There have been several rumors by the national media ever since the Suns were swept in the first round about them potentially moving on from one of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker or Bradley Beal, who all have at least two more years on their contracts.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!After today’s introductory press conference for new Suns coach Mike Budenholzer, general manager and President of Basketball Operations James Jones cleared up all of these rumors about the Big 3 on “The Burns and Gambo Show” on Arizona Sports.
“No,” Jones said when asked about if there was any scenario this offseason in which any of the three would be moved in a trade.
“That’s great for TV. Those guys aren’t going anywhere. Those guys are a part of the solution. They are a part of the answer, and we acquired Kevin and Brad to play with Devin for a reason. Because we felt knowing who they are, Olympic athletes, team guys, if you put those three competitive guys together with a great team to support, a great coach, that we’d be able to compete for championships. That’s still the goal, still the plan, and I believe we’ll do it.”
"Those guys aren't going anywhere."@Suns president of basketball operations James Jones puts to bed any speculation that a member of the 'Big 3' would be traded this offseason.
????: https://t.co/9FB7poCRrL pic.twitter.com/eN6ohlRo8P
— The Burns & Gambo Show (@BurnsAndGambo) May 17, 2024
The Suns finished the first season with all three stars with a 49-33 record. The trio played 41 games together, going 26-15 across these contests. Jones and the front office already made one move with Budenholzer replacing Frank Vogel, who was fired 11 days after the Suns were swept after just one season as head coach. The Suns are also reportedly bringing in a new hire to the front office.
NBA insider Shams Charania of The Athletic went on “The Pat McAfee Show” a few weeks ago and also reported similar details on the future of the Suns Big 3.
“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.”
"My sense is the Suns wanna see how can this team run it back..
They're evaluating Frank Vogel's coaching position & they're considering a potential change..
I'm told that Kevin Durant was unhappy with the way the offense was run & his place in the offense" ~ @ShamsCharania pic.twitter.com/dHNEnsHz8r
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) April 30, 2024
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 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 three weeks ago.
Beal’s no-trade clause carried over from when the Suns acquired him from the Washington Wizards, so he has the power to veto any trade.
Outside the starting lineup, Nassir Little is set to make $6.75 million on the second year of his four-year 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.
Because of this, the Suns will be operating over the second-tax apron next season, which is projected to be $190 million.
In this threshold, Phoenix is unable to sign free agents outside of the Suns to anything other than veteran minimum contracts. In terms of trades, the Suns will not be able to take in more salary than they send out, include cash in deals, aggregate contracts or use a preexisting trade exception.
Another option for the Suns is their draft picks. The Suns will be picking 22nd overall this summer in a draft that has been heralded as one of the worst in a long time. On the day of the first round of the draft (June 26), the Suns are able to trade both the No. 22 pick as well as their 2031 first-round pick, but not before then.
We will see what the Suns end up doing, but some reports suggest they could make trades not involving the Big 3 centered around their draft picks.
Report: Suns expected to be ‘very aggressive’ on trade market between now and draft night
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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
