With the likes of Kevin Durant, LeBron James, Chris Paul and Russell Westbrook all slated to become free agents, next year’s NBA salary cap is going to be an under-the-radar story in what promises to be a free agency frenzy we’ve never seen before.
According to The Vertical’s Shams Charania, the NBA has released its estimates for both the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons. And they are pretty stunning.
Sources: NBA has informed teams of projected salary cap in next two offseasons: $101M for 2018-19, $108M for 2019-20, subject to change.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) September 29, 2017
This means that the luxury tax level will be north of $121 million. Currently, eight teams are paying into the luxury tax right now. Among them, the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors are both $18-plus million over the luxury tax threshold.
Even when Durant opts out of his contract with the Warriors, the team will still be over the salary cap. In terms of being able to retain the reigning NBA Finals MVP, that will simply add to the tax they pay out. The same could be said for Cleveland is it’s able to re-sign James.