The salary cap and luxury tax for the 2020-21 NBA season will remain at $109.1 million and $132.7 million, respectively. This development confirms forecasts that it will either stay put or decline due to the losses brought about by the coronavirus pandemic.

Per Tim Bontemps of ESPN, the salary cap will remain untouched from last season. For the following seasons, the cap and tax will increase by three to 10 percent.

In addition, there will be a reduction in the luxury tax bill for teams at the end of the season.

This is the first time since the 2012-13 season that the salary cap and luxury tax remained the same from the previous season. To recall, the salary cap and luxury tax were locked at $58 million and $70.3 million for three straight seasons from 2010 to 2013. A lockout occurred in 2011 due to a failed agreement between team owners and players.

Many expected the cap and tax to either freeze or decline given the losses brought about by the pandemic coupled with the NBA’s dropping ratings. The effect for players is pretty simple: if the cap remains the same or declines, it would be illogical for them to head on to a dampened free-agent market in search of a contract.

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Given this, fans should not expect an offseason filled with signings and players heading to the free agency market. There will be several player movements, but not a lot as compared to previous summers. Also, teams won’t likely offer lucrative contracts to role players as we saw in 2016 where the cap jumped from $70 million to $94.1 million.

Some of the big-name who will become free agents in the offseason are Anthony Davis, Goran Dragic, Fred VanVleet and Davis Bertans, to name a few. However, Davis is expected to re-sign with the Los Angeles Lakers after his championship stint at the Orlando bubble.

Free agency period is set to begin on November 20, with signings allowed on November 22.