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Phoenix Suns Offseason Plans Part 3: Free Agency

By Adam Maynes

April 18, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Utah Jazz forward Gordon Hayward (20) moves the ball against Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin (32) during the first half in game two of the first round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
April 18, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Utah Jazz forward Gordon Hayward (20) moves the ball against Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin (32) during the first half in game two of the first round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports /
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Suns Free Agents

*The Suns only have three free agents, only one of whom is unrestricted.

Mar 17, 2017; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Phoenix Suns center Alex Len (21) runs up the court in the first half of the NBA game against the Orlando Magic at Talking Stick Resort Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jennifer Stewart-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 17, 2017; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Phoenix Suns center Alex Len (21) runs up the court in the first half of the NBA game against the Orlando Magic at Talking Stick Resort Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jennifer Stewart-USA TODAY Sports /

Alex Len

The situation surrounding where Alex Len plays next season is going to be a fascinating case study on general manager’s spending across the league. With the salary cap expanding again, many teams will have ample money to spend on players like Len, completely distorting his monetary value as compared to his statistics.

Though still only 24-years-old when the season begins, and entering his 5th season in the league, Len has yet to wrestle away the starting position from the elder Tyson Chandler. However, per-36 minutes, Len has improved his scoring and rebounding averages all four years of his career finishing with 14.1p/11.8r/2.3b in 2016-17 while taking a large leap in his field goal percentage over 2015-16. Those stats alone mean that he is poised to take a giant leap in salary from the $4.8M he earned this past season.

The Suns, of course, will have the fortune of enjoying the same growth in salary cap space as everyone else, and Ryan McDonough is certainly budgeting for an expectation of what Len is to receive in the free agent market. Many have speculated that the team’s cap for re-signing Len is somewhere in the $8-10M range and that should a team offer more than that then Len will walk. This is a presumption, however, and remains to be seen.

Of course, if Tyson Chandler is traded and very little salary is brought back in return, then there could be ample space under the cap to pay Len whatever the market dictated allowing him to remain as the franchise center for the foreseeable future. However, if Chandler is kept, and the bright future of the next free agent is rewarded, then Len could very possibly be a cap casualty.

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