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The NBA Salary Cap dictates what team's would be able to pay free agents which allows them to set budgets and brainstorm on how their roster next season would look like (and their playoff hopes), and while there are projections on how the cap is going to look like, nothing beats the official announcement. After all, there's a precedent for the NBA surprising people with a cap a lot lower than what many expected.
And with just a few hours before free agency started, the NBA finally released the official Salary Cap for the 2018-19 season.
The cap is set at $101.869 million, slightly down from 2017-18 season's $102 million – the second straight year that the cap was lower than projected. The tax level on the other hand, is $123.733 million just a little higher than last year's $122 million.
In addition, per the Collective Bargaining Agreement, salary exceptions are also available which would allow team's over the cap to sign mid-tier free agents – all of which are slightly higher this year.
The Collective Bargaining Agreement provides for three different mid-level exceptions depending on a team’s salary level. The non-taxpayer mid-level for the 2018-19 season is $8.641 million, the taxpayer mid-level is $5.337 million, and the mid-level for a team with room under the Salary Cap is $4.449 million.
All in all, the salary cap was right around the same area where many hoped to be, so none of the free agency plans of the team's that saved up is ruined. The prediction that this year's market is going to be cash-strapped and tighter compared to the spending sprees of previous offseasons however, is indeed a reality – and many expect free agents to agree rather quickly as opposed to waiting for a better deal.
