The Phoenix Suns finally addressed their need for a point guard for next season Wednesday, as they moved to claim the recently waived Jordan Goodwin off waivers. The 26-year-old being cut loose by the Los Angeles Lakers after their acquisition of Marcus Smart, another player who the Suns also pushed hard to try and sign.
The addition of a defensive-minded guard in Goodwin is an excellent move - and although he is on a non-guaranteed contract at this point - the belief is that he'll be with the franchise come the start of the season. The only potential road block to that happening being the Suns' addition of guard Jared Butler, who will also push for a place on this roster.
Suns' cap sheet reality with Goodwin means more moves are likely.
The biggest piece of business the Suns have pulled off this summer - from a long-term standpoint at least - was buying out Bradley Beal. This brought them under both aprons, which makes the potential to do future trades a lot easier. It is also why these three players now face uncertain futures in The Valley, and could be gone ahead of next season.
But bringing in Goodwin - and with the roster currently constructed the way that it is - again puts the Suns over the tax line. As the breakdown below perfectly highlights, the organization need to make further moves in order to once again get away from paying tax on this roster. There's plenty of time to achieve this, which is why further moves are likely.
Goodwin is a great illustration of the Suns cap/tax situation. With the claim, I have PHX just $21k over the tax line with his full salary.
— David (@theIVpointplay) July 23, 2025
BUT...he's only guaranteed $25k right now & the Suns have until the end of the season to duck the tax. Which I personally think they will. pic.twitter.com/wQjGvBpmOI
Unless owner Mat Ishbia is again going to dip into his own reserves in order to foot the bill, which he most certainly did when Durant and Beal were in town. The key reason this won't happen is the fact that the new owner syndrome has worn off, and Ishbia has been stung with some monster bills for what he thought were contending rosters.
The 2025-26 Suns won't be that, so why pay top dollar for a group that might not even make the play-in? It's certainly more forgivable than the Indiana Pacers letting Myles Turner walk to the Milwaukee Bucks for tax reasons, while Phoenix now has several players they should be looking to move on from ahead of next season.
They now have promising rookies - such as "Booker-Lite" - to look forward to, and who are going to eat a lot less of their salary cap in the coming seasons. There's a reason the organization bought out Beal - while also accepting his salary would be on their books for the next five seasons - and not paying tax as they re-tool was one of the key reasons why. More moves are coming.