Contract buyouts are the newest fashion in the NBA, and three-time NBA All-Star Bradley Beal is the latest to give the trend a spin this summer.
According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, Beal has agreed to a contract buyout with the Phoenix Suns and plans to join the LA Clippers after clearing waivers. The new deal will be for two years and $11 million, with a player option in the final season.
Beal had two years and a whopping $110.79 million remaining on his contract with the Suns, per Spotrac (the second season was a player option that he in all likelihood would’ve taken). Beal is giving back $13.9 million out of that remaining money to complete the buyout with Phoenix, who will likely waive-and-stretch the remaining salary over five years, Charania reported.
The move allows Beal to serve as a major addition to a playoff contender in the Western Conference — and gives the Suns increased team-building flexibility by taking them out of the first and second apron, providing access to more tradeable draft picks in the future, and opening up part of the midlevel exception.
Beal, 32, averaged 17.0 points, 3.7 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 32.1 minutes per game in 53 outings for the Suns last season. He shot 49.7% from the field and 38.6% from behind the 3-point arc.