Lakers, Knicks Among Teams Facing Salary Cap Restrictions After NBA Trade Deadline
Both the Los Angeles Lakers and New York Knicks are among the teams in either the first or second apron following Thursday's NBA trade deadline, according to ESPN's Bobby Marks, joining the Boston Celtics, Denver Nuggets, Milwaukee Bucks, Minnesota Timberwolves and Phoenix Suns.
As Marks noted, that means those teams "are not allowed to sign a player that is waived and had a pre-existing salary of [more than] $12.8 million."
The main implication is that the seven teams listed can't participate in the buyout market for many of the veterans who may become available, while a number of other teams—like the Miami Heat—are now free to explore those options.
The aforementioned Ben Simmons and Lonnie Walker IV are two players who may be available. Other candidates in the buyout market are generally veterans who were traded to teams who aren't in contention this season and brought them aboard to make the money work or to facilitate deals as a third team, getting money back in return.
Spotrac's Keith Smith listed players like Bruce Brown, Marvin Bagley III, Bojan Bogdanovic, Seth Curry, Reggie Jackson and Cam Reddish, among others, as potential options on the buyout market in the post-trade landscape.
Some players who would have made sense as potential buyout candidates, however, will end up sticking with their new teams:
Most Lakers fans, of course, aren't going to lose sleep on not being major players in the buyout market after the team had a fantastic trade deadline, adding Luka Dončić and Mark Williams. Knicks fans, meanwhile, can be content with the massive offseason the team already had, adding Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns.
For a team like the Suns, on the other hand, being limited in the buyout market is a detriment as they look to bolster what has become a dysfunctional core group. Phoenix did shake things up a bit on Thursday, trading veteran center Jusuf Nurkić and a 2026 first-round selection to the Charlotte Hornets for Cody Martin, Vasilije Micić and a 2026 second-rounder.
Whether it's enough to save what is starting to feel like a sinking ship remains to be seen.
