Suns By the Numbers: Payroll, Pace and a Pistons Opener

By the Suns Nightly Desk · Sunday, October 4

The Suns open preseason at Detroit on October 5 still looking for their first data point of 2026-27, so last season's numbers carry the weight here for now. Payroll, net rating and one hot stretch of extra minutes with a teammate out tell most of the story before the games start counting.

Suns Nightly artwork — Illustration by Hoops Nightly.

$216.2M payroll. Phoenix's $216.2 million payroll sits above the apron, with the tax threshold at $200.4 million. That gap shapes trade math this fall, but it says nothing about whether Booker, Green and Bridges fit together on the floor once the games start.

45-37, net +1.4. Last season Phoenix finished 45-37 with a net rating of 1.4, an offense ranked 17th paired with a defense ranked ninth. Those marks missed the playoffs. They say little about this season's roster, built around Booker with four new faces around him and a different center rotation.

Booker's 26.1 points. Devin Booker averaged 26.1 points, 3.9 rebounds and 6.0 assists over 64 games last season, shooting 33.0 percent from three. Those numbers made him the offense last season. They don't guarantee efficiency once Green, Bridges and Brooks are all healthy and sharing the ball with him.

Green's extra 13 minutes. With a teammate out over his last three games last season, Jalen Green's minutes rose by 13 a night and his scoring climbed with them. The sample is three games. It shows what Green can do with more rope, not what Jordan Ott will actually give him once the games count.

One pick, gone. Phoenix's 2027 first-round pick is owed to Houston, part of the return for Kevin Durant. Every pick after that through 2030 is a swap. The books are locked in for years; nothing here changes what happens on the floor in Detroit this weekend.

Still 0-0. The Suns are 0-0 with no games played in 2026-27; the October 5 trip to Detroit is preseason, not the opener. The regular season does not start until October 21 at Portland. Every number above still belongs to last season's team, not this one.

On deck Phoenix plays at Detroit on October 5, then at the Bulls on October 7 and hosts San Antonio on October 10 before a return trip to the Spurs on October 14. The regular-season opener comes October 21 at Portland.

Is Mark Williams playing for the Suns in preseason?

No. Williams has been out since September 11 with a left shoulder and arm injury, with an estimated return date of February 3, 2027.

What is the Suns' payroll situation entering the season?

Phoenix's payroll is $216.2 million, above the apron, with the tax threshold set at $200.4 million.