Suns re-sign Abdel Nader for two years, $4.2 million

The Phoenix Suns have decided to retain four-year veteran Abdel Nader on a 2-year, $4.2 million contract. The Suns have his ‘bird rights’, which can be used to exceed the salary cap to retain their own free agent without using any other cap exceptions.

Nader, 27 years old, was acquired along with Chris Paul last year and is just now finishing his four-year rookie contract, giving the Suns full ‘bird rights’ because he was on the same contract for 2+ years.

‘Doolie’ has been a team favorite since joining the Suns, and made the most of his playing time before missing much of the second half of the season with a knee issue. When Nader went down, the Suns traded for Torrey Craig to fill his role as a wing in the rotation.

Nader, at 6’7” and 220 pounds, fills a need for a shooter (42% on threes), slasher who can create free throws and defender on the wing but, like Bridges, does not provide enough size to defend the league’s bigger wings and forwards. The Suns still need to get that size.

Since Nader was their own free agent, the Suns did not lose any spending flexibility. They still have these tools to sign another team’s free agent, and can spend a total of about $12.5 million more in first year salaries before hitting the luxury tax line.

• Remainder of MLE (about $4.5 million to start, up to 4 years)
• Bi-annual exception ($3.7 million to start, up to 2 years)
• Veteran minimums ($1.7-3 million each, one year)

Here’s the updated cap sheet with Nader in there.

The Suns do not have ‘bird rights’ on any other free agents, because Kaminsky, Moore and Galloway all signed one-year contracts. So if you see the Suns retain one or more of them, any deal over league minimum will have to come from the MLE or BAE.