Several delusional NBA fanbases are hitting the wall all but one franchise will run into: They lost. Not only did they lose, but the loss exposed significant flaws in the team moving forward.
Don’t get me wrong. I think any good fan of a playoff team goes into the late-season hopeful that their team will win it all. There’s nothing wrong with that, but the reality is that every team but one goes home with nothing but doubt and questions.
There’s nothing better for a blog than doubt and questions. I’m excited to discuss the futures of teams making early exits this year, and thanks to some early speculation in The Camp’s text chat, the Phoenix Suns are up first.
2023-24 Recap
The Suns’ limitations have been fairly obvious all season, even when fully healthy. Kevin Durant and Devin Booker each averaged around 27 points per game, but they didn’t get anywhere close to enough help.
Grayson Allen shot 46% from three and was a revelation, but he only averaged 13.5 points per game, which signals some severe offensive inefficiencies. I know if I had the best three-point shooter in the league, I’d be getting him more than 6 attempts per game.
Of course, new owner Mat Ishbia’s big offseason move was to bring in Bradley Beal. While name recognition and marketability are great, it’s also nice if your $50 million-per-year player is capable of playing basketball. I’m not convinced Beal can anymore. He averaged 18 points, five assists, and four rebounds per game, which wouldn’t be bad if he was making $10 million. But he’s making 50. Not to mention he missed 29 games and hasn’t made it to the 65-game mark in five seasons. Beal closed up his shit season with a nine/two/one on 4/13 shooting. Mat, you’re paying that guy $50 million plus for three more seasons?
The Phoenix supporting cast was as expected for a team paying its top-three guys $150 million. Outside of Allen, Jusuf Nurkic and Eric Gordon (yuck) were the only other players averaging double figures.
All these issues were exposed by Minnesota in a first-round sweep. Beal was terrible, Nurkic was exposed, and other role players were asked to miraculously become stars. It doesn’t matter who your best two are if they are supported by a roster full of minimum-level players.. The worst part is that there aren’t a ton of options heading into the summer.
Assets and Outlook
Here’s a look at the current contracts Phoenix had on the books this year.
| Player | Age | 2023-24 | 2024-25 | 2025-26 | 2026-27 | 2027-28 | Guaranteed |
| Kevin Durant | 35 | $47,649,433 | $51,179,021 | $54,708,609 | $153,537,063 | ||
| Bradley Beal | 30 | $46,741,590 | $50,203,930 | $53,666,270 | $57,128,610 | $150,611,790 | |
| Devin Booker | 27 | $36,016,200 | $49,700,000 | $53,676,000 | $57,652,000 | $61,628,000 | $258,672,200 |
| Jusuf Nurkić | 29 | $16,875,000 | $18,125,000 | $19,375,000 | $54,375,000 | ||
| Royce O’Neale | 30 | $9,500,000 | $9,500,000 | ||||
| Grayson Allen | 28 | $8,925,000 | $15,625,000 | $16,875,000 | $18,125,000 | $19,375,000 | $59,550,000 |
| Nassir Little | 24 | $6,250,000 | $6,750,000 | $7,250,000 | $7,750,000 | $28,000,000 | |
| Eric Gordon | 35 | $3,196,448 | $3,356,271 | $3,196,448 | |||
| Josh Okogie | 25 | $2,815,937 | $2,956,734 | $2,815,937 | |||
| David Roddy | 23 | $2,718,240 | $2,847,240 | $4,831,766 | $5,565,480 | ||
| Damion Lee | 31 | $2,528,233 | $2,845,342 | $2,528,233 | |||
| Drew Eubanks | 27 | $2,346,614 | $2,654,644 | $5,001,258 | |||
| Bol Bol | 24 | $2,019,706 | $2,019,706 | ||||
| Thaddeus Young | 35 | ||||||
| Ish Wainright | 29 | ||||||
| Isaiah Thomas | 35 | ||||||
| Saben Lee | 24 | ||||||
| Udoka Azubuike | 24 | ||||||
| Keon Johnson | 22 | $2,808,720 | $2,808,720 | ||||
| Team Totals | $190,391,121 | $190,618,182 | $193,507,645 | $122,530,610 | $61,628,000 | $687,556,835 |
Players under contract next year: Durant, Booker, Beal, Allen, Nurkic, Little, Gordon, Okogie, Roddy, Lee, Eubanks
Draft Picks:
- 2024 1st
- 2024 2nd (via SAS)
- 2026 1st (swap with WAS or ORL)
- 2026 2nd (worst of DET, MIL, ORL)
- 2028 1st (swap with BKN)
- 2028 2nd (via MEM)
- 2028 2nd (via BOS if 46-60)
- 2029 2nd (via MEM)
- 2030 1st (swap with WAS or MEM)
Simply put, the Suns’ draft capital situation is dire. They don’t fully control their own first rounder until 2031. Even if they had picks to trade, as a second-apron team, they aren’t allowed to take a penny more in salary in a trade than they send out.
There’s a lot of juicy speculation about Phoenix’s future, and I have no problem adding some fuel to that fire. Speculating is what I do, right? The Suns have already replaced Frank Vogel with Mike Budenholzer, but the roster composition is clearly the real issue here.
If the Suns want to make a major move, it would likely have to include one of their three major stars. All three of them have been included in some sort of trade speculation dating back to the regular season.
The contracts are so large that any sort of trade would be incredibly unlikely, but it’s still fun to throw some ideas around, right? Why not have some fun here. Let’s take a look at the potential avenues for Phoenix this offseason.
