The Nets have pushed back the salary guarantee date for Isaiah Whitehead and the Suns have done the same for Davon Reed, according to reports. Both players were initially on track to have their salaries for 2018/19 guaranteed if they remained under contract through Saturday.
[RELATED: NBA Salary Guarantee Dates For Summer 2018]
Whitehead, a former second-round pick who has spent his first two NBA seasons in Brooklyn, has a non-guaranteed $1,544,951 salary for 2018/19. According to Michael Scotto of The Athletic (Twitter link), the Nets have moved his guarantee date to July 31, so Whitehead will receive his full salary if he remains on the roster through the end of the month.
The move will allow Brooklyn to assess how much cap room it has after acquiring and negotiating a buyout with Dwight Howard — if the team wants to maximize its space at that point to try to add a certain player via trade or free agency, Whitehead could be waived to create a little more flexibility. If not, he has a decent chance of sticking with the club.
As for Reed, Scott Bordow of The Arizona Republic reports (via Twitter) that the Suns have pushed back the guarantee date for his $1,378,242 salary until after the conclusion of Summer League, giving the young guard a chance to play for the Suns in Las Vegas.
Reed, a second-round pick in 2017, only appeared in 21 games in his rookie year due to a knee injury, so the Suns probably want to take a closer look at him this summer before making any final decisions. The 23-year-old’s salary is reportedly partially guaranteed for $689K, so it wouldn’t cost Phoenix much to keep him around. The Suns already parted ways with one young guard, cutting Tyler Ulis on Saturday.