Beginning in the 24-25 season, teams that are below the minimum salary floor on the first day of the regular season will not receive a luxury tax distribution at the end of the season.
For example, the San Antonio Spurs would have forfeited $15.2 million this season.
Over the past few years, teams have remained under the minimum salary floor until the trade deadline in order to maximize their trade optionality such as being incentivized to take on dead money by other teams attempting to get under the luxury tax.