clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

League memo projects $92 million salary cap, $111 luxury tax amounts

Making it rain.

If you buy something from an SB Nation link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement.

T.J. Kirkpatrick/Getty Images

Back in February Zach Lowe reported that teams were using an estimate of $92 million for next season's salary cap instead of the initial $89 million projection. With the summer free agency period rapidly approaching, we now know both the salary cap and luxury tax amounts, per USA Today:

The projected salary cap and luxury tax amounts for the 2016-17 NBA season will be $92 million and $111 million, according to a league memo sent to team executives, and those figures were relayed to USA TODAY Sports by multiple people.

Right now the Knicks are projected to have $68.7 million on the 2016-17 cap, including player options for Arron Afflalo ($8 million) and Derrick Williams ($5.1 million). Assuming they opt out -- and it's like 99% assured that both of them opt out -- the Knicks will be $55.6 million, leaving $36.4 million to play with. The $111-million luxury tax probably won't come into play, unless the Knicks pull off some big trade for a player with full Bird rights. Langston Galloway and Lance Thomas have Early Bird rights, which means the Knicks could go over the cap to sign each player at 175% of the league-average salary.

This article also contained the cap estimates through 2021, but with the Collective Bargaining Agreement opt-out deadline coming Dec. 15 of this year, we shouldn't pay too much attention to any cap numbers beyond this summer.