The NBA is going through a transitional period with one more year until their new television deal kicks in and escalates salaries throughout the entire league. The NBA’s salary cap will eventually hit $92 million and that means the majority of teams will have more money than they know what to do with. General managers will work closely with their capologists in order to maximize the money that they have available and it will be very interesting to see what kind of an impact the changing financial landscape has on the league’s 30 teams. Here is a look at the five NBA teams with the most salary cap space right now.
Philadelphia 76ers
Available Cap Space: $48.66 Million
The 76ers have the most available salary cap space by far but they also have the longest list of needs after spending the past couple of years tanking as part of the most thorough rebuilding process in the history of the four major sports. The result is an impressive cast of young talent including Jahlil Okafor, Nerlens Noel, Joel Embiid and Nik Stauskas, the first-overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft and upwards of $48 million to spend. General manager Bryan Colangelo could not have a better hand heading in to this offseason and it will be very interesting to see what he does. Philadelphia can move one of his talented young big men for a veteran point guard but his could have a tough time with the free agent market since the new television deal doesn’t kick in until next year. The 76ers will likely spend the offseason putting the pieces in place to be significant players in next year’s free agency period where they will have the money and assets to significantly transform their roster in to a team capable of contending for a playoff spot and more.
Brooklyn Nets
Available Cap Space: $28.37 Million
Brooklyn has the second-most cap space and it will be very interesting to see what general manager Sean Marks does with it since he doesn’t have a first round pick or many tangible assets to work with. The Nets are in the early stages of a rebuild and there really isn’t going to be any major pieces available in free agency to speed up the process unless Kevin Durant somehow decides he wants to play in Brooklyn. The more likely scenario is the Nets shopping veterans Brook Lopez and Thaddeus Young with the intention of clearing even more space to be aggressively attack in free agency in the summer of 2017.
Los Angeles Lakers
Available Cap Space: $27.73 Million
Kobe Bryant’s retirement opens up a lot of room for the Lakers under the salary cap with upwards of $27 million to spend this offseason. LA will have some tough decisions to make after striking out on a number of key free agents over the past couple of years and it will be interesting to see if they can acquire any marquee talents this summer. The more likely scenario has the Lakers adding another quality piece at the draft and grooming their young talent in preparation for the 2017 season. LA can add another top pick to pair with D’Angelo Russell and Julius Randle, then hold off until the summer of 2017 to really get aggressive in free agency with the opportunity to become a contender in the Western Conference once again.
Minnesota Timberwolves
Available Cap Space: $23.81 Million
The Timberwolves are in a very interesting situation with back-to-back Rookie of the Year award winners on their roster in Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns and some intriguing talent surrounding them. Ricky Rubio can still break down opposing defenses, Zach LaVine is a human highlight reel and Gorgui Dieng is an underrated defensive contributor off the bench. Minnesota is also about to add another top-five prospect at the draft unless they opt to move the pick in exchange for some veteran help. The addition of Tom Thibodeau as head coach throws another wrinkle in the Timberwolves rebuild and if they could be primed for a major step forward if they can add another couple of key veteran pieces this offseason.
Utah Jazz
Available Cap Space: $22.8 Million
Utah has never been the team to splurge in free agency and that is one reason why they will enter this offseason with upwards of $22 million in available cap space. The Jazz could certainly use some help in terms of additional scorers in their front court but they might not want to tinker too much what they have heading in to this offseason rather than waiting for the summer of 2017. Utah is clearly a team on the rise in the Western Conference and the fact that they have the fifth-most available cap space in the NBA right now makes them an intriguing player to keep an eye on should they decide to become more aggressive this offseason.
