With 16 players under contract, the Suns were forced to part ways with at least one player before the start of the season, and ultimately, they decided to cut two. They are: Nassir Little and EJ Liddell. According to The Athleticthis maneuver allows them to have 14 players under contract, and to recruit an additional player, but also to keep the rookies Ryan Dunn and Oso Ighodaro.
For Little, who played for the Blazers, the Suns will use the “stretch provision” and spread his salary ($22 million) over three years. This will allow them not to go too far into the red for the next offseasons. For Liddell, it's much easier since he was supposed to receive $2.2 million, and his 2nd year of contract was not guaranteed.
While millions will be added to the salary cap through the 2030-31 season, removing those salaries over multiple seasons will save about $40 million in luxury tax over the 2024-25 and 2025-26 seasons.
Dunn, along with Royce O'Neale and Josh Okogie, will help compensate for Little's departure.
Stretch provision : measure that allows a franchise to cut a player and spread the remainder of his salary over several seasons to avoid weighing down his salary cap in a single season.
