Remember Anthony Edwards did the DX chop in game 3 against the Suns during the first-round playoffs game? It looked humorous to the neutrals, but one person felt the point of the dagger in it the most and that was Mat Ishbia. The writing was on the wall and Ishbia saw it. Not only did his gamble backfire, but it also took a significant toll on his pocket. Mortgaging the franchise’s future on Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal, and Devin Booker‘s trio not only cost him dear last season, it will keep on costing him for years to come.

Ishbia knew full well that his win-or-bust mentality would have consequences down the line. To compound that even further, Royce O’Neale’s latest contract action is now making a $500 million hole in his pocket. How? Let’s do the math.

With free agency merely hours away, the Suns made their move. On the surface, not a major one but it has major repercussions. According to Adrian Wojnarowski, the Suns are willing to offer Royce O’Neale a 4-year $44 million contract.

Once signed, it will take the Suns’ total expenditure to over $500 million for the season 2025-26. The Phoenix franchise already has almost $157 million allotted for their Big 3 of Durant, Beal and Booker. Quite clearly, they can’t avoid the first slab of luxury tax set at $172 million luxury tax and $190 million second slab. Their total payroll will stand at $234,450,460. Adding $291,319,806 luxury tax to that will take the amount to $525,720,266. This is the amount the Suns will have to fork out for the 2025-26 season.

Now how can they avoid this? The answer to that is Kevin Durant. The answer can be Bradley Beal or Devin Booker as well but KD is the ultimate solution despite having a similar contract structure. If you’re done with the impromptu math class, we can proceed.

How is Kevin Durant the fix for Suns’ financial troubles?

If you’re up-to-date with all the happenings of the NBA trade market, then it is no news flash that Kevin Durant is linked to a move away from the franchise. Following their road-crash of a post-season ending, the immediate questions were surrounding the 2-time NBA champion’s future. Reports came out as early as April that Durant was discontent with the Suns’ system. Now with Mike Budenholzer at the helm, that probably has not changed much. Stephen A. Smith recently claimed on “First Take” that Durant is “not keen” on a stay in Arizona, but would not ask for a trade.

But that will not be in his hands if a team comes with an enticing trade proposal. Reports indicate that the Rockets are the most aggressive of the chasing pack. With their abundance of trade picks, they can give the Suns what they lost during their 2023 trade for KD. This would be too great an opportunity for the Suns to pass. Another interesting solution can be his trade to the Spurs. The San Antonio franchise has enough cap space to give Durant his contractual amount and can add a championship-caliber player besides Victor Wembanyama.

A return to the OKC Thunder cannot be ruled out as well as they have the draft picks on offer and sufficient cap space. Returning to Oklahoma will be a full circle moment for the 14-time All-Star. With a team that already had a conference semifinals tour last season, this could be Durant’s best bet to add another ring to his illustrious career. Let us know in the comments where you think the future Hall Of Famer will land!

Stay tuned for more such updates, and to follow what brand maker, Leonard Armato, had to say about the deadly duo, Shaq and Kobe, check out this video