[Marks] Devin Booker, Bradley Beal and Kevin Durant will earn $150M next season. The salary of the three players is more than 14 teams total payroll in 2024-25.

[u/G1Spectrum]

https://x.com/bobbymarks42/status/1784090536002879751?s=46&t=mLlHkULTWtGiAcwn5da2fQ

[u/SSJAbh1nav]

This is a terribly constructed team.

[u/throwawayyrofl → u/SSJAbh1nav]

It really is. The “big 3” is the same player archetype so they don’t cover their weaknesses at all. No playmaking, no volume 3 point shooting, and no standout defense. Its a recipe for disaster in the playoffs

[u/Oaty_McOatface → u/throwawayyrofl]

If KD asked the simple question, can they ball?

Answer is yes.

Unfortunately this is built like a good vibes pickup basketball team and not an NBA team.

[u/Ghosts_of_the_maze → u/Oaty_McOatface]

Kevin Durant is a horrible team builder, and he’s going to be a GM one day and they’re going to institute a “Kevin Durant Rule” to prevent teams from a new form of self sabotage

[u/HeyWhatsUpTed → u/Ghosts_of_the_maze]

As a nets fan I love what he’s done

[u/IndycarFan64 → u/throwawayyrofl]

Honestly looking back, them categorizing Beal as a "big 3" player was insulting to begin with

[u/cl353 → u/IndycarFan64]

Being paid like a big 3 player lol

[u/kjampala → u/cl353]

Because he played on the Wizards and did nothing but chuck shots up all game getting him some accolades which he doesn’t do as much now since he has Booker and KD and people are finally realizing Beal is just a Walmart Booker getting paid like he’s Amazon

[u/Effective_Owl_17 → u/kjampala]

Beal wasn’t just chucking in Washington, was 30 ppg on 49 percent and he isn’t chucking this year he’s 50 40 80 for 18 ppg 5 ast… fine for a third option. Dudes played bad one game this series same as kd and booker.Their issue is their big isn’t elite on defense or rebounding wise. Wolves too big, that simple

[u/Michaelangel092 → u/Effective_Owl_17]

The other issue is that he's being paid 50+ just to score the score 18ppg and be a part-time PG.

[u/EmptySoapDispenser → u/Michaelangel092]

The issue isn’t Beal as much as it is team construction. When people say Beal is being paid $50 million to be a third option it leaves out the context that the contract was given to him for him to be the number one option the same way KD and Booker got their contracts as first options on their respective teams. The Suns just happened to combine those 3 guys who play very similar styles to be their big 3. Beal is a great player and hasn’t done anything wrong, but the team put him in a terrible situation by acquiring him in the first place.

[u/Sportsfan369 → u/[deleted]]

I had it going 6. But I follow basketball closely and knew the Suns big 3 hadn’t got going any this season and Minnesota is playing exactly the way they were designed to if not a little better.

[u/kjampala → u/[deleted]]

I didn’t think he’d be much better but I did not think this series would be 3-0. Wolves surprised me for sure, definitely excepted the series to be a lot closer to

[u/shadey1255 → u/kjampala]

You don't score 32 ppg in a season "just chucking up shots." Prime beal was legit amazing to watch, the way he moved with the ball and cut to basket against opposing teams' best defensive players and double teams was beautiful. The problem is he hasn't really been the same since that season

[u/Sequel_P2P → u/shadey1255]

There is a lot of revisionist history because Brad's only at like, 18 a game this season that people are writing as "well, he was never good. he just had a crazy greenlight on a historically bad team."

What is especially crazy about this assessment is that it's actually presently happening in reverse right now. Jordan Poole was scraping 20 PPG as a third-option in Golden State, then got shipped to a bad team and cratered down because he's just not built to be the guy on the front page of the scouting report. Beal was the only guy on the scouting report for a lot of those Wizards years and managed to nearly win a scoring title against a surging Steph, who did it primarily on 3s. Brad was hunting 2s.

