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Suns, Mamadi Diakite Agree To Exhibit 10 Contract

September 13th, 2024 at 1:54pm CST by Rory Maher

The Suns are signing free agent big man Mamadi Diakite to an Exhibit 10 contract, sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).

While it’s possible that Diakite could impress Phoenix during training camp and earn a spot on the team’s standard roster, it seems more likely the move was designed for him to open the season in the NBA G League. The Suns currently have 14 players on guaranteed standard contracts, but they’re well over the second luxury tax apron — adding a 15th standard deal would be very expensive and inhibit roster flexibility.

Earlier on Friday, the Valley Suns, Phoenix’s new NBAGL affiliate, announced that they had acquired Diakite’s returning player rights from the Westchester Knicks (New York’s affiliate) in exchange for the returning player rights to Theo Maledon and Trevion Williams (Twitter link).

If Diakite is waived before the 2024/25 season begins, he’ll be eligible for a bonus worth up to $77.5K (on top of his regular NBAGL salary) if he spends at least 60 days with the Valley Suns. As a four-year veteran, he is no longer eligible for a two-way contract.

A 6’9″ forward/center who played his college ball at Virginia, Diakite has appeared in a total of 55 regular season games for the Bucks, Thunder, Cavaliers, Spurs, and Knicks since making his NBA debut in 2021. He holds career averages of 3.1 points and 2.3 rebounds in 9.6 minutes per contest.

Diakite, 27, finished last season with the Knicks, then was traded to Brooklyn in the Mikal Bridges blockbuster in July. He was flipped from the Nets to the Grizzlies in a subsequent deal that sent Ziaire Williams to Brooklyn and allowed Memphis to re-sign Luke Kennard while staying out of luxury tax territory.

The Grizzlies wound up waiving Diakite last month, using the stretch provision to spread his $1,392,150 partial guarantee over the next three seasons ($464,050 annually through 2026/27).

As Scotto observes, Diakite won a title with Milwaukee in 2021. At the time, the Bucks were led by Mike Budenholzer, who is now Phoenix’s head coach.

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Jimmy Butler Among Stars Warriors Monitoring

September 13th, 2024 at 9:15am CST by Luke Adams

After missing out on targets like Paul George and Lauri Markkanen this offseason, the Warriors remain on the lookout for stars who might become available on the trade market, according to Sam Amick of The Athletic, who said on The TK Show (YouTube link) that Heat forward Jimmy Butler is among the players Golden State is monitoring.

“Jimmy Butler’s going to be a free agent next summer, didn’t get an extension done,” Amick said. “The Warriors, as you know, have interest there and I think probably made a couple calls during the summer.”

As Amick observes, the Warriors aren’t in position to pursue top free agents due to their salary cap situation, so if they’re going to acquire a star to complement Stephen Curry, they’ll almost certainly need to do so via trade. Golden State will be hoping for the “wheels to fall off” for a would-be contender, resulting in an All-Star caliber player seeking a change of scenery, Amick notes.

Butler, who will turn 35 on Saturday, is entering what could be a contract year in Miami. Although by all accounts he remains committed to the Heat, the six-time All-Star has reportedly told the team he won’t sign an extension before next summer and will reevaluate his options next offseason, when he holds a $52.4MM player option for 2025/26.

If the Heat get off to a poor start this season, it’s possible they’ll consider the idea of moving Butler at the trade deadline, though there’s no indication they’ve seriously considered that possibility to this point.

Should Butler finish the season in Miami, there would be myriad options available to him next summer — he could re-up with the Heat (either on an extension or a new contract), he could decline his option to sign elsewhere, or he could work out an opt-in-and-trade deal that sends him to a new destination. That last scenario would be the most viable path for him to land in Golden State. The Warriors explored a similar arrangement with George before he declined his player option in June.

Amick also names Lakers forward LeBron James, Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Suns stars Kevin Durant and Devin Booker as some other players the Warriors are likely monitoring. However, he acknowledges that they’re long shots and could only emerge as possible targets if they sour on their current situations.

“It’s that level of a player, where you just kind of hope that one of them starts looking out for greener pastures,” Amick said.

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Suns Notes: Trischan, Bell, Budenholzer, More

September 11th, 2024 at 1:07pm CST by Luke Adams

A former Suns employee is seeking $60MM in damages from the team, according to Baxter Holmes of ESPN, who reports that the individual, Andrea Trischan, filed a complaint claiming discrimination and wrongful termination. Trischan’s attorney Sheree Wright told ESPN that her client “endured overt racist comments and a hostile work environment that went unaddressed despite being reported to HR and executive leadership.”

