The Official 2025 Offseason Thread #4 Free Agency Opens!

[Sunsdeuce]

https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/s/q0fxk7Mgm7

[Stein/Fischer] Why is Beal's highly anticipated buyout from Phoenix unfolding so slowly? League sources say Beal's current contract stipulates that he is owed a 25% advance payment on July 15. It is believed that he could wait for that payment to go through before proceeding with a buyout.

BEAL JUST WANTS TO PLAY

Beal has the leverage and he is using to his advantage. I don't blame him.
You can blame Beal but he is not the person who put the Suns in this position. Thats not opinion - its fact.

25% is a HUGE number to just give up. Plus by all accounts his family is dug in deep in AZ and his family is very important to him. So yeah I totally understand him not just freely just agreeing to any ole buy out.

[Sunsdeuce]

League sources say that both the Suns and the Clippers continue to weigh the prospect of reuniting with Chris Paul. Yet it remains unclear what happens if a deal with neither of those previous employers materializes for the 40-year-old. Paul has already rebuffed an approach from his home-state Charlotte Hornets earlier in free agency and likewise has interest from Milwaukee but has shown little inclination to this point to consider overtures from Eastern Conference teams. – via marcstein.substack.com

[BobbieL]

https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/s/q0fxk7Mgm7



BEAL JUST WANTS TO PLAY

Beal has the leverage and he is using to his advantage. I don't blame him.
You can blame Beal but he is not the person who put the Suns in this position. Thats not opinion - its fact.

25% is a HUGE number to just give up. Plus by all accounts his family is dug in deep in AZ and his family is very important to him. So yeah I totally understand him not just freely just agreeing to any ole buy out.

And today, if Beal decides to say "you know, I don't want to give up any money after all, I will stay and play for my contract" - what do the Suns and Ishbia do. Sure, they can trade Richards, O'Neale and Allen but other teams also know about the Suns cap.

[bigfoot]

Beal has the leverage and he is using to his advantage. I don't blame him.
You can blame Beal but he is not the person who put the Suns in this position. Thats not opinion - its fact.

25% is a HUGE number to just give up. Plus by all accounts his family is dug in deep in AZ and his family is very important to him. So yeah I totally understand him not just freely just agreeing to any ole buy out.

And today, if Beal decides to say "you know, I don't want to give up any money after all, I will stay and play for my contract" - what do the Suns and Ishbia do. Sure, they can trade Richards, O'Neale and Allen but other teams also know about the Suns cap.

Suns and Ishbia will tell Beal to stay home. It's obvious Beal had problems with the last coach. If you don't want that headache again then just tell him he is not playing and to stay home because it is best for the rest of the team, the new young guys, and the new staff. If Beal is okay with that then Suns front office will have to work harder to make a trade a go down. Its not the end of the world for Ishbia or the Suns. For Beal, who is an older player and has limited years left of the court, it would seem to be a big deal not doing the job you love the most. If its all about the almighty dollar for Beal, he'll refuse the buyout and sit at home with his wife and kids. His choice. Really doesn't matter much for the Suns. Getting under second apron gives them a bit of flexibility but it isn't game changing.

Alternatively, you could believe the report that Beal will get 25% of his contract paid on July 15th and that's entire reason for the hold up. He'll take that fat check and then sign a buyout reducing the 75% still owed to him. The Suns will waive and stretch him. They'll be under the 2nd apron. Maybe later they'll move Richards and Grayson to try to get under the lux tax. Maybe.

[Sunsdeuce]

Beal has the leverage and he is using to his advantage. I don't blame him.
You can blame Beal but he is not the person who put the Suns in this position. Thats not opinion - its fact.

25% is a HUGE number to just give up. Plus by all accounts his family is dug in deep in AZ and his family is very important to him. So yeah I totally understand him not just freely just agreeing to any ole buy out.

And today, if Beal decides to say "you know, I don't want to give up any money after all, I will stay and play for my contract" - what do the Suns and Ishbia do. Sure, they can trade Richards, O'Neale and Allen but other teams also know about the Suns cap.

Beal was a total professional. Not once complained. There was no reported issues with his character except positive reports. He came in knowing he’d be the third wheel and give up stats and complained exactly zero times. Ishbia knew he was trading for a huge contract with a no trade clause. Now Ishbia has regrets picking up the contract. That’s not on Beal. That’s on Ishbia. Beal held up his end of the bargain. Now it’s up to Ishbia to hold up his which is to pay the contract he agreed to take on.

[bigfoot]

25% is a HUGE number to just give up. Plus by all accounts his family is dug in deep in AZ and his family is very important to him. So yeah I totally understand him not just freely just agreeing to any ole buy out.

And today, if Beal decides to say "you know, I don't want to give up any money after all, I will stay and play for my contract" - what do the Suns and Ishbia do. Sure, they can trade Richards, O'Neale and Allen but other teams also know about the Suns cap.