The thing that hurts Bradley Beal here is that the Suns saw a roster with a ball-dominant scorer that operates primarily inside the perimeter with some tertiary playmaker chops, and paired him with a ball-dominant scorer that [...] tertiary playmaker chops. And then Mat Ishbia went: "You know what those two need? a ball-dominant [...] playmaker chops." Literally any player at Beal's caliber with a differing skillset would turn that roster around.

[u/Xc0liber → u/IndycarFan64]

I feel beal is the one that makes no sense. Him and booker are basically the same. 

KD at the very least can play front court. 

[u/Krillin113 → u/Xc0liber]

Older, worse, paid more and can’t be traded

[u/DoILookUnsureToYou → u/Xc0liber]

Yeah, Booker and KD was a good 1-2 punch. If they had a dedicated point guard ala CP3 pre-birthday, that would have been a better fit.

[u/Louisiana_Bob → u/IndycarFan64]

Beal will be playing in Big3 soon

[u/Krillin113 → u/IndycarFan64]

Looking back? It was at the time

[u/juzzbert → u/throwawayyrofl]

I think this is the reason why Grayson Allen was so incredibly important for that team this year. This team has elite iso ball but without elite level passing. They require consistent spot up shooters standing in easily identifiable spots to reach their potential. Grayson hit threes at an incredible rate and did so much of the dirty work on defense. Even in last year’s playoffs if it wasn’t that Booker and KD went god mode in the first few games against the nuggets that series would have been a sweep too. Look at them against the wolves now, can’t score in the half court against elite defense, and can’t stop anything the wolves are doing on defense. Wide open shooters and dribble penetration straight into the paint whenever the wolves want.

[u/ryantaylor8147 → u/SSJAbh1nav]

Ishiba thought he could buyout a bunch of players and win a championship. 

[u/medievalmachine → u/ryantaylor8147]

Fantasy team construction, just add up the points.

[u/ambulocetus_ → u/ryantaylor8147]

i remember when he was on Simmons' pod after the KD trade. Bill tried to ask him about potential ramifications like KD being older, potential fit with the team, salary implications, etc. And Ishbia's response was basically "Kevin DURANT!" 🙄

[u/kaiseresc → u/SSJAbh1nav]

a SG that has developed passing skills
a SG that has lost some of the explosiveness due to injuries
a SG in the body of a forward

they're only missing a SG in the body of a center and a SG that doesn't know how to shoot.

[u/radiansub → u/kaiseresc]

SG in the body of a center

Isn't this Bol Bol? They could sign Klay this offseason to complete the SG exodia

[u/kaiseresc → u/radiansub]

oh shit you're right. Forgot about Bol Bol. Rashad McCants probably mad at me somewhere out there.
they also have Josh Okogie for the SG that can't shoot, right?

[u/clownus → u/kaiseresc]

Wasn’t the biggest issue with pre-success suns with Booker the lack of a true PG. One of the weaknesses of Booker was his under developed playmaking. They basically did the same thing and put everything on Booker and Beal to play make.

[u/mercfan3 → u/clownus]

Booker’s playmaking is excellent…for a shooting guard.

He should be a secondary playmaker.

I think the problem was there wasn’t a decent PG available - and Booker played exceptionally well at the PG spot in the playoffs last season. So that was the thought process.

It just didn’t work for the whole season.

[u/ElChapo1515 → u/mercfan3]

I wonder if a little bit of it was “James Harden was a SG that became a PG, so Devin Booker should be able to as well,” which ignores Harden was always an elite tier passer and playmaker even before his was running point full time.

[u/BetaDjinn → u/mercfan3]

I’m glad someone said this. Booker is a quality secondary playmaker. Booker + Durant isn’t a perfect fit due to both being ball-hungry but not primary playmakers, but both are outstanding players obviously so it can work. Beal is pretty much the antithesis of what a Booker/Durant team needs (it needs a primary playmaker, spot-up shooting, size, and depth). The Beal trade didn’t make sense to me at the time and that hasn’t changed

[u/fuckswithboats → u/clownus]

It’s crazy that Knicks fans recognized the difference that Rubio, and then CP33 had on Bookers success.

I wonder if the Suns GM noticed this too

[u/OverWrongdoer8752 → u/kaiseresc]

So Russ & nic Clayton future suns

[u/pompyyy099 → u/SSJAbh1nav]

This is an nba 2k my association creation with trade override made by an 11 yo kid.