An ESPN report from 2021 detailed a toxic work environment under former team owner Robert Sarver, who was accused of using racially inappropriate language and engaging in inappropriate and misogynistic behavior. Trischan was hired by the organization in September 2022, about a week after Sarver was suspended by the NBA and a few months before he reached an agreement to sell the team to Mat Ishbia. Holmes notes that Trischan’s role was specifically related to addressing the issues described in ESPN’s investigative report.

Trischan asserts that she received push-back from the team when she attempted to look into claims of misconduct against certain Suns executives, some of whom were named to a “diversity council” that was created without consulting her a couple months after she was hired. According to Holmes, she described facing “harassment, discrimination and retaliation from colleagues and superiors” for attempting to investigate and address the misconduct described in ESPN’s story. The team strongly disputed her claims.

“A former employee who last worked for the organization in 2023 was terminated after less than 10 months due to repeated failure to perform her job duties,” Suns VP of communications Stacey Mitch told Holmes. “This individual filed a baseless charge with a state agency and is now trying to use ESPN reporting from 2022, specific to previous ownership, to make egregious claims in order to support her ridiculous demand for $60 million from the Suns organization.

“To be clear, this individual is making false claims in an attempt to gain tens of millions of dollars. We are confident the courts will find no merit to these claims and quickly resolve this matter.”

Here’s more on the Suns:

  • Former NBA guard Charlie Bell, who played alongside Ishbia at Michigan State for two years from 1999 to 2001, has joined the Valley Suns – Phoenix’s new G League affiliate – as a personnel evaluator, reports Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. Bell had worked for Ishbia’s United Wholesale Mortgage since 2019, per Rankin.
  • Although he’s entering his first season with the Suns, Mike Budenholzer will face plenty of pressure and significant expectations in 2024/25 as he looks to lead the team to a better finish than head coach Frank Vogel did in his first and only season in Phoenix, Rankin writes in a separate story, relaying analysis from ESPN’s Tim MacMahon.
  • Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports outlines five reasons why he expects the Suns to be better in ’24/25 than they were last season, including the head coaching change and the improved bench depth.
  • In case you missed it, we recapped the Suns’ summer moves in our Offseason Check-In series earlier this week.
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NBA 2024 Offseason Check-In: Phoenix Suns

September 9th, 2024 at 4:46pm CST by Luke Adams

Hoops Rumors is checking in on the 2024 offseason for all 30 NBA teams, recapping the summer’s free agent signings, trades, draft picks, departures, and more. We’ll take a look at each team’s offseason moves and consider what might still be coming before the regular season begins. Today, we’re focusing on the Phoenix Suns.

Free agent signings

  • Royce O’Neale: Four years, $42,000,000. Includes an additional $2MM in unlikely incentives. Re-signed using Bird rights.
  • Josh Okogie: Two years, $16,000,000. Second year non-guaranteed. Re-signed using Bird rights.
  • Bol Bol: One year, minimum salary. Re-signed using minimum salary exception.
  • Tyus Jones: One year, minimum salary. Signed using minimum salary exception.
  • Damion Lee: One year, minimum salary. Signed using minimum salary exception.
  • Monte Morris: One year, minimum salary. Signed using minimum salary exception.
  • Mason Plumlee: One year, minimum salary. Signed using minimum salary exception.

Trades

  • Acquired the draft rights to Ryan Dunn (No. 28 pick), the No. 56 pick in the 2024 draft, the Nuggets’ 2026 second-round pick, and the Nuggets’ 2031 second-round pick from the Nuggets in exchange for the draft rights to DaRon Holmes (No. 22 pick).
  • Acquired the draft rights to Oso Ighodaro (No. 40 pick) from the Knicks in exchange for the draft rights to Kevin McCullar (No. 56 pick) and the Celtics’ 2028 second-round pick (top-45 protected).
  • Acquired E.J. Liddell from the Hawks in exchange for David Roddy.
    • Note: Liddell was subsequently waived.

Draft picks

  • 1-28: Ryan Dunn
    • Signed to rookie scale contract (four years, $12,998,353).
  • 2-40: Oso Ighodaro
    • Signed to four-year, minimum salary contract ($7,895,796). First two years guaranteed. Third year partially guaranteed ($250K). Fourth-year team option.

