PHOENIX – Bradley Beal is officially a Clipper, while Damian Lillard is a Trail Blazer once again. Beal is swapping the desert heat for the California coast. Meanwhile, Lillard returns to the familiar comfort of Portland’s embrace. Both stars reached buyout deals after tough breakups with teams that found themselves asset-starved. But like the saying goes: not all fingers are equal. This applies perfectly to these buyout agreements. When you line them up side by side, the Lillard buyout looks smarter in every sense than Beal’s.
Why Bradley Beal’s Buyout Is So Much Worse Than Damian Lillard’s
Lillard Buyout Beal: A Tale of Two Dead Cap Hits
On the surface, these deals look similar. Both stars cost their old teams dead cap hits for years to come. Both stars left franchises desperate for a reset. Both teams have cornerstone stars — Giannis Antetokounmpo for the Bucks, Devin Booker for the Suns — to build around. But that’s where the similarities end.
The Bucks turned Lillard’s expected absence into a clear positive. They waived and stretched Dame to clear space for Myles Turner — a perfect center upgrade for a team desperate to stay competitive. The Bucks gave up nothing except time. Turner’s arrival makes the $22.5 million annual dead hit worth it. Meanwhile, the Suns turned Beal — a three-level scorer — into nothing. They got no trade return, no young players, and no picks.
That is not smart asset management. Sam Presti squeezes every ounce of value from his assets. The Suns under Mat Ishbia look reckless instead.
Motivation Matters
Context also matters. The Bucks’ decision makes sense. Milwaukee is a small market that rarely lands big free agents. Keeping Giannis happy is non-negotiable. Burning through assets to keep their superstar? Understandable. Comparing Lillard’s and Beal’s buyouts reveal that the Bucks made a desperate but calculated move.
The Suns didn’t need to panic. Booker just signed a monster extension. He helped pick the new coach. He’s shown no signs of restlessness. Yet the Suns dumped Beal just to duck the tax. They saved $176 million in penalties, sure, but they buried themselves under $19.4 million in dead money for the next five years.
Cap savings now, but at what cost later? With Beal’s contract, they at least had a giant expiring deal to flip next year. Teams crave those massive contracts to get under the apron or luxury tax. Beal’s $57.1 million option in 2026-27 could have been a huge trade chip. Now that’s gone.
Lillard’s vs Beal’s Buyout: Flexibility Matters
Phoenix chose the worst long-term path. By stretching Beal, they lose flexibility until at least 2028-29 unless they let their free agents walk for nothing. By then, Jalen Green could be an unrestricted free agent. The Suns could’ve kept Beal, run it back one more year, and then traded him next summer or at the 2027 trade deadline. That would have bought them time and leverage. Now they’re stuck unless they trade Dillon Brooks, Grayson Allen, or Royce O’Neale in a salary cutting moves— which is no guarantee.
Contrast that with Milwaukee. The Bucks used the Lillard’s buyout to add Turner and will clear the books in two years to chase another max star next to Giannis. They had nowhere else to turn — they were boxed in. Digging deeper made sense. Phoenix, on the other hand, keeps digging for no reason.
Suns Must Learn From Their Own Mistakes
Under Ishbia, the Suns have fired coaches, flipped stars, and mismanaged assets at breakneck speed. Comparing Lillard’s and Beal’s buyout shows how impatience hurts the Suns. They saved cash today but sacrificed strategic flexibility tomorrow.
In the NBA, you pay now or you pay later. The Bucks paid to buy more time with Giannis. The Suns paid to save tax dollars — and could pay even more in missed opportunities down the road.
Not all buyouts are created equal. Lillard’s and Beal’s buyout sagas prove it. One team turned nothing into something. The other turned something into nothing. One move buys time. The other costs it.
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