3 years of 169 million US dollars, there is also a veto power in the transaction, the performance is sparse and can't be sent away, the NBA's most rubbish contract was born, and Durant is too difficult to bring at all!
Text: Lao Kan Kanqiu
Editor|Lao Kan Kanqiu
The Paris 2024 Olympics are in full swing, and the United States men's basketball team has just played its first opening game, facing Jokic's Serbia team and winning by 26 points. Among them, Durant's performance was eye-catching, playing only 17 minutes, shooting 8 of 9, scoring 23 points and 2 rebounds, which can be called a BUG player in the FIFA arena. This battle alone completely dispelled the doubts of the outside world and attracted praise from many media and players, among which Spurs legend Manu Ginobili said bluntly: KD should be banned!
Indeed, Durant is the big killer in the FIFA arena. However, the international arena is proud, but the NBA arena is difficult to describe. In the just-concluded 23-24 playoffs, the Suns led by Durant lost consecutive games, were swept by the Timberwolves with a score of 0-4, stopped in the first round, and became the first team in the entire league to be eliminated, which surprised everyone.
Especially in the fourth game of life and death, it was still difficult to find a win when Durant scored 33 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists on 12-of-17 shooting and Booker scored 49 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists on 13-of-21 from the free-throw line and 20-of-21 from the free-throw line. In the final analysis, it was the team's third big man, Bill, who pulled his hips and performed properly undercover. He scored only 9 points in the game, but had as many as 6 turnovers, and the mentality completely exploded in the fourth quarter, with many turnovers at key moments, giving the victory to the Timberwolves in vain, and finally left the game with six fouls, with a team-low plus/minus of -12.
After the Suns are out, many fans are expecting management to make a big trade this offseason and make a big change to the existing deformed roster. Unexpectedly, in the face of heavy pressure from the outside world, Ishbia, the owner of the Suns, firmly spoke: he will never break up the triumvirate composed of Durant, Booker and Beal!
However, if you think about it, maybe it's not that the Suns owner doesn't want to change the lineup, but that it's hard for a clever woman to cook without rice. First of all, next season, the total salary of the Big Three of Durant (annual salary of $51.18 million), Beal (annual salary of $50.2 million) and Booker (annual salary of $49.7 million) has reached $150 million, according to the latest collective bargaining agreement released by the league, only the salary of the Big Three has exceeded the NBA's salary cap ($140.588 million), and is only $20 million short of the luxury tax line ($170.814 million).
According to NBA Athletic Keith Smith, a total of 15 teams in the league have exceeded the luxury tax line so far, and the Suns' total salary exceeds the luxury tax line by $52.8 million, ranking first in the league. As a result, there is little salary space for the Suns to adjust their roster unless they dismantle the Big Three to make room for them.
However, will the Suns be able to tear up the Big Three? Obviously, this is not realistic. Except for Beal, Durant and Booker will never touch these two unless the Suns management has a problem with their brains. As for Bill, it's not something that the management can move if they want to, just because Bill's contract has the biggest restrictive clause - the right to veto the transaction!
You know, looking at the entire NBA league, except for James, who has just signed with veto, Beal is the only one who has the veto power to trade. In the nearly 80-year history of the NBA, only 10 people have had this privilege, except for James and Beal, the remaining 8 are: Stockton, Garnett, Kobe, Wade, Nowitzki, Robinson, Anthony and Duncan. By any measure, Beal's presence on this list looks out of place.
According to the data, Beal only played in 53 games for the Suns last season, averaging only 18.2 points, 4.4 rebounds and 5 assists per game, and in the playoffs, the statistics fell further, averaging only 16.5 points, 2.8 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game, but had a whopping 3.3 turnovers. I have to say that in addition to being riddled with injuries, Beal's performance last season was really shocking, and when you compare the amount of his contract (3 years and $169 million remaining) and privileges (trade veto power), it is the most rubbish contract in NBA history.
The most critical thing is that the Suns will not have a single first-round pick in the next seven years, and only a pitiful second-round pick, and they have no leverage to make up for it. And all this may be the most fundamental reason why Suns owner Ishbia has spoken out firmly and will never dismantle the Big Three lineup!
I have to say that Durant is really too hard. Since leaving the Warriors, he has been looking for opportunities to prove himself, however, the Nets were also the Big Three during the Nets period, and they had a chance to win the championship, but they eventually fell apart because of various farces; After turning his head to join the Suns, the team was still a Finals team the previous season, but now it is mired in the quagmire again, does the 36-year-old Durant still have a chance to compete for the championship?