Two-way signings

Departed/unsigned free agents

Other moves

Salary cap situation

  • Operating over the cap ($140.6MM), over the luxury tax line ($170.8MM), and above the second tax apron ($188.9MM).
  • Carrying approximately $219.9MM in salary.
  • No hard cap.
  • No form of mid-level or bi-annual exception available.
  • One traded player exception available (worth $726,547).
  • One traded player exception frozen/unavailable (worth $1,119,563).

The offseason so far

The Suns’ first season with their “big three” of Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, and Bradley Beal was a disappointing one. Although Phoenix compiled 49 wins, injuries limited the time the three stars spent on the court together – the full trio appeared in just 41 of 82 regular season contests – and the team didn’t win a single playoff game, having been swept out of the first round by Minnesota.

Despite questions about their fit together and their respective injury histories, the Suns weren’t about to give up on their big three so soon. General manager James Jones and team owner Mat Ishbia shot down trade rumors involving Durant, Booker, and Beal this offseason as the front office focused on making changes around those stars, rather than breaking them up.

Those changes began on the sidelines, where Phoenix opted to move on from head coach Frank Vogel less than one year after signing him to a five-year contract worth a reported $31MM. No team embarking on a coaching search this spring moved faster than the Suns, who zeroed in on Mike Budenholzer and announced his hiring less than 48 hours after confirming Vogel’s dismissal.

The Suns have first-hand familiarity with Budenholzer’s championship pedigree, having fallen to his Bucks in the 2021 NBA Finals. They clearly believe he’s the right man to take the Suns to similar heights — after making him the sole focus of their search, they signed him to a five-year contract reportedly worth in excess of $50MM.

With Booker, Durant, Beal, and Jusuf Nurkic set to earn nearly $169MM combined in 2024/25, the Suns were always going to be operating over the second tax apron ($188.9MM), which meant they’d have limited resources to upgrade their roster via free agency or trade. As a result, their goals in addressing the roster were threefold:

  1. Re-sign key role players Grayson Allen and Royce O’Neale, since they’d have no means to replace them if they departed as free agents.
  2. Add inexpensive young talent in the draft.
  3. Make savvy minimum-salary veteran signings.

The offseason was a success on all three fronts.

While you can quibble with the money or the term the Suns committed to Allen (four years, $70MM) or O’Neale (four years, $42MM), losing either player wasn’t a viable option. The team badly needs Allen’s shooting and O’Neale’s defense to complement its stars. Given its lack of leverage in those negotiations, Phoenix is fortunate the final numbers on the contracts don’t look worse.

The Suns were active on draft night, moving six spots down in the first round and 16 spots up in the second. The team ended up coming away with two players it was reportedly high on – forwards Ryan Dunn and Oso Ighodaro – while adding to its depleted stash of future draft picks in the process.

In free agency, the Suns brought back a couple of their own free agents (Bol Bol and Damion Lee) on minimum-salary contracts but did their best work with outside targets, landing center Mason Plumlee and point guards Tyus Jones and Monte Morris. I expected all three players, particularly Jones, to sign for more than the veteran’s minimum, so they look like bargains to me. And Jones and Morris are exactly the type of players Phoenix needed — ball-handling guards who take extremely good care of the ball.

The one signing that looks questionable from a value perspective is Josh Okogie, who received a two-year, $16MM contract that is fully guaranteed for the first year. Giving Okogie an $8.25MM salary for 2024/25 allows the Suns to treat him as a walking trade exception, but without the ability to aggregate his salary with another player’s or take back more than $8.25MM in a trade involving him, it remains to be seen how useful that will be.

Okogie probably doesn’t contribute enough on offense to warrant that $8MM+ salary based solely on his play on the court. Of course, as long as Ishbia is willing to pay the substantial excess tax penalties that come with giving Okogie that $8.25MM salary instead of a minimum contract, there’s no real downside for the Suns, since the deal doesn’t hamstring them in any other ways.

But as Phoenix showed when it waived and stretched Nassir Little‘s and E.J. Liddell‘s remaining salary ahead of the August 31 stretch provision deadline, Ishbia’s pockets aren’t bottomless. The Little move, in particular, will have a long-term impact — he’ll count against the books for $3.1MM through the 2030/31 season.

Up next

After waiving Little and Liddell, the Suns have 14 players on guaranteed contracts and three players on two-way deals. While two-way changes are always possible leading up to opening night, I’m skeptical Phoenix will be eager to add a 15th man to the standard roster. Keeping that spot open to start the season would allow the team to assess its options, save some money, and move quickly in the event that a specific position is hit hard by injuries during the season.