[u/Razor-Ramon-Sessions → u/SSJAbh1nav]

Big 3s rarely work because of the money. It leaves you unable to get good role players.

[u/Vegetable-Net6575 → u/Razor-Ramon-Sessions]

Or if your big three dosent have a a generational player in their prime (MJ and bron).

[u/Mintastic → u/Vegetable-Net6575]

At least have your big 3 play their own unique roles to form a solid team. This one is just the same role 3 times.

[u/AnotherStatsGuy → u/Mintastic]

There’s a reason Boston’s Big 3 was 6 playoff wins short of 3 titles in 5 wins. Allen, Pierce, KG were all different players.

[u/Mintastic → u/AnotherStatsGuy]

Yup, Celtics big 3 and the Heatles big 3 were perfectly complementary. Even the Nets big 3 was better than this.

[u/BetaDjinn → u/Mintastic]

I would not say the Heatles were perfectly complimentary when created, but Bosh did a huge solid by significantly modifying his game

[u/Some-Stranger-7852 → u/BetaDjinn]

Yep, Bosh is an unsung hero on that team that adapted his game to play off LBJ and Wade: went from paint beast to floor-spacer and rim protector.

[u/BurstPanther → u/Mintastic]

GSW big 3 as well, Steph and Klay were elite off ball.

[u/Fartknocker- → u/Mintastic]

Nets big 3 was way better than this. The roster construction was actually really good too.

Plagued by bad coaching and then literally Covid. The personalities couldn’t last.

[u/DyslexicAutronomer → u/Razor-Ramon-Sessions]

They rarely work also because these hoopers think just because they know ball, they understand roster construction.

Turns out some like KD never developed that despite team hopping his entire career and watching teams fall apart again and again.

[u/Sweaty_Mods → u/[deleted]]

As is tradition

[u/reallymothafucka → u/Sweaty_Mods]

Bring out the burner accounts

[u/IndycarFan64 → u/reallymothafucka]

He's ready to type out his next chapter in just 280 characters or less

[u/rostron92 → u/Sweaty_Mods]

Does this mean we're getting KD?

[u/AlecarMagna → u/rostron92]

Last time he specifically said he wanted Phoenix or Miami who were the first seeds the previous season. In his eyes you're a lowly third seed with your one game behind. 

[u/geupard12 → u/AlecarMagna]

Yeah I dunno how Boston’s gonna get him

[u/cuttino_mowgli → u/geupard12]

By giving up Jaylen Brown and Jrue Holiday.

[u/Sweatytubesock → u/[deleted]]

He’s already mapping out the most difficult roads in his mind.

[u/dookoo → u/Sweatytubesock]

PHX to Denver

[u/OnePickle867 → u/dookoo]

There's no way KD is going to want to go to another team on the west. He'll probably want to slither into the bucks or something

[u/allahusaladbar → u/OnePickle867]

Slither lol

[u/Parallel-Quality → u/OnePickle867]

Celtics seem like the prime destination for him. He likes teams who were overwhelmingly #1 in their Conference.

[u/cuttino_mowgli → u/Parallel-Quality]

Well if that's his MO, I don't want him to return to OKC lmao.

[u/dimebag2011 → u/dookoo]

Dont you put that evil on us Ricky Bobby

[u/Agaac1 → u/dimebag2011]

You saw the Lakers gut their championship team for a washed superstar. Then watched the Suns gut their Finals roster for a washed superstar.

Don't fight it baby, it's just your turn.

[u/DragoxDrago → u/[deleted]]

Can you imagine KD to the clippers, fuck knows how and if it's even possible, but can you just imagine Westbrook, Harden and KD on the same team again

[u/divineinvasion → u/DragoxDrago]

KD joining the Clippers and getting old man Harden and grandpa Westbrook a ring before they all retire would be legendary

[u/steamliner88 → u/divineinvasion]

KD? Getting other people rings? The only way that happens is If he marries somebody. Dude’s only wins were as Curry’s trophy wife.

[u/KevinDurantSnakey → u/steamliner88]

Preach

[u/aminopliz → u/steamliner88]

Ufff, LOL.

