With Kevin Durant officially out of Phoenix, attention now turns to Bradley Beal’s future with the Suns. The two sides are reportedly nearing a buyout deal, but Beal will need to do something major on his end to make it happen.
According to The Athletic’s NBA insider Fred Katz, Beal must give back nearly $14 million to the Suns to make a buyout possible.
“Because of a quirk in the collective bargaining agreement, Beal, who has $110.8 million and two years remaining on his contract, must give back at least $13.8 million for the Suns to be allowed to stretch him. If he did, Phoenix would then have a dead cap hit of $19.4 million on its books in every season through 2029-30,” explains Katz.
If this deal gets done, the Suns will get out of the $207 million second tax apron of the salary cap and will also exit the luxury tax.
The Suns acquired Beal ahead of the 2023-24 season from the Washington Wizards, giving up Chris Paul, Landry Shamet, four first-round pick swaps and six second-round selections. Phoenix hoped Beal was the final piece to form a championship trio with Durant and Devin Booker, but it never materialized. They were swept by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the 2024 playoffs and failed to make the postseason this past year.
Beal missed 58 regular season games in his two seasons with the Suns, averaging 17.6 points, 4.3 assists and 3.9 rebounds in 106 games, while shooting 50.5% from the field and 40.7% from three.
If Beal is bought out and waived, he has been linked to the Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers, Golden State Warriors and Milwaukee Bucks.
Matt Higgins worked in national and local news for 15 years. He started out as an overnight production assistant ... More about Matt Higgins