Suns Off Season Changes for 2025-26

[Yuma]

I agree. It seems obvious to me.

Either way it's a good sign. Either we want him as a back up. Or they did their homework and we can flip him.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Uh huh… great culture shown in the last 4 of 5 games against the Mavs where we got humiliated and then found ourselves down FIFTY… 5-0… in Game 7. Culture looked pretty great then. Also, the Coach not talking to Ayton after claiming he quit in Game 7, and forcing Crowder to sit on his couch all the next season is even more fuel for the culture was great fire before we traded for KD.

We get it… you think KD trade was a disaster (and you’re right) but the idea of him being the root of all evil ignores the blatant FACTS above.

Yeah. The culture was confrontational before the Mavs trade. But when KD came the culture went from confrontational to complacency. I quit watching this team because it was pretty clear that KD especially just really didn't care all that much.

I would take players fighting with one another over that.

I kinda think Houston might end up worse for having KD on the roster. The guy is immensely talented and sleepwalks to 30-point games. But he kills the competitive vibe on a team.

 

[Folster]

I kinda think Houston might end up worse for having KD on the roster. The guy is immensely talented and sleepwalks to 30-point games. But he kills the competitive vibe on a team.

I'm interested to see what Vegas has for their total wins next season. I might have to throw a couple dollars on the under.

 

[Hoop Head]

Uh huh… great culture shown in the last 4 of 5 games against the Mavs where we got humiliated and then found ourselves down FIFTY… 5-0… in Game 7. Culture looked pretty great then. Also, the Coach not talking to Ayton after claiming he quit in Game 7, and forcing Crowder to sit on his couch all the next season is even more fuel for the culture was great fire before we traded for KD.

We get it… you think KD trade was a disaster (and you’re right) but the idea of him being the root of all evil ignores the blatant FACTS above.

Like a broken record.

You realise a culture is much more than 1 playoff series, right? The Suns lost to a team that made the Finals the next year they were healthy. They suffered a bad loss in game 7, no one denies that but your hyper focus on that is a you problem at this point that you continue to try and convince others is more than it was. They didn't roll over and die the next year. They suffered a lot of injuries and had a more complacent Ayton, a missing PF, and a coach who wasn't told by the front office to get over it. There were problems but the solution, which you called for, was trading for KD. That failed spectacularly and set this franchise back a decade.

Admitting the KD trade was a failure is half of admitting how wrong you were, the overselling where we were is the other half and why this is a point of contention here. You are one of the only people who can't let it go and needs to mention the Dallas series over and over. That's the modern NBA though. 29 teams fall short annually. Should Denver blow it up? How about Indiana, New York, Cleveland, Golden State? This is a Suns forum so they're main focus but you can see the Suns aren't unique when you look around the league and what hurdles they need to clear. The answer isn't tearing it down. How often does that work? It did for OKC and they torn down a team that featured multiple MVP's, so the Suns don't have the same opportunity.

 

[Proximo]

It's up to Bradley Beal and his agent.

Maybe Beal wants to have a career after the Suns and cares about his legacy.

Maybe he doesn’t. Maybe he knows if he gives up the money in a buyout he won’t get it back, and he cares more about not moving his kids then he does about his nba career.

 

[Proximo]

Yeah. The culture was confrontational before the Mavs trade. But when KD came the culture went from confrontational to complacency. I quit watching this team because it was pretty clear that KD especially just really didn't care all that much.

I would take players fighting with one another over that.

I kinda think Houston might end up worse for having KD on the roster. The guy is immensely talented and sleepwalks to 30-point games. But he kills the competitive vibe on a team.

I am very very curious about KD on the rockets as well.

I feel like he is overall a net negative, but I can’t prove it. If he can’t thrive in Houston, I don’t think he can anywhere.

 

[TJ]

Please, Bobby, if only it could happen. The Suns could be a normal team again.


Bobby Marks Jun 28, 2025, 01:21 PM ET, ESPN:


One move I would make: Negotiate a contract buyout with Bradley Beal that reduces his $110 million in guaranteed salary to $80 million. The $80 million is then stretched over five years, giving Phoenix a $16 million cap hit per year. The savings would put Phoenix under the first and second apron and save the Suns nearly $200 million in luxury taxes.

NBA free agency 2025: Cap space, best fits for all 30 teams

With the start of NBA free agency just days away, Bobby Marks has all 30 teams covered.

www.espn.com

Maybe you can convince Beal to do $10mil, but $30? He’ll just enjoy the unlimited PTO he’d get with his guaranteed contract

 

[TJ]

Future Detroit Piston, Devin Booker???

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(I kid. Kinda…)

 

[Phrazbit]

Uh huh… great culture shown in the last 4 of 5 games against the Mavs where we got humiliated and then found ourselves down FIFTY… 5-0… in Game 7. Culture looked pretty great then. Also, the Coach not talking to Ayton after claiming he quit in Game 7, and forcing Crowder to sit on his couch all the next season is even more fuel for the culture was great fire before we traded for KD.

We get it… you think KD trade was a disaster (and you’re right) but the idea of him being the root of all evil ignores the blatant FACTS above.

We had a horrendous run of injuries, with only Bridges not missing big chunks of time, we had a winning record despite it... then we made one of the worst trades in league history and the culture OBVIOUSLY changed, the team of hustle and grind was totally gone, as was our ability to hold leads, instantly going from one of the most clutch teams in the league to probably the least.

He's a cancer, flat out.

 

[Yuma]

Somewhere there's a stat where Booker plus KD won 60 or 70 percent of the games they played together without Beal. Then when it was Booker and just Beal, that number was more like 50% or even less. It was surprising the records. I wouldn't be surprised if Houston plays well with KD.

