Yahoo Sports senior NBA analyst Kevin O’Connor and NBA contributor Tom Haberstroh look ahead to a crossroads season for Phoenix - with its three big stars signed to more than $150 million in contracts for the year, coming off a first-round exit to the Timberwolves in last season’s playoffs. Hear the full conversation on “The Kevin O’Connor Show” and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen.

View more

Video Transcript

One team in the west that we didn't really talk too much about is Phoenix, is it crazy to believe the Suns are the contender?

Most likely to blow it up?

I think so.

Um, you look at that payroll north of $400 million all said and done with the luxury tax.

This is gonna be the most expensive roster in NBA history.

Ok. You're dealing with a KD that just went to the to Paris Olympics and just latched on to Anthony Edwards and Anthony Edwards.

He's already talking about, uh, Kevin Durant in his preseason press conferences about how much he wants to play or at least he's saying, hey, keep that guy in the same breath as Steph and lebron, the Minnesota Timberwolves just cleared a lot of long term cap space or at least you got a lot of long term money off the books.

Carl Anthony Towns and Devin Booker, two guys who played with each other at Kentucky.

Ok.

They've been tied at the hip, like in every, every year they talk about this.

Oh, the good fellas.

Oh, me, Devin Booker, Carl, Anthony Towns and d'angelo Russell, we're gonna play together one day and like the stars were aligning as I was looking at this Carl Anthony towns trade with, with Minnesota and I'm looking at the Phoenix Suns and being like, they better get off to a good start.

They don't have any cap flexibility.

They didn't have a good year last year.

The, the Bradley Beal, no trade clause which is already just like, yuck.

I can't, I do not want that on my roster.

They don't have anywhere to go if this doesn't go.

Right.

What are they gonna do, Kevin?

There's a lot of ifs, a lot of unproven guys and Phoenix very well could be like a six seed and if you're a six seed and you don't feel like you actually can win at all.

Maybe B is like, you know what, let's get all of our picks back and be pretty good.

But let's try to like spin it, kick the can forward and become a finals contender in a few years.

It's just tough though, man, because at that point OKC is better, the Spurs have a better team around wem be.

So if you don't go for it now, when are you actually gonna go for it if you're Phoenix?

I know, but they, they've got this roster for the next two years at that kind of payroll and it's just Bradley's got two more years, he's got a player option in three years, but he's got two more years of 50 plus million dollars on the books.

I'm not sure he's a top 100 player in the NBA and he's getting paid $50 million and he's got a no trade clause.

So, what you're looking at is not just, hey, we're going to be shelling out a lot of money the way the CB A is built, you don't have any options.

There's no optionality with this roster right now.

Unless you decide to move off of Kevin Kevin Durant because you're not, I mean, where, where's Bradley Beal's contract in terms of movable right now at this time?

Zero, it's over like it's over.

Close