuries really hampered Allen's season, but he still finished fourth on the team in scoring with a career-high 16.5 points per game, and the Suns also put a lot of trust in his ability to score and create offensively.

If Allen stays healthy, he could be the next-in-line starter barring injuries and end the year as a regular starter, just as O'Neale and Gillespie did this season.

Allen started over half his games played this season (27 of 51), but wasn't really a typical starter after the beginning of the season when he started his first 18 games played and then dealt with various injuries.

That could change next season if he's able to stay healthy.

4. Haywood Highsmith

Highsmith is a bit of a wildcard in this mix, as he showed some really good flashes in the very limited time he played last season.

If the Suns decide to guarantee his contract and he has a good preseason without injuries, it wouldn't be a surprise to see him as the fifth starter because of his veteran experience and 7-foot wingspan.

Highsmith arguably is the most established 3-and-D player on the team, and if he can excel in his role and avoid injury in training camp, the Suns might turn to him as the fifth starter.

Still, we would expect Phoenix's opening night starting lineup as of this moment to be Booker, Green, Goodwin, Brooks and either Williams or Ighodaro.

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