Should Suns Pull Trigger on Bradley Beal Deal?

The NBA - more so than any other league - is driven by stars.

Though basketball is still very much a team game, just five players are on the court at any given time for each team, leaving more opportunities for the best players on the planet to separate themselves on both ends of the floor.

Things such as the luxury tax allow NBA teams to splurge on big names. It's difficult to build teams with a Oakland A's "Moneyball" mentality - as the NBA is one of few leagues where more times than not, spending is connected to success.

Out of the last 17 NBA champions, only four have not gone over the luxury tax: 2013-14 San Antonio Spurs, 2014-15 Golden State Warriors, 2016-17 Golden State Warriors and 2019-20 Los Angeles Lakers.

The Phoenix Suns were once synonymous with not spending thanks to former owner Robert Sarver, though that quickly changed when Mat Ishbia took over the team.

Less than 12 hours after Ishbia had his introductory press conference, the Suns wheeled-and-dealed for superstar Kevin Durant. Less than 48 hours after Phoenix (yet again) bowed out of the NBA postseason early, head coach Monty Williams was fired.

Though new head coach Frank Vogel isn't close to being the highest-paid at his position, Phoenix's top two assistants in Kevin Young and David Fizdale are now the two highest-earning assistant coaches in the league.

Money isn't a problem when it comes to Ishbia - who already established generational wealth thanks to his wildly successful mortgage company.

Spoke with a source close to #Suns owner Mat Ishbia about everything going on.

"All he wants to do is win" while pointing out that money isn't an issue.

That's been clear since Day 1 when Mat took over. Seeing more of that with recent Bradley Beal rumors
— Donnie Druin (@DonnieDruin) June 17, 2023

Money is absolutely an obstacle when it comes to how the Suns go about their summer, however.

It's clear Phoenix is looking to upgrade the roster, yet things are difficult thanks to their top four earners and their respective cap figures for the 2023-24 season:

Kevin Durant: $47.6 million
Devin Booker: $36 million
Deandre Ayton: $32.4 million
Chris Paul: $30.8 million

Obviously, the Suns are not going to move on from Durant/Booker, though the rest of the roster is subject to anything. Spotrac's Keith Smith wrote an excellent piece on what the Suns could do with either Paul/Ayton:

Smith on Paul: "The Suns have some measure of control here, as they can guarantee any amount up to the full $30.8 million to make a trade work. Paul also has no ability to block a trade either. With few other ways to improve their depth, it behooves the Suns to try and find a trade that can bring back more options for the roster," said Smith.

"If Phoenix can’t trade Paul, they’ll likely waive him and stretch the money owed to him. Because he has two years left on his contract, the Stretch Provision would allow the Suns to spread the $15.8 million Paul is owed over five years. That would put $3.16 million in dead money on the cap sheet for the next five years, but it would open up a good amount of flexibility for Phoenix this summer. (Note: Our projection for the Suns offseason spending power includes a waive and stretch of Paul’s salary.)

"By stretching Paul’s salary, the Suns would be able to get to a place where they could use the full Non-Taxpayer MLE. That $12 million could be used to sign one or two players to help fill out the depth on a roster that would only have five players under contract."

Smith on Ayton: "Ayton remains sort of a mystery box. He’s capable of dominant stretches where he’s unstoppable around the rim and on the glass. He’s also prone to periods where he’s just sort of out there and having no impact at all," said Smith.

"In an ideal world, Ayton would find his form from the 2021 NBA Finals run and the following season, and the Suns would be set at the five. But with that a question, and Phoenix desperately in need of depth, Ayton is on the trade market.

"If Phoenix can break up Ayton’s $32 million for next season into two or three rotation players, they’ll likely do it. When the former first overall pick has been out of the lineup, the Suns have shown they can get by with minimum salary centers. That would be the approach again this summer."

Getting the salaries of Paul/Ayton off the books in any fashion was the goal for the Suns heading into the summer, though there's one of two avenues the team could take: Add another superstar or add depth.

After 739 words, we've finally arrived to the reason you clicked on this article: Bradley Beal.

NBA insider Shams Charania reported Phoenix was one of finalists (along with the Miami Heat) to land the Washington Wizards guard. Beal has put up impressive numbers that have only been overshadowed by his monster five-year, $251 million contract.

According to Spotrac, his $46.7 million cap charge for the 2023-24 season ranks sixth out of all NBA players.

Beal would be a third star in the Valley, which immediately brings lofty 2010's Miami Heat vibes when they assembled Wade-James-Bosh before making four consecutive NBA Finals appearances.

The allure of star power is legitimately real in the NBA, as discussed previously. Adding Beal would ensure another dynamic scoring presence alongside Booker/Durant, something the Suns didn't have in their previous postseason run.

NBA on TNT's Chris Haynes reports a deal involving Chris Paul and Landry Shamet would be Washington's asking price to pull the trigger on a trade with Phoenix.

Matching salaries and getting Beal in the Valley - from a financial perspective - isn't a problem.

It's the rest of the team-building where the brakes slam for Phoenix to stop.

Depth was perhaps Phoenix's biggest talking point heading into the postseason - and it proved to be true. The Suns were able to rely on the superhero performances of Booker in their first-round series victory against the Los Angeles Clippers, which admittedly so looked anything but the ultimate 4-1 win to advance to the second round.

Beyond Booker/Durant, the Suns offered very little to remain competitive, which ultimately reared its ugly head in their second-round series against the Denver Nuggets.

All it takes for one injury to any of their theoretical top three - two of which will be 30 or older next season - to derail their season.

Top-heavy is the term that best describes Phoenix, and with 10 players set to hit free agency in some capacity, the Suns' depth can only promise to get worse unless some spectacular talent decide to join on veteran minimums.

The Suns already have their star power - but now they need to properly fill out the roster with legitimate role players.

Each previous championship team had a nucleus of a handful of stars surrounded by a strong supporting cast.

In the opinion of many, Phoenix would be much wiser to utilize any potential free spending to bolster their roster from top to bottom rather than make another splash move.