Since the last time we looked at cap space around the NBA in the summer of 2017 after the Trade Deadline, a few things have happened. Buyout season came and went and several teams added players for this year and beyond. Lots of D-League call-ups on 10 Day Contracts turned into deals for the remainder of 2016-17 and beyond. And the NBA released a new salary cap projection of $101 million. This is down from the last projection of $102 million.
Because so much money was spent last summer and the cap estimate came in about $6 million less than originally thought (original projections were a cap of $107 million for 2017-18), many teams will be tighter against the cap than we thought they would be a year or so ago. In addition, Russell Westbrook and James Harden renegotiated and extended their contracts. Also, eight players coming off their Rookie Scale contracts agreed to extensions: Steven Adams, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Gorgui Dieng, Rudy Gobert, C.J. McCollum, Victor Oladipo, Dennis Schroder and Cody Zeller. Putting it all together, not only does this change the projection for their teams, but it removes several potential impact free agents from the market this coming summer.
Once you add it all up, there are still likely to be 10-13 teams with cap space available. And several more could join them. The tables below represent a look at where things stand as of today. A few notes:
- Latest cap projection of $101 million is used.
- 2017 NBA Draft order, for draft pick cap holds, was determined using the standings as of 4/3/17.
- Starting Cap Space = the amount of space each team will have without renouncing or waiving any players/picks.
- Maximum Cap Space = the amount of space each team could have if they waived or renounced all players/picks who are not fully guaranteed.
- Projected Cap Space = the amount of space each team is projected to have after roster decisions are made.
- Maximum Cap Space and Projected Cap Space for Miami and Minnesota assume that Chris Bosh and Nikola Pekovic will be waived due to Medical Retirement, removing their cap hit from the respective cap sheets.
Team |
Starting |
Maximum |
Projected |
Fully |
Partial/ |
|
ATL |
$(33,958,851) |
$32,043,937 |
$(34,050,291) |
6 |
2 |
7 |
BOS |
$(18,968,901) |
$35,187,999 |
$18,405,988 |
7 |
3 |
5 |
BKN |
$17,572,233 |
$34,613,909 |
$23,402,533 |
8 |
5 |
2 |
CHA |
$(18,551,805) |
$(5,059,690) |
$(17,421,805) |
9 |
3 |
3 |
CHI |
$(18,657,617) |
$52,303,896 |
$16,860,839 |
7 |
2 |
6 |
CLE |
$(46,152,358) |
$(29,775,514) |
$(44,786,824) |
8 |
1 |
6 |
DAL |
$(20,641,221) |
$36,206,664 |
$17,136,139 |
6 |
4 |
4 |
DEN |
$(6,166,099) |
$44,976,171 |
$14,774,181 |
11 |
1 |
3 |
DET |
$(23,270,917) |
$3,570,001 |
$(23,927,917) |
9 |
2 |
4 |
GSW |
$(27,055,679) |
$56,022,815 |
$(27,055,679) |
5 |
0 |
10 |
HOU |
$(9,216,770) |
$10,187,738 |
$(2,502,254) |
10 |
2 |
3 |
IND |
$(3,889,481) |
$33,704,263 |
$(392,246) |
6 |
5 |
4 |
LAC |
$(51,547,879) |
$36,357,897 |
$(43,078,591) |
6 |
1 |
8 |
LAL |
$(1,129,283) |
$28,926,294 |
$(11,304,032) |
9 |
1 |
5 |
MEM |
$(30,842,698) |
$6,686,600 |
$(30,483,927) |
10 |
0 |
5 |
MIA |
$(16,315,629) |
$45,112,824 |
$36,707,560 |
5 |
4 |
6 |
MIL |
$(26,245,897) |
$14,604,847 |
$(17,654,160) |
10 |
0 |
5 |
MIN |
$(1,415,815) |
