Will the Sun Still Rise in Phoenix?

By Henry L. Liao

The Phoenix Suns, a team that is unlikely to make it to the play-in, owns the largest payroll in the NBA this season.

It amounts to $366 million – S214 million in player salaries and $152 million in luxury tax (second tax apron).

The Suns have aging Kevin Wayne Durant, injury-prone albatross Bradley Beal and 6-6, 28-year-old guard and two-time Olympian Devin Booker, who at age 20 once scored a franchise-record 70 points (March 24, 2017) in a loss to the Boston Celtics and is on the books for three more years after this disappointing season.

The 6-11 Durant, who turns 37 in September, is set to enter the final year of a four-year, S198 million contract extension that he previously inked with his old employer, the Brooklyn Nets. It’s worth S53.3 million in 2025-26.

Durant nearly got jettisoned by the Desert City squad last February amid the NBA trade deadline but he and the Suns have agreed to find him a suitable championship-contending team during the summer but at the player’s terms.

Kevin Durant’s future with the Phoenix Suns remains uncertain as trade talks loom. [photo credit: Phoenix Suns Instagram]

“I want my career to end on my terms, that’s the only thing,” said KD.

There were earlier talks of him returning to the Bay Area with the Golden State Warriors in a reunion with Stephen Curry and Draymond Green but he balked at the prospect, spurring the Dubs to eventually acquire Jimmy Butler from the Miami Heat even if the latter initially did not want to be there.

Durant earned a pair of NBA title rings with the Golden State Warriors in 2017 and 2018 and was the Finals MVP each time.

The Suns’ asking price for Durant reportedly is three first-round draft choices and a young cost-friendly player. Phoenix does not control any of its first-rounders from now until 2032 due to trades or swaps.

No interested team intends to acquire the services of the unprecedented four-time Olympic gold medalist (2012-24) for a one-year rental (2025-26).

Durant, who is currently sidelined with a left ankle sprain, is most definitely looking at a two-year, $122 million extension with a team of his choice – probably the last of its kind before he calls it quits.

The Suns will begin rebuilding this summer with a team built around Booker while actively seeking to find Beal a new home.

Beal, who owns a five-year, $251 million contract that he signed in 2022 while with the sad-sack Washington Wizards, still has two years remaining on his contract with a no-trade clause through 2026-27. That final year is a player option at $57.1 million.

The Suns are paying $150.7 million of their $230.8 million salary structure to Durant, Booker and Beal. The team is $90.2 million over the salary cap and way above the second apron number of $188.9 million.

The NBA salary cap is projected to increase by 10 percent (roughly $14 million) to a record-high $154.6 million next season.

Meanwhile, the reigning NBA titlist Boston Celtics, with the megabucks deal of All-Star Jayson Tatum set to be in effect, will have a payroll (player salaries and luxury taxes) of $500 million in 2025-26.

Wonder no more why the previous ownership decided to sell its majority stake in the franchise recently for the highest franchise sale not only in NBA history but also in US pro team sports annals at $6.1 billion.

Next season, the Celtics will fork out half-a-billion dollar for player salaries and luxury taxes – around $230 million in player payments and a luxury tax bill of nearly $270 million.

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Henry Liao

Columnist at Sports Bytes PH

Henry has been into NBA chronicling since 1968 during his younger days at Xavier. He spent his grade school and high school years (1962-72) at Xavier School and then attended De La Salle Taft in college.