Phoenix is paying above the first apron for a roster with a 124.5 defensive rating. Booker, Brooks and Green are carrying the scoring, and the start shows how much rides on them.
The $213.8M roster. Payroll is $213.8M, above the first apron and well past the $200.4M tax line. Booker earns $57.1M and Green $36.3M. That leaves the front office very little room to add anyone. It does not prove the money was badly spent, because three games cannot settle that.
A defense at 124.5. The Suns' offensive rating is 111.6 and their defensive rating is 124.5, for a net of -12.9. That fits the 83-124 loss in Portland and the 114-125 loss in Oklahoma City. One blowout skews a three-game sample, so this shows a leak, not a permanent identity.
Booker at 22.2. Booker is scoring 23.0 a night but making just 22.2 percent of his threes. His 43 against Golden State shows he can still take over a game. The shooting slump says he is getting points through volume, and three games are too few to call it a decline.
Brooks at 39 minutes. With a teammate out, Dillon Brooks has played 39 minutes a game over his last three and scored 28.7 points a night. Jalen Green's minutes are up 13 a night in the same spot. The guards are taking on the load, and that much work is hard to sustain.
No true point guard. Arizona Sports and Hoops Rumors reported locker-room frustration over the lack of a traditional point guard. Booker leads the team with 5.3 assists, and Collin Gillespie is next at 4.3. Those numbers support the concern, but neither report names a fix.
One game from sixth. At 1-2, Phoenix is the 11th seed, one game behind the 3-2 Spurs in sixth and level with the 2-3 Warriors in tenth. The current pace projects to 27-55 with 79 games left. Those standings are noise this early, and the next ten games will matter more.
26th, no lottery payoff. The power rankings dropped Phoenix from 15th to 26th in a week. The Suns' 2027 first-rounder is owed to Houston, so a losing season brings no draft reward. A slide would cost them twice, and that is why this start stings more than a 1-2 record suggests.
Are the Suns over the luxury tax in 2026-27?
Yes. Payroll sits at $213.8M, above both the $200.4M tax line and the first apron.
When is Oso Ighodaro expected back for the Suns?
He is listed day-to-day with an oblique issue. His estimated return is Oct. 30 against Denver.