$35,068,968 |
$24,927,563 |
10 |
1 |
4 |
NOP |
$(9,524,670) |
$ 13,797,857 |
$(9,524,670) |
9 |
1 |
3 |
NYK |
$(16,675,348) |
$22,273,680 |
$18,902,975 |
8 |
3 |
4 |
OKC |
$(41,412,404) |
$(11,483,871) |
$(41,137,993) |
9 |
1 |
5 |
ORL |
$(23,961,178) |
$19,822,460 |
$12,540,847 |
8 |
4 |
3 |
PHI |
$17,357,775 |
$61,777,567 |
$42,619,690 |
8 |
4 |
4 |
PHX |
$(2,943,240) |
$32,606,903 |
$(1,471,858) |
9 |
2 |
3 |
POR |
$(47,702,928) |
$(31,928,775) |
$(40,173,128) |
12 |
3 |
0 |
SAC |
$(20,313,292) |
$61,879,992 |
$(6,269,418) |
7 |
2 |
6 |
SAS |
$(31,151,015) |
$23,445,788 |
$(29,605,785) |
7 |
1 |
7 |
TOR |
$(41,623,626) |
$21,740,524 |
$(41,555,106) |
9 |
2 |
4 |
UTA |
$(22,880,014) |
$32,029,055 |
$(22,943,254) |
8 |
2 |
5 |
WAS |
$(22,314,281) |
$6,646,794 |
$(13,847,786) |
9 |
2 |
4 |
Sorted by Starting Cap Space
Team |
Starting |
Brooklyn |
$17,572,233 |
Philadelphia |
$17,357,775 |
LA Lakers |
$(1,129,283) |
Minnesota |
$(1,415,815) |
Phoenix |
$(2,943,240) |
Indiana |
$(3,889,481) |
Denver |
$(6,166,099) |
Houston |
$ (9,216,770) |
New Orleans |
$(9,524,670) |
Miami |
$(16,315,629) |
New York |
$(16,675,348) |
Charlotte |
$(18,551,805) |
Chicago |
$(18,657,617) |
Boston |
$(18,968,901) |
Sacramento |
$(20,313,292) |
Dallas |
$(20,641,221) |
Washington |
$(22,314,281) |
Utah |
$(22,880,014) |
Detroit |
$(23,270,917) |
Orlando |
$(23,961,178) |
Milwaukee |
$(26,245,897) |
Golden State |
$(27,055,679) |
Memphis |
$(30,842,698) |
San Antonio |
$(31,151,015) |
Atlanta |
$(33,958,851) |
Oklahoma City |
$(41,412,404) |
Toronto |
$(41,623,626) |
Cleveland |
$(46,152,358) |
Portland |
$(47,702,928) |
LA Clippers |
$(51,547,879) |
Sorted by Maximum Cap Space
Team |
Maximum |
Sacramento |
$61,879,992 |
Philadelphia |
$61,777,567 |
Golden State |
$56,022,815 |
Chicago |
$52,303,896 |
Miami |
$45,112,824 |
Denver |
$44,976,171 |
LA Clippers |
$36,357,897 |
Dallas |
$36,206,664 |
Boston |
$35,187,999 |
Minnesota |
$35,068,968 |
Brooklyn |
$34,613,909 |
Indiana |
$33,704,263 |
Phoenix |
$32,606,903 |
Atlanta |
$32,043,937 |
Utah |
$32,029,055 |
LA Lakers |
$28,926,294 |
San Antonio |
$23,445,788 |
New York |
$22,273,680 |
Toronto |
$21,740,524 |
Orlando |
$19,822,460 |
Milwaukee |
$14,604,847 |
New Orleans |
$13,797,857 |
Houston |
$10,187,738 |
Memphis |
$6,686,600 |
Washington |
$6,646,794 |
Detroit |
$3,570,001 |
Charlotte |
$(5,059,690) |
Oklahoma City |
$(11,483,871) |
Cleveland |
$(29,775,514) |
Portland |
$(31,928,775) |
Sorted by Projected Cap Space
Team |
Projected |
Philadelphia |
$42,619,690 |
Miami |
$36,707,560 |
Minnesota |
$24,927,563 |
Brooklyn |
$23,402,533 |
New York |
$18,902,975 |
Boston |
$18,405,988 |
Dallas |
$17,136,139 |
Chicago |
$16,860,839 |
Denver |
$14,774,181 |
Orlando |
$12,540,847 |
Indiana |
$(392,246) |
Phoenix |
$(1,471,858) |
Houston |
$(2,502,254) |
Sacramento |
$(6,269,418) |
New Orleans |
$(9,524,670) |
LA Lakers |
$(11,304,032) |
Washington |
$(13,847,786) |
Charlotte |
$(17,421,805) |
Milwaukee |
$(17,654,160) |
Utah |
$(22,943,254) |
Detroit |
$(23,927,917) |
Golden State |
$(27,055,679) |
San Antonio |
$(29,605,785) |
Memphis |
$(30,483,927) |
Atlanta |
$(34,050,291) |
Portland |
$(40,173,128) |
Oklahoma City |
$(41,137,993) |
Toronto |
$(41,555,106) |
LA Clippers |
$(43,078,591) |
Cleveland |
$(44,786,824) |