Durant and Nurkic are the two players on the roster eligible for extensions up until October 21, but I wouldn’t expect extending Nurkic – who has two years and $37.5MM left on his existing contract – to be a top preseason priority for the Suns. While Nurkic is Phoenix’s starting center for now, he’s not a lock to still be on the roster beyond his current deal, or even until the end of it.

Durant is a more likely extension candidate. Based on his contract situation (two years left) and the Over-38 rule that prevents him from tacking on two new years, he’s essentially eligible for a slightly less lucrative version of the Stephen Curry deal. A one-year extension for Durant would be worth a projected $59.5MM.

The Suns and Durant don’t have the long history of success together that the Warriors and Curry have, so it remains to be seen whether they’ll be as eager to add another year to their agreement. If it doesn’t get done before opening night, the two sides would have another chance to negotiate an extension next offseason. However, putting off those talks could leave the door open for those trade rumors that popped up earlier this offseason to resurface by February’s deadline — especially if the Suns struggle in the first half.

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Pacific Notes: Lakers, LaVine, Zubac, Suns

September 5th, 2024 at 5:44pm CST by Tristan Tucker

As has been covered at length this summer, the Lakers‘ only outside additions to their standard roster this offseason came in the form of draftees Dalton Knecht and Bronny James.

“They’re stuck,” one Eastern Conference executive said of the Lakers, according to Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times.

A Western Conference executive who spoke to Woike said the Lakers should consider adding Bulls guard Zach LaVine, who has been the subject of trade rumors for quite some time. LaVine’s contract (he’s owed nearly $138MM over the next three seasons, including a 2026/27 player option) has been a holdup in getting a deal done. If the Lakers were to pursue such a trade, Woike points out that it would have to be constructed around D’Angelo Russell, Rui Hachimura and either Jarred Vanderbilt or Gabe Vincent to match salary since L.A. can’t take in more than it sends out.

The downside would be LaVine’s injury concerns and his questionable fit in a role that would require more from him on defense and less on offense. However, Woike doesn’t get the sense the Lakers are all that interested in LaVine, suggesting that they’re more concerned with seeing how a roster with more continuity performs. Additionally, Woike reasons the Bulls could stand to hold LaVine and try to rebuild his value this season.

We have more from the Pacific Division:

  • Clippers center Ivica Zubac received a 5% trade kicker as part of his three-year extension, according to HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto (Twitter link). That means if Zubac is traded, he’d be eligible for a bonus worth 5% of the remaining salary on his contract. The highest percentage allowed on a trade kicker is 15%.
  • Despite being one of the most efficient three-point shooting teams in the league, the Suns only ranked 25th in attempts, Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports writes. That should change in 2024/25, with Tyus Jones, Monte Morris and a healthy Damion Lee among players who could help in that regard. Bourguet runs through several statistical red flags the Suns should look to address under Mike Budenholzer, including how they attack the rim and playing more in transition.
  • In a similar article for PHNX Sports (subscriber link), Bourguet outlines one area for improvement for every player on the Suns‘ roster, excluding rookies and two-way players. For my money, it’ll be interesting to see how Bradley Beal continues to adapt to being an off-ball third option. His scoring decreased last season (to 18.2 PPG) as he played fewer than 60 games for the third straight season. If he’s fully healthy, it will be intriguing to see if he can resemble the form of the player who recorded back-to-back 30 PPG seasons from 2019-21.
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And-Ones: Toscano-Anderson, Shackelford, Roberson, Beverley

September 5th, 2024 at 10:58am CST by Dana Gauruder

Juan Toscano-Anderson is playing for G League United at the third annual NBA G League Fall Invitational this month. The veteran wing is hoping for another NBA opportunity, he told Sam Gordon of the San Francisco Chronicle.

“I want to show teams that if they were to pick me up, I can enhance the team atmosphere as a player but also as a teammate in the locker room,” Toscano-Anderson said.

He appeared in 11 games with the Kings last season and spent much of the year playing for the Mexico City Capitanes.

