When the Suns traded for Kevin Durant in February of 2023, it was expected to be the formation of another "Big 3" in the NBA. Phoenix already had stars Bradley Beal and Devin Booker, and acquiring Durant was supposed to be the final piece of the puzzle.
The experiment has not gone as planned. After losing in the second round of the 2023 playoffs, the Suns took a step back this season, failing to win a single postseason contest.
Minnesota completed its sweep of Phoenix in the Western Conference first round on Sunday night, sending Durant and Co. home with a 119-115 loss in Game 4. The Sun are the first team to be eliminated from the postseason in 2024 after finishing as the No. 6 seed in the conference.
Changes are expected to come this offseason. There is uncertainty about head coach Frank Vogel's status coming into the summer, however, perhaps the bigger conversation is about the personnel. The trio of stars on Phoenix takes up more than $150 million in the team's cap space, and all are on the books for another two seasons.
With all that money tied to the three stars, it leaves little to address other needs. The lack of depth was a major reason why the Suns could not find more success, but with all of their deals tying them to the team for the foreseeable future, the Phoenix front office has its work cutout in order to improve the roster for next season.
MORE: What went wrong for Suns in first-round series loss to Timberwolves
Kevin Durant contract details
Durant signed a four-year, $194.2 million deal with the Nets in August 2021. The deal carried with him when he was acquired by Phoenix in a trade with Brooklyn during the 2022-23 season.
In 2023-24, Durant had a salary of $46.4 million, but that number is going up. Next season, the forward is set to make $49.9 million in salary, followed by another bump in 2025-26, making $53.3 million in the final year of his deal.
He is under contract through the 2025-26 season, and will be a free agent in 2026.
| Season | Age | Salary |
| 2023-24 | 35 | $46.4 million |
| 2024-25 | 36 | $49.9 million |
| 2025-26 | 37 | $53.3 million |
| 2026 | 38 | UFA |
2024 NBA PLAYOFFS: BRACKET | SCHEDULE
No one is making as much as Durant is entering his age-35 season. He's coming off another strong season, averaging 27.1 points per game and shooting over 50% from the field, however it's evident that the Durant-Booker-Beal experiment isn't working out as expected.
Kevin Durant stats
2023-24 season
- 27.1 points per game
- 6.6 rebounds per game
- 5.0 assists per game
- 52.3 percent field goal shooting
- 41.3 percent 3-point shooting
- 85.6 percent free throw shooting
Career
- 27.3 points per game
- 7.0 rebounds per game
- 4.4 assists per game
- 50.1 percent field goal shooting
- 38.7 percent 3-point shooting
- 88.4 percent free throw shooting
