Chris Paul Bet On Himself In June… And It Just Paid Off In A Big Way
ByJoey Heldon August 2, 2021inArticles›Sports News
Back in June, we wrote about how Chris Paul was planning to decline his player option with the Phoenix Suns worth $44 million. On Sunday, Paul did just that, turning down $44 million for the 2021-22 season. Normally, saying goodbye to that amount of money would be questionable. But in Paul’s case, it was a smart move.
Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports first reported that Paul signed a four-year, $120 million extension to stay with the Suns. Though it’s a pay cut for next year, Paul will ultimately receive an additional $76 million from this new deal.
The point guard will be 40 by the time his contract ends. Assuming he reaches the end of it without any changes, at that point his NBA career earnings will stand at…
$446,695,193
Christian Petersen/Getty Images
Thanks to Paul’s pay cut during the 2021-22 season, the Suns can use a mid-level exception to sign another veteran onto the team. However, they’ll likely be deep in luxury taxes over the next few years between Paul and Devin Booker ’s contracts, plus new deals for Deandre Ayton and Mikal Bridges.
Still, the Suns offer Paul a chance to win his first NBA championship. The team reached the NBA Finals this year and took a 2-0 lead against the Milwaukee Bucks before losing the next four games. According to The Undefeated’s Marc Spears , Paul had surgery on his left wrist soon after the Finals ended. He’s expected to return in time for training camp and expressed his excitement for next season. The Suns will be bringing back a lot of their core pieces; head coach Monty Williams will still be on the sidelines, too.
Paul and LeBron James played major roles in changing the NBA’s Over-36 rule to the Over-38 rule , which allows the Suns to sign him for four years. Any other team could have only offered him a three-year deal.
The hope for both sides is that Paul continues playing at a high level and can lead the team to its first title in franchise history. Either way, he revitalized his career and betted on himself, and now he’s reaping the rewards.
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Next Season The Phoenix Suns Will Pay Just Four Players A Ridiculous Amount Of Money
ByJoey Heldon June 28, 2023inArticles›Sports News
Earlier this year, the Phoenix Suns shook up the NBA with a massive trade to acquire Kevin Durant . The move didn’t result in postseason success, as the team never fully gelled and lost to the eventual champion Denver Nuggets in the second round.
Now, the Suns are back at it again. They traded Chris Paul , Landry Shamet, multiple second-round picks and a pick swap to the Washington Wizards in exchange for Bradley Beal , Isaiah Todd, and Jordan Goodwin.
The Suns, a team that reached the NBA Finals in 2021, are clearly trying to win a championship before their window closes. Beal joins Durant, Devin Booker , and Deandre Ayton to create an impressive group of stars. Although it’s going to cost the Suns a LOT of money to field this roster.
Bradley Beal (L) shooting over Devin Booker. (Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
All four players are on max contracts. This upcoming season, the Suns will owe Durant (about $47.6 million), Beal (about $46.7 million), Booker (about $36 million), and Ayton (about $32.4 million). All together, next season these four will earn a collective…
$163 million
Adding to the complexity, the upcoming collective bargaining agreement will impose strict penalties on teams that go over the second apron of the luxury tax. That threshold currently sits at $179.5 million. To avoid going past that number, the Suns will have to figure out a way to split about $16.5 million between ten players.
This isn’t a one-year issue, either. Beal still has $207 million and four years remaining on his contract. Durant has about $149.5 million over three seasons, plus a few extra million in likely incentives. Ayton will make a shade over $102 million in the next three seasons. Booker is in the final year of his deal, but at just 27 years old and still in his prime, the Suns will try to do all they can to retain him.
It’s almost a given that most of the Suns’ bench will consist of players on veteran minimum contracts. The only other players currently under contract are backup guard Cameron Paine; Ish Wainright, who averaged about 15 minutes per game last season; Goodwin, who was productive with the Wizards; and Todd, who’s played 135 minutes total in two seasons.
With the free agency period kicking off on June 30, the Suns probably have more moves to make. If it leads to the first championship in franchise history, all the spending will be worth it.
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The Phoenix Suns Are Paying Two Head Coaches Next Year — And Mike Budenholzer Is Making Money From Two Teams
ByJoey Heldon May 14, 2024inArticles›Sports News
The Phoenix Suns and Milwaukee Bucks didn’t have much of a shared history before the 2021 postseason. Sure, the teams played against each other every year, but there wasn’t really a rivalry or any bad blood between them. Then they met in the NBA Finals, which the Bucks won in six games after dropping the first two contests of the series.
Well, the Suns and Bucks now have something else in common: They’re both paying head coach Mike Budenholzer .
Budenholzer and the Suns agreed to a five-year deal worth a reported $50 million. Under those terms, Budenholzer will earn $10 million per season, which makes him one of the highest-paid coaches in the league. The hiring comes the same week as the firing of previous head coach Frank Vogel .
Patrick McDermott/Getty Images
Now, the Suns owe Vogel the remaining $24 million or so on his deal, as well as the $50 million for Budenholzer. Unless there’s an unreported clause in Vogel’s contract, Phoenix will pay about $16 million combined to both head coaches for the next four seasons, for a grand total of $64 million.
Vogel served as the Suns’ head coach for just one season. Despite a 49-33 record and a playoff appearance, new Suns owner Mat Ishbia wanted to make a change. He got the best head coach who isn’t already tied to a team.
Budenholzer, 54, won NBA Coach of the Year during the 2014-15 and 2018-19 seasons. He has previously been head coach of the Atlanta Hawks and the Bucks. His total record as a head coach is 484-317 across ten seasons. Before that, he served as an assistant coach under Gregg Popovich with the San Antonio Spurs for over a decade and a half.
Despite the 2021 championship, the Bucks fired Budenholzer after the 2022-23 season. The Bucks finished first in the Eastern Conference but lost in the first round to the No. 8 seed Miami Heat. Budenholzer still had $16 million and two years remaining on his deal, and the Bucks owed him all of that. He made $8 million this season and is due another $8 million next year. After the brief tenure of Adrian Griffin ended midseason and Doc Rivers replaced Griffin, the Bucks are currently paying three head coaches .
It’s possible Budenholzer’s buyout was negated after he signed with another team. However, with the way some of these contracts are worded, he very well may be making $18 million next year as both the Suns and Bucks pay guys not to coach for them.
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