Media days have started for some teams around the NBA, including the Phoenix Suns, and one player who drew a ton of praise, especially from new head coach Jordan Ott, was former Nugget Collin Gillespie. During his press conference, Ott raved about Gillespie, saying things have clicked for him and repeatedly commenting on what an excellent summer he has had.
Jordan Ott says everything has “clicked” for Collin Gillespie 👀 pic.twitter.com/apiESZrO7u
— PHNX Suns (@PHNX_Suns) September 24, 2025
This is just a painful reminder for Nuggets fans as the team picked up the undrafted NCAA hero from Villanova on a two-way deal. He became a fan favorite in the G-League, picking up an NBA championship ring in the process, then came back for the 2023-24 season, and actually showed some promise during his opportunities in Denver.
But the Nuggets didn’t prioritize Gillespie and let him walk to Phoenix, where he earned a full contract after a solid showing last season. Now, it sounds like he has taken another leap as a player and is ready to make a major impact for the Suns this season.
Nuggets have done a poor job recognizing two-way talent
For Denver, it appears to be another mismanaged asset and another player that the front office badly misjudged. They should never have let him walk, and they could have easily signed him to a value contract that wouldn’t have hindered other roster building in any way.
To make matters worse, the Nuggets currently have an open roster spot and a glaring hole at the backup point guard position. Gillespie is an extremely steady hand in the backcourt who’s a dog on the defensive end, and takes care of the ball and hits shots on offense.
If things truly have clicked for Gillespie and he becomes an every-night rotation player, he’s basically exactly what the Nuggets need, and would have been an ideal 15th man for this current roster. But instead, he’s another young player who never got a real chance in Denver, only to go on and make an impact elsewhere, a la Jay Huff, Isaiah Hartenstein, and others.
It’s a missed opportunity, and one that could even prove costly depending on how things play out. The Nuggets don’t want to spend a lot more money, and even if they did, there aren’t exactly a lot of reliable backup point guards readily available on the market.
Maybe they can get by with what they have, leaning on Jamal Murray, hoping Jalen Pickett is ready for major minutes, and trying to patch together playmaking and ball-handling from other positions. But maybe it doesn’t work out, and the lack of a reliable floor general off the bench ultimately sinks this team. That would just be the cherry on top of this potentially nightmarish Collin Gillespie sundae.