The Phoenix Suns are struggling financially, which will benefit Royce O’Neale. The Suns have committed $150.7 million to their big three for next season: Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal. The NBA salary cap is estimated to be approximately $141 million. Add in the salary for Jusuf Nurkic ($18.1 million), Grayson Allen ($15.6 million), and Nassir Little ($6.8 million), and the Suns are beyond the dreaded second apron tax with only six players; they need at least eight more to complete the roster. And if the Suns want to compete, they can’t just fill out the roster with cheap players; they need excellent role players, which cost a little more.
Enter Royce O’Neale, who played effectively for the Suns in his 25 minutes a night, averaging 8.1 points and 5.2 rebounds while shooting 37.6% from the bench (he was traded from Brooklyn to Phoenix at the deadline). He’s the type of quality role player the Suns want to maintain, but O’Neale is a free agency and is sure to receive a raise from his $9.5 million salary last season. The Suns cannot afford to replace him, and they own his Bird rights, so they are expected to step up and compensate him. ESPN’s Brian Windhorst discusses this on his Hoop Collective podcast.
“They intend to re-sign Royce O’Neale. That will get done.”
It makes sense for the Suns to pay O’Neale more than his market value. While this will hurt against the luxury tax, it increases the likelihood that the Suns will be able to trade him for another player if necessary. Because the Suns are over the second apron, they must take back less money in a trade than they send out, so overpaying O’Neale slightly expands the pool of players for whom he can be traded. Simply put, the Suns must re-sign O’Neale; they cannot afford to lose him and cannot readily replace him. That’s going to be great for O’Neale’s financial account.
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