The most expensive team in NBA history will not play in the postseason.
The Phoenix Suns were officially eliminated from the Play-In Tournament after losing to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday 125–112. The loss was the team’s eighth in a row and ended a year marked by underachieving despite boasting the highest payroll in league history.
Phoenix was fighting for the final spot to the Play-In Tournament, but couldn’t pass the injury-riddled Dallas Mavericks in the standings to extend its season.
“There’s not one thing or one person or one player or one coach that’s the problem,” Suns guard Devin Booker said after the game. “When you’ve had a season this bad, it’s a bunch of things. I think the most frustrating part is being that close a few years ago, and now being back to where we are.”
The Suns made the NBA Finals in 2021, but fell to the Milwaukee Bucks in six games. Two years later, the Suns broke up the core that took them there by trading Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, and a bounty of draft picks to the Nets for Kevin Durant. The trade came days after new owner Mat Ishbia was approved to buy the team for $4 billion.
Despite boasting an All Star trio in Booker, Bradley Beal, and Durant, the Suns were hampered by injuries, poor defense, a lack of depth, and bad chemistry that prevented the team from making a deep playoff run.
Fixing the team is easier said than done.
Phoenix’s payroll is $210 million, the highest in the NBA and roughly $10 million ahead of the Minnesota Timberwolves, who have the second-highest team salary. The Suns are in the luxury tax and face a bill of $152.3 million—meaning the team will end up spending $362 million for the season.
Phoenix’s luxury tax bill is so exorbitant that the $152 million equates to the entire Charlotte Hornets team salary, which is 26th in the NBA this season. It’s the fourth largest luxury tax bill in NBA history.
Additionally, the team lacks draft capital from the Durant trade, which hinders its ability to upgrade the roster.
The team tried to unsuccessfully trade Durant during the trade deadline in February, which has his future in flux since the Suns expect to listen to offers for him again this offseason. Durant’s salary this season is roughly $51 million and he’s eligible for a two-year $122 million extension this summer. Trading Beal and Durant could help reset the team’s salary cap situation and replenish their draft capital.
For now, the Suns go down as one of the NBA’s bigger what-ifs as a team that never saw its surplus of talent win a playoff series.
“I don’t have the answer,” Ishbia said to ESPN in March when asked why the team underachieved. “If I had the answer, I’d fix it right now.”
