Power Ranking Every NBA Franchise by Future Salary Cap Flexibility

Everything in the NBA boils down to dollars and cents.

Translation: The NBA can be complicated.

Championship teams are built around stars. Stars—whether drafted, acquired through trade or signed via free agency—eventually command money. And depending upon the stage of a team's development and their financial intelligence, money isn't always available.

But sometimes it is, and that's why you can discern a great deal about a franchise's current state just by analyzing their cap space.

Some organizations are paying handsomely for a roster built to win now, while others are closing their wallets as they set both eyes on a future spending spree. And then there's the ones who are caught somewhere in the middle.

So, which NBA teams have mortgaged their future at the prospect of winning now, and which squads are primed to make a forthcoming splash?

The answer lies in the numbers.

Before We Get Started...

We've all paid our taxes, so we know how much of a headache finances can become.

But that's why I'm here, why you're here—because we are going to make it easier to understand. And in order to do that, especially within cap space-related rankings, there are a few guidelines we need to follow to ensure no one team is given an unnecessary advantage.

1) We will look solely at the next three seasons worth of cap space (2012-13, 2013-14, 2014-15).

2) Salaries will be determined by how much money each team has tied up in guaranteed contracts; team options, non-guaranteed deals, etc. will not count toward their future cap, because, well, such deals are flexible and provide room to maneuver.

3) That said, since next season is almost upon us and the offseason has all but died down, we will provide an All-Inclusive salary list, which takes into account every single contract on a team's docket. Essentially this should be the highest total of the three because every roster is—or almost is—finalized by this point.

4) We will then take the average of every team's three-years worth of salaries, and rank them accordingly.

5) Why? Because this helps ensure that teams like the Lakers who have no flexibility now, and a ton down the road for one year, are not solely judged on a single season's worth of cap space; we want an efficient outlook on what each team is up against financially moving forward, and such a method should prove to provide just that.

Now, let's get started. 

30. Brooklyn Nets

2012-13 Player Salary Total (All-Inclusive): $81,802,948

2013-14 Player Salary Total (Guaranteed): $83,235,068

2014-15 Player Salary Total (Guaranteed): $73,896,955

Yearly Payroll Average: $79,644,990

The Nets are betting big on now.

Building around Deron Williams has been the plan for nearly two years, so once he hit free agency, Brooklyn went to work.

Not only did Mikihail Prokhorov open his checkbook, but he showed a willingness to break open his piggy bank for the densely proportioned luxury tax the Nets will soon begin paying.

As necessary as such a course of action may have seemed, though, Brooklyn's costly docket could prove too, well, costly in the near future.

If Brook Lopez can't find a way to stay healthy, and if Gerald Wallace and Joe Johnson begin to taper off as they begin their days on the wrong side of 30, Williams may find himself alone. And his team simply won't have the flexibility to do anything about it.

Breakdown: Nets mortgaged their future on immediate title aspirations; it's win now, or go home for quite some time.

29. Oklahoma City Thunder

2012-13 Player Salary Total (All-Inclusive): $67,063,298

2013-14 Player Salary Total (Guaranteed): $61,322,158

2014-15 Player Salary Total (Guaranteed): $58,861,031

Yearly Payroll Average: $62,415,496

The Thunder's financial outlook goes against every argument that led to the lockout's inception—a small market team spending money. A lot of money.

Oklahoma City's finances are also a prime example of how building a team through the draft will ultimately become expensive.

This team has little to no financial flexibility for the next two summers—three if you include this one—and that holds true even if James Harden is showed the door.

Yes, that's correct, the Thunder's payroll tallies after this season are not including Harden's qualifying offer or potential salary they'd have to give him.

Wow. Just wow.

Breakdown: Thunder are lucky they're already championship contenders, because they sure as hell aren't financially flexible.

28. Chicago Bulls

2012-13 Player Salary Total (All-Inclusive): $73,548,450

2013-14 Player Salary Total (Guaranteed): $64,441,463

2014-15 Player Salary Total (Guaranteed): $47,862,934

Yearly Payroll Average: $61,950,949

The Bulls are on the verge of becoming the poster-team for a powerhouse gone awry.

Healthy, Chicago is built to win now. However, with Derrick Rose on the sidelines and Carlos Boozer, Luol Deng and Joakim Noah being perpetual injury risks, the Bulls are hardly at full-strength.

And should Chicago be unable to rehabilitate its way to a clean bill of health across the board, it lacks the financial means to turn it around without finding additional parties to pawn massive contracts off on.

So, barring any roster shattering trades that bring in some expiring deals, the Bulls roster will be forced to remain relatively constant for the next few years.

Breakdown: Bulls mortgaged their future for an uncertain present.

