How waiving Damian Lillard and Bradley Beal handcuffs Bucks, Suns until 2030
Now they're stuck with dead money on their books, which counts toward a team's salary cap but is paid to a player not on the roster.
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In early July, the Milwaukee Bucks waived and stretched All-Star point guard Damian Lillard's contract. Lillard wasn't going to help them next season as he recovers from a torn Achilles, and the Bucks were desperate to add talent with Giannis Antetokounmpo's contract up in two years. Milwaukee waived Lillard, then stretched the $113 million left on Lillard's contract over the next five seasons, which comes out to almost $22.5 million of dead money on their books every season through 2030. The move enabled Milwaukee to create enough cap room this summer to sign former Pacers center Myles Turner.
Two weeks later, the Phoenix Suns bought out Bradley Beal's contract. Beal had nearly $111 million and two years remaining on his contract but gave back a little short of $14 million in his buyout. The Suns could have kept that dead money over the next two years, but they chose to stretch it over five, lessening Beal's annual cap hit to slightly under $20 million annually.
The Bucks and Suns still owe Lillard and Beal the rest of their deal, even as they now head to the Portland Trail Blazers and LA Clippers, respectively.
Typically, this mechanism has been used for lower-salaried players, not ones owed anything close to as much as Lillard or Beal. The reason why: It's not safe. The Bucks and Suns will owe money to players not on their roster through the end of the decade, harming their flexibility in the process.
The Bucks were desperate to stay competitive while Antetokounmpo remains in Milwaukee. The Suns were desperate to save money on a team that wasn't good last season.
Now we wait to see if either move works.
— Video narrated by Fred Katz. Produced by Jen Klockner and Jayne Orenstein.
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