The Suns, who have the Big Three of Durant, Booker and Beal, were swept out of the playoffs by the young Timberwolves in the first round of the playoffs, which also announced the failure of the Suns owner's big gamble. The combined salaries of the Suns' Big Three next season will exceed $150 million, and the combined salaries of the three of them will exceed the combined salaries of any of the bottom 14 teams in the league, a record that is obviously unacceptable to Suns owner Mat Ishbia.
This season, Kevin Durant has a salary of $47.65 million, ranking second in the league behind Curry of the Warriors, Bradley Beal's salary of $46.74 million ranks sixth in the league, and James, Jokic and Embiid are also surpassed by him, and Devin Booker is ranked 26th in the league with a salary of $36.02 million. The total salary of the three this season is 130.4 million, which looks fine, but at the beginning of next season, Booker's four-year 224 million super contract, which was extended two years ago, will be implemented, and the total salary of the three will exceed $150 million.
Devin Booker signed a four-year, $224 million super-cap contract with the team in the summer of 2022, with a four-year average salary of $56 million a year from 2024 to 2028, surpassing Nuggets player Nikola Jokic's five-year $270 million, who averages $54 million per year. Because NBA players' salaries are increasing year by year, Booker's salary will be more than $60 million a year in both 2026-27 and 2027-28. While the NBA's salary cap is rising every year, the $60 million annual salary is still a very significant number, which could be another big junk contract for the Suns that will hinder the Suns' recruitment and development over the next four years.
After the first round of the playoffs, the Suns' Big Three also faced a situation of falling apart, and Bradley Beal's disastrous performance in the playoffs was undoubtedly the biggest headache for the team's owners and management. Beal averaged 16.5 points, 2.8 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game in 4 playoff games, and even only got 9 points, 1 rebound and 2 assists in Game 4, the key is that he signed a big five-year $251 million contract in 2022 with 3 years, and the next 2024-25 season is $50.2 million, 2025-26 season is $53.6 million, 2026-27 season is $57.1 million (player option), and his contract also contains 15% Trade margin and trade veto, if traded to another team, will remain in place until the end of the contract in 2027. The key is who dares to ask for his big contract of 50 million, who will ask for it, the Suns finally sent Paul away, and there is a bigger pit, which is really a headache to think about.
In contrast, Durant's 4-year contract of 196 million is still relatively small, and he is also the player with the most trade value. Booker is unlikely to be traded as the Suns' own core guard, Bradley Beal because of his disastrous performance in the playoffs almost no team is willing to take over, Durant although he is older and has suffered a major injury, but his performance is still as stable as ever, the Suns want to reduce the burden can only be traded out, and as an experienced veteran and instant player, Durant still has a lot of teams willing to accept.
Of course, trading Bradley Beal is the team's first choice, but few teams will be interested in him, especially since he has three years left on his contract, which is a burden that the Suns will not be able to shake off. I have to say that the Suns owner's gamble failed, the team's salary space was locked, and the Suns will not have a chance to win the championship for at least the next 3-5 years.