NBA free agency will begin Monday, and as always, there are teams better situated to make moves than others.
The league’s projected cap entering the 2021-22 season is expected to be $112,414,200, a 3 percent increase from last year’s cap. That’s likely the number teams will have to work off when NBA free agency begins Monday at 6 p.m. ET.
Spotrac contributor and NBA reporter Keith Smith offered insight on which teams have the most space following the 2021 NBA Draft last week. Smith also provided an update Sunday, too:
1. New York Knicks — $53.8 million
2. San Antonio Spurs — $48.9 million
3. Dallas Mavericks — $33.5 million
4. Oklahoma City Thunder — $30.9 million
5. Toronto Raptors — $23.1 million
6. Miami Heat — $20.5 million
7. Detroit Pistons — $16.9 million
8. Charlotte Hornets — $8.8 million
Here are a few takeaways:
— Smith had noted the New Orleans Pelicans could have as much as $36.6 million in cap space if they “wipe the books clean,” but that’s yet to be determined as they extended qualifying offers to both Lonzo Ball and Josh Hart. By doing so, Ball and Hart become restricted free agents, but there’s belief Ball could land with the Chicago Bulls, according to multiple reports.
— The Knicks will have a lot of flexibility with Julius Randle the only player under contract set to make more than $10 million next season, per Spotrac. Randle, who was named an NBA All-Star during the 2020-21 season, is under contract for a $19.8 million base salary which is only partially guaranteed.
— Kristaps Porzingis is under contract for $31.7 million this season, but the Mavericks still have space to build around superstar Luka Doncic, who currently is under contract for just $10 million before his upcoming extension.
— Smith explained how the Hornets cap situation changed at the draft, given the fact they traded for veteran Mason Plumlee and also lost some room with a separate draft-day trade with the Knicks.
— The Heat reportedly picked up a $19.4 million team option on veteran guard Goran Dragic and declined one on Andre Iguodala. Dragic’s situation, however, doesn’t mean he will necessarily remain in Miami as the Heat have tried to position themselves as a front-runner for a sign-and-trade for Kyle Lowry, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Miami, as Wojnarowski explained, doesn’t have salary cap space to sign Lowry outright.
— The Boston Celtics, specifically, after gaining some financial flexibility with their offseason trade of Kemba Walker could gain a bit more following a reported trade of Tristan Thompson. President of basketball operations Brad Stevens has been busy in recent days, although it seems the Celtics’ hopes of re-signing Evan Fournier are losing steam.
