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Projected salary cap spike is great news for Suns

By Dan Volpone

NEW ORLEANS, LA - FEBRUARY 26: Devin Booker #1 of the Phoenix Suns reacts during the first half against the New Orleans Pelicans at the Smoothie King Center on February 26, 2018 in New Orleans, Louisiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
NEW ORLEANS, LA - FEBRUARY 26: Devin Booker #1 of the Phoenix Suns reacts during the first half against the New Orleans Pelicans at the Smoothie King Center on February 26, 2018 in New Orleans, Louisiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images) /
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The NBA has released projections for the salary cap through 2020-21, and the the increase is great news for the Phoenix Suns.

The Pacific division has stolen all the headlines in the 2018 offseason. The Lakers made sure we wouldn’t stop hating them by signing LeBron James and subsequently bragging about how great their city is. Then the Warriors brought in DeMarcus Cousins on a one year deal to make sure no one mistook the Lakers to be the class of the Western Conference.

But lost in July’s madness was a small but crucial tidbit of information dropped on the final day of June. According to a tweet from ESPN’s Zach Lowe, the NBA’s salary cap, which is set at $101 million for 2018-19, will increase to $109 million next season and $116 million the year after that.

For the Phoenix Suns, that means a chance to open up two max contract spots in the 2020 offseason. Here’s how.

Before the projected cap increase was announced, I took a look at how the Suns 2020-21 contract situation would look, in the best case scenario, if the cap didn’t change. Here’s what I said:

This would give the Suns an estimated $41.17 million in cap space. However, Devin Booker’s extension now comes with a projected cap of $109 million, and we have learned that Deandre Ayton and Mikal Bridges’ rookie deals will come at 120 percent of the rookie scale. And of course, the 2020-21 cap will be much higher than originally believed. So lets rework those numbers a bit:

  • Devin Booker – $29,430,000
  • T.J. Warren – $11,750,000
  • Josh Jackson: $8,930,242
  • Deandre Ayton – $10,018,200 (per @InsiderSuns)
  • Mikal Bridges – $4,359,000 (per @InsiderSuns)

Based on a $116 million cap, this would give the Suns $51.51 million in cap space. Signing a 30 percent max player would cost $34.80 million and leave the Suns with $16.71 million in cap space. They can get that up to $28.46 million by trading Warren, putting them very close to a second 30 percent max and giving them a ton of optionality.

A package of Warren, Jackson, and picks could be enough to land a second max player by trade, which would immediately make the team a contender. Even if the Suns don’t want to trade for another max player, they’ll have a deep, talented core and plenty of money to bring in quality role players.

Next: 5 Phoenix Suns goals for free agency

As with before, future draft picks and the possibility of retaining Dragan Bender and Marquese Chriss change things. But if the Phoenix Suns make maximizing cap space a priority, summer 2020 is the time to cash in. With the projected spike in salary cap, that offseason gets even more interesting.

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