Royce O’Neale contract details, grade: Suns overpay actually makes sense

The Phoenix Suns desperately needed depth and were able to avoid making the problem worse by signing their free-agent Royce O'Neale to a long-term deal.

The Suns traded a couple of second-round picks to the Nets for O'Neale in a three-team deal. In the 30 games he appeared for Phoenix, the wing averaged 8.1 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game on 41 percent shooting this season. The former Jazz veteran was also an absolute marksman from three averaging 37 percent from the three-point line in his time with the Suns.

The Suns got a deal done before free agency started with Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reporting, "Royce O'Neale intends to sign a new four-year $44 million deal to return to the Phoenix Suns."

Suns avoid free agency and ink reserve Royce O'Neale on long-term deal

While the Suns have plenty more work to get their depth problem right, keeping O'Neale long-term is a step in the right direction in solving this issue. Getting this contract done was extremely important for Phoenix considering the franchise doesn't have a lot of avenues to acquire veteran talent. Along with O'Neale, the squad will likely need Ryan Dunn (22nd overall pick) to play well in his rookie season.

Outside of their 2031 first-round pick and trading Grayson Allen for two 3-and-D lower-valued role players, the squad doesn't have any great ways to improve the depth on the roster.

With this all in mind, getting O'Neale to return on a long-term deal is a massive win for the franchise. The annual value of $11 million per year is a great value and will likely be seen as a discount in Years 3 and 4 of the deal.

With the new 11-year, $76 billion TV deal coming in next season, it's reasonable to expect that the cap will grow enough for Neale's $11 million annually per year salary to be considered a discount. With similar veterans getting around $12 million (via the non-tax mid-level) the Suns' front office will likely lose zero sleep over O'Neale's contract despite the NBA X community possibly thinking otherwise.

Royce O'Neale contract grade: A-