Beal was a total professional. Not once complained. There was no reported issues with his character except positive reports. He came in knowing he’d be the third wheel and give up stats and complained exactly zero times. Ishbia knew he was trading for a huge contract with a no trade clause. Now Ishbia has regrets picking up the contract. That’s not on Beal. That’s on Ishbia. Beal held up his end of the bargain. Now it’s up to Ishbia to hold up his which is to pay the contract he agreed to take on.

https://sports.yahoo.com/article/mike-budenholzer-dished-disrespect-bradley-163021084.html

Watch on YouTube

;ab_channel=DrSwish

[TeamTragic]

And today, if Beal decides to say "you know, I don't want to give up any money after all, I will stay and play for my contract" - what do the Suns and Ishbia do. Sure, they can trade Richards, O'Neale and Allen but other teams also know about the Suns cap.

Beal was a total professional. Not once complained. There was no reported issues with his character except positive reports. He came in knowing he’d be the third wheel and give up stats and complained exactly zero times. Ishbia knew he was trading for a huge contract with a no trade clause. Now Ishbia has regrets picking up the contract. That’s not on Beal. That’s on Ishbia. Beal held up his end of the bargain. Now it’s up to Ishbia to hold up his which is to pay the contract he agreed to take on.

https://sports.yahoo.com/article/mike-budenholzer-dished-disrespect-bradley-163021084.html

Watch on YouTube

;ab_channel=DrSwish

Bigfoot my hope is that when Beal gets waived the dummies leave with him.

They can buy his new jersey and cheer for him on another board.

[BobbieL]

25% is a HUGE number to just give up. Plus by all accounts his family is dug in deep in AZ and his family is very important to him. So yeah I totally understand him not just freely just agreeing to any ole buy out.

And today, if Beal decides to say "you know, I don't want to give up any money after all, I will stay and play for my contract" - what do the Suns and Ishbia do. Sure, they can trade Richards, O'Neale and Allen but other teams also know about the Suns cap.

Beal was a total professional. Not once complained. There was no reported issues with his character except positive reports. He came in knowing he’d be the third wheel and give up stats and complained exactly zero times. Ishbia knew he was trading for a huge contract with a no trade clause. Now Ishbia has regrets picking up the contract. That’s not on Beal. That’s on Ishbia. Beal held up his end of the bargain. Now it’s up to Ishbia to hold up his which is to pay the contract he agreed to take on.

This is the point of why I think he Ishbia put the cart before the horse with his off-season. For one thing, he should have known on June 1 where he was at with Bradley Beal. And if he didn't have a concrete answer - you than make moves that get y ou under the apron. Bradley Beal should be a non-story. Granted, that might mean Williams isn't traded for and Richards is released but as owner, you control the path of your team. Now he is basically forced to stretch Beal for five years where as - -he did have other options that didn't involve Beal.

This is 100% on Mat Ishbia.

[bigfoot]

So lets assume the Beal buyout happens and the Suns waive/stretch Beal. What's the cap situation look like? Is below correct?

The buyout waive/stretch must satisfy the max dead space rule which is 15% of the $154.647M cap or $23.2M. But the Suns already have $3.8M in dead space. So they can stretch only 23.2M-3.8M or $19.4M. Beal's salary this season is $53.7M. That's 53.7M-19.4M or 34.3M reduction in the Suns cap.

But even gets better. Say he signs with Clips for one season at $5.3M. That comes off the Suns's books too. So the Suns get a $39.6M in cap relief. Their salary currently sits at $214.8M so the reduction of $39.6M would be $175.2M. The lux tax is applied for teams whose salary is over $187.9M. The Suns would be under the lux tax and would want to stay there for a couple of seasons to avoid repeater tax rules. It gives them some wiggle room ($11M) to fill out the remainder of the roster.

Let say next season Beal signs for a full MLE somewhere. The full MLE next year is about $15M so the actual cap hit for Beal is about $4.4M. This waive/stretch may not be as bad as people are thinking.

[BobbieL]

So lets assume the Beal buyout happens and the Suns waive/stretch Beal. What's the cap situation look like? Is below correct?

The buyout waive/stretch must satisfy the max dead space rule which is 15% of the $154.647M cap or $23.2M. But the Suns already have $3.8M in dead space. So they can stretch only 23.2M-3.8M or $19.4M. Beal's salary this season is $53.7M. That's 53.7M-19.4M or 34.3M reduction in the Suns cap.

But even gets better. Say he signs with Clips for one season at $5.3M. That comes off the Suns's books too. So the Suns get a $39.6M in cap relief. Their salary currently sits at $214.8M so the reduction of $39.6M would be $175.2M. The lux tax is applied for teams whose salary is over $187.9M. The Suns would be under the lux tax and would want to stay there for a couple of seasons to avoid repeater tax rules. It gives them some wiggle room ($11M) to fill out the remainder of the roster.