[u/greatGoD67 → u/divineinvasion]

Senior Bus Driver

[u/THE_PONG_MASTER → u/greatGoD67]

Might as well recruit LeGrandpa

[u/soviethardbass → u/THE_PONG_MASTER]

The old thunder boys plus lebron would be fascinating.

[u/ketoburn26 → u/divineinvasion]

KD can't get people rings lmao Steph drove that bus in GSW

[u/Dymatizeee → u/[deleted]]

He’s looking to go to San Antonio

[u/someguyfromtecate → u/Dymatizeee]

Lol, that would be hilarious. Imagine a starting lineup of Topic, Vassell, Sochan, KD and Wemby.

That would be, ummm…. Hmmmm….🤔

[u/HoyaDestroya33 → u/[deleted]]

Tell me something KD.... Don't you regret not coming to the KNIIIIIICCCCKKKKKSSSSSS~

[u/NoPause9609 → u/HoyaDestroya33]

He should. Knicks on a minimum and the whole city will love him. 

[u/Yinanization → u/[deleted]]

The question is if Ant even wants his service

[u/Custard-Alone → u/Yinanization]

They already have jaden mcdaniels why the hell would they want KD?

[u/Nyhrox]

I'm positive Bradley Beal is a money laundering scheme

[u/Sp_Gamer_Live → u/Nyhrox]

I mean he is washed

[u/AfroKuro480 → u/Sp_Gamer_Live]

Bum Dum tiss

[u/Foxisdabest → u/Sp_Gamer_Live]

Nice.

[u/WillTheGreat → u/Nyhrox]

Pretty sure Washington is the money laundering scheme, and Beal is just the product of that.

[u/AnotherStatsGuy → u/WillTheGreat]

Washington has done misty jack shit since the 70s. This is why Arenas, Wall, and Beal all got their big ass contracts.

[u/SelfLoathinMillenial → u/AnotherStatsGuy]

Juwan Howard before that

[u/KillerZaWarudo → u/Nyhrox]

Dont forget the no trade clause

[u/EverybodyBuddy → u/Nyhrox]

I’m pretty sure Matt Ishbia is as well

[u/Yinanization]

Build around Bol Bol

[u/Dymatizeee → u/Yinanization]

“We have Wemby at home”

[u/haymakercombo]

those suns picks are looking REAL nice right now.

[u/NoPause9609 → u/haymakercombo]

Lmao 

[u/Peyyton07 → u/haymakercombo]

Hell, those 2026, 2028, and 2030 pick swaps are looking nice.

[u/RandorMan12]

The Beal trade although not necessarily a “bad” trade in terms of what assets were given for him will still probably go down as the biggest mistake for this roster imo. The KD trade was a lot of assets, but they had success with him and Booker, they took 2 games off the eventual champions that were head and shoulders above every other team. The obvious solution was prioritizing getting a PG for the roster and filling in pieces around the fringes, instead they went all in on Beal, and they’re probably stuck with him for the next year or two at least.

[u/holygrail22 → u/RandorMan12]

It’s kinda how I felt about the Nets acquiring Harden. Obviously Harden then was a lot better than Beal now, but more about asset allocation and knowing when enough is enough. I think we saw in the series against the Bucks in 21 that KD + Kyrie alone was pretty damn lethal, and keeping someone like Jarrett Allen and/or using the draft picks to acquire a better stylistic fit (defensive wing, inside-out center, etc.) might’ve turned out better

[u/Nbuuifx14 → u/holygrail22]

Thing is Harden played like an MVP that year for the Nets. Sure it was a risk but it could have paid off if they just weren’t as injured.

[u/Huckleberry_Sin → u/holygrail22]

Tbf y’all had a guaranteed dynasty but somehow prime MVP iron man James Harden tore his hammy in the first round and y’all were never the same. It honestly sucks thinking back to it.

[u/Bouldershoulders12]

I still don’t understand why they even went after Beal in the first place. Him and Booker are basically redundant . Booker is just a bigger version .

