Suns At a Crossroads! Suns Face $450 Million Decision on Kevin Durant’s Future – What will They Choose?
The Phoenix Suns have had a terrible season thus far and if they are unable to turn things around, they may have a very interesting offseason.
Entering the season, the Suns were expected to compete near the top of the Western Conference standings thanks to their superstar trio of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal. Instead, they have struggled this season and currently sit 11th in the West standings with a 26-29 record.
The Suns have enough talent on their roster to be a better team and not one that is currently fighting for the final Play-In spot in the West while being under .500 for the season. Despite this, things have not clicked this season, which is going to make the franchise’s offseason an interesting one.
Of course, the Suns already tried to make some moves ahead of the trade deadline but failed to do so. They were trying to trade away Beal and land Jimmy Butler from the Miami Heat, but Beal was unwilling to waive his no-trade clause and there were very few teams interested in the star forward.
With the Suns unable to move Beal, they then surprisingly listened to offers for Durant, which was a shock to many teams around the NBA and to Durant himself. While the Suns elected to keep Durant through the end of the season, there is growing speculation that he may be moved in the summer.
According to ESPN’s Bobby Marks, Durant is eligible to sign a two-year, $124 million extension with the Suns a day after the NBA Finals. That is now unlikely to happen due to the two sides seemingly growing apart.
Marks also pointed out that the Suns currently have $161 million committed in salary to Durant, Booker and Beal next season and if the roster stays intact, Phoenix could spend nearly $450 million in salary tax penalties and will once again face restrictions due to them being a second apron team.
With that being the case, expect the Suns to make some major changes to their roster in the offseason to cut costs, especially if they are unable to turn things around this season.
