The Phoenix Suns and Mikal Bridges just hit a buzzer beater at the negotiation table. Inking a four year, $90 million extension, the Suns and their starting small forward are now locked together for the foreseeable future.
Everyone expected the Suns to reach a deal with Bridges this summer, but as the offseason progressed, doubt began to grow without a deal in place. Until now, that caused owner Robert Sarver to fall under heavy scrutiny.
Sarver has changed a lot in the past decade. His reputation for penny-pinching was hard earned by trading away draft picks that would have eventually become Luol Deng (2004), Rajon Rondo (2007), and Serge Ibaka (2008). All the losing and fan pressure must have convinced him to spend the money needed to build a long-lasting contender.
One of his smartest moves as Suns owner was investing the money needed to renovate the Footprint Center. Renovating the existing arena as opposed to constructing a brand new arena saved the city hundreds of millions of dollars. These cost savings likely convinced the Phoenix City Council to spend $150 million to contribute to the arena renovation. The money saved also allowed Sarver to construct a brand new state-of-the-art practice facility nearby.
Signing Chris Paul to a 4 year, $120 million contract was also a great move. Paul is the main reason why the Suns went from an upstart playoff contender to two wins away from their first NBA Championship.
The Suns still have to make a decision on Ayton. If they hold back on him, he will enter restricted free agency this offseason. TMZ spotted Ayton and Sarver meeting at a valley hotspot to hash out contract terms. I think they will come to an agreement at the eleventh hour.
Sarver has no reason to negotiate with Ayton. He should just give him the max. Squabbling with Ayton over approximately $22.5 million (reportedly the difference in their dollar amounts) over the life of a five year contract is foolish. Joe Johnson walked away in 2005 in part due to a $5 million difference in their negotiations.
But regardless, Suns fans no longer need to worry about Bridges. The extension keeps him wearing the orange and purple, and he deserved it for these three reasons.
Why the Phoenix Suns were Wise to Extend Mikal Bridges: It makes sense business-wise to extend him now
Due to today’s economic trends, the best time to spend money was yesterday. The next best time to spend is today.
The global economy today is defined by very low interest rates, high inflation, and crippling shortages in raw materials. Inflation is already rearing its ugly head and is set to increase even more in the future due to excess money supply flooding the marketplace.
In other words, Sarver was wise to spend this money now. If he waited, he would get far less bang for his buck due to inflation rapidly diminishing the value of the US dollar.
The NBA’s collective bargaining agreement is also set to expire after the 2023-24 season and 14 other teams are in the luxury tax this season. Both the player’s union and league owners can mutually opt out of the CBA in 2023. Once the CBA is renegotiated, NBA will probably increase the salary cap and luxury tax threshold as inflation and player salary continues to skyrocket.
With this considered, it is a good idea to commit to long-term contracts in the future, as the overall value of said contracts will decrease in the future due to this inflation. This team as constructed will also be in title contention as long as Chris Paul can continue to play at a superstar level.
Financially, it just makes all the sense in the world to act now. At the same time Bridges fits Phoenix like a glove—and almost defends as well as The Glove himself, Hall of Fame guard Gary Payton.
Why the Phoenix Suns were Wise to Extend Mikal Bridges: He is an elite defender
Bridges was 11th in a 10 man race for NBA All-Defense honors. The reason for his snub is more based on reputation and narrative as opposed to ability.
The questionable candidates who beat him out: Philadelphia’s Matisse Thybulle (an excellent defender but only plays 20 minutes a game), Draymond Green (based on reputation at this stage in his career), and Kawhi Leonard (same reason as Green).
Reputation guys like Green and Kawhi will always get the narrative-based votes. The last spot on the second team came down to Thybulle and Bridges. Thybulle won out because the NBA has a bizarre methodology for counting votes for all-defensive teams.
Here is a side-by-side comparison between the two players.
- Bridges received 4 first-team votes and 31 second-team votes
- Thybulle received 3 first-team votes and 57 second-team votes
Bridges got snubbed for all-defense honors! Thybulle never should have been qualified for all-defensive honors! He only plays 20 minutes per game!
The opening game of last season proved that Bridges is an elite defender.
He constantly followed Dallas Mavericks superstar guard Luka Doncic throughout the night. While Luka may have finished with 32 points and 5 assists, Bridges made him work on every possession. His incredible length, quick feet, and impeccable timing allows him to defend any elite NBA guard.
Bridges is without question the team’s best perimeter defender.
The advanced metrics are not kind to him. He may not impress in defensive rating or defensive win shares, but those metrics do not present a full picture of his impact defensively. His advanced numbers will always be skewed negatively because he has to guard the opposing team’s best player each game.
But make no mistake about it: Mikal Bridges is one of the NBA’s best defenders, and locking him up was a great call for the Suns.
Why the Phoenix Suns were Wise to Extend Mikal Bridges: He was the team’s best shooter last season
Bridges may have only averaged 13.5 points per game last season, but he was still arguably the team’s best shooter last season, as these numbers explain.
- First on the team in effective field goal percentage (EFG%) at 64.3%
- First in field goal percentage from shots 0-3 feet away from the basket at 80.1%
- First in total corner 3’s attempted and made on the team
- Second in three-point percentage at 42.5% from beyond the arc
Bridges makes the most out of opportunities created by Paul and Devin Booker. He represents an excellent finisher and a three-point shooter. It is unfair to just say he is a “3 and D” wing because he does so much more than stand around in the corner.
He creates the majority of his offense by moving without the ball. That skill is crucial with Booker and Paul dominating the rock. His off-ball cuts fit seamlessly within the confines of the offense established by head coach Monty Williams. This skill was evident even before Paul arrived in the 2020 offseason.
Very few wings can thrive alongside a backcourt as ball-dominant as Paul and Booker. It is a mini-miracle that there are never any spacing issues between Bridges’ off-ball cuts and Ayton’s rolls to the basket. Bridges just has a very high basketball IQ.
So in closing, Mikal Bridges deserved this extension
The Suns core just knows how to play together. The Suns needed to take a page out of the playbook from their arch-nemesis, the San Antonio Spurs, and keep their core intact for a long time. As long as Paul continues to turn back the clock, the Suns will always be in title contention.
So at the end of the day, Robert Sarver needed to make this move to extend Bridges. Hopefully he does the same with Ayton, but for now, this is a win in its own right.