Let say next season Beal signs for a full MLE somewhere. The full MLE next year is about $15M so the actual cap hit for Beal is about $4.4M. This waive/stretch may not be as bad as people are thinking.

You still have next years 57m to account for. The way I understand the waive and stretch is they would take the dollars left over and divide by 5.

He is owed 110 -- reduction of $13.9, call it $14m for math, thats 96
the figure for each year is 19.1m
so yes, in year 53 would be reduced to 19.1 -- savings of $34
year 2 57 would go down to 19.1 - savings of 38

years 3 - 5 have cap hits of 19.1

I am not sure the Suns get credit for the TPMLE of 5.3 -- I think that is just allowing Beal to be made whole. And my guess, Beal would sign for two years or at least the second year a player option.

[TeamTragic]

Cole Anthony bought out and signed with Bucks.

[Sunsdeuce]

Yup totally a trouble maker. The one statement proves everything. Beal caused so much trouble. This comment he made one time over two years closes the case! Case closed Beal is a scumbag trouble maker.

"Don't ever disrespect me like that," Beal reportedly told Budenholzer with regard to the comments made about Holdiay. "Don't ever tell me to play like another player."

[Phnxsports]

25% is a HUGE number to just give up. Plus by all accounts his family is dug in deep in AZ and his family is very important to him. So yeah I totally understand him not just freely just agreeing to any ole buy out.

And today, if Beal decides to say "you know, I don't want to give up any money after all, I will stay and play for my contract" - what do the Suns and Ishbia do. Sure, they can trade Richards, O'Neale and Allen but other teams also know about the Suns cap.

Beal was a total professional. Not once complained. There was no reported issues with his character except positive reports. He came in knowing he’d be the third wheel and give up stats and complained exactly zero times. Ishbia knew he was trading for a huge contract with a no trade clause. Now Ishbia has regrets picking up the contract. That’s not on Beal. That’s on Ishbia. Beal held up his end of the bargain. Now it’s up to Ishbia to hold up his which is to pay the contract he agreed to take on.

You don't know this. Unreported doesn't mean things may or may not have happened. One could argue as involved as it has been reported Devin being on board with the moves and the future direction of the organization even he may support not wanting Beal back. Who knows. Ishbia has no choice but to pay the contract. But he can choose to make sure Beal doesn't play basketball for the next two years.

[bigfoot]

Yup totally a trouble maker. The one statement proves everything. Beal caused so much trouble. This comment he made one time over two years closes the case! Case closed Beal is a scumbag trouble maker.

"Don't ever disrespect me like that," Beal reportedly told Budenholzer with regard to the comments made about Holdiay. "Don't ever tell me to play like another player."

And you completely ignored the Vogel incident

[Sunsdeuce]

Yup totally a trouble maker. The one statement proves everything. Beal caused so much trouble. This comment he made one time over two years closes the case! Case closed Beal is a scumbag trouble maker.

"Don't ever disrespect me like that," Beal reportedly told Budenholzer with regard to the comments made about Holdiay. "Don't ever tell me to play like another player."

And you completely ignored the Vogel incident

Booker did the same crap and the Beal haters are dead silent.

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/25184425-devin-booker-budenholzer-reportedly-had-dust-over-stars-communication-suns

[DirtyDez]

What is the significance of Beal’s bonus if he’s getting his waived money anyway?

[bigfoot]

What is the significance of Beal’s bonus if he’s getting his waived money anyway?

Timing I think.

By waiting until after July 15 to sign the buyout Beal gets 25% of $53.67m on that date. So in 3-days he get a big chunk of change from the Suns.

After the buyout is compete, he would be due the buyout amount minus the 25% already paid. That would come bi-weekly over the course of the next 60 months (assuming a stretch).

IF he took I buyout today not sure how things would work. Maybe just paid out bi-weekly over 60 months.

[Rebound Mound]

I believe we have nobody in the organization capable of calculating the maths that support the taxes and payments needed to pay him, so they decided to let the date go by and then do a much simpler calculation.

Probably no mathematician with a Michigan St background available...

[Frank Lee]

You’ve come a long ways with your stretchology understanding Bobbie. it’s about time.

I don’t think the Beal bailing is a toxic situation. Communication has likely been there considering the family ties (agent/Exec). It’s just business. Beal is gauging his offers which may not have been as plentiful as anticipated. He will play somewhere this season… just not in Phnx.

I’m buying into Big’s payroll theory.

[phnart]

As a kid, and this is a little embarrassing, I really enjoyed the ridiculous spectacle that was the ABC TV nighttime soap opera, Dynasty. I don’t remember much about it, but it occurred to me that I am drawn to the Suns these days in the same way I was drawn to Dynasty.

Except the Suns have never been a dynasty and there is no Linda Evans to look at here.