 

[Cheesebeef]

We had a horrendous run of injuries, with only Bridges not missing big chunks of time, we had a winning record despite it... then we made one of the worst trades in league history and the culture OBVIOUSLY changed, the team of hustle and grind was totally gone, as was our ability to hold leads, instantly going from one of the most clutch teams in the league to probably the least.

He's a cancer, flat out.

Both things can be true. The chemistry soured and KD made it worse.

It’s okay to admit you’re wrong every once in a while. I admitted it about the KD trade being a disaster.

But saying the chemistry was “great” and our ability to hold leads, yada yada in the obvious face of one the most disastrous playoff collapses ever punctuated by the absolute worst Game 7 performance ever to a huge underdog in in second round run and the ongoing Ayton/Crowder issues that continued is just a joke.

Also, if Booker can be so easily swayed by someone like KD, whatever culture there was before KD must have been on the thinnest of ice. You didn’t see that with GS. They got KD and then the only reason they ever lost was because of injuries. Why? Because their leaders are actually LEADERS, not the checked out little follower that your golden boy is.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Somewhere there's a stat where Booker plus KD won 60 or 70 percent of the games they played together without Beal. Then when it was Booker and just Beal, that number was more like 50% or even less. It was surprising the records. I wouldn't be surprised if Houston plays well with KD.

Yeah I'm too lazy to put the numbers together but this past season we were a much better team with KD than without and a much better team when Durant and Booker played without Beal. But as I recall, the year before we were a much better team when all three of them played. I don't know what happened to Beal but he was a huge liability this past season.

KD was great at putting up stats and last year he was clearly our best player overall. Not great, just our best. And our record shows that "our best" wasn't all that great. If Houston can get Kevin to play within their system, they are going to be a very tough team next season. But if he continues to insist on playing the game his way, he'll put up great numbers for a team that will likely underachieve.

 

[95pro]

Both things can be true. The chemistry soured and KD made it worse.

It’s okay to admit you’re wrong every once in a while. I admitted it about the KD trade being a disaster.

But saying the chemistry was “great” and our ability to hold leads, yada yada in the obvious face of one the most disastrous playoff collapses ever punctuated by the absolute worst Game 7 performance ever to a huge underdog in in second round run and the ongoing Ayton/Crowder issues that continued is just a joke.

Also, if Booker can be so easily swayed by someone like KD, whatever culture there was before KD must have been on the thinnest of ice. You didn’t see that with GS. They got KD and then the only reason they ever lost was because of injuries. Why? Because their leaders are actually LEADERS, not the checked out little follower that your golden boy is.

But KD didn't come after the game 7 you always mention.

 

[ASUCHRIS]

Maybe you can convince Beal to do $10mil, but $30? He’ll just enjoy the unlimited PTO he’d get with his guaranteed contract

I guess the argument is that you'd try to convince him the 80+ whatever he's offered on his new deal will be better than the 110? (maybe in a situation where everyone doesn't hate his guts and want him gone)

 

[swagron]

On the Doug Franz podcast this morning, he detailed how the Suns rid themselves of Beal. Pretty interesting

 

[JCSunsfan]

I said this in the other thread. Bradley Beal no longer cares about winning, playing time, or legacy. He is essentially retired. He knows his body cannot take this any more. He is simply milking as much money as he can out of his remaining NBA career. All that matters to him is cash and that his wife and kids are happy. That does not make him a bad person.

Any negotiations need to keep that in mind.

And I don't want a player at that stage in his career around the team on a day to day basis.

Maybe you can buy him out and make him a coach or something. It would give him a fresh purpose.

 

[TJ]

On the Doug Franz podcast this morning, he detailed how the Suns rid themselves of Beal. Pretty interesting

TLDR?

 

[GatorAZ]

TLDR?

I didn’t listen but it’s the same two options we’ve been discussing…

- Buy out + stretch to get under the 15% dead money limit

- Waive, take the full cap hit this year and stretch his final year

I think he would hold out for the second option because once he signs with another team he’d be making like $70m a year between two teams. The first option would require him taking a pay cut around $15m to get stretched. If Naz Little and EJ Liddel weren’t combining for over $4m of dead cap they could stretch Beal and get under the apron.

 

[Mainstreet]

TLDR?

This is what Bobby Marks of ESPN and others on the forum have mentioned.

If Bradley Beal would takes less in a buyout, say $80 million, a waive a stretch gets the Suns under the second tax apron and financial flexibility.

 

[Mainstreet]

Nick Richards could still be traded as Michael Scotto of HoopsHype suggests.

NBA Intel: Free Agency Deandre Ayton, Malik Beasley, Myles Turner, Nickeil Alexander-Walker; Trades

Days ahead of free agency, HoopsHype has gathered the latest intel on Deandre Ayton’s buyout, free agency updates on Myles Turner, Malik Beasley, Dennis Schroeder, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Caris LeVert, Duncan Robinson, Dorian Finne

hoopshype.com

 

[Mainstreet]

I'd like to get a first round pick for Richards or at least multiple second round picks if the Suns don't keep him.

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[BooksOrangePlanet]

I'd like to get a first round pick for Richards or at least multiple second round picks if the Suns don't keep him.

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it was smart to pay him - leaves a options open

 

[Mainstreet]

it was smart to pay him - leaves a options open

I'm hoping the Suns can either keep or trade Cody Martin as well.

 

[Mainstreet]

To keep this thread updated, the Suns sign Collin Gillespie to a standard one-year contract.

 

[JCSunsfan]

it was smart to pay him - leaves a options open

He is an asset. In the rebuilding phase you can't just let assets walk unless letting them walk is advantageous somehow.