Free agent guard Collin Gillespie will remain with the Suns on a four-year, $48MM contract, sources tell ESPN’s Shams Charania (Twitter link). The contract is fully guaranteed, according to Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Twitter link).
The new deal displays the team’s faith in the 26-year-old guard, who is coming off a breakthrough season in his second year with Phoenix. He set a franchise record by making 232 three-pointers and established career highs by averaging 12.7 points, 4.1 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.2 steals in 80 games. Gillespie became a consistent starter for the first time in his career and helped the Suns earn a playoff spot.
Gillespie also personifies the organization’s new commitment to grit and toughness, notes Charania (Twitter link), who said negotiations took place over the past week with Jordan Gertler and James Dunleavy, Gillespie’s agents at Excel Sports Management.
It’s the first multiyear contract for Gillespie, who began his career on three two-way deals after going undrafted out of Villanova in 2022. The first two were with Denver, where he appeared in 24 games during the 2023/24 season. He moved onto Phoenix a year later, getting into 33 games, and received a one-year minimum deal last summer.
Assuming Gillespie gets standard raises, his contract breaks down to about $10.7MM for next season, $11.6MM for 2027/28, $12.4MM for 2028/29 and $13.3MM for 2029/30, projects Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter link).
Gillespie’s new deal brings the Suns to within about $4MM of the projected $200.5MM luxury tax line for next season with 12 players under contract, according to Yossi Gozlan of The Third Apron (Twitter link). Gozlan states that Phoenix will need to cut salary elsewhere to be able to re-sign free agent guard Jordan Goodwin and fill out the roster without moving into tax territory.
The Suns also have to work out a new deal with restricted free agent center Mark Williams, but Smith notes (Twitter link) that they can trim salary by declining a $2.6MM team option on Jamaree Bouyea and parting with Haywood Highsmith, whose $3MM deal only carries a $1MM guarantee until January 10.
