With the draft complete, front offices are turning to free agency and trades, and a new breakdown groups all 30 teams into seven tiers based on spending power and apron exposure, according to the report. For now, only the Brooklyn Nets and Chicago Bulls project to generate more than $30 million in cap space this offseason.
Last offseason, only three teams — the Nets, Memphis Grizzlies and Milwaukee Bucks — used cap room to improve rosters or acquire salary in a trade, a decline tied to rising rookie and veteran extensions under the 2023 CBA, the report notes. Teams must spend at least 90% of the $165 million salary cap by the first day of the regular season; that 90% threshold is $148.5 million. Under that formula, a team such as Chicago, with $111 million in current salary, would need to reach $148.5 million by the last day of the offseason.
If the Bulls fail to reach the floor by opening night, the shortfall would be distributed to their own players and the club would forfeit its share of the projected $8 million end-of-season cash distribution reserved for non-tax-paying teams, the report says. The same analysis also indicates the maximum cap space the Nets would have in the regular season is $16.5 million once adjustments are applied.
A team that spends above the cap still has the $9.4 million midlevel exception to sign or acquire a player after cap space is exhausted. The report also designates cap-space free agents as those expected to command contracts above $15 million and flags when a listed player can opt into a final year on his deal.
The Nets could still have significant summer room even after a trade to acquire Julius Randle, with projected available space as high as $37 million before finalizing that deal on July 6, per the report. Once over the cap, Brooklyn could use an expanded traded-player exception tied to Nic Claxton to complete the Randle move. Last offseason the Nets used cap room to add Michael Porter Jr., Terance Mann and Haywood Highsmith and acquired a 2032 unprotected first from Denver.
Brooklyn’s stated needs include development, consistency and winning habits after finishing 27th in defense, though a 15-game stretch in late November and December saw the Nets rank second in defense and allow the fewest 3s, offensive rebounds and points. Free-agent fits listed for Brooklyn include Keon Ellis, Dean Wade, Peyton Watson, Tobias Harris, John Collins, Rui Hachimura and Luke Kennard, among others. Chicago’s projected room is listed at $31 million.
