(SabaSports) Every NBA offseason, the free agent market and the trade market have attracted a lot of attention. Many team owners have been generous in signing and trading players, ignoring luxury taxes in an effort to build the most competitive rosters. However, despite the huge investment, the final results of the team are uncertain. Some teams have paid the price and failed, while others have managed to achieve their goals.
In 2017, the NBA signed a six-year collective bargaining agreement with the players’ union, leading to a new agreement through 2023. Under the implementation of the new rules, the new collective bargaining agreement will more fully affect league operations in the 2024-25 season. Next, we look back at the top five luxury tax payers over the past seven years and see how they’ve fared over that time.
The Phoenix SUNS missed the playoffs for three straight years from 2017-18 to 2019-20. However, with a series of management operations, the competitiveness of the team has been significantly improved. The acquisition of Chris Paul in the 2020 offseason was key to the team’s rise. The SUNS re-signed Paul in 2021, and with his help and the brilliance of Devin Booker, they reached the Finals in 2020-21 and had the best record in 2021-22, finishing 64-18 in the regular season.