As part of the trade that will send him to the Suns, Ryan Anderson has agreed to reduce the guaranteed portion of his 2019/20 salary, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter).
According to Wojnarowski, Anderson has agreed to reduce the guarantee on his $21,264,635 salary for the 2019/20 season to $15.6MM. Woj notes that this is the same amount that Brandon Knight will earn in ’19/20 — Knight, acquired by the Rockets in the trade, has a $15,643,750 cap hit for that season. Anderson’s salary for 2018/19 will remain unchanged.
While the agreement makes the trade a little more appealing for Phoenix, the team could still face a tricky decision next summer. According to Wojnarowski (via Twitter), the Suns will have to decide by July 10, 2019 whether they want to guarantee Anderson’s full $21MM+ salary for the final year of his contract or waive him, eating the guaranteed portion ($15.6MM).
Anderson’s reduced guarantee may also make him a more appealing trade chip for the Suns before that final-year salary becomes fully guaranteed. If Phoenix cuts the veteran forward after this season, the team would have the option of stretching his 2019/20 guarantee across three years.
For more details on the trade between the Rockets and Suns, be sure to check out our full story, along with a few additional notes on the deal.
I thought players weren’t allowed to agree to paycuts? Isn’t that a union thing?
If they keep him next year they pay him the full $21m, but if they cut him they only pay him the $15.6m, and then he’s free to sign with another team. So I guess it’s kind of like a buyout agreement sort of? That’s how it works I guess?
Not technically a pay cut since his salary and cap hit are still the same. A player can agree to adjust his guarantee if he wants to (usually there’s not much incentive to do so).