NBA Swing: How the Sun Set in Phoenix

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Four years ago, the Phoenix Suns were up 2-0 in the 2021 NBA Finals against the Milwaukee Bucks. They would be just two wins away from their first championship in franchise history, but would lose the next four games, giving Milwaukee their first NBA Championship in 50 years. Despite losing in the Finals, the future looked bright, and many saw the Suns as a legitimate championship contender for years to come. Four years later, only one player from their Finals run remains, and the future could not look anymore bleaker.

Mat Ishbia Takes Over

In December of 2022, Robert Sarver would sell his majority ownership of the team after an investigation of workplace conduct within the Phoenix Suns and Phoenix Mercury organizations. He would sell his majority share of both teams to mortgage billionaire lender Mat Ishbia. Ishbia would purchase the team for an at-the-time record of $4 billion. Ishbia would have a past in basketball, being a walk-on for Michigan State, and being a part of the Spartans’ national championship in 2000. ESPN would report Ishbia as being well-regarded in the NBA offices and even by NBA commissioner Adam Silver at the time of the purchase.

The First Waning Sign: The Kevin Durant Trade

Ishbia would be quick to get involved with the inner workings of the Phoenix Suns. In February 2023, Ishbia would take advantage of the crumbling Brooklyn Nets, trading for superstar Kevin Durant right before the 2023 trade deadline. The trade would be:

Phoenix Suns Receive:

Kevin Durant
T.J. Warren

Brooklyn Nets Receive:

Mikal Bridges
Cameron Johnson
Jae Crowder
Four first-round draft picks (2023, 2025, 2027, & 2029)
2028 first-round draft pick swap

Key role players from their finals run who turned into young stars, Bridges and Johnson, would average 17.2 PPG and 4.3 RPG and 13.9 PPG and 3.8 RPG, respectively. Ishbia would push for the trade, sacrificing depth and defense in a win-now move. Pairing Durant next to Devin Booker, Chris Paul, and DeAndre Ayton, Ishbia was hoping the move would bring them back to the finals.

Durant would only play eight games following the trade to the Suns, suffering an injury during warmups. Phoenix would win all eight regular-season games Durant played. In the playoffs, the Suns would eliminate the Los Angeles Clippers in five games but would lose to the eventual champion Denver Nuggets in six games in the second round. Chris Paul would suffer a groin injury in game 2 of the series, taking a key player out of Phoenix’s rotation. Despite the second-round exit, the Suns were still regarded as a contender in the West.

The Trades That Doomed Phoenix: The Bradley Beal Jusuf Nurkic Trades

Even though he was averaging 13.9 PPG and 8.9 APG in his age-37-38 season, Chris Paul was set to make $30.8 million. In a shocking move, the Suns would trade Chris Paul in a package to the Washington Wizards for Bradley Beal. Having a no-trade clause, Beal would essentially be able to choose where he would go, waiving the no-trade clause to go to Phoenix.

Despite not having to give up much, many questioned the trade, with all three stars being primary scorers. The team would also be lacking a true point guard following the trade for Beal. Booker would ultimately move over to the one, becoming the team’s starting point guard for the time being.

Not done making moves in the 2023 offseason, the Suns would trade big man and 2018 first overall pick DeAndre Ayton to the Portland Trailblazers as a part of the three-team deal that would send Damian Lillard to the Milwaukee Bucks. In the three-team deal with Milwaukee and Portland, Phoenix would out Ayton for a package including Jusuf Nurkic, Grayson Allen, Nassir Little, and Keon Johnson. While Nurkic and Ayton were similar players on the defensive end, Nurkic would make just over half of what Ayton was set to make for the 2023-24 season.

Booker, Durant, and Beal would play 41 games together during the 2023-24 season, with the three stars averaging 27.1 PPG, 27.1 PPG, and 18.2 PPG, respectively. The team would go 49-33, having the sixth-best record in the West. They would have the 10th-best offense and had the 13th-best defense. In a shocking move, the Suns would be swept in the first round of the playoffs by the Minnesota Timberwolves, with head coach Frank Vogel being fired and replaced by Mike Budenholzer as a result.

The End: The Disastrous 2024-25 Season

Despite an 8-2 start to the 2024-25 NBA season, the team would quickly collapse both on and off the court. There would be rumors of issues in the locker room with multiple players and rumblings of the team wanting to move on from Beal. With his no-trade clause, the team could not move him without his say, so the team would move Beal to the bench in hopes of him wanting out of Phoenix.

Near the deadline, the Suns would be linked to Jimmy Butler, and it would later come up that the team was taking calls for Durant, something that would spell the end for his time in Phoenix. The Suns would trade Nurkic to the Charlotte Hornets, but would be unable to trade Beal. The team would go 11-21 following the trade deadline, losing nine of their last ten games. Phoenix would finish 36-46, completely missing the playoffs as the 11th seed. Phoenix would fire Mike Budenholzer at the end of the season, firing their third coach since Ishbia bought the team.

Even though he did not formally request a trade, numerous reports would come out that Durant and the Suns would work together to facilitate a trade that would eventually land him with the Houston Rockets, ending his tenure with the team after two and a half seasons. Phoenix would get Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks their own 2025 first-round draft pick back for Durant. Following the trade, Durant would say the fans wanted him gone, something that led to the trade. In early July, Phoenix would give Devin Booker a two-year, $145 million contract extension while rumors of the team nearing a buyout with Beal started to come up.

In mid-July, Beal’s tumultuous tenure with Phoenix would end, agreeing to a buyout with the team. In what has been described as a heated buyout discussion, Beal would give up just $13.9 million for the buyout and will still be paid nearly $100 million by Phoenix as part of the buyout. Heading into the 2024-25 season, Booker is the only player who remains a part of their 2021 finals team.

The team does not have control of their first-round draft pick until 2032 unless the team finishes above the second apron, the next three seasons. As many expect the Suns to decline in the coming years with their lack of assets, the growing question is whether Devin Booker will want to remain with the team, with their future in question.