How were this offseason's biggest moves, including the Phoenix Suns trading for Bradley Beal, shaped by the new NBA collective bargaining agreement?
Three months have passed since the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association reached the framework on a new CBA. In that time, teams digested a comprehensive term sheet examining the new rules, eventually leading to a 676-page CBA that was finalized days before the start of free agency.
Teams would spend a record-breaking $4.6 billion in player salaries in the first month of free agency. However, at the same time, multiple franchises made financial decisions based not only on the new rules for this season but also for 2024-25 and beyond. That's when teams over the new second luxury tax apron face more severe roster restrictions and penalties.
Those penalties, though, didn't dissuade the Suns from putting together a superteam, taking a different approach to roster building in light of the new rules.
To help unpack the implications of the CBA, Tim Bontemps, Bobby Marks and Kevin Pelton discuss their biggest takeaways from the first month of free agency and how the new CBA has impacted both sides.
The Suns load up, others shed salary
Bobby Marks: Two weeks before the new CBA took effect, Phoenix traded for Beal and the $200 million left on his contract. The Suns doubled down on February's trade for Kevin Durant and solidified themselves as a second apron team not only in 2023-24 but the foreseeable future. Still, by finalizing the move in June, the Suns were able to operate under the rules of the old CBA. Under the new terms, the traded player exception rule to acquire players decreased from 125% of matching salary to 110% -- meaning the deal Phoenix made to get Beal for Chris Paul and Landry Shamet would not have worked after July 1.