The Phoenix Suns were one of the biggest disappointments last season as the three-headed monster of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal were swept in the first round of the Western Conference Playoffs. However, they were able to re-sign a key free agent as The Athletic’s Shams Charania is reporting that the team re-signed forward Josh Okogie to a two-year, $16 million contract.
The second season of the contract is not guaranteed money, which gives the Suns flexibility if they want but Okogie was valued for the way he impacts games on the defensive side of the court. In 60 games (11 starts) last season he averaged 4.6 points, 2.5 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 0.8 steals and 0.4 blocks while shooting 41.7% from the floor over the course of 16.0 minutes per game.
Okogie opted out of the final year of his contract this offseason where he was slated to make just under $3 million.
What does the Josh Okogie signing mean for the Phoenix Suns?
The Phoenix Suns have their three-headed monster of the team set up and are going to be locked into the core of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal for at least the next two seasons. This deal helps that the Suns now have a nice defensive piece at one of the forward spots off the bench but they need Okogie to begin developing a bit of an offensive game to get more playing time.
He spent the first four years of his career with the Minnesota Timberwolves before signing with the Phoenix Suns ahead of the 2022-23 season. If he is elevated to the opposite starting forward spot of Durant, this allows the veteran to essentially take a bit of a break on the defensive side of the floor.
However, the defense was actually better last season with Okogie on the bench as opponents had a 115.2 offensive rating with him playing compared to a 114.9 offensive rating against the Suns when he was off the court. This is a good bench piece that can defend but is almost at a PJ Tucker level of an offensive player at this point in his career and the Phoenix Suns need to unlock some offense out of him during the length of this deal.
About the Author
Vincent Pensabene graduated from Saint Leo University in 2019 with a B.A. in Sport Business and has focused on the media side of sports. He writes for multiple publications and is interested in the reasoning of why things happen. Feel free to follow him on social media @TalkVinTalk and discuss all things sports.
