5 Most Regrettable Contracts in Phoenix Suns History

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The Phoenix Suns have one of the cheapest owners in the league and haven't been one of the teams who willingly dish out a lot of money.

But that doesn't mean management hasn't dished out bad contracts, because they most certainly have. Bad contracts don't have to be large dollar amounts either; it could be overpaying for a bench player or giving an older player too many years.

The worst of the bad contracts have all come in the 2000s and have been some of the most head-scratching contracts in the time span.

Read on for the five worst contracts by the Phoenix Suns in the history of the franchise.

Josh Childress, Five Years and $33.5 Million

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Josh Childress was a very solid role player for the Atlanta Hawks for four seasons, but left the team to sign a three-year contract with the Greek team Olympiacos. Childress opted out of his deal with Olympiacos before last season, but the Atlanta Hawks still had his rights.

There was excitement when Childress was first traded to the Suns, but it quickly evaporated as the season progressed. Childress was sent to the end of the bench and very rarely emerged from that spot for the rest of the season, all for a hefty $6.5 million.

It's obvious the Suns thought Childress could help the team, but they thought wrong. This would be a good deal if it was a five-year contract worth $15 million but since it's not, the Suns are the owners of a very bad contract.

The team has tried to trade Childress, but hasn't found a team willing to take on four years and $27 million. It doesn't look like they will find a taker anytime soon.

Boris Diaw, Five Years and $45 Million

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Boris Diaw was supposed to be just a throw-in when he was included in the Joe Johnson trade, but the Suns ended up getting a diamond in the rough. Diaw played very well for the Suns and emerged as one of the better players on the team.

He was instrumental to the Suns' success and management rewarded him with a ludicrous five-year extension worth $45 million. Diaw ended up out of town.

Diaw's contract extension was worth $9 million per year and it really handicapped the Suns when they wanted to go out and sign new players. Diaw ended up not being in the team's long-term picture and was traded away two years after he signed his extension. 

The Suns were very lucky to rid themselves of his contract and they got a couple good players in return (Jason Richardson and Jared Dudley).

Leandro Barbosa, Five Years and $34 Million

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Leandro Barbosa was one of the more popular players on the Suns from 2005-2010 and he was a great contributor off the bench. Management realized his contributions and gave him a five-year contract extension worth $34 million and after the first three years of his contract, he was traded to the Toronto Raptors for Hedo Turkoglu.

Barbosa was very productive as a bench player and the Suns were smart to re-sign him, but the price they paid was much too steep. They would have been much better off extending him for five years and $22-24 million. When Barbosa's bad contract was coupled with Boris Diaw's even-worse contract, the Suns had committed almost $80 million to two role players.

Marcus Banks, Five Years and $21 Million

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Marcus Banks was supposed to be the answer to the question that is who is Steve Nash's backup? Banks had been with the Boston Celtics previously and was known as a good defensive player but not so good on offense, which was exactly what the Suns needed.

The team went ahead and signed Banks to a five-year deal worth $21 million and they expected him to be a solid backup for Nash.

Banks ended up being incredibly inconsistent and it was apparent he did not fit the role as Nash's backup. Banks was on the team for a year-and-a-half before he was shipped out of town, along with Shawn Marion, in the deal to the Miami Heat that brought over Shaquille O'Neal to the Suns.

The $21 million deal Banks received proved to be much too expensive for someone not playing well and Banks was gone.

Hakim Warrick, Four Years and $18 Million

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Hakim Warrick was brought in after Amar'e Stoudemire was not re-signed and was supposed to help fill the hole that Amar'e left. Warrick ended up being a decent bench option, but for the four-year $18 million deal he signed on for, it was not a good deal.

Warrick is most certainly not in the long-term plans for the team and since they just drafted Markieff Morris, his salary could be used on other positions of need. Overall, the Suns don't mind having Warrick but they would be very happy if they could restructure his deal and make it smaller.