$160 million for four years, $120 million for four years, these are two contracts that Paul has signed in the past. Paul was blamed for signing a $160 million contract with the Rockets, and many Houston fans thought he only cared about big contracts and didn't want to cut his salary for the championship. When he signed a 120 million contract extension with the Suns last year, although Paul had already teamed up with Booker to lead the team to the finals, the annual salary in the second half of the contract had to be questioned.
Now that's finally happening to his teammates. In October last year, the Suns and Ayton did not negotiate a contract extension, resulting in Ayton becoming a free agent in the summer, the most important reason is that the management feels that Ayton is not worth the top salary, after all, "playing around Paul, the center like a pig can take off." Take a look at Ayton's stats this season: averaging 17.2 points, 10.2 rebounds and 0.7 blocks per game, and bench center McGee has 7.0 points and 7.0 rebounds. Maybe Ayton isn't worth the top salary, but there are teams in the league that are willing to offer him a maximum salary contract.
The Suns have been very aggressive this season, playing the best regular season record in team history and being the biggest favorite to win the championship. But some time ago, Ayton's agent came out to make trouble, and he said that Ayton would leave the team after the end of the season. The intention of saying this is very obvious, that is, to take advantage of the fact that the Suns may win the championship this season and the management does not dare to give up the main force, and to make a lot of money.
Although the absolute core of the team today is Paul and Booker, Ayton, as the pillar of the interior, is also indispensable to the team, and in the season before Paul did not come, he had already played a luxurious number of 18.2 points and 11.5 rebounds.
Seeing that the playoffs are about to enter a critical moment, worried about affecting the team's locker room, the big brother Paul immediately stood up and accused Ayton's agency team, saying that "the team needs Ayton to provide protection for the team's playoffs." As a 36-year-old veteran, Paul's desire for a championship is well known, they missed a playoff in the finals last season, and if they lose again this year, it is estimated that there will be no chance of winning the championship in the future.
But by the time Paul received his final year's $30 million salary, he was close to 39 years old, and his standards were bound to drop dramatically. If Ayton and Booker are both top salaries, what about the reinforcement of the role players behind them?