We have more from around the international basketball world:

  • In other G League news, the Valley Suns received the returning player rights to guard Jaden Shackelford from the Oklahoma City Blue, the Thunder’s G League team, in exchange for a 2025 first-round pick, the Suns’ G League team tweets. The Thunder signed and waived Shackelford last October and he spent the season with the Blue.
  • Former NBA swingman Andre Roberson has signed with the French club Cholet, according to Eurohoops.net. Roberson spent most of his NBA career with the Thunder and most recently played five games with Brooklyn in 2020/21. Earlier this year, he participated in an international tournament in Dubai with former NBA players and, in July, took part in the TBT tournament in Louisville.
  • Patrick Beverley is getting the superstar treatment with Hapoel Tel Aviv. The longtime NBA guard says he feels like LeBron James after appearing in a preseason game in Belgrade, Basketnews.com relays. “I know how LeBron feels. I leave games, and the guys that I play against want pictures. Coaches that I play against want pictures,” Beverley said on his podcast. “The fans that I go against, they boo me, I leave out and it’s 30 kids outside, and they all want pictures. And this is every country we go to.” Beverley agreed to play with the Israeli team in July after finishing last season with the Bucks.
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Teams Limited To Minimum Salary Contract Offers

September 3rd, 2024 at 7:57am CST by Luke Adams

There won’t be a ton of free agents who sign for more than the veteran’s minimum between now and the end of the NBA’s regular season. The majority of the players whose markets exceeded the minimum came off the board pretty quickly in July, and teams aren’t looking to spend big on the players who are still available.

Still, that certainly doesn’t mean every signing for the next seven months will be of the minimum-salary variety. In some cases – especially on the buyout market in February – being able to offer a couple million dollars more than the minimum could be the difference between a team landing a free agent and missing out on him.

With that in mind, it’s worth checking in on which teams don’t currently have the ability to offer more than the minimum. By our count, a third of the NBA is in this boat, though some of those clubs could generate some spending flexibility by making cost-cutting trades.

Here’s a breakdown of the teams currently limited to minimum-salary contract offers for free agents:

Teams above the second tax apron:

  • Boston Celtics
  • Milwaukee Bucks
  • Minnesota Timberwolves
  • Phoenix Suns

Teams operating above the second tax apron, which comes in at $188,931,000 in 2024/25, face a series of roster-building restrictions, including being prohibited from using any form of the mid-level exception, as well as the bi-annual exception.

The Celtics, Bucks, Timberwolves, and Suns all fall into that group of teams above the second apron and therefore don’t have any cap exceptions available to use on free agents besides the minimum salary exception.

Teams very close to the second tax apron:

  • Los Angeles Lakers
  • Miami Heat

Because their team salaries are below the second apron, the Lakers and Heat each technically have the ability to use their taxpayer mid-level exception, which is worth $5,168,000 this season.

However, both clubs are operating so close to the second apron that using any portion of the taxpayer MLE would push team salary above that threshold, which isn’t permitted — a team that uses the taxpayer MLE can’t have a salary above the second apron upon the completion of the signing (or at any time after that).

Therefore, unless they make a move to shed salary, the Lakers and Heat will be limited to minimum-salary signings from here on out.

Over-the-cap teams that have used all their cap exceptions:

  • Denver Nuggets
  • Philadelphia 76ers

The Nuggets are currently operating between the first and second tax aprons and have already used their taxpayer mid-level exception to sign Dario Saric. Because the bi-annual exception isn’t available to teams above the first apron, Denver can no longer offer more than the veteran’s minimum.

The Sixers, meanwhile, used their entire room exception to re-sign Kelly Oubre after spending all their cap space. They’re now well over the cap and only have the minimum salary exception left to sign a free agent outright.

It’s worth noting that acquiring a player via sign-and-trade is technically a possibility prior to opening night for teams who have used up all their cap exceptions and want to add a free agent for more than the minimum. However, that’s not currently a practical option for either Denver or Philadelphia, who are both above the first tax apron.

Teams right up against their hard caps:

  • Dallas Mavericks
  • Golden State Warriors

The Mavericks have about $4.25MM of their mid-level exception still available after using a portion of it to sign Naji Marshall, and both Dallas and Golden State still have their full bi-annual exceptions on hand.

Based on the roster moves they’ve made so far this summer though, both the Mavs and Warriors are hard-capped at the first apron of $178,132,000 and are less than $1MM away from that hard cap. In other words, unless they shed salary by trading or waiving one or more of their current players, those two teams aren’t just prohibited from using their remaining exceptions — they’re also unable to add another minimum-salary player on a standard contract.

