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2024 Free Agents - Saddiq Bey

Summary
Bey had a really solid start to his career, making 1st team All-Rookie in 2021 and starting all 82 games for the Pistons in the '21-'22 season. However, he started to fade a little bit in '22-'23 and was traded to the Hawks, where he has played decently but hasn't quite shown to be a starting-level wing in the long-term. 

Offensively, Bey is a solid outside shooter, hitting about above-average at 36% from three. However, he really struggles to finish at the rim and is a poor midrange shooter, so his 55% career true shooting is below average. He has shown some ability to make plays for others, particularly in his second season when he averaged nearly three assists per game, but overall isn't someone that will consistently create advantages and make plays for himself or others.

Defensively, Bey has good size at 6'8" and is mobile enough to be a good defender on the perimeter. However, he hasn't fully figured NBA defense yet, and posts a poor block rate and just an average steal rate. Even if he doesn't improve much defensively, he still will be a switchable defender that can guard multiple positions and not be a negative on that end, even if he is never a heavy positive. 

Bey will already be 25 years old as a free agent in 2024, so he's a bit older than most guys finishing their rookie scale contracts, and may not have the upside or expectation for improvement compared to others. However, whoever gets him on his next contract could have him through his prime. Unfortunately for Bey, he tore his ACL in March, which could really hurt him in free agency as he will likely miss a good chunk of the '24-'25 season.
 
Cap Considerations
Bey will be a restricted free agent with a $13.7 million cap hold, $8.5 million Qualifying Offer, and full Bird Rights. I wouldn't expect Bey's QO to come into play, but it potentially could if the Hawks play hardball and if the restricted free agent market is dry.

If a player has a smaller cap hold than his starting salary, his team can use cap space to sign-free agents before using Bird Rights to re-sign its own free agents. Since the Hawks will likely be operating over the cap, I don't think this will come into play for the Hawks.

Depending on how close the Hawks are to the luxury tax after free agency, or how much cap space they need after re-signing him, if Bey is brought back by the Hawks on a multi-year contract they could benefit from frontloading his contract, as it could give them additional flexibility in the future. 

From other teams, Bey will be looking for a 4-year, $60+ million offer, and it would likely take something near that in order for Atlanta to not match. In addition, the team signing him to an offer sheet adding a 15% trade bonus, a player option, and some advances on his salary could make it more difficult for Atlanta to match. If Bey gets offers above the full MLE, only teams with cap space will be able to sign him. However, there's a chance he could be had for the full MLE, which would be 4-years, $55.3 million, in which case teams without cap space would be able to sign him.

Potential Teams: Hawks, Cavaliers, Mavericks, Grizzlies, Timberwolves

Predicted Contract: 3-year, $42 million with the Hawks

Actual Contract: 3-year, $19 million (plus $1 million in unlikely bonuses) with the Wizards

Bey ended up signing a very modest deal with Washington, and I think this could be a steal for the Wizards, even if Bey misses most of '24-'25 due to injury.

Last updated: 7/14/2024

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