27. New York Knicks

2012-13 Player Salary Total (All-Inclusive): $$79,827,520

2013-14 Player Salary Total (Guaranteed):  $73,048,750 

2014-15 Player Salary Total (Guaranteed): $24,926,527

Yearly Payroll Average: $59,267,599

The only thing keeping the Knicks from being more inflexible than they currently are is the termination options of Carmelo Anthony's and Amar'e Stoudemire's contracts in 2014.

And yet, that cannot even come as too much of a comfort, because the odds of either of those players walking away from more than $20 million a year is absurd.

Case and point: The Knicks team you see now, is the one you're going to see for a few years, unless they opt to blow it up to preserve future cap space.

Breakdown: Right now, though, future cap space is almost non-existent.

26. Los Angeles Lakers

2012-13 Player Salary Total (All-Inclusive): $99,981,237

2013-14 Player Salary Total (Guaranteed): $68,103,755

2014-15 Player Salary Total (Guaranteed): $9,701,00

Yearly Payroll Average: $59,261,997

Mitch Kupchak is a cap-wielding genius. No seriously, he is.

Despite boasting the highest payroll in the NBA, the Lakers are far from one of the least financially flexible teams moving forward.

Los Angeles has no chance of being players in free agency next season—outside of re-signing Dwight Howard—but as of right now, Steve Nash is the only player under contract in 2014. No player or team options, no non-guaranteed contracts, no nothing—just Nash.

The Lakers obviously hope that changes with regard to Howard and would most likely embrace the opportunity to re-sign Kobe Bryant at as well, but still, it's pretty amazing to see more than $90 million come off the books in two years.

Breakdown: Lakers future financial flexibility is in the hands of Bryant and Howard beginning next summer.  

25. Boston Celtics

2012-13 Player Salary Total (All-Inclusive): $72,533,029

2013-14 Player Salary Total (Guaranteed): $57,965,240

2014-15 Player Salary Total (Guaranteed): $39,709,090

Yearly Payroll Average: $56,735,786

The Celtics were supposed to rebuild after last season, but opted for some swift re-structuring instead.

Doing so has allowed them to compete for a championship now, coupling prolific youth like Rajon Rondo and Avery Bradley with seasoned vets like Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett.

That said, Boston has limited itself down the road. The team isn't under the cap again until 2014-15, and must bank on a string of aging stars to keep it together for the next three years, lest they become a less than mediocre team with a powerhouse-esque payroll.

Breakdown: Celtics mortgaged their future to win now, even if that "now" only applies to one season.

24. Memphis Grizzlies

2012-13 Player Salary Total (All-Inclusive): $74,915,772

2013-14 Player Salary Total (Guaranteed): $62,941,179

2014-15 Player Salary Total (Guaranteed): $24,523,904

Yearly Payroll Average: $54,126,952

And who ever said small markets don't spend big money?

The Grizzlies have a fearfully deep team that, in theory, should carry them deep into the playoffs for seasons to come. But it's going to cost them.

Memphis has the summer of 2014 to look forward to, but even then it's the big whigs who are the only remaining contracts—provided they exercise their player options.

At this point, barring a trade of epic financial relief, the Grizzlies' cap situation is out of their hands; everything they have, they've invested in winning now.

Breakdown: Grizzlies are all-in now and will worry about later, later.

23. Miami Heat

2012-13 Player Salary Total (All-Inclusive): $82,653,251

2013-14 Player Salary Total (Guaranteed): $74,418,000

2014-15 Player Salary Total (Guaranteed): $0

Yearly Payroll Average: $52,357,084

This is where I'll be yelled at for the flaws in my logic, but it must be kept in mind, not a single Heat player is currently under a guaranteed contract in 2014.

The Big Three all have early termination options, three others have player options and Miami has a team option on Norris Cole.

So, essentially, the Heat' cap flexibility hinges on the Big Three's decision part two. You have to assume they won't terminate their contracts, but this is the NBA, so hey you never know.

What's truly staggering about this, though, is that even with an entire year's salary docket reading zero for now, the Heat weren't even able crack the top half of the rankings.

And that should show you just how financially strapped they are now and in the immediate future.

Breakdown: Don't let 2014 fool you and let the ranking speak for itself, because Miami's limited financial future is written in stone. 

22. Indiana Pacers

2012-13 Player Salary Total (All-Inclusive): $65,350,015

2013-14 Player Salary Total (Guaranteed): $45,716,024

2014-15 Player Salary Total (Guaranteed): $30,398,938

Yearly Payroll Average: $47,154,992

The Pacers went on a spending spree this summer and it's going to cost them down the road.

It's not that Indiana's average salary is too high collectively, it's that a majority of the money they're paying is going directly to Roy Hibbert, Danny Granger and yes, George Hill.

Sure, the Pacers look to be under the cap next season, but that's if they show David West the door. Well, then there's always the summer of 2014, right? Correct, if they opt not to re-sign Paul George to a lucrative extension.

