The Suns have three of the best basketball players in the NBA with Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, and now Bradley Beal all on the same team. Unfortunately, they don’t have a lot of depth and possibly money to spend to round out the rest of the roster.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Outside of those three players, the only other players penciled in on the roster are Cameron Payne, Jordan Goodwin, Isaiah Todd, and Deandre Ayton.
With this, the Suns have 5 guards, 1 wing, and 1 center on the roster right now to begin the offseason. 3 of the 7 players will be making $131 million of the $134 million salary cap.
This is fine because a lot of contending teams are in that situation where they’re over the salary cap. Where it gets dicey, is when we get to the apron contract side of things which is a place the Suns are looking to avoid.
In comes the Deandre Ayton contract. Ayton signed a rookie max deal last year of $132 million over 4 years. He will be making 32 million off that contract this upcoming season in his second year into the deal.
Put that together with Beal, Booker, and Durant and now you’re in the $161 million threshold which is $1 million shy of the luxury tax and $8 million shy of the first luxury tax apron.
That’s only for 4 players on the roster out of 15. Factor in the up-and-down play last year and the lack of depth around the team, and we have a situation where the Suns have to look into a trade to possibly offset the money.
That’s where the Suns have reportedly been all offseason, as there has been a lot of smoke and mirrors in regards to teams interested in Ayton.
The Suns are indeed having conversations with several teams regarding Deandre Ayton! Boston and Atlanta are two teams I'm told to keep an eye on regarding Ayton with the Suns looking to build depth after acquiring Bradley Beal from Washington.
— FLEX From Jersey (@FlexFromJersey) June 20, 2023
Ayton still has a ton of value in terms of an offensive threat as a big man. He’s very efficient in the paint, he’s a great rebounder and shoots over 75% from the line which is above average for a center.
There will be teams wanting to see if they can crack any more potential out of Ayton or maybe even a fresh scenery will be good for him.
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For the Suns unfortunately depth is pivotal for the team and they’re going to need it off a potential trade based on the money they have to work with. And because of this, a Deandre Ayton trade is a no-brainer for the Suns brass to make.
