New Suns Guard Named Among Most Overpaid NBA Players

It appears the Phoenix Suns could once again be dealing with one of the worst contracts in the league.

Bradley Beal's contract was viewed as the worst in the NBA when he was with the Suns, and Phoenix will be feeling the effects from it, owing Beal $19.4 million per season over the next five years after waiving and stretching him this summer.

The Suns didn't originally give Beal his five-year, $251 million deal, but took it on after trading for him from the Washington Wizards in June 2023.

After moving on from Beal, the Suns could be dealing with another bad contract at the guard position.

Jalen Green Named to Bleacher Report's All-Overpaid Team

Bleacher Report's Dan Favale recently placed Jalen Green, who the Suns acquired as part of the return for Kevin Durant from the Houston Rockets, on his NBA all-overpaid team, which consisted of two backcourt players and three frontcourt players.

Green, who is entering the first season of a three-year, $105.3 million rookie extension that was given to him by Houston, joined Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier in the backcourt.

Favale wrote of Green:

"Jalen Green edges out other backcourt candidates like Jrue Holiday and Zach LaVine because his best skills are neither above-average nor guaranteed to scale into different situations. You know Holiday will defend his butt off even when shots aren't falling. For all LaVine's flaws, his offense is extremely plug-and-play.

"Green's scoring ability is not in that wheelhouse. Both his on- and off-ball offense come with lackluster efficiency. He has posted a better-than-league-average clip on unassisted shot attempts just once, according to BBall Index. His shooting percentage on spot-ups has peaked in the 60th percentile—and placed in the 0th percentile this past year.

"The 23-year-old has yet to pop as a passer or floor-raiser to boot. His assist-to-usage ratio has never ascended past the 27th percentile, and the Houston Rockets posted a better net rating during his on-court time only once.

"Youth warrants benefit of the doubt. Green will have plenty of opportunities to rewrite the narrative on the Phoenix Suns. At the same time, transitioning to a team without as much talent around him could make things worse."

The Suns will hope their investment in Green ends up paying off, especially after they had to deal with being the highest-spending team in the NBA last season.

Phoenix is no longer facing the second-apron restrictions it had to deal with the past couple years, but does not want to get stuck with another bad contract like it had to with Beal.

Green will look to reverse this narrative of his contract and improve his reputation in a new situation with the Suns.