It remains to be seen if the Phoenix Suns can salvage their future this offseason.
The NBA has occasionally seen teams go all-in only to have their seasons end in disappointment. But never before has the league seen the situation the Phoenix Suns find themselves in after a crushing first-round series sweep loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday night.
Their reality is the poker analogy ends here. Because of how deeply they’ve mortgaged their future and the new collective bargaining agreement rules that clamp down on the ability to alter its roster, Phoenix cannot address this season’s shortcomings by simply buying back in or even hoping for a different hand.
Never before has a team been this devoid of options to alter its roster going into an offseason.
The high-risk/high-reward acquisitions of Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal to build a star trio with Devin Booker has left the franchise out four future first-round picks and six future second-round picks. Phoenix has also sent out four first-round pick swaps, effectively zeroing out its draft assets.
With next season’s payroll already exceeding $200 million, the Suns will be in the NBA’s second apron of the luxury tax, subjecting them to heavy restrictions on trades and free agency. Also, they can’t freely re-trade Beal, even if they wanted to reformat their top three stars, as he retained the no-trade clause he had with the Washington Wizards.
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