What's Next for Phoenix Suns After Huge Gamble Flops?

When the NBA signed off on the collective bargaining agreement with the NBPA last year, the new system gave teams a grace period of roughly a year to get its books in order before the harsher penalties for heavy spenders took hold. The Phoenix Suns scoffed at those guidelines and went all-in to add Bradley Beal, Jusuf Nurkić, Grayson Allen and Royce O'Neale to its payroll—already heavy with almost $84 million due for just Kevin Durant and Devin Booker (climbing to over $100 million for 2024-25). As the first franchise knocked out of the 2024 playoffs, the Suns may be stuck with marginal improvement options. The "TL;DR" is that Phoenix can only sign new players to minimum contracts, pay a ton of tax to keep O'Neale and hope a Nassir Little trade can yield a rotation player earning no more than $6.75 million.