While the Suns reportedly agreeing to terms on an extension with Grayson Allen, they will be paying a pretty penny in taxes.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!As first reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Allen agreed to a four-year, $70 million contract extension today, but the “deal will cost the Suns $79 million in payroll and tax — running (owner Mat) Ishbia’s projected 2024-25 payroll to $206 million with an additional $104 million in luxury tax. That will be the highest in the league.” (Via ESPN)
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) April 15, 2024
The thing is, due in large part to the massive salaries of Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal and Devin Booker, the Suns could have only replaced Allen with veteran minimum contract players in the offseason.
Durant will be making $51.2 million next season with an additional year on his contract after that, Beal will be earning $50.2 million on the third year of a five-year deal and Booker is set to make an estimated $49.4 million on the second season of a four-year extension. Additionally, Jusuf Nurkić is locked up for two more seasons after this one and will earn $18.1 million next year.
Nassir Little is set to make $6.75 million on the second year of his rookie extension next season. David Roddy is due $2.9 million on the third of a four-year rookie deal (not much more than a veteran minimum contract). All of these numbers are per Spotrac.
Allen will be making $15.6 million in the first season of his reported extension next year, according to Wojnarkowski. The Suns had Allen’s bird rights and a deadline for the extension that lasted from March 27 until June 30, the final day before free agency. They could have given the 28-year-old an extension up to four years, $75 million. Now, they lock him up early for likely less than he was looking at in the open market and could have commanded from the Suns in free agency.
The Suns choose to make this move one day after they clinched the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference with a 125-106 over the Minnesota Timberwolves in their season finale yesterday. Allen had 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting in this contest. Phoenix will play Minnesota in the first round of the playoffs with Game 1 scheduled for Saturday.
Crunching the Numbers with the Suns Operating in the Second Apron
These seven players (Durant, Beal, Booker, Nurkić, Allen, Little and Roddy) add up to $194.2 million alone without factoring in any more veteran minimum contracts. With that being said, it’s hard to see Little being on the team next season because he has not played any meaningful minutes as of late, and the Suns could save some money in tax if they trade him.
Eric Gordon, Josh Okogie, Drew Eubanks and Damion Lee also all have player options to extend their veteran minimum deals to next season.
Wojnarowski reported earlier this year that the projected second apron level will be $190 million next season.
ESPN Sources: Projected 2024-2025 NBA salary cap levels:
Minimum Team Salary:
$127 million
Tax Level:
$172 million
First Apron Level:
$179 million
Second Apron Level:
$190 million— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 30, 2024
With the Suns over this number even before you factor in the rest of the roster and next year being the first year the full new collective bargaining agreement kicks in, Phoenix will not be able to send out cash in deals, aggregate contracts or use a preexisting trade exception. Additionally, “if the Suns finish the 2024-25 season over the second apron, their 2032 first-round pick will be frozen and unavailable to use in trades,” Wojnarowski writes.
Royce O’Neale
Phoenix also holds the bird rights of Royce O’Neale, meaning it can sign him to an extension as well and get this tax bill even higher. According to Cap Sheets’ Yossi Gozlan, the extension would be up to two years and $20.5 million for the 30-year-old O’Neale, and the deadline, like Allen, is June 30.
Royce O’Neale is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer with full Bird rights.
He is currently extension-eligible with the Phoenix Suns for up to two years, $20.5 million.
A safer option than Miles Bridges, who most likely would've been a rental this season. https://t.co/xx1J60KBTk
— Yossi Gozlan (@YossiGozlan) February 8, 2024
Arizona Sports’ John Gambadoro reported a different, bigger number for O’Neale today, which the Suns could offer him in free agency (post June 30).
Royce is the next priority and will be more difficult but the Suns are committed to keeping him. Look for him to get around $13 million per season on a multi-year deal, something in the 3 to 4 year range. He could get as many as 5 years. https://t.co/p5tLaTqLzP
— John Gambadoro (@Gambo987) April 15, 2024
Like mentioned before with Allen, the team would have to replace O’Neale with veteran minimum contract players if they don’t sign him to an extension. O’Neale is making $8.9 million in the final seasosn of a four-year, $36 million veteran extension this season.
“Royce and Grayson are two great guys,” Ishbia said on March 7 after it was announced the Suns were hosting the 2027 All-Star Game. “Royce is new to the organization, (but) has done an amazing job, everything you can think of. Grayson has been here all year. He’s been a phenomenal part of the team and the organization. We hope and expect to have both of those guys back, along with keeping this core team together because we love our team and we’re going to compete at the highest level.”
Ishbia has shown time and time again that he is willing to spend no matter the cost, joking during this same press conference: “Yeah, so I don’t know what the second tax apron is, what is that?”
Allen and O’Neale have both been home run additions to the Suns after being acquired via trade.
The Suns acquired Allen from the Milwaukee Bucks on Sept. 27 in the Deandre Ayton/Damian Lillard trade. Allen finished the season averaging 13.5 points on 50/46/88 splits, 3.9 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 0.9 steals and 0.6 blocks in 33.5 minutes per game across 75 contests (74 starts), which means he tied or set a career high in literally every major statistical category. He also led the NBA in 3-point shooting percentage at 46.1%.
O’Neale was acquired ahead of the trade deadline in a three-way deal from the Brooklyn Nets on Feb. 8, the same trade that sent Roddy to the Suns from the Grizzlies. O’Neale, who has still never missed the playoffs in his eight-year NBA career, has had multiple 20-point and 10-rebound games with the Suns, something he never did before. He played in all 30 games he was available for Phoenix this regular season, averaging 8.1 points on 41/38/69 splits, 5.2 rebounds and 2.7 assists in 25.1 minutes per game.
The Suns now have their starting 5 locked up for at least another season, and while it may come with some expensive stipulations, Ishbia has proven his willingness to keep the team together and competitive for future seasons.
Suns Sign Grayson Allen to 4-Year, $70 Million Contract Extension
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Brendan Mau is a senior writer covering the Phoenix Suns and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @Brendan_Mau
