Everyone thought the 2024-25 season was going to be the "Big Three" redemption tour. You know the vibe: Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal finally healthy, firing on all cylinders, and making the West look like a playground.
Honestly? It didn't go that way. Not even close.
By the time the dust settled on the Phoenix Suns roster 2024, owner Mat Ishbia was staring down a luxury tax bill that could fund a small country, and the team was officially heading home before the playoffs even started. It’s wild to think that a squad with a $228 million payroll—the highest in the NBA—could end up 11th in the conference with a 36-46 record.
Basically, the Suns became a case study in why "stacking talent" isn't the same as "building a team."
The $200 Million Identity Crisis
The biggest misconception about the 2024 roster was that they just needed a point guard. People screamed for a "floor raiser" all summer. James Jones and the front office tried to answer that by snagging Tyus Jones and Monte Morris on veteran minimum deals.
It looked like a steal at the time. Tyus Jones, a guy who basically allergic to turnovers, for the minimum? That’s highway robbery.
But even with a real point guard, the chemistry felt... clunky.
Kevin Durant was still being KD, dropping 26.6 points a night at age 36, which is frankly ridiculous. Devin Booker was carrying his usual load, putting up over 25 points and 7 assists. But the Bradley Beal situation was the elephant in the room. Between injuries and a weird fit, Beal ended up moving to the bench halfway through the season.
Imagine paying a guy $50 million to be your sixth man. That's the 2024 Suns for you.
Who Actually Stepped Up?
If you want to find the silver lining in this expensive cloud, you have to look at the "plumbers." That's what some scouts call the guys who do the dirty work.
- Ryan Dunn: The rookie out of Virginia was a defensive revelation. Most people expected him to spend the year in the G-League, but he forced his way into the starting lineup by January.
- Grayson Allen: After leading the league in three-point percentage the year before, he stayed consistent. He’s basically the only reason the spacing didn't completely collapse.
- Oso Ighodaro: Another rookie who gave them much-needed energy. He had a career-high six steals in one game, which is unheard of for a young big.
The Mid-Season Chaos and the Nick Richards Trade
The roster you saw in October wasn't the roster that finished the year. That's a classic Ishbia move—always tinkering.
In January 2025, they realized Jusuf Nurkić wasn't providing the rim protection they needed. So, they swung a trade for Nick Richards from Charlotte. It was a "save our season" move that actually provided a brief spark. They went on a 10-5 run in January, and for a second, it felt like they might claw back into the top six.
Then February hit.
The rumors about a Kevin Durant trade to the Rockets or a deal for Jimmy Butler started leaking. Coach Mike Budenholzer, in his first year, seemingly lost the locker room during a brutal 3-10 stretch. When you have three superstars and things go south, the finger-pointing starts fast.
The Full 2024-25 Depth Chart (As of the Final Push)
To understand why they failed, you have to look at the depth. Or lack thereof.
Guards:
Tyus Jones, Devin Booker, Bradley Beal, Grayson Allen, Monte Morris, Collin Gillespie.
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Forwards:
Kevin Durant, Royce O’Neale, Ryan Dunn, Cody Martin (acquired via trade), Bol Bol, Damion Lee.
Centers:
Nick Richards, Mason Plumlee, Oso Ighodaro.
Notice someone missing? Jusuf Nurkić and Josh Okogie were eventually shipped out to Charlotte in separate deals to try and regain some future draft flexibility. It was a white flag. They traded away their "starting" center for a backup because the salary cap was strangling them.
The Second Apron Nightmare
We have to talk about the "Second Apron" because it's the real villain of the Phoenix Suns roster 2024 story.
Because the Suns were so far over the tax limit, they couldn't aggregate salaries in trades. They couldn't send out cash. They couldn't sign anyone except for veteran minimums.
It’s like trying to win a Formula 1 race with your hands tied behind your back and only being allowed to buy parts from a junkyard.
Even though Ishbia was willing to pay the $152 million tax bill—the fourth-largest in NBA history—money couldn't fix the roster's lack of athleticism. They were slow. They were small. They were old.
What Really Happened with the "Superteam" Experiment?
Most people think the Suns failed because their stars didn't play enough together. While it’s true that Durant, Booker, and Beal missed significant time, they were actually 32-24 when they shared the court.
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That’s a 47-win pace. Not elite, but not a lottery team.
The real issue was the "non-minutes." When one of the Big Three sat, the Suns looked like a G-League team. The defense, ranked 28th in the league at one point, was a revolving door. They didn't have the "connectors"—the guys like Bruce Brown or Derrick White who make the stars' lives easier.
Instead, they had a bunch of guys on minimum contracts trying to play roles they weren't suited for.
Actionable Insights for Suns Fans
If you're trying to make sense of where this team goes from here, keep these three things in mind:
- Watch the Salary Cap, Not the Stats: The Suns are currently locked into this core. Because of Beal's no-trade clause and the second apron restrictions, "blowing it up" isn't as easy as it sounds in NBA 2K.
- The Youth Movement is Real: Ryan Dunn and Oso Ighodaro are the only "cheap" assets with high upside. Their development is more important for the team's future than any veteran minimum signing they make next summer.
- The Nick Richards Era: Richards is under contract for $5 million. He’s one of the few value contracts on the books. Expect him to be the primary center moving forward as they move away from the "Point-Nurk" experiment that failed so miserably.
The 2024 season was a loud, expensive lesson in NBA team building. Talent gets you into the conversation, but fit and flexibility are what keep you in the playoffs. For the Suns, the bill finally came due, and they didn't have enough in the tank to pay it.