Dallas and Golden State are each carrying at least one player with a non-guaranteed salary, so it would technically be possible for, say, the Mavs to cut A.J. Lawson and then use a portion of their mid-level exception to sign a free agent. However, their breathing room below the hard cap is so limited that any signings above the minimum are unlikely, unless a cost-cutting trade generates more flexibility — the same goes for the Warriors.

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Pacific Notes: Allen, Suns, Kuminga, Moody, Bronny, LeBron

August 31st, 2024 at 10:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

Grayson Allen was outstanding during his first season with the Suns, but the experience didn’t end the way he wanted it to, writes Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. After leading the NBA in three-point shooting at 46.1%, Allen suffered an injury during the first-round playoff series against Minnesota. He sprained his ankle in Game 1, re-injured it in Game 2 and wasn’t available for the series’ final two games.

Allen started spending time in the weight room shortly after the season ended in an effort to become stronger and more durable. He recently posted a video of himself shooting and doing weight training.

“I’ve got a strong base,” Allen said. “Now it’s moving more towards more speed and explosion, some plyometrics stuff. Moving the weight faster if it’s weighted. A lot of unweighted stuff. Working on some speed, power explosion. Trying to get back into that playing shape and be ready and in better shape. A little faster, a little stronger and be ready for October.”

Allen played for four teams in his first six NBA seasons, but his future in Phoenix appears secure after signing a four-year, $70MM extension in April. He’s focused on maximizing his role in an offense where he’s surrounded by elite scorers in Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal.

“Getting in some of the explosive stuff to get ready to hit the court hard for training camp and preseason coming up and getting all the shots I feel I’m going to get in the season,” Allen said. “Shots I got last season playing with these guys.”

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

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Deadline Looms For Teams To Stretch 2024/25 Salaries

August 28th, 2024 at 1:39pm CST by Luke Adams

Thursday, August 29 is the last day that an NBA team will be able to waive a player who has a fully or partially guaranteed salary for 2024/25 and stretch that player’s ’24/25 salary across multiple seasons.

[RELATED: Hoops Rumors Glossary: Stretch Provision]

The stretch provision deadline has historically been August 31, and while that’s technically still the case, the current Collective Bargaining Agreement tweaked the wording of the rule. As Bobby Marks of ESPN notes (via Twitter), in order to apply the stretch provision to a player’s current-season salary, a team must now ensure the player clears waivers on or before August 31 rather than simply requesting waivers on him by August 31.

The adjusted wording is similar to the CBA language related to the league-wide salary guarantee date in January. In that case, a team must place a player on waivers on or before January 7 in order to have him clear waivers ahead of the league-wide Jan. 10 guarantee date. In the case of the stretch provision rule, a player whose salary is being stretched now must be waived by August 29 at 4:00 pm Central time to ensure he has cleared waivers prior to September 1.

A player who clears waivers between September 1 and the end of the 2024/25 season can still have his cap hit(s) for 2025/26 and future seasons stretched across multiple years, assuming he’s owed guaranteed money beyond this season. But his ’24/25 cap charge would remain unchanged in that scenario, unless he reaches a buyout agreement with his team.

The stretch provision allows teams to gain some short-term relief at the cost of reduced long-term flexibility. It’s used most frequently by teams in the luxury tax who want to lower their projected tax bill (or duck out of tax territory entirely) or by teams who want to create a little extra cap room to accommodate a specific roster move.

Teams haven’t employed the stretch provision all that frequently in recent years, but three players waived this week will have their guaranteed money stretched across multiple seasons. The Suns are stretching the $21.75MM owed to Nassir Little for the next three years, as well as the $2,120,693 owed to E.J. Liddell for 2024/25, while the Grizzlies are stretching Mamadi Diakite‘s $1,392,150 partial guarantee for ’24/25.

Since the stretch provision allows a team to spread the player’s remaining salary across twice the remaining years on his contract, plus one additional year, the new cap hits for those players will be as follows:

  • Little (Suns): $3,107,143 for seven seasons (through 2030/31)
  • Liddell (Suns): $706,898 for three seasons (through 2026/27)
  • Diakite (Grizzlies): $464,050 for three seasons (through 2026/27)

The Suns’ moves reduce their projected tax bill, while the Grizzlies’ move creates a little additional breathing room below the tax line.

We likely won’t see a flurry of cuts today and tomorrow in order to take advantage of this rule, but the deadline is still worth keeping in mind for the possibilities it will take off the table. Any player on a guaranteed expiring contract who is waived after August 29 will have his remaining salary count entirely against his team’s ’24/25 books.

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