The Phoenix Suns on Wednesday waived and stretched the two years and $110 million remaining on three-time All-Star guard Bradley Beal’s contract, punctuating the end of a failed “Big Three” experiment.
The question, then: Is this also the end of the era in which teams try to collect three max-salaried stars?
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The Suns swung for the fences in 2023, acquiring future Hall of Famer Kevin Durant from the Brooklyn Nets at the trade deadline, and then dealing for Beal from the Washington Wizards over that summer. It cost them just about all of the depth from their roster and the rights to every one of their draft picks.
Durant, Beal and Devin Booker combined to make $150 million last season, when the NBA’s salary cap was set at $140 million. That pushed the Suns up against the cap’s second apron, which restricts a team’s ability to do almost everything, impacting its flexibility on the draft, free-agency and trade markets.
In other words: It was awfully hard for Phoenix to construct a capable roster around its three stars, something to which the Nets could relate when they boasted Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving. Beal’s Suns did not win a single playoff game, getting swept in the first round of their only appearance.
The Suns’ Big Three of Devin Booker, Bradley Beal and Kevin Durant had zero playoff wins in two seasons together. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
(Christian Petersen via Getty Images)
That was not the case for the Miami Heat in the early 2010s, when they collected LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh and required little additional help to contend for championships. Yes, they needed help to actually win championships, but this was also 15 years ago, when the second apron did not exist, and James, Wade and Bosh were making $45 million combined. It was easier to build a capable rotation.
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The league was not as deep as it is now, either. Look at the teams that are winning titles now. The Oklahoma City Thunder were easily the deepest team in the NBA this past season, as were the Boston Celtics in 2024. Neither team had any holes in its eight-man rotation, let alone in the starting lineup.
That proved too costly for the Celtics. They are built around two stars, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, who over the previous two years each signed a maximum contract north of $300 million. Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porziņģis were also making more than $30 million annually, and that took them above the second apron — to a…