PHOENIX — The 2024-25 Phoenix Suns certainly are not in the upper echelon of title contenders going into the season, unlike the previous three, but that isn’t without a lack of trying.

Among the top 10 salary figures in the 24-25 season, three of them are members of the Suns – Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal, and Devin Booker.

Booker is entering year one of a four-year, $224 million dollar contract extension that he initially signed in July 2022, while Durant and Beal have two-to-three seasons remaining on max contracts that were signed in 2021/22, respectively.

The full top 10 list:

The Suns are one of only two teams with multiple representatives here, joining the Philadelphia 76ers, signifying the general shift in roster building philosophy with the presence of the “apron” system under the new CBA.

Durant and Booker are no-brainers. They are two of the top 12-ish basketball players in the world, along with being amongst the most marketable. Both are maximum players – and always will be, so long as they continue to play.

On the flip side, the Beal addition can certainly be criticized, but this level of investment being put into the team is a stark contrast from the previous regime, who frequently looked to cut costs as frequently as possible.

Beal might not be the player he once was, but the process behind the move and doing everything imaginable to keep Booker happy moving forward are the two major things that should be taken into account here.