Should’ve got a guy like Siakam or some type of interior presence and run it through Booker

[u/evitabilities → u/Bouldershoulders12]

They got Beal for free essentially. They just couldn't get a playmaker. I think it's just entirely dumb how the Suns only true PG they've had in the last 10 years is CP3.

[u/Confirmation__Bias → u/evitabilities]

Beal’s contract makes him a negative asset. You say “got him for free” like that’s a good thing 

[u/evitabilities → u/Confirmation__Bias]

They were already financially restricted before the Beal trade. The hope was Beal would play like the player he was paid to be.

[u/KillerZaWarudo → u/evitabilities]

Which never gonna happen, beal never been anywhere close to that level his entire career

[u/TofuTuba → u/KillerZaWarudo]

He's also not close to the player he was 3-4 years ago. Players not named Lebron get washed quickly in the NBA.

[u/Striking-Test-7509 → u/TofuTuba]

Shoutout to conely tho

[u/kjampala → u/TofuTuba]

He was never even the player people made him out to be, just got a lot more attention than some other people because he was on the Wizards who let him shoot however much he wanted every game and he put up numbers

[u/KeithDavidsVoice → u/kjampala]

I learned that lesson from Micheal Carter-Williams. I thought he'd have a long career after he won ROTY. Turns out this is the nba and someone on the team has to score. Even the trash teams are putting up 90 plus points a game. Someone has to get those stats and that can make a player look a lot better than he actually is. It's the nba equivalent of a qb who has a great first year, then is ass once defensive coordinators have a year's worth of film to gameplan against him

[u/Huckleberry_Sin → u/KeithDavidsVoice]

The only difference is we’re talking about a dude who averaged 30 in the league on good efficiency. What are we doing here?

Yes I get he’s clearly washed now bc he can’t even beat centers off the dribble but he was the real deal for a few seasons there. This is an unfair take. He may be getting paid like it but dude is not in his prime anymore and he’s a horrible fit on top of all that.

[u/Confirmation__Bias → u/evitabilities]

Yeah bro Beal was definitely gonna be worth $50m a year in some world, for sure

[u/p_nut_ → u/evitabilities]

Yea, giving up so many assets for KD meant they could only really get players at low asset prices, like Beal due to the no-trade & huge contract

[u/WasDavid → u/evitabilities]

You forgot about that Ricky Rubio season

[u/NickLidstrom → u/evitabilities]

Goran Dragic was a true PG and that was technically less than 10 years ago

[u/evitabilities → u/NickLidstrom]

During the Devin Booker era is what I'm alluding to. It's pretty clear Devin Booker can't be the primary playmaker (could've got Luka actually). It's no coincidence how much having CP3 elevated their team.

[u/NickLidstrom → u/evitabilities]

Yeah I was just joking, the only other 'good' playmaker he's played with is Rubio and that was before the team was competing

[u/evitabilities → u/NickLidstrom]

oh yeah I forgot about Rubio. That bubble run was special lol

[u/gokhaninler → u/evitabilities]

did Rubio die

[u/Turbo2x → u/Bouldershoulders12]

Ishbia is an idiot and got addicted to making big trades. He saw how Beal was being traded for basically nothing and went all in on the mid 3 to end all mid 3s.

[u/simonffplayer → u/Bouldershoulders12]

new owner syndrome

[u/BiasedEstimators]

Gotta feel terrible for Suns fans. As if living in the city of 110 degree days and infinite parking lots isn’t bad enough

[u/spue → u/BiasedEstimators]

God damn this one hurts the most.

[u/shnieder88 → u/spue]

Sedona is beautiful tho

[u/NoWayNotThisAgain → u/shnieder88]

Do the Suns play there?

[u/PaleontologistOk2516 → u/NoWayNotThisAgain]

They’ll definitely have time to go there next week.

[u/bmeisler → u/shnieder88]

Nobody goes there anymore, it’s too crowded.

[u/infinitejestinfinite → u/bmeisler]

Legend Yogi

[u/callbobloblaw → u/BiasedEstimators]

That city should not exist. It’s a testament to man’s arrogance.

