With the regular season mere days away, the Phoenix Suns saved their best piece of offseason business for last, signing Oso Ighodaro to a three-year, $29 million extension on his rookie contract. A development that the player himself had hinted would happen just last week. It is an amazing piece of business for the franchise while also providing Ighodaro financial security.
Suns get another starting center on team-friendly deal
The Suns are the big winners here because they just ensured their starting center to begin this coming season will be playing on a team-friendly deal. Ighodaro is still only 24 years old and, entering his third season, is playing the best and most consistent basketball of his career.
But this new deal also ensures that when the Suns' center situation changes, bringing Ighodaro off the bench will also work for them. Starting big Mark Williams is likely gone for most of the season, and given he is the same age as Ighodaro, it is unclear how much longer he will be in Phoenix. He was also signed to an extension much earlier this offseason, but his own three-year, $38 million deal is easily movable if needed down the road, particularly with a lack of true centers available right now.
In the best-case scenario, Williams returns and can play 60 games a season for the Suns, with Ighodaro backing him up while also slotting into the starting five when required. It is also worth remembering that Ighodaro's primary position is at the four, and providing a different option to that of Miles Bridges when this roster is fully healthy is another intriguing look we are yet to see.
Then there is youngster Khaman Maluach, who many believe is the long-term answer at the center position for the franchise. Ighodaro can start in his place for now, allowing the 20-year-old to grow at his own pace. Maluach was the player who was raved about the most at media day, but expecting such a raw prospect to help a team whose owner, Mat Ishbia, believes will win a playoff series this coming season, is putting a lot of pressure on the Duke product.
Ighodaro's contract movable down the road if priorities change
The unspoken part of Ighodaro's extension is the excellent value he represents for other teams if the Suns trade him in the future. The only reason to do this would be if they get close to true contention with Devin Booker and Dillon Brooks and need an upgrade in their frontcourt.
Ighodaro could be easily packaged with a bigger salary (Jalen Green) to bring back an impactful veteran, and with his own value trending upwards, his inclusion could unlock players previously unavailable to the Suns. Not that the franchise is thinking that way about their starting center right now, but that flexibility is important as they try to make the tail end of Booker's prime count.
No matter what way you look at this, both in the immediacy and long-term, this was a home run by the organization to get Ighodaro to commit on such a team-friendly deal.
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