Daryl Morey’s tweet (which supported Hong Kong protesters who are trying to maintain and expand their freedoms) and the resulting fallout in China sparked fear throughout the NBA about lost revenue.
So in light of that, this reduction from the previous 2020-21 salary-cap ($116 million) and luxury-tax ($141 million) projection isn’t so bad.
Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN:
The NBA has informed teams of projected 2020-2021 salary cap: $115M, league source tells ESPN. Original projection was $116M. That is still an increase from $109.1M in 2019-20.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 30, 2020
The luxury tax projection will be $139M, per sources. https://t.co/3jBS3llJqG
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 30, 2020
For perspective, the current salary cap is $109,140,000, and the luxury-tax line is $132,627,000. So, revenue is still increasing – just not as much as previously expected.
This slightly reduces flexibility for teams expected to have cap room this summer – primarily the Knicks, Hawks, Grizzlies, Cavaliers and Hornets. But in a weak free-agent class, teams won’t fret if their max-level cap space gets pinched.
Teams in luxury-tax range also face a crunch. This could prove costly for the Warriors, Nets, Clippers and 76ers.
The players most directly affected are those who signed max extensions that kick in next season – Ben Simmons, Jamal Murray and Pascal Siakam. However, this is a good time to realize the scope of this on team building. The projection for Simmons’ and Murray’s five-year deals now falls from $168 million to $167 million.