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Shams: Suns ‘want to see how this team can run it back’

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NBA insider Shams Charania of The Athletic went on “The Pat McAfee Show” this morning and provided some more details on the future of the Suns.

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“My sense is that they want to see how this team can run it back, how (Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal) can coexist,” Charania said. “How can they find someone whether it’s adding to the coaching staff, whether it’s a new coach that can fully optimize those three guys and connect with those two guys? I mean, Devin Booker and Kevin Durant, they wanted to play with each other. That’s part of the reason Kevin Durant gets out of Brooklyn, goes to Phoenix.”

The Suns were swept in the first round of the playoffs by the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday.

Charania reported earlier this week that “Phoenix will take a hard look at making a full coaching change or, at the very least, discuss adjustments to (Frank) Vogel’s staff. General manager James Jones, however, is expected to continue overseeing team-building for the Suns, those sources said.”

Vogel was hired on June 2 after the Suns fired Monty Williams on May 13, one day after their Game 6 loss in the second round to the Denver Nuggets. Vogel agreed to a 5-year, $31 million contract with the Suns when he was hired.

Even with questions of his future, Vogel claimed before Game 4’s 122-116 loss that he is “very” confident he will be back for a second season with the team.

“I’ve got the full support of (owner) Mat Ishbia,” Vogel added.

Charania explained more of his reporting on Vogel in this segment.

“My sense very much is that the Suns are evaluating (Vogel’s) coaching position,” Charania said. “They’re considering a potential change or other major changes on his staff.”

So who does the blame fall on?

“The onus does fall on the players too, and it does fall on the leadership that starts with Kevin Durant, that starts with Devin Booker,” Charania said.

Booker himself said a very similar thing at his press conference after their Game 4 loss.

“Hopefully everybody’s feeling the same type of hurt,” Booker said. “It has to be fixed. I have to be better. Kevin has to be better. Brad has to be better. Coach has to be better. If we’re the leaders of the team, we can’t be out there unprepared.”

Charania detailed some of the problems the Suns faced with the Big 3, specifically Durant and Booker.

“Kevin Durant, I’m told spend a lot of the second half of the season, especially, unhappy with the way the offense was run and his place and the offense, feeling as if he’s been relegated to the corners a lot, watching pick-and-rolls to Devin Booker, watching pick-and-rolls with Bradley Beal,” Charania said. “They’re gonna need to find a different type of offensive system no matter if Frank Vogel is back or not. And at the end of day, the players have to take some level of accountability because this season was not supposed to end in a sweep, not when you have Devin Booker and Kevin Durant on your roster.”

Owner Mat Ishbia faces a really difficult dilemma, as the Suns’ entire starting 5 is signed until next season.

Per Spotrac, 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 Devin 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. Grayson Allen will be on the first season of a four-year, $70 million extension signed exactly three weeks ago.

Additionally, 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).

The Suns have Royce O’Neale’s bird rights if they want to sign him to a contact extension, while Eric Gordon, Josh Okogie, Drew Eubanks and Damion Lee also all have player options to extend their veteran minimum deals to next season.

With the salaries Phoenix has, it is projected to have the highest tax bill in the NBA next season at $209 million. Ishbia has said multiple times he doesn’t care about how much money he spends, but now he has put all the chips in for this roster and could be handcuffed to it.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported earlier this year that the projected second-apron level will be $190 million next season.

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.

The Suns only assets they have right now in terms of known draft picks is the No. 22 pick this season and a 2028 second-round pick from the Boston Celtics (protected 31-45). The Suns will still have a first-round pick in 2026, 2028 and 2030 as well due to all of these being pick swaps, but could be in a bad position with those if they finish in the lottery and have to give up a good pick.

Beginning on draft day (June 26), the Suns will be able to trade the No. 22 pick and their 2031 first-round pick.

Ishbia and Jones will meet with the media tomorrow, so we will get some clarity on a lot of these questions.

Frank Vogel has message for Suns fans after being swept

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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

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