Analyst Predicts Suns' Biggest Riser and Faller for 2025-26 Season

After shaking up the roster this offseason, the Phoenix Suns have plenty of opportunities for growth within their system.

Trading away Kevin Durant and waiving Bradley Beal left a lot of gaps to be filled alongside Devin Booker, but the Suns have several players who could step up in big ways.

Who Is Poised to Make the Biggest Jump on the Suns?

Phoenix stockpiled new young talent this offseason highlighted by Jalen Green, Mark Williams and No. 10 pick Khaman Maluach, but Bleacher Report's Grant Hughes feels a veteran will be the Suns biggest riser of the 2025-26 season.

Hughes chose Grayson Allen for this title, writing:

"No Kevin Durant and no Bradley Beal means Allen should again become a valuable spacer in the Phoenix Suns' offense. Allen didn't disappear last year, and he still shot a sterling 42.6 percent from deep. But he played almost 10 fewer minutes per game than he did in 2023-24 and went from starting 74 games to seven.

"A repeat of 2023-24's 46.1 percent three-point hit rate is unlikely, mostly because that's a historically high number for even modera te-volume snipers. But Allen should see his standing in the Suns' hierarchy improve, along with his production."

Allen, who has been involved in trade rumors, is certainly an interesting choice, but will have a lead role off the bench for this team.

Allen will be 30 years old at the start of the season and doesn't mesh with Phoenix's new younger timeline, but he will have a great opportunity to assert himself in big minutes, as he showed in his breakout first season with the Suns in 2023-24.

Ryan Dunn seems like a more likely candidate for this title heading into his sophomore season, as he is already elite defensively, but has a lot of room to grow offensively, and new coach Jordan Ott's system should set him up wonderfully to take a big step forward on that side of the ball.

Green is also determined to take this title after a disappointing end to last season with the Houston Rockets, but it remains to be seen how he fits next to Booker.

The Suns would love to see Green take the next step in his progression perhaps more than any other player for the future of the team.

Who Will Be the Suns' Biggest Faller?

Hughes also predicted the Suns' biggest faller of next season, choosing Williams.

"Williams is basically a catch-and-finish scorer who adds a few extra points on the offensive glass, which makes him ill-suited for a Suns team that lacks reliable setup men," Hughe s wrote. "Devin Booker is better than most wings as a facilitator, but neither he nor Jalen Green is an actual point guard.

"Those two project to make up the Suns' starting backcourt.

"Williams could find it much harder to score without help from his teammates, and the Suns' defensive infrastructure isn't exactly ideal for hiding some of his lapses on that end either."

Hughes has a point about the Suns not having a point guard, and this season could really make or break Williams' position in the league as he enters the final season of his rookie contract after being acquired via trade this offseason.

However, Williams could also rise a lot if he stays healthy, proves himself as a rim protector and develops pick-and-roll chemistry with Booker and Green.

Nick Richards would make more sense for this title simply because he is going from Phoenix's starting center last year to either the backup behind Williams or third string behind Maluach.

Williams has a lot to prove this season with his injury history, and the Suns will hope he doesn't take a step back but rather asserts himself as their starting center for at least the next few years.

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