NBA
Maximum Salary Cap Space Projections for 2018-19
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
With July rapidly approaching, several teams will have significant spending power for the 2018-19 season but on a smaller scale than the past two summers.
The NBA’s current salary cap projection for the coming year is $101 million with luxury tax threshold of $123 million.
The exact figures should be released late on June 30, on the eve of the July 1 free agency period.
In most cases, teams cannot sign players to deals until July 6. During the moratorium, verbal agreements are legal but non-binding.
Restricted free agents can sign offer sheets once July begins but the 48-hour matching clock doesn’t start until July 6.
Maximum salaries project to be $25.2 million for players with fewer than seven years of service, $30.3 million for those between seven and nine, and $35.4 million for players with 10 or more years in the league.
The Non-Taxpayer Mid-Level Exception projects to be $8.6 million. Taxpayers will have $5.3 million. The Bi-Annual Exception should be $3.4 million while the Room Exception climbs to $4.4 million.
Minimum salaries range from $831,311 (used for empty roster charges) to $2.4 million.
The following table lists the maximum potential cap room for every team, assuming all options are declined, cap holds are renounced and nearly every non-guaranteed player is waived. Teams with less space than the Mid-Level Exception are considered over the cap:
(Note: Updated as of 6/29/18.)
| Team | Max | Potential Free Agents |
|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Lakers | $68.8 million | Brook Lopez, Kentavious-Caldwell Pope, Channing Frye, Isaiah Thomas, Julius Randle (RFA), Travis Wear, Andrew Ingram; Lakers can get to about $69.5 million by stretching Luol Deng, otherwise $59.70million |
| Chicago Bulls | $36.7 million | Noah Vonleh, Zach LaVine (RFA), Sean Kilpatrick (NG), Paul Zipser (NG), David Nwaba (RFA) |
| Dallas Mavericks | $29.6 million | Dirk Nowitzki (TO), Nerlens Noel, Doug McDermott, Seth Curry, Salah Mejri, Dorian Finney-Smith (NG), Yogi Ferrell (RFA), Maxi Kleber (NG), Kyle Collinsworth (NG), Aaron Harrison |
| Indiana Pacers | $28.9 million | Darren Collison (PG), Al Jefferson (PG), Lance Stephenson, Glenn Robinson III, Joseph Young, Ike Anigbogu (PG), Alex Poythress (NG) |
| Philadelphia 76ers | $26.1 million | J.J. Redick, Amir Johnson, Marco Belinelli, Ersan Ilyasova |
| Atlanta Hawks | $24.0 million | Malcolm Delaney, Antonius Cleveland (NG), Jaylen Morris (NG), Damion Lee |
| Brooklyn Nets | $23 million+ | Jahlil Okafor, Nik Stauskas, Dante Cunningham, Quincy Acy, Joe Harris, Spencer Dinwiddie (NG), Isaiah Whitehead (NG) — Pending Dwight Howard trade and buyout, if stretched the Nets can get well under the cap. They’re not significant under the cap if they don’t stretch Howard. |
| Utah Jazz | $20.5 million | Derrick Favors, Thabo Sefolosha (NG), Dante Exum (RFA), Jonas Jerebko (NG), Ekpe Udoh (NG), Raul Neto (RFA), Royce O’Neale (NG), David Stockton (NG) |
| Sacramento Kings | $18.7 million | Vince Carter, Bruno Caboclo, Nigel Hayes (NG) |
| Phoenix Suns | $18.5 million | Alan Williams (NG), Alex Len, Elfrid Payton, Davon Reed (PG), Shaquille Harrison (NG) |
| Houston Rockets | $17.8 million | Chris Paul, Trevor Ariza, Tarik Black, Clint Capela (RFA), Luc Mbah a Moute, Gerald Green, Zhou Qi (NG), Joe Johnson, Aaron Jackson |
| Los Angeles Clippers | $15.6 million | DeAndre Jordan, Avery Bradley, Milos Teodosic (PG), Patrick Beverley |
| Orlando Magic | $15.0 million | Aaron Gordon (RFA), Mario Hezonja, Arron Afflalo, Marreese Speights, Rodney Purvis (NG) |
| Boston Celtics | $0 | Greg Monroe, Marcus Smart (RFA), Aron Baynes, Shane Larkin, Semi Ojeleye (PG), Abdel Nader (PG), Daniel Theis (NG), Jonathan Gibson |
| Charlotte Hornets | $0 | Michael Carter-Williams, Julyan Stone, Treveon Graham |
| Cleveland Cavaliers | $0 | LeBron James, Jose Calderon, Jeff Green, Okaro White (NG), Kendrick Perkins (NG) |
| Denver Nuggets | $0 | Wilson Chandler, Devin Harris, Will Barton, Nikola Jokic (RFA), Richard Jefferson |
| Detroit Pistons | $0 | Anthony Tolliver, James Ennis, Reggie Bullock (NG), Eric Moreland (NG), Jameer Nelson, Dwight Buycks (NG) |
| Golden State Warriors | $0 | Kevin Durant, Nick Young, Zaza Pachulia, David West, JaVale McGee, Kevon Looney, Pat McCaw (RFA) |
| Memphis Grizzlies | $0 | Tyreke Evans, Mario Chalmers, Wayne Selden (PG), Andrew Harrison (NG) |
| Miami HEAT | $0 | Wayne Ellington, Dwyane Wade, Luke Babbitt, Udonis Haslem, Jordan Mickey |
| Milwaukee Bucks | $0 | Jabari Parker (RFA), Tyler Zeller (NG), Jason Terry, Malcolm Brogdon (NG), Shabazz Muhammad, Brandon Jennings (NG) |
| Minnesota Timberwolves | $0 | Jamal Crawford, Nemanja Bjelica (RFA), Aaron Brooks, Marcus Georges-Hunt, Derrick Rose, Amile Jefferson |
| New Orleans Pelicans | $0 | DeMarcus Cousins, Rajon Rondo, Darius Miller (NG), Ian Clark, Cheick Diallo (PG), Emeka Okafor (NG), DeAndre Liggins (NG), Jordan Crawford |
| New York Knicks | $0 | Michael Beasley, Jarrett Jack, Trey Burke (NG), Troy Williams (NG) |
| Oklahoma City Thunder | $0 | Carmelo Anthony, Paul George, Jerami Grant, Josh Huestis, Raymond Felton, Nick Collison, Corey Brewer |
| Portland Trail Blazers | $0 | Ed Davis, Jusuf Nurkic (RFA), Shabazz Napier, Pat Connaughton, Jake Layman (NG), Wade Baldwin (NG), Georgios Papagiannis (NG) |
| San Antonio Spurs | $0 | Tony Parker, Rudy Gay, Kyle Anderson (RFA), Joffrey Lauvergne, Davis Bertans (RFA), Bryn Forbes (RFA), Brandon Paul (NG) |
| Toronto Raptors | $0 | Lucas Nogueira, Fred VanVleet (RFA), Alfonzo McKinnie (NG), Lorenzo Brown |
| Washington Wizards | $0 | Tim Frazier, Mike Scott, Chris McCullough, Ramon Sessions, Ty Lawson |
Legend: PO = Player Option, TO = Team Option, ETO = Early Termination Option, NG = Non-Guaranteed, PG = Partially-Guaranteed, RFA = Restricted Free Agent
