The news of Bradley Beal coming over to the Phoenix Suns doesn’t come without certain issues and causes for concern when we talk about working out the remaining roster around Beal, Kevin Durant, and Devin Booker.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Beal was traded to Phoenix today for Chris Paul, Landry Shamet, 2nd round picks and pick swaps. The Wizards could’ve gotten a lot more for Beal from a team like the Miami Heat but the no-trade clause gave Beal all the power to choose his next destination.
That destination he chose was to come to Phoenix to play alongside Booker and Durant as well as hopes to win an NBA championship.
There were even reports that came out saying that the Suns were Beal’s preferred choice over teams like the Milwaukee Bucks, Heat, and Sacramento Kings. A good sign that players love what the Suns are building.
However, there are some concerns when it comes to the salary cap ramifications surrounding this deal. The good news with this, however, is the Suns were able to get an all-star caliber player for nothing based on a salary dump, a team rebuilding, and the player’s no-trade clause.
The bad news, over the next four years, Beal will be owed $208 million and this will be his second season under that contract. The trio of Beal, Booker, and Durant will be making $131 million which is $3 million under the $134 million salary cap cutoff.
We all knew the Suns would be over the salary cap but with that much going to three players under a 15-man roster is not a good look when talking about the new CBA rules and regulations surrounding that.
The luxury tax cutoff point is set at $162 million and the first luxury tax apron after that is set at $169 million. This is while also acknowledging that $131 million of the Suns’ cap space is already going to three players and we haven’t talked about Deandre Ayton yet.
What the Suns are trying to avoid is going over the 2nd luxury tax apron which would cause them some penalties in regards to future draft picks as well as losing their mid-level exception rights and buyout rights for players on the open market.
The mid-level exception comes in handy with trying to sign players to veteran minimum contracts which is something the Suns need desperately given the state of their financial earnings going to the top 3 players on the team.
The Suns are now in desperate need of making more moves surrounding Ayton in terms of freeing up money to sign the rest of their roster. With only 6 players under contract this season, the Suns got to continue to be really creative this offseason.