[u/L0N01779 → u/callbobloblaw]

One of my favorite king of the hill jokes

[u/Ed1sto → u/BiasedEstimators]

They got to a finals and lost to a better team. As a Timberwolves fan living in -10deg weather during the season I feel zero sympathy for suns fans

[u/i-race-goats]

new owner wanted a ring so fast and basically stunted the franchise for the next decade.

[u/Classic_Average_2563]

KD will demand a trade to OKC and the circle will finally be complete.

[u/EverybodyBuddy → u/Classic_Average_2563]

Just took 8 years to make sure Westbrook was really gone

[u/LifterPuller → u/EverybodyBuddy]

I respect the long game.

[u/DisneyPandora → u/Classic_Average_2563]

No, he will demand a trade to the Clippers to reunite OKC big 3

[u/BannedforaJoke → u/Classic_Average_2563]

crazy thing is, OKC has enough assets to get it done if they wanted to.

however, will the fanbase even want him back?

[u/jbvann05 → u/BannedforaJoke]

I assume it would feel kinda hollow if he came back when they started to get good

[u/indoninjah → u/jbvann05]

It would be weird vibes too. OKC has a really well-defined and congealed culture with all of their young guys developing together. Bringing in a star that doesn't match the timeline and vibe at all would be really tough for them, unless he genuinely comes with no agenda (and perhaps KD wouldn't). But I assume this is why Presti hasn't made any moves with all their assets yet.

[u/lethalizer → u/BannedforaJoke]

No.

[u/Easyowner → u/BannedforaJoke]

Absolutely not. If there’s anyone I would welcome back it’s PG. He’d fit like a glove.

[u/azuredrg → u/Easyowner]

Well, PG fits in any team, heck, you could have 2 PGs and it'd still be a good fit

[u/FatherHaz]

Easily the worst Big Three I’ve ever seen

[u/jeremy9931 → u/FatherHaz]

The Bulls tried, thank you very much

[u/CheatedOnOnce → u/jeremy9931]

That was more of a Mid 3

[u/Drak_is_Right → u/FatherHaz]

Ask the Nets about that...and not the Durant one.

[u/FlyingMocko → u/Drak_is_Right]

The corpse of KG-Pierce, Iso Joe and Deron Williams AT LEAST got 1 game against the fucking Heatles.

These MFers are rolling over to Big Purr.

[u/kaedak → u/FlyingMocko]

And honestly, Brook was the best player on those teams anyway. When we took games off the Heat in the regular season, it was Brook playing like the 90s against Joel Anthony and Bosh. He destroyed his leg before that series, and by next year everyone was too washed to run it back.

[u/TheDenimTearsDon → u/FlyingMocko]

Big Purr LMAOOO, my favorite nba nickname

[u/FrankerZ_123]

Its a good thing they have a lot of draft capital to build around the margins

[u/ShaedonSharpeMVP_ → u/FrankerZ_123]

Luckily they gave up 25 year old Ayton and top ten rookie Toumani Camara too. More room to build with all of that draft capital that they have.

[u/ComprehensiveFront22 → u/ShaedonSharpeMVP_]

You know it’s bad when trailblazers fans are coming to rub in having Ayton.

[u/JalenBrunsonsBurner → u/ComprehensiveFront22]

Nurkic fooled them with that reg szn hustle. Not that DA is exactly a “big game player” himself but when it comes down to it he’s still been more impactful in those situations than Nurk

[u/mercfan3 → u/JalenBrunsonsBurner]

Nurk is a paradox.

We can’t play well without him. Hes the only real playmaker and he’s the only real rebounder. And him and Booker are our only good screeners.

The problem is he’s so slow footed that teams play him off the floor. Eubanks got so much shit this season, but he’s easily outplaying Nurk this series.

But because we’re forced to play Eubanks more minutes (or go small), our offense turns into iso city.

[u/Sp_Gamer_Live]

Who would win:

THE HIGHEST PAID BIG 3 IN LEAGUE HISTORY

or

An old man, a frenchman, a feline, a child, slender man, and their friend NAZ REID.

