Jordan Goodwin played 40 games for the Phoenix Suns in 2023-24. He was awesome, but still became a roster casualty as part of the Royce O'Neale trade, in which Goodwin was sent to Brooklyn and immediately waived. He bounced around the league a bit, playing in Memphis, Los Angeles, and then finding his way back to Phoenix where he's been awesome _again_.
To the Phoenix Suns front office: Please don't make the same mistake again. Sign Jordan Goodwin to a multi-year deal. He's played almost a full season now if you combine his two stints, and he's been a positive, impactful player the entire time. I understand the original move to add Royce — but now you have them both! It's the greatest trade ever!
The Suns defense was so bad last year that being No. 15 in DRTG right now feels like we're watching the 2004 Spurs. Goodwin, along with Dillon Brooks, have been massive boons to that side of the ball. Replacing that is harder than teams think — and the Suns don't need to replace it if they re-sign Goodwin before another team can get their claws on him.
Jordan Goodwin is becoming a Suns cult hero
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The 2025-26 Suns season was not supposed to be this fun. Pundits [tried to tell the beautiful people](https://valleyofthesuns.com/espn-slaps-suns-with-worst-distinction-possible-worst-future) of Arizona that their team would be terrible this year and terrible for the foreseeable future. I never bought into the propaganda, and if you're reading this, I doubt you did, either.
Clearly, we have been vindicated in the early returns. Our intelligence knows no bounds. Jordan Goodwin has been a vital reason for this thrilling start. He's shot the 3-pointer better than he ever has — but even if that shooting dips as the season progresses, his defensive upside and feel for the game make him a massively valuable player every night. That's a player who any team in the NBA should want, whether they're rebuilding or competing. Keeping him around won't be a massive financial burden, and it will raise the defensive floor of this team for however long he's around.
That sounds like a no-brainer to me, but my personal brain has mostly turned to mush, so maybe I'm off base here.
I'm not sure what more Goodwin has to "prove" to get more than a vet's minimum deal or a two-way contract in this league. When he's put into a role that maximizes his skills, like he currently is in Phoenix, he's _awesome_. [Jordan Ott is relying on him](https://valleyofthesuns.com/oso-ighodaro-thrown-major-lifeline-suns-jordan-ott) each night, and Goodwin is delivering consistently on what he's expected to do.
Letting Jordan Goodwin go once, shame on you. Letting Jordan Goodwin go _twice_? Even more shame on you! Don't let it happen!