The average here certainly doesn't lie; Indiana is not only financially restricted this season but for a few to come as well.

Breakdown: Damn you, George Hill. 

21. Portland Trail Blazers

2012-13 Player Salary Total (All-Inclusive): $56,786,970

2013-14 Player Salary Total (Guaranteed): $44,506,635

2014-15 Player Salary Total (Guaranteed): $39,150,652

Yearly Payroll Average: $46,814,752

Portland has some serious work to do, and depending on how the wind blows, they may need to hope the solutions to their problems can be found in-house.

By all means, the Blazers have some substantial cap room forthcoming, but not the amount that can re-invent a team the way they need to be. 

Portland needs at least one more prolific piece to even be considered a contender. Luckily, they have the money to spend on that one player. But that's it.

So, while the Blazers will have the space necessary to go ahead and ink a star-caliber athlete to a sizable contract, filling out the rest of the roster could prove to be a problem.

Breakdown: Blazers are far from damned, but lightyears away from unimpeded financial flexibility.

20. Los Angeles Clippers

2012-13 Player Salary Total (All-Inclusive): $69,012,215

2013-14 Player Salary Total (Guaranteed): $39,925,365

2014-15 Player Salary Total (Guaranteed): $26,134,029

Yearly Payroll Average: $45,023,870

If the Clippers manage to retain Chris Paul next summer, color this slide severely misleading.

Los Angeles has just under $40 million committed to in guaranteed contracts next summer, a modest number to say the least. That too can be misleading, though, because it's committed to just five players.

However, that would give the Clippers roughly $18-$20 million to fill out the rest of their roster.

But again, that flexibility would disappear with the retention of Paul.

Breakdown: Clippers must eventually choose between financial flexibility or Paul; currently stable financially on paper.

19. Denver Nuggets

2012-13 Player Salary Total (All-Inclusive): $63,496,618

2013-14 Player Salary Total (Guaranteed): $38,413,809

2014-15 Player Salary Total (Guaranteed): $31,088,122

Yearly Payroll Average: $44,332,916

It's good to be the Nuggets.

Sure, Denver's payroll over next season poses some financial implications should they opt to get involved in another promising trade scenario, but the fact is, the team is built to win both now and later.

The Nuggets have plenty of young up-and-coming talent to pair with a handful of proven veterans. But that's not the best part.

The best part is Denver has a wealth of flexibility moving forward, courtesy of a slew of non-guaranteed deals, like qualifying offers.

Should the team choose, it could certainly invest in its current core, yet if it isn't working out, the Nuggets have the freedom to roam elsewhere.

Not bad Denver, not bad.

Breakdown: Nuggets have plenty talent to win now, to go along with a bevy of options to explore later.

18. Orlando Magic

2012-13 Player Salary Total (All-Inclusive): $63,210,888

2013-14 Player Salary Total (Guaranteed): $36,567,603

2014-15 Player Salary Total (Guaranteed): $22,154,900

Yearly Payroll Average: $40,644,464

After dealing Dwight Howard, you'd expect the Magic to have much more financial flexibility moving forward than they actually do, the key word there being "expect."

Orlando will undoubtedly have some money to spend next summer, but after picking up options and what not, it won't be too much.

And that's ludicrous.

Right now, the Magic should be preparing for a summer of 2013 spending spree. Instead, though, they'll have to wait until 2014.

And that's only if they're responsible with their remaining funds until then.

Breakdown: Magic have some flexibility, but not nearly enough.

17. New Orleans Hornets

2012-13 Player Salary Total (All-Inclusive): $62,994,507

2013-14 Player Salary Total (Guaranteed): $31,307,144

2014-15 Player Salary Total (Guaranteed): $23,390,458

Yearly Payroll Average: $39,230,703

The Hornets spent some serious cash this summer, and that's okay, because they've got plenty to spend next sumer and/or the summer after as well.

Provided New Orleans wasn't planning on getting its feet wet in a blockbuster deal that required the team to take back a large sum of contracts, flexible is the only way to describe it's cap situation.

Though the Hornets invested big money in Eric Gordon and ryan Anderson, two of their most pivotal pieces moving forward—Anthony Davis and Austin Rivers—are under the bargain-bin deals known as rookie contracts.

Factor in the wealth of team options and non-guaranteed contracts on their hands, and the Hornets have the ability to go on multiple spending sprees the next two years. Or not. It's up to them.

Breakdown: Hornets have acrobatic-esque cap flexibility.

16. Golden State Warriors

2012-13 Player Salary Total (All-Inclusive): $71,55,896

2013-14 Player Salary Total (Guaranteed): $32,844,340

2014-15 Player Salary Total (Guaranteed): $15,262,000

Yearly Payroll Average: $39,754,108

The Warriors had no cap room to work with this summer, but more financially flexible days are just around the corner.

