NBA Luxury Tax Bill Rankings: Where do Suns Fall?
The Phoenix Suns' acquisition of Kevin Durant signals plenty of things.
Their title chances on the court have improved significantly. Durant jerseys with the number 35 are being sold at rampant pace, and new Suns owner Mat Ishbia will dive deeper into the luxury tax than previous holder Robert Sarver ever dreamed of doing.
Sarver reportedly gave the green light of the Suns heading $14 million into the luxury tax, but the addition of Durant pushed Phoenix's new bill to just over $50 million.
Ishbia told SI's Chris Mannix money wasn't an issue when acquiring Durant:
"The money part was not an issue. So we took that off the table right away. Then it was, ‘what's best for our team?’ Can Kevin make us a better team? Is Kevin going to help us compete for a championship now? What's Kevin Durant's contract? We've got three more years after this year, so we're not having someone for 25 games. We're having someone for three and a half years. So that was a big part of the conversation," said Ishbia.
"And then understanding Devin Booker and Chris Paul and what Kevin Durant does to the floor with them and Deandre Ayton. And then our role players, how they fit in and understanding what we can get in the buyout market. Understanding all the pieces, like the first-round picks.
"All these conversations, we had them for hours and hours and hours in a room talking about it and getting everyone's perspective. And James obviously is the leader of that and knows it better than I could ever know it. And so I give him a lot of the credit. The financial piece was five seconds. They know I'm ready. That doesn't bother me. Now let's talk about is this the right thing for the Phoenix Suns organization? And I think we quickly figured out that it was."
Sitting at a $150,267,000 threshold, nine NBA teams are set to pay the luxury tax at season's end. Here's how they rank (all figures via Spotrac)
1. Golden State Warriors ($162 million luxury tax bill)
Top earners: Steph Curry ($48.07 million), Klay Thompson ($40.6 million), Andrew Wiggins ($33.61 million) and Draymond Green ($25.80 million)
2. Los Angeles Clippers ($137.4 million luxury tax bill)
Top earners: Paul George ($42.49 million), Kawhi Leonard ($42.49 million) and Eric Gordon ($19.56 million)
3. Milwaukee Bucks ($75.5 million luxury tax bill)
Top earners: Giannis Antetokounmpo ($42.49 million), Khris Middleton ($37.94 million) and Jrue Holiday ($33.66 million)
4. Boston Celtics ($64.4 million luxury tax bill)
Top earners: Jayson Tatum ($30.35 million), Jaylen Brown ($28.74 million), Al Horford ($26.5 million) and Malcolm Brogdon ($22.6 million)
5. Dallas Mavericks ($56.1 million luxury tax bill)
Top earners: Kyrie Irving ($38.91 million), Luka Doncic ($37.09 million), Tim Hardaway Jr. ($19.6 million)
6. Phoenix Suns ($50.9 million luxury tax bill)
Top earners: Kevin Durant ($44.12 million), Devin Booker ($33.83 million), Deandre Ayton $30.91 million), Chris Paul ($28.4 million)
7. Los Angeles Lakers ($35.8 million luxury tax bill)
Top earners: LeBron James ($44.47 million), Anthony Davis ($37.98 million), D'Angelo Russell ($31.37 million
8. Denver Nuggets ($14.2 million luxury tax bill)
Top earners: Nikola Jokic ($33.04 million), Jamal Murray ($31.65 million), Michael Porter Jr. ($30.91 million) and Aaron Gordon ($19.69 million)
9. Brooklyn Nets ($12.4 million luxury tax bill)
Top earners: Ben Simmons ($35.44 million), Mikal Bridges ($21 million) and Spencer Dinwiddie ($19.5 million)
