Report: $90 million is nothing; NBA salary cap to climb even higher
The most important off-court NBA story in years just got even more interesting. Some teams now expect the league's salary cap to soar as high as $92 million this summer (via ESPN).
Howard is at the epicenter of all these competing trends. Houston has been making calls on him for two weeks, but the Rockets have found little interest so far, per several league sources. Howard is 30, declining and about to enter free agency as the cap spikes to around $92 million -- the new estimate lots of teams are using after the league initially projected an $89 million ceiling for next season.
That's about $2-3 million more than previous estimates, and would give teams even more spending money as they approach what will surely be the most lucrative offseason in NBA history.
What does this mean? Maximum contracts will automatically increase (since they're tied in as a percentage of the cap), but teams—like the Golden State Warriors—will have more money to spend around the edges, should they go after a big name like Kevin Durant.
It also speaks to the general financial prosperity the league continues to enjoy. Role players who would've only earned, say, $5 million annually two years ago will be up for deals that could triple that number. In short, this is good news for just about every player who's set to hit free agency this summer. Their luck could not be better.