Inside the Suns – Topics: Grayson Allen, Royce O’Neale, Drew Eubanks, 2027 NBA All-Star Game

Welcome to “Inside the Suns,” your weekly in-depth analysis of the current Phoenix Suns team.

Every week, the Fantable – a roundtable of Bright Siders – gives their take on the latest Suns issues and news.

Fancy questions of the week

Q1 – Recently, Mat Ishbia said he plans to attempt to re-sign Grayson Allen and Royce O’Neale this summer. What do you think about this?

GuarGuar: I think we pretty much HAVE to re-sign both. We’re going to be EXTREMELY limited in our options for putting this roster together starting this summer. We will not be able to acquire players of this caliber in free agency or trade in the future. We’re going to have to fully embrace being a second apron team and sign these two guys. They are both a great fit for our team. Ishbia is going to have to break the bank!

Elder Az: I can’t overstate how great it is to have an ownership group willing to spend money to compete at the highest level. With the size of Booker, KD, and Beal’s contracts, it would still be difficult to fill the team with enough talent around them strictly on minimum contracts. However, it takes an owner like Ishbia willing to pull the trigger on the very few opportunities the team has to add mid-tier (or higher) contracts for a high-quality role player like Allen and O’Neale.

Suns fans have already seen that this year, most of the minimum contracts signed at the start of the year simply haven’t gone as planned. Some even expressed frustration with Eric Gordon’s performance, even though his minimum contract was well below market value. Given these things, it will make a huge difference to have the 5th and 6th best players locked in at above-minimum salaries and by players we already know can contribute at a high level.

I think O’Neale will likely be similar to his current deal at around $10 million, but Allen could command a lot more with his effectiveness from deep this season. Signing him before the start of free agency could alleviate any bidding war.

Brrrberry: I’m hesitant to go there but let’s say, for example, we’re going to blow out in the playoffs or, even worse, find ourselves in a game where we lose and don’t even make the playoffs. If either of these events were to happen and Ishbia STILL kept these two guys, luxury tax be damned, then he would have my respect for the rest of my life.

I imagine these two guys must make around $30 million in total annual salary (maybe more). I believe the luxury tax penalty is 3.75:1, at minimum it is 3:1. This means that Ishbia would agree to incur $90-110 million in luxury tax penalties alone for Allen and O’Neale alone. The figure is so staggering that I even question my understanding of the CBA, because this won’t be the only luxury tax penalty he’ll incur. With the way the roster has been constructed, it is PARAMOUNT that we sign these two guys to have some flexibility with our roster in the years to come.

Stem: First, the Suns were lucky that they both fit in and played so well for them. As overcoming the second tax apron would make replacing either one very difficult, signing both should be a priority. As both are eligible to sign contract extensions before free agency begins, the Suns should be all over the place making them good offers before other teams even have a chance to talk with them in free agency .

If the Suns let them go, they have no way of signing anything other than a vet minimum salary to replace either one, which is virtually guaranteed to be a player downgrade. Even with the second apron trade restrictions, it would be better for the Suns to have their salaries available for possible future trades than not. And if any of them are determined to sign elsewhere, hopefully the Suns can work out a sign-and-trade deal so they get at least one TPE out of it. During the 2nd fiscal apron, teams CANNOT get a player back in a sign-and-trade, but TPE would keep at least one equal-salary spot open that they can hopefully fill later.

Q2 – What is your current opinion on Drew Eubanks’ performance as the Suns’ backup center?

GuarGuar: Eubanks has to be one of the most inconsistent players in our rotation this year. There are nights where he plays quality minutes and contributes on both ends of the floor. And then there are nights where I wonder why the hell did we go through the effort to get this guy. Sometimes it’s just completely overmatched and presents a huge negative result. I don’t know if he’ll see consistent minutes in the playoffs. I don’t trust him in the end.

Elder Az: I’m not as depressed as many seem to be, but I’ve also noticed that his game has improved significantly since signing Thad Young. I remember watching that first game against Detroit after acquiring Thad and seeing a much more aggressive and active Drew Eubanks, especially on the defensive end. This may have been his wake-up call and the extra effort is because he finally has someone behind him, or it’s possible that having a viable 3rd option allows Drew to play more freely and not to worry about fault issues. Regardless, him playing with more confidence has been good for the team. It’s not perfect, but what is a backup center?

Brrrberry: He played exactly as I expected, so no qualms. He has nights off and nights where his energy has a bigger impact than the box score. I expect this to continue. He gets by for the most part and that’s about all you can expect from a minimum guy with a limited skill set.

Stem: My first thought was to paraphrase a quote from the movie Forrest Gump: “Drew Eubanks is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re going to get. Some nights he plays great, some nights he looks like he’s some random guy they picked from the stands and just threw on the field. What is not inconsistent with him is his effort and, whatever the results, he always seems to give 100% when he is on the pitch. Hopefully we’ll see more good plays than bad from him from here on out. Otherwise, I hope Vogel doesn’t hesitate too long before giving Thad Young or Azubuike a chance.

Q3 – What do you think of Phoenix arriving in 2027? NBA All-Star Game?

GuarGuar: I think it’s going to be really cool to host the game again, it’s been a long time. Hopefully Booker will be able to represent the team and the city well and bring home this All-Star Game MVP! Ishbia has truly taken this franchise to a new level since becoming our owner a year ago. It’s a long way away but I’m looking forward to this weekend!

Elder Az: I’m pretty indifferent about this for 2 reasons. First, I’m crowd averse, so you won’t catch me near downtown during this madness and second, the NBA All-Star Game has become a joke. These guys play more competitive games in the off-season than the garbage they put together for Sunday’s All-Star game. The Saturday festivities are pretty cool. Hopefully they’ll find a solution by the time it’s played in Phoenix. I’m happy for Ishbia for the visibility and economic impact it will have on the city, but beyond that I’m not sure I care that much.

Brrrberry: Just another Ishbia win. Adam Silver was in town for this announcement and on the local TV show with EJ and Kevin Ray. The way Silver spoke so highly of Ishbia was a refreshing reminder of my gratitude that Sarver was ousted and that Ishbia was the guy who bought the team.

It’s obvious he loves basketball AND winning and is going to do everything he can to bring a championship to AZ. For my part, I have no doubt that he will get there at some point and I think we have a chance to punch this year. In the 20 games played and finished by Beal, Book and KD this year, we are 15-5. If these guys can play 10-15 more games before the playoffs and we are able to stay healthy when it counts, we will be dangerous.

Stem: Even though I’m not a huge fan of the All-Star Games anymore, this is a big feather in Ishbia’s cap and a nice look for the Suns. Not only does hosting the match bring a lot of prestige, but it will also provide a huge boost to the local economy. Although I didn’t have the opportunity to attend the game, I was in Las Vegas for the AS 2007 festivities and had a lot of fun attending some of the other AS weekend activities. It’s not just about “the game.”

As always, a big thank you to our Fantable members for all their extra efforts this week!

Last week’s poll results

Last week’s question was: “The Suns have one roster spot left. To fill it, they probably will…”

59% – Convert Saben Lee’s two-way contract to a standard NBA contract.

05% – Convert Udoka Azubuike’s two-way contract to a standard NBA contract.

36% – Sign someone who is currently a free agent.

A total of 257 votes were cast.

Trivia about the Suns

Part of today’s Suns quiz is provided by Jersey’s FLEX (via Twitter).

50.7% of Grayson Allen’s field goal attempts (259 of 511) this season have been catch and shoot. On those shots, he made 71.2%, the 4th best percentage in the entire NBA.

This week’s poll is…