Where do KD and the Suns go from here? Three postseasons ago they were in the Western Conference Finals.
Now they have no cap flexibility and very little draft capital given what they dealt for Durant and Beal. Given the new CBA/luxury cap rules, combined with their draft capital and current contracts, the Suns enter this offseason in a worse situation that we've seen in recent history. Next year they'll pay Durant, Booker, and Beal $150MM which makes them a "second apron team", add in the deal they just gave Grayson Allen and they'll owe ~$100MM in luxury taxes.
All of this comes as KD just had an extraordinary season where he was healthy and firing on all cylinders. He played in 75 games which was the highest since he played 78 in '18/'19 and only the third time he has played over 70 games since the '13-'14 seasons. But KD is about to turn 36, a dubious age for a player to build around for a franchise that was just swept out of the first round - and has few draft picks in the coming years.
Suns future first round picks after all the trades:
2024 - least favorable of Wizards (conveys to Knicks if 13-30), Suns, or Grizzlies pick
2025 - no pick
2026 - least favorable of Wizards (if not conveyed to Knicks in 2024/2025), Suns, or Magic pick
2027 - no pick
2028 - lease favorable of Wizards (or 76ers if 9-30), Suns, or Nets pick
2029 - no pick
2030 - least favorable of Suns, Wizards, or Grizzlies.
They are in an awful situation. Beal is probably untradeable with his contract. Trading Durant may be their only option. I'm not sure what he is worth on the trade market but to me that looks like something they'll have to explore.
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Now they have no cap flexibility and very little draft capital given what they dealt for Durant and Beal. Given the new CBA/luxury cap rules, combined with their draft capital and current contracts, the Suns enter this offseason in a worse situation that we've seen in recent history. Next year they'll pay Durant, Booker, and Beal $150MM which makes them a "second apron team", add in the deal they just gave Grayson Allen and they'll owe ~$100MM in luxury taxes.
All of this comes as KD just had an extraordinary season where he was healthy and firing on all cylinders. He played in 75 games which was the highest since he played 78 in '18/'19 and only the third time he has played over 70 games since the '13-'14 seasons. But KD is about to turn 36, a dubious age for a player to build around for a franchise that was just swept out of the first round - and has few draft picks in the coming years.
Suns future first round picks after all the trades:
2024 - least favorable of Wizards (conveys to Knicks if 13-30), Suns, or Grizzlies pick
2025 - no pick
2026 - least favorable of Wizards (if not conveyed to Knicks in 2024/2025), Suns, or Magic pick
2027 - no pick
2028 - lease favorable of Wizards (or 76ers if 9-30), Suns, or Nets pick
2029 - no pick
2030 - least favorable of Suns, Wizards, or Grizzlies.
They are in an awful situation. Beal is probably untradeable with his contract. Trading Durant may be their only option. I'm not sure what he is worth on the trade market but to me that looks like something they'll have to explore.
After going all-in last offseason, how the Suns can salvage their future is a mystery
Never has a team been this devoid of options to alter their roster going into an offseason. And that doesn't even include the future of coach Frank Vogel.
