With the support of owners Mat and Justin Ishbia, who have approved massive spending increases since buying the team in February, the Suns decided not to waive Paul. Instead, Paul is likely to get his entire $30 million salary, sources said, and the Suns combined it with guard Landry Shamet to take on even more money by bringing in Beal -- giving them nearly $162 million in salary committed to just four players for the 2023-24 season.
And don't expect them to stop there.
They are likely to try to re-sign free agents Torrey Craig, Josh Okogie, Damion Lee, Jock Landale, Bismack Biyombo and Terrence Ross, among others. They are almost assuredly going to keep guard Cameron Payne, who has a partially guaranteed salary. And they might even try to use a trade exception worth nearly $5 million to acquire another player (they have until February to use that exception).
The Suns were in the luxury tax this season for the first time in more than a decade, which buys them two years before they would face the so-called repeater tax that makes huge spending even more onerous.
Collected together, if there was ever a team that was going to make this Beal move, it was the Suns, and it was now.
Before the new CBA even starts, its core tenet is already being tested. And a brand new superteam is born.
So potentially looking at this right now
Book-Beal-Okogie-KD-Ayton
Payne-Ross-Lee-Craig-Biz
Jordan Goodwin, 52nd Pick, trade exception(maybe), maybe a 2nd Ishbia buys on Thursday?
