Buying out and stretching Bradley Beal is a terrible decision for the Phoenix Suns—unless they have a big-time splash lined up for when he's gone.
There’s no point mincing words. We are in “Call a spade, a spade” territory, folks. The Milwaukee Bucks’ decision to saddle themselves with $20-plus million in dead cap hits for the next half-decade by waiving-and-stretching Damian Lillard was questionable at best. Phoenix’s situation has less latitude for interpretation.
Granted, the Suns can’t entirely follow in the Bucks’ footsteps. Waiving-and-stretching Beal is currently illegal. Teams cannot have dead money on the books that exceeds 15 percent of the salary cap. With hits for E.J. Liddell and Nassir Little already on the ledger for next season, Phoenix cannot flat-out waive-and-stretch Beal, because it would leave them with around $26 million in active money. The max is around $23.2 million.
Still, the Suns can negotiate a buyout in which Beal gives back enough money to let them mirror what the Bucks did with Lillard. And, well, things are reportedly trending in that direction, according to Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic.
Make no bones about it, this has the makings of a disaster. Beal must give back around $14 million total for a waive-and-stretch to work. But that would still leave Phoenix with nearly $20 million in additional dead money on its books through 2029-30. This cannot be its grand solution to the self-created Bradley Beal problem.
Phoenix can’t afford to stretch Bradley Beal just to save money
Unlike the case of the Bucks, this move would not position the Suns to create cap space. They would be prolonging the pain of Beal’s contract so they can…spare owner Mat Ishbia some luxury-tax payments.
Phoenix is roughly $33 million into the tax when accounting for 14 roster spots. If Beal gives back $14 million and gets waived-and-stretched, it lowers his 2025-26 cap hit from $53.7 million to $19.4 million. That just about makes up the difference.
But this $19.4 million stays on the docket for a half-decade. That’s not an insignificant sum. It is the equivalent of setting fire to more than the non-taxpayer mid-level exception through 2029-30. And for what? To save money? Without actively improving the team? No thanks.
Unless…
The Suns better have a shocking trade lined up
Getting rid of Beal would allow the Suns to aggregate salaries, and pull off trades. That’s somewhat intriguing—provided there’s a worthwhile move to be swung.
Whether the Suns can aim for blockbuster acquisitions is debatable. They have zero first-round picks to ship out. But they do have their fair share of matching salaries, and can also include some combination of No. 10 pick Khaman Maluach, Oso Ighodaro, Ryan Dunn, and Mark Williams as substitutes for first-rounders.
This will not get them in the mix for Giannis Antetokounmpo—or, for that matter, pretty much any superstar. LeBron James could be an exception, thanks to his own no-trade clause. Maybe throwing the kitchen sink at the Boston Celtics gets Jaylen Brown, because he’s owed $236.2 million over the next four years. Perhaps the Indiana Pacers look to move Pascal Siakam. Or maybe Rudy Gobert is on the Minnesota Timberwolves’ chopping block.
You get the point. With Devin Booker up for an extension, the Suns have no business being haphazard with their future cap sheet. Buying out and stretching Beal amounts to exactly that—unless it’s done in service of an even bigger swing.