Devin Booker asks for a trade
All the speculation surrounding Booker involves his desire to play for the Knicks. He’s close with Leon Rose and World Wide Wes, and the Knicks have some assets to throw around. If Booker chooses to move on, which is highly unlikely, it would be to go to New York.
Here’s what a straight-up trade would look like:
Randle is pretty much required to be included the deal for the financials to have any chance of working. After that, DiVincenzo and McBride are the two assets I see as most attractive to Phoenix given the financial constraints. You could alter those a little bit if you choose, but those are the three I settled on.
The real kicker here is the draft picks. Phoenix can completely reset its future draft capital with these three unprotected firsts and a fourth top-10 protected first. Throw in a couple seconds and I think you at least have a decent return for Booker.
However, the Suns fans in my life weren’t too happy with Julius Randle and picks being the basis for a trade, so let’s get a little spicier.
Atlanta is another team with big decisions to make this summer. I think it’s fairly likely that the Hawks decide to split up their backcourt duo via trade, and this might be a good opportunity for them to make a move there.
Phoenix: Can I interest you in Trae Young?
Oh, and surprise! I got rid of Bradley Beal for you. I think that’s worth the price of admission alone.
It might be crazy, but I really don’t see why any of these teams would say no. The Suns get starpower back with Trae, and they can fill out some depth with Capela, Hunter, and DiVincenzo. How about an additional two firsts for your trouble? Seem fair?
Atlanta still improves, in my view. Sure they get the Beal albatross back, but is he much worse than Trae Young? Plus, Randle gives them some desperately-needed versatility and is a better fit with Dejounte Murray. I’d be all for it. Plus, you’re guaranteed at least another first rounder.
From Phoenix’s perspective, this deal gets them the starpower Ishbia wants while rebalancing the overall roster and assets. I don’t think Booker is leaving, but this is the sort of deal it would take. All I ask is that you at least keep it in mind!
The Kevin Durant era in Phoenix ends
The other serious trade option would be to end the Kevin Durant experiment. Again, highly unlikely. But still possible! What if KD wakes up one day and decides he wants out again? It could happen! It’s not exactly a secret that he’s got some issues with the Suns’ approach this past season.
There’s a few different avenues here. Chad Johnson (yes, Ochocinco) recently speculated about a move to the Miami Heat. Why not put together a trade?
In terms of value, I think Miami would have to throw in a future first to make it worthwhile for Phoenix. The Suns would also have to extend Butler, and the Heat would likely want similar assurances from Durant. It’s a reset for both sides, and that’s what this is focused on accomplishing. Would there be questions about Booker and Butler together? Of course.
How crazy would it be if Durant went back to Golden State? There have been whispers. A third team is basically a requirement to make any sort of deal work, but it’s possible.
My thinking here is this: San Antonio needs a point guard. It will likely draft one, so why not pay Chris Paul to mentor that guy for a year? The Collins and Johnson extensions haven’t exactly worked out, so the Spurs can offload those too while picking up some draft capital. The Warriors get Durant. They are happy. Phoenix gets some quality draft picks, adds Wiggins and Johnson as depth pieces, and gambles on Kuminga as a future star. He showed some flashes of serious potential, and a change of scenery could be all he needs to fully flourish. It’s risky, but it works.
The Suns find a way out of the Beal contract
Let’s face it. The Beal contract might be the worst in the NBA. He’ll make over $50 million next year, and it’s debatable whether or not he’s worth even half as much.
An albatross of a contract like that would likely require Phoenix to attach assets in order to make it worth another team’s while. However, as I discussed earlier, the Suns don’t have a ton to offer in that regard. They mostly have downside swap rights, and the 2024 draft pick won’t be worth much.
The only other option for Phoenix is to fix someone else’s problem. Hello, Brooklyn.
First of all, I don’t think in a million years that Brooklyn would actually do this. The Nets are a year away from freedom from their own terrible contract, and I don’t see why they would willingly take on a worse deal for two years on top of that. This is especially true when all they get is two second-round picks. That’s pretty much all Phoenix has to offer, though.
On the other side, Beal would have to waive his no-trade clause. Why Phoenix didn’t get that removed in the initial trade is beyond me, but that’s besides the point. If that happens, it’s a great deal for Phoenix. $40 million for one year is much better than $50 million plus for three.
Again, Brooklyn would have to be pretty dumb to seriously consider this, but hey. The Nets have a history of pretty dumb decision making.
The reality is that Phoenix likely won’t do anything drastic
The Suns are in a pretty difficult spot. There’s no way around it.
Mike Budenholzer’s arrival feels like a smokescreen at best. The roster is built like an abandoned crack house in the inner city with two lamborghinis parked out front. There’s just not much any coach can do with that.
Phoenix is stuck with the Beal contract. That much is clear. He’s not going anywhere.
It’s not likely that Booker leaves, either. He has had chances in the past to leave when the team was much worse, and yet he stayed. I don’t see why he would make that sort of decision now. A godfather offer by the Knicks could be alluring, but Booker would have to go out of his way to ask out for that sort of deal to even be on the table.
If anything major happens, it would probably be a Durant trade. He’s left three franchises previously, and I wouldn’t call any of those exits amicable. I certainly wouldn’t put it past him to have another bad one. If he asks out, the options open up a bit. The options I brought up with Miami or Golden State are certainly possible, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see someone else come in with a major offer. The Suns could completely reset their draft future in that sort of deal.
Nonetheless, the most realistic situation, and what I think will happen, is that the Suns will run it back with this core. Ownership is clearly committed to this group, and I don’t see Mat Ishbia giving up after one bad year. Should the Suns try and make some drastic changes? Probably, but I don’t see it happening. The contracts are too big, and the Suns don’t have the assets to swing the moves they need to make.