What do you think the suns do next after Beal is bought out?

[Split T]

I don’t think they will fill the 15th spot, which keeps them about $30,000 under the tax line

People really wanted to sit on him and be stuck playing half a billion dollars in the tax over the next 2 seasons instead of stretching him and opening up some albeit not perfect flexibility. That's crazy.

I just wish they didn’t play the middle…if the point was to get out of the tax…why are we pretending to want to compete this year? Why didn’t we prioritize youth and picks for KD…why Brooks?

I don’t expect to see us utilize our new found team building avenues…not this year. It’s a 1 year tax reset in a year we don’t own our 1st(or any 1st for that matter). That kinda sucks…and now it will be harder to build a contender around Booker in his prime because we have 23 million in dead cap each year…

There was no good option…but I would’ve preferred a Grayson salary dump or maybe moving off Jalen Green for savings. Or better yet, we should’ve saved money in the KD trade. Get under the apron that way…maybe you can’t get all the way out of the tax, but I don’t care about the tax, that only impacts Ishbia’s wallet. Getting out of the 2nd apron is more crucial and we could’ve done that without a stretch.

I just think this ends in a Booker trade or Booker on a team with a 1st round exit ceiling…we need a miracle at this point.

[Split T]

I will change my tune a bit if we do something more than sign Cam Payne(or someone similar) and call it a day.

[TOO]

I don’t think they will fill the 15th spot, which keeps them about $30,000 under the tax line

People really wanted to sit on him and be stuck playing half a billion dollars in the tax over the next 2 seasons instead of stretching him and opening up some albeit not perfect flexibility. That's crazy.

I just wish they didn’t play the middle…if the point was to get out of the tax…why are we pretending to want to compete this year? Why didn’t we prioritize youth and picks for KD…why Brooks?

I don’t expect to see us utilize our new found team building avenues…not this year. It’s a 1 year tax reset in a year we don’t own our 1st(or any 1st for that matter). That kinda sucks…and now it will be harder to build a contender around Booker in his prime because we have 23 million in dead cap each year…

There was no good option…but I would’ve preferred a Grayson salary dump or maybe moving off Jalen Green for savings. Or better yet, we should’ve saved money in the KD trade. Get under the apron that way…maybe you can’t get all the way out of the tax, but I don’t care about the tax, that only impacts Ishbia’s wallet. Getting out of the 2nd apron is more crucial and we could’ve done that without a stretch.

I just think this ends in a Booker trade or Booker on a team with a 1st round exit ceiling…we need a miracle at this point.

I don't know, I am not convinced we are doomed.

[Ring_Wanted]

I don’t think they will fill the 15th spot, which keeps them about $30,000 under the tax line

People really wanted to sit on him and be stuck playing half a billion dollars in the tax over the next 2 seasons instead of stretching him and opening up some albeit not perfect flexibility. That's crazy.

I just wish they didn’t play the middle…if the point was to get out of the tax…why are we pretending to want to compete this year? Why didn’t we prioritize youth and picks for KD…why Brooks?

I don’t expect to see us utilize our new found team building avenues…not this year. It’s a 1 year tax reset in a year we don’t own our 1st(or any 1st for that matter). That kinda sucks…and now it will be harder to build a contender around Booker in his prime because we have 23 million in dead cap each year…

There was no good option…but I would’ve preferred a Grayson salary dump or maybe moving off Jalen Green for savings. Or better yet, we should’ve saved money in the KD trade. Get under the apron that way…maybe you can’t get all the way out of the tax, but I don’t care about the tax, that only impacts Ishbia’s wallet. Getting out of the 2nd apron is more crucial and we could’ve done that without a stretch.

I just think this ends in a Booker trade or Booker on a team with a 1st round exit ceiling…we need a miracle at this point.

Agreed. To me the way to go in a KD trade was expiring/unguaranteed crap, youth and picks. Green and Brooks really solve none of the problems this roster has had over the last two seasons, except a little of the missing "toughness" if you want to apply that to Brooks.

[Split T]

I wouldn’t say doomed…there’s still a path to contention…it is just narrower than most teams and it got narrower.

We really need a couple of our dice rolls to hit:

Jalen Green, Mark Williams, Khaman Maluach, Rasheer Fleming, Ryan Dunn, Oso Ighodaro…

Hope Booker returns to a better version of himself…and then we probably gotta add a major piece somehow.

[TOO]

I do think Booker being away from KD will be good for his game.

