Since the NBA's new TV deal had gone into effect, there was a sense around the league it would equate to big contracts being handed out in free agency.

However, that has wasn't quite the case this year with less big contracts being agreed upon in free agency due to the league salary cap not rising like it had been expected. In a recent piece by Tim McMahon and Bobby Marks of ESPN, one league executive believes this could equate to some tight spending next summer.

“The real story is the nuclear winter for free agents coming next year,” one team executive with authority to make personnel decisions told ESPN. “Teams planned the last two summers for the cap to be much higher. The fact that it went way down from the projections crushed teams.”

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This is only further fueled by the early projections that heading into the 2018-19 season there will be only nine teams with salary cap space and possibly 10 teams that will pay the luxury tax. Obviously, much could change from now until next offseason, but it's not an encouraging sign.

What makes this interesting is that there could be a plethora of talent on the open market ranging from LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Paul George, DeMarcus Cousins, Carmelo Anthony, and Chris Paul just to name a few.

All of this has the potential to shape up to become the most talked about and drama-filled summers that the league will ever see. Only time will tell if that will indeed be the case next offseason.