Evaluating Suns' Biggest Need This Summer — And How They Can Fix It

The Suns have a glaring need at this position this summer.

Mar 28, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Phoenix Suns head Coach Jordan Ott with forward Rasheer Fleming (20) against the Utah Jazz at Mortgage Matchup Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

PHOENIX -- The Phoenix Suns' roster construction following the Kevin Durant trade last summer was always wonky with a lot of positional overlap, but the Suns found a way to make it work by exceeding all presseson expectations with a 45-37 record.

Phoenix's top players this season were all 6-foot-6 or shorter, and coach Jordan Ott was able to craft a system built around forcing turnovers and playing with speed to counteract the size differential, but the Suns were outplayed by several bigger teams late in the season as they got more accustomed to Phoenix's strategy.

With free agency just a few weeks away, the Suns have a clear need for adding more size on the wings, but they are also going to have to figure out how to fit in playing bigger while keeping mostly the same players.

How Suns Can Addres Size Issue This Offseason

It's very likely that the Suns don't make a splashy move to address their size issue, but instead rather play their young players more and maybe make a marginal move to add depth.

Phoenix ranked 29th in the NBA in defensive rebounding, as 6-foot-3 Jordan Goodwin was really their only dynamic rebounder outside of centers Mark Williams and Oso Ighodaro, who also both struggled on the glass at times.

"One of our points of emphasis is to get much better on the defensive glass because at times that did hurt us, no doubt about it," Suns general manager Brian Gregory said at his end-of-season press conference on April 30. "Conversely, our ability to offensive rebound many times compensated or even kept us in the plus when it came to that.

"Can you merge the two with our current roster? I think you can. There's got to be a greater point emphasis. Do young guys need to get stronger? Do our schemes and and system on defense need to tighten up some as we enter into year two of that? All those points are, critical for us.

"At the same time, as I said, there's never a point where we're not always looking and having communication on: Is there players out there that fit what we're all about that can help in some of those areas? And it's an area that we need to address, and it's an area that we need to improve in, and I think we will for sure."

It's clear the Suns recognize they have a problem in the size department, and they are evaluating outside options to help it, but might just end up resorting to internal development, which another area they stressed in the end-of-season press conference.

Any bigger wing that comes in would likely take playing time away from Rasheer Fleming, who is poised to have a much bigger role in his sophomore season, and could be the best answer the Suns have for this problem.

Khaman Maluach could also be a major help in this area heading into his second year depending on what the Suns decide to do with Williams in restricted free agency.

Phoenix also has Ryan Dunn, who fell out of the rotation late in the year but still has room for growth going into his third season, as another wing player who could help them overcome their size differential if his offense improves.

The fact of the matter is the Suns already have options on their roster to fix this issue, but it will come down to how Ott wants to address the problem on the court and change up his system a little bit to allow for more playing time for size.