[TOO]

I don’t think they will fill the 15th spot, which keeps them about $30,000 under the tax line

People really wanted to sit on him and be stuck playing half a billion dollars in the tax over the next 2 seasons instead of stretching him and opening up some albeit not perfect flexibility. That's crazy.

I just wish they didn’t play the middle…if the point was to get out of the tax…why are we pretending to want to compete this year? Why didn’t we prioritize youth and picks for KD…why Brooks?

I don’t expect to see us utilize our new found team building avenues…not this year. It’s a 1 year tax reset in a year we don’t own our 1st(or any 1st for that matter). That kinda sucks…and now it will be harder to build a contender around Booker in his prime because we have 23 million in dead cap each year…

There was no good option…but I would’ve preferred a Grayson salary dump or maybe moving off Jalen Green for savings. Or better yet, we should’ve saved money in the KD trade. Get under the apron that way…maybe you can’t get all the way out of the tax, but I don’t care about the tax, that only impacts Ishbia’s wallet. Getting out of the 2nd apron is more crucial and we could’ve done that without a stretch.

I just think this ends in a Booker trade or Booker on a team with a 1st round exit ceiling…we need a miracle at this point.

Agreed. To me the way to go in a KD trade was expiring/unguaranteed crap, youth and picks. Green and Brooks really solve none of the problems this roster has had over the last two seasons, except a little of the missing "toughness" if you want to apply that to Brooks.

Nobody was gonna offer any picks of value for KD, a bad team wasn't going to trade for him. Expirings do what exactly? We'd stink with no draft picks, what's the point. Id rather they at least try to be competitive while we trudge through this no picks.

[JeremyG]

I don’t think they will fill the 15th spot, which keeps them about $30,000 under the tax line

If so, I’ll be even more pissed about the stretch.

Basically, Ishbia just became cheaper than Sarver. And it destroys our cap space for 5 years.

[Superbone]

I don’t think they will fill the 15th spot, which keeps them about $30,000 under the tax line

If so, I’ll be even more pissed about the stretch.

Basically, Ishbia just became cheaper than Sarver. And it destroys our cap space for 5 years.

Yeah, we know.

[virtual9mm]

Everything depends on how good the Suns' draft picks over the past two years end up being. If Maluach ends up being a Shaq-Garnett hybrid in two years, the Suns will be great. If he and the others end up busting, we're totally screwed.

[TOO]

I don’t think they will fill the 15th spot, which keeps them about $30,000 under the tax line

If so, I’ll be even more pissed about the stretch.

Basically, Ishbia just became cheaper than Sarver. And it destroys our cap space for 5 years.

Yeah, we know.

Just paid one of the highest payrolls in the history of ever but he's like Sarver. Stupid.

[JJ Slim]

[Split T]

It’s definitely a cheap move, but cheaper than Sarver it is not

[JeremyG]

Cheaper in the sense that Sarver was eventually willing to pay the luxury tax. And now Ishbia is refusing to, after claiming money would never be an issue. All while still claiming he’s trying to win, this year and every year!

[SunsRIt]

No offense, but $200 million is $200 million.

[TOO]

No offense, but $200 million is $200 million.

Not when it's not yours apparently.

[JeremyG]

Ummm, you guys do realize that Ishbia can throw away $200 million and still have 98% of his wealth remaining, right?

Why should I care? He’s the one who promised money would never be an issue.

[Split T]

Cheaper in the sense that Sarver was eventually willing to pay the luxury tax. And now Ishbia is refusing to, after claiming money would never be an issue. All while still claiming he’s trying to win, this year and every year!

See this is where you are getting ahead of yourself. I think it’s a cheap move…but he’s not refusing to pay the luxury tax…he just had the most expensive team of all time last year. It does seem he is ducking in this year, but that doesn’t mean he’s ducking it for good. Sarver cheaped out countless times.

[Shabazz]

I don't need the owner of my team to pay the luxury tax just for the sake of it or to prove a point to fans that are bitter about [certain transactions]. If the team is not in title contention and keeping it in the aprons only hurts our ability to transact and, by extension, our title chances in the future, I'm all for ducking under them and saving $200M that can be put to use when our team is in a stronger position. That's smart business.

We also may go back into the tax this season. There's a lot of time left to determine that.

[TOO]

I don't need the owner of my team to pay the luxury tax just for the sake of it or to prove a point to fans that are bitter about [certain transactions]. If the team is not in title contention and keeping it in the aprons only hurts our ability to transact and, by extension, our title chances in the future, I'm all for ducking under them and saving $200M that can be put to use when our team is in a stronger position. That's smart business.

We also may go back into the tax this season. There's a lot of time left to determine that.

*Nods*