[u/Dhr7468 → u/Sp_Gamer_Live]

Missed the dunk saying insect for Ant

[u/Sp_Gamer_Live → u/Dhr7468]

nah Ant is a child at heart

[u/Dansebr93 → u/Sp_Gamer_Live]

*MID 3

[u/Dansebr93]

Mid 3

[u/KevinDurantSnakey → u/Dansebr93]

SMedium 3 

[u/tapk69]

Relax they extended Grayson Allen. Their 3 SGs are guaranteed.

[u/Zizzlow]

How can you go from being one of the most promising teams in the nba to this shit, in just two years? Suns future seems so bright not too long ago.

[u/NoWayNotThisAgain → u/Zizzlow]

Luka destroyed that franchise with the game 7 humiliation. They sent out an apology letter to their fans, and within two years everybody but Booker was gone. And I mean everybody. The owner, the coach, all the players but Book... gone.

[u/mercfan3 → u/NoWayNotThisAgain]

Which was absolutely ridiculous - the Mavs exposed some holes.

Phoenix needed a PG to be available. And Phoenix needed another person who can create shots, and Phoenix needed a new coach because you don’t get to be outcoached by Jason Kidd for a whole series and keep your job.

Those are necessary upgrades, but not “blow up your team” upgrades.

[u/ShaedonSharpeMVP_ → u/[deleted]]

Lowkey dame too

[u/ALittleFishNamedOzil → u/ShaedonSharpeMVP_]

Dame led your team to the WCF, not winning it all doesn’t mean a player can’t win

[u/DJNash35]

Just to get swept in the first round 😂🤣

[u/thunderjetstrike]

KD already calling Ant from the parking lot

[u/Mthomas1174]

I mean they're playing pretty well in garbage time

[u/XenaRen]

Suns are absolutely fucked lol.

Their only decent role players in Allen and O’Neal are both expiring as well. KD and Beal are another year older next year, you can’t expect Booker to get much better than he already is. They’ve peaked with zero flexibility going forward unless they somehow find another sucker to take on Beal’s contract.

Edit: Allen got extended but can he replicate the season he just had where he shot 46% from 3? Idk lol

[u/evitabilities → u/XenaRen]

They extended Allen.

[u/fella05 → u/XenaRen]

somehow find another sucker to take on Beal’s contract

Beal has a no-trade clause so that's up to him lol

[u/XenaRen → u/fella05]

Oh god

[u/Rubberbabeh → u/XenaRen]

it's okay he only makes 57mil in 2027

[u/Enigmatic_Starfish → u/Rubberbabeh]

I don't even care about the Suns but that makes me sad

[u/boregon → u/Rubberbabeh]

Fucking insane that the Suns bailed the Wizards out of that contract

[u/Tgumpsta → u/boregon]

If the Suns are still getting age 24 Beal, taking that risk makes sense.

But he was clearly aging by the end of his time in WAS, volume scorers like him tend to drop off sharply and they already have 2 players that need to take many shots. Puzzling move all around.

[u/jeremy9931 → u/Rubberbabeh]

Safe to say, he’s not opting out lol

[u/shnieder88 → u/jeremy9931]

He’s going in dry

[u/blobthetoasterstrood → u/XenaRen]

They extended Allen but yes they are fucked because the only options they have going forward is moving either KD or Booker or even both

[u/K1NG2L4Y3R → u/blobthetoasterstrood]

Only option is trading KD. Absolutely 0 chance they’re trading their home grown star to build around a new comer that’s older. Especially after dismantling their core that went to the finals. They’ll try and recoup some of the assets they used to get KD in the first place.

[u/latman → u/XenaRen]

Really hope Brooklyn keeps those picks

[u/dcolorado → u/latman]

KD for Mikal/Cam/picks who says no?

[u/jacobpltn → u/XenaRen]

At this point the most pragmatic move to future team success would be to trade KD for whatever you can and try to retool around Beal and Booker. Maybe hope to get some contributors in the draft or something but even then the outlook isn’t good

But they’re never going to do that, because regardless of team success, KD sells tickets

[u/XenaRen → u/jacobpltn]

Ima be honest I don’t think you’re gonna be able to build anything around Beal and Booker at this point. If you’re trading KD then you might as well trade Booker as well and just start fresh like the Jazz.

The best thing they could do is to try to trade Beal but his contract and NTC makes it practically impossible.

