The $19 Million Deal That Tells You Everything About the Suns' Wild Bet on Jordan Goodwin

Alright, Emerald City! While we're all dialed in on what's cooking at T-Mobile Park and the Seahawks getting ready to tear it up at Lumen Field, the NBA hot stove just dropped a couple of bombshells that got the whole league buzzing. Seriously, you gotta see what went down. The Phoenix Suns, man, they just made a huge move, agreeing to a three-year, $19 million deal with free agent guard Jordan Goodwin! ESPN's Shams Charania broke the news, and get this: Goodwin even snagged a player option for that final 2028/29 season. Talk about a vote of confidence!

Phoenix Goes All In on Goodwin, Taxes Be Damned

This Goodwin signing is wild because Phoenix is using his Early Bird rights, giving him more guaranteed money in his first year than he'd ever seen in his entire NBA career. Bobby Marks over at ESPN pointed that out, and it's a massive deal for a guy who was a "pleasant surprise" after the Suns picked him up off waivers last July. But wait, there's more! Phoenix reportedly also locked down Collin Gillespie to a fully guaranteed four-year, $48 million contract. You put those two deals together, and the financial picture gets real interesting. Keith Smith from Spotrac crunched the numbers, and he projects the Suns to be $1.2 million *over* the luxury tax line for the 2026/27 season, and they still have two standard roster spots open. Oh, and Mark Williams, their restricted free agent, is still out there, after Phoenix issued him a $9.6 million qualifying offer. The Suns are clearly not messing around, but that tax bill i

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s gonna sting!

McCollum Stays in Atlanta, Kills Hawks' Cap Dreams

Across the league, another veteran guard, CJ McCollum, just agreed to a one-year, $21 million contract extension with the Hawks, per Shams Charania of ESPN. This deal runs through the 2026/27 season and even includes a trade kicker, confirmed by his agent Sam Goldfeder. McCollum, who'll be 35 before next season kicks off, had a good run in 2025/26 with 18.7 PPG, 4.1 APG, 3.1 RPG, and 1.0 SPG across 76 games, even if his scoring dipped below 20 PPG for the first time in a decade. He started that season with the Wizards before getting traded to Atlanta with Corey Kispert for Trae Young, who's now a free agent. This extension for McCollum means the Hawks basically said goodbye to any hopes of being a cap space team, according to Yossi Gozlan of Third Apron. They're projected to be $15.5 million below the tax line *if* they pick up Jonathan Kuminga's $24.3 million option. McCollum was huge for their second-half surge and even in their first-round series against the Knicks, where they took a 2-1 lead before dropping the last three games. So, the NBA isn't waiting for anyone! We've got two teams making big financial commitments, potentially pushing them right up against that luxury tax line. For the Suns, it's a clear signal they're betting big on their current roster core, tax be damned. For the Hawks, it means they're running it back with McCollum, but without any flexibility to chase big-name free agents. It's gonna be fascinating to see how these early deals impact the rest of the league, and if these teams can make these huge financial bets pay off.

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.