On June 24, 2023, the Phoenix Suns traded for Bradley Beal in a three-team blockbuster deal with the Wizards and Pacers forming a “Big 3” with Kevin Durant and Devin Booker. At the time, it looked like the best acquisition of the offseason considering Beal was just coming off a season averaging just over 23 points per game, and two seasons prior to that was an all-star, finishing second in the entire NBA in points per game (31.3) behind Stephen Curry. Financially, in the current state of the league under the current CBA, the move to acquire Beal was risky, especially considering he was set to be paid $46.7 million during the 2023-2024 season, but Suns owner Mat Ishbia wanted to maximize the talent surrounding an aging superstar in Kevin Durant and his co-star, Devin Booker. Since that trade, the Suns’ core has played a whopping 56 games together (including playoffs) out of 118 possible games. Between constant injuries keeping Durant, Booker, or Beal out of the lineup and the three failing to mesh together and create some type of chemistry offensively, I think it is safe to say that Phoenix needs to cut its losses and blow this roster up.
Under the current CBA agreement, teams are now more restricted and penalized than ever to improve rosters and reward their players with lucrative contracts. This was set to prevent bigger market franchises from “buying” stars in free agency and instead build these teams from the ground up. Ironically, this idea has backfired because the Minnesota Timberwolves were put in a position recently where they were forced to make a decision on whether they were going to keep Karl-Anthony Towns who they drafted first overall in 2015, or package him in a trade with another team, ultimately with him being traded to the New York Knicks. Towns who was fresh off his fourth all-star appearance and entering the first season under his new contract extension was shocked. Minnesota finished 56-26 (3rd in the Western Conference) and made only their second conference finals appearance in 20 years, beating the reigning champion, Denver Nuggets, in a tough game 7 road victory in the process. What would provoke them to make this decision and cut ties with one of the faces of their franchise? Well, KAT is set to carry a cap hit of $49.2 million for the 2024-25 season and has a $61 million player option for the 2027-28 season. By keeping him on the roster, Minnesota would be in the second apron for years to come which would have restricted them from making roster improvements and penalized them greatly. Key bench pieces such as Naz Reid and Nickeil Alexander-Walker would have been forced to walk in free agency for Minnesota to avoid the same issues Phoenix is dealing with now.
Being in the first and second apron is brutal and comes with harsh restrictions and penalties if teams continue to stay there. Some of the first apron restrictions include not being able to acquire a player via sign-and-trade, not taking back more salary in a trade than they send out, and are restricted from using the non-taxpayer mid-level exception or bi-annual exception. If a team is in the second apron, they can’t aggregate contracts and send cash in trades, are restricted to any taxpayer mid-level exception in free agency, and can’t trade a first-round pick seven years in the future. If that team is over the second apron in three out of five seasons, that pick falls to the bottom of the first round.
In previous CBA agreements, if teams crossed the luxury tax threshold, there would only be increased financial penalties, but now there are additional consequences once over that line. This targeted big spenders like the Phoenix Suns, Golden State Warriors, and the Los Angeles Clippers to discourage them from spending more than other teams. The idea is to create more of an even-level playing field and increase parity around the league. Despite these rules, Ishbia and the Suns still decided to add Beal and his pricey contract to the payroll, along with other veteran additions, which immediately put them above the second apron. After getting swept in the first round by the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Suns had to find a way to improve their roster in the offseason. They eventually ended up signing Tyus Jones, Mason Plumlee, and Monte Morris each for the vet minimum while also drafting Ryan Dunn and Oso Ighodaro to help with the team’s lack of size, defensive versatility, athleticism, and youth. To start this season, Phoenix notched an 8-1 record in some tight victories. Unfortunately, since then, Booker, Durant, and Beal have been consistently in and out of the lineup and have gone on multiple extended losing streaks, including an abysmal 1-9 record without Durant. This isn’t the first time Durant’s co-stars have struggled to win games without him, but it is disappointing to see Beal and Booker off to rough starts to the season considering the type of players they both are. After several months of denying it and “trying” to dodge reality, it’s time for Mat Ishbia and the Suns front office to accept reality. They took a risk by going all in, and it didn’t work out, which is okay. What is not okay is beating on a dead horse and continuing to try and make this thing work when the evidence there that this group won’t be successful together. The signs are there and tell the story itself. Durant did not sign a contract extension this past offseason, which tells me he learned from his mistake in Brooklyn by signing too early. He is on an expiring contract next season and could potentially walk for nothing in 2026 free agency. They own no first-round draft capital for the rest of this DECADE, the Big 3 take up over $151 million of the cap space this season, their best player is 36 playing 36 minutes per game carrying the offensive load while also being their most productive anchor/rim protector. Beal also has a no-trade clause in his contract which restricts the Suns from potentially moving him to a new destination if they were to find a suitor for him. Even if Beal waived his no-trade clause it would be difficult to find a team willing to take on that contract and his inability to be consistently available. Rumors have been flying around about Jimmy Butler being interested in joining either Golden State or Phoenix via trade, but Miami already showed a lack of interest in Beal in 2023, so I doubt Pat Riley would pull the trigger to acquire him now.
PHX’s best bet at this point is to trade Kevin Durant to a contender of his choice and get back some of the draft capital and youth talent they have lost in return. There’s plenty of teams out west struggling throughout the first quarter of the season, and KD is still a top 7 player on this planet. Some potential fits that would be beneficial for all parties would be Houston, Minnesota, Golden State, OKC, and Miami just to name a few. Some of those teams mentioned are having early success, but are a KD addition away from putting them over the top. For example, Houston has an elite defense, but a poor halfcourt offense. By adding KD, he provides an additional bucket who has the ability to score from all areas of the floor and score in late-game situations. OKC on the other hand has one of the best offenses and defenses in the entire league. They are the number one seed in the West and are showing that they are still a highly productive unit in the regular season even without Chet Holmgren. At times though, Jalen Williams struggles to create for himself and generate buckets in close late-game situations, which was seen more recently against Dallas in the playoffs. Making this move would solidify OKC head and shoulders over their peers in the West and reduce the few holes they already have. Moving on from KD would possibly mean the end of Booker in Phoenix as well because it doesn’t seem in his best interest to stay in another rebuilding era, so by doing this they can obtain even more of that draft capital they have lost and start from scratch. By blowing it up, they will have a future to look forward to and avoid these penalties, but if the Suns continue to delay the inevitable, at some point, you have to call a spade, a spade.