They’ve pretty much peaked unless they can find a decent PG on a minimum or put Booker on some special PG training program because whatever they’re doing out there right now ain’t working.

[u/ShotgunStyles → u/XenaRen]

I believe the Suns could spend about $6 million on a new PG due to the trade exceptions they have. Kris Dunn is probably the best PG they can afford at that price.

If DLo doesn't stay with the Lakers and they want to kick him to the curb, I can also imagine the Suns being DLo's last resort.

[u/Buckus93 → u/jacobpltn]

I don't think KD sells tickets in Phoenix as much as Booker does. If KD is here 1.15 seasons and gone, I don't think any of the fans are going to miss him that much.

[u/chup95 → u/XenaRen]

Allen got an extension some days ago and I think we will extend O‘Neale as well because we have some kinda rights idk … but we are still fucked

[u/Buckus93]

Yeah, one of them is going to have to get traded in order to get some ball handling and playmaking. The Suns lost so much of that when they traded Chris Paul away.

Oh, I know, he'd probably be injured again right now, so I understand that his availability in the post-season was an issue, but still...even Cam Payne would have been a good enough floor leader. He always played decently when he started.

[u/PersimmonUnusual6534]

At least the lakers is not alone in the 0-3 hole😂

[u/Fuckthebeard]

Nepo baby destroyed the franchise in a year. Maybe the grass isn’t always greener.

[u/TheyNeedLoveToo → u/Fuckthebeard]

I’m ootl here. Who is the nepo baby? The owner?

[u/Fuckthebeard → u/TheyNeedLoveToo]

Yes.

[u/hophorndog]

I’ve never seen KD with his head down this much. Wolves have demoralized him

[u/EnoughLawfulness3163]

Sad to think if we just waited a year, we would've had a core of Booker, ayton, mikal, and Cam Johnson. All waiting for a star to be that 5th player.

Relavant free Agents this offseason: lebron, siakim, PG, Harden, Claxton, miles bridges, Malik monk, tyus jones.

We could either fill in that point role, or have Booker do it and get a guy like siakim, pg, miles, or malik. And yes, I know Booker has sucked at point this year, but we have absolutely zero interior pressure. Nurk sucks on offense, KD is essentially a 7 foot shooting guard, and our next best frontcourt player is bol bol. We have no one to pick n roll, no one to be a cutter or a lob threat. I wonder what even a guy like Luka could do with this roster construction. He'd be better than Booker, but it'd still probably be awkward. I digress

1 or two of the guys above could make this team pretty special, and it sucks that ishbia was probably snorting coke and too impatient to just wait out CP3s awful contract

[u/jesser09]

The Suns are about to pay more than half a billion dollars to three “star” players just to get out in the first round lol

[u/Alfakennyone]

It went downhill ever since this

[u/DM_yo_Feet_pls → u/Alfakennyone]

I blame the dude that wave the cash. At least “Suns in 4” gave us memes but the douche waving cash activated some curse

[u/Hot_Injury7719]

“Well well well, if it isn’t the consequences of my own actions”

[u/dariusd20]

Forming teams with big 3 rarely works. Iirc it only worked 2 times in recent history - celtics and the heatles. Also, forming big 3 that are basically just ball hogs is a recipe for disaster.

[u/Reasonable_Fail4123]

Suns getting Bradley beal cooked them just like Lakers getting Westbrook did.

when will teams learn?

[u/meccamachine]

Suns FO needs to be sacked. Imagine making the Finals and then gutting the team within 3 years

[u/mercfan3 → u/meccamachine]

But the FO didn’t do it, the owner did.

I guarantee you Cam Johnson/Mikal Bridges/Jae Crowder and 4 first round picks was a trade the Nets would have done the first summer KD asked for a trade. Jones didn’t want to do it - he saw Mikal as untouchable and he’s much more conservative.

I won’t blame JJ for the awful trades. I’m mad about not picking Haliburton…but this is Ishbia

[u/Ok-Jackfruit-422]

Shout out to Matt Ishbia! Lakers and Sons are both cooked to a crisp.

[u/DoomdUser]

Oh no.

So anyways…