Reverse back to the very beginning of free agency: The Phoenix Suns' trade of Bradley Beal is still relatively fresh, and the buzz around the Valley was - for good reason - high.
Yet as the market for top players in the league to sign with other teams began crawled closer to the beginning of its chaos, there were some concerns as to how the Suns would navigate a tricky salary cap scenario. Upwards of $160 million was already allotted to their top four players (Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, Deandre Ayton and Beal) and there were still plenty of holes left to fill.
Phoenix knew they needed some strong talent to buy into the hope of winning a championship for pennies on the dollar of what they could get elsewhere.
It worked.
Free agency officially went underway and the Suns shot out of the gates in style that could only make Usain Bolt blush. Left and right, Phoenix assembled considerably strong talent - all on minimum contracts.
Fans were impressed. Media and analysts were impressed. So too was Suns general manager James Jones, who gave himself an 8/10 for the offseason the team had in an interview with The Arizona Republic.
“We knew going into it who our four top players were. The guys who were going to lean on heavily to reach our goals. I think that gave us more clarity and I think it gave the players more clarity around how we would play and how they could fit with our team," Jones said.
“So when it comes to minimums, I think it’s that label or contract value that people look at, but I look at it more from a perspective of identifying the guys who have the attributes and skills that would complement our group and finding players that believe that this environment will increase their productivity and give them a boost for their careers going forward. This was more forward looking than backwards looking for us and for the players that we targeted.
“I think that clarity allowed us to move quickly and efficiently through the free agency process because we knew exactly who we wanted and we knew exactly who wanted us.”
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