The path back to contention for the Phoenix Suns was always going to be daunting, and that was before the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder showed the rest of the Western Conference just how far ahead of everybody else they are.
Victor Wembanyama taking less money kills Suns' chances of success
But the French phenom has only gone and made an incredibly difficult prospect even harder, electing to leave over $50 million on the table as he signed an extension with the organization he has already brought to the NBA Finals.
ESPN story, via @mikecwright on Victor Wembanyama signing a $252 maximum extension with the San Antonio Spurs while deciding to potentially save the team roughly $50 million over the next five years: https://t.co/i5WFumujC7
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 11, 2026
Why does "Wemby" saving the Spurs a heap of money matter in The Valley? That selfless act will give San Antonio the financial flexibility to keep their core together for years to come, and ensure they can be in the mix for big trade targets and free agent acquisitions.
We've already seen Jalen Brunson do the same thing for the New York Knicks, allowing them to build the best starting five out East and win an NBA Championship.
Both Brunson and Wembanyama still feel like outliers, most superstars want to get as much money as possible as seen by Donovan Mitchell's own recent monster deal, but this still represents a significant change in how franchise cornerstones act.
Adding to the Suns' woes here is the fact the league effectively has a hard cap these day, and the salary cap itself actually shrunk by $6 million heading into this offseason after a prolonged period of only growing bigger.
That means the margin for error is smaller in Phoenix, while true contenders in New York and San Antonio have that bit more room to breathe. It is unfortunate that Devin Booker's own current deal ranks among the worst in the league, because he has always looked like a team first kind of guy.
He's never asked out of his current situation and you couldn't blame him for wanting to get as much money as possible to stick around and likely end up the best player in Suns' history.
But if he'd known taking less to ultimately be more competitive was what his rivals were going to sign up for, would it have changed his own actions on this? At 29-years-old Booker is in his prime, while the Spurs have guaranteed with this deal for Wembanyama that they will be competitive throughout the rest of the decade.
Having teammates around him see their trade value rise modestly is cool, but it does not compare to what the Spurs and Wembanyama are doing after this extension.
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