Golden State cuts nearly $40 million in guaranteed salary off their books by next summer, and even if—or rather when—that is ruined by Andris Biedrins and Richard Jefferson picking up their player options, the Warriors have the ability to have a summer to remember in 2014.

Though some of the Warriors money will most likely be tied up in Stephen Curry at that point, only he and David Lee are slated to be under contracts the team would have no control over.

Can you say spending spree?

Joe Lacob sure can. Let's just hope he doesn't plan on re-signing Biedrins.

Breakdown: Warriors will have ability to be aggressively active in free agency very soon.

15. San Antonio Spurs

2012-13 Player Salary Total (All-Inclusive): $69,157,865

2013-14 Player Salary Total (Guaranteed): $29,086,946

2014-15 Player Salary Total (Guaranteed): $7,525,000

Yearly Payroll Average: $39,230,703

The Spurs are paying big money to their Big Three this season, and it shows in their astronomical salary bill.

But that's not going to last much longer.

Not only is Manu Ginobili a free agent after this season, but San Antonio has under $30 million in guaranteed money committed to its roster next summer.

Assuming the salary cap stays the same, the Spurs have effectively $28 million they can spend on picking up options and available free agents.

So, while there may not have been much movement on San Antonio's part this offseason, that's likely to change in the future.

Breakdown: Spurs have future financial flexibility that allows them to explore options outside their own roster.

14. Minnesota Timberwolves

2012-13 Player Salary Total (All-Inclusive): $60,360,017

2013-14 Player Salary Total (Guaranteed): $33,064,699

2014-15 Player Salary Total (Guaranteed): 23,520,618

Yearly Payroll Average: $38,981,778

The Timberwolves went to work this offseason, spending the type of money that put them over the salary cap. But that won't last long.

Minnesota's guaranteed dollar commitment drops by nearly $27 million next season and could be as low as $10 million less by the following summer.

So, while the Timberwolves may not have solved their Kevin Love problem with the additions of Andrei Kirilenko and Brandon Roy this summer, they have a handful of summers left to change his mind, along with the means to actually do so.

Breakdown: Timberwolves have plenty of financial breathing room on the way.

13. Sacramento Kings

2012-13 Player Salary Total (All-Inclusive): $57,924,381

2013-14 Player Salary Total (Guaranteed): $33,625,690

2014-15 Player Salary Total (Guaranteed): $24,571,250

Yearly Payroll Average: $38,707,107

The Kings are in a position to do some serious damage after this season.

Whether that damage refers to a self-inflicted frenzy of horrible additions or actual acquisitions that better the organization remains to be seen.

Sacramento is essentially in control of their financial future moving forward. Next summer, and the one after, the docket is packed with team options and qualifying offers the Kings can opt to sidestep.

I mean, not even the Maloofs could screw that type of situation up, right?

Breakdown: Kings have substantial financial flexibility moving forward, provided they engage in responsible spending from hereon out. 

12. Phoenix Suns

2012-13 Player Salary Total (All-Inclusive): $50,649,834

2013-14 Player Salary Total (Guaranteed): $38,391,344

2014-15 Player Salary Total (Guaranteed): $16,618,499

Yearly Payroll Average: $35,219,892

Give the Suns credit for throwing out a few pricey contracts this summer and still coming out the other side with cap room to spare. Both now and later.

For a team that is moving on without it's greatest point guard in franchise history, a substantial amount of cap space in the forthcoming years is imperative. Because while the Suns potentially have the point guard situation solved, they need to plug holes in a number of other areas and subsequently, must maintain the necessary flexibility to do so.

And as of right now, that's exactly what they've set themselves up for.

Breakdown: The Suns wallet may bend, but it's not going to break.

11. Milwaukee Bucks

2012-13 Player Salary Total (All-Inclusive): $61,708,159

2013-14 Player Salary Total (Guaranteed): $21,870,016

2014-15 Player Salary Total (Guaranteed): $19,885,218

Yearly Payroll Average: $34,487,798

Milwaukee's financial flexibility will come at the expense of Monta Ellis and Brandon Jennings, who are almost likely to seek new contracts after this season.

Even so, there's something slightly comforting about conceivably being able to shed $60 million of payroll in one-year.

Sure, it's unlikely the Bucks allow the restricted free agent Jennings out of their clutches, but the option to is always there.

Just as it is with almost every other player on the roster; the Bucks, arguably more than any other team, control their own financial destiny moving forward.

Breakdown: Bucks are on the verge of some serious financial flexibility.

10. Toronto Raptors

2012-13 Player Salary Total (All-Inclusive): $60,245,621

2013-14 Player Salary Total (Guaranteed): $31,493,952

2014-15 Player Salary Total (Guaranteed): $11,250,000

Yearly Payroll Average: $34,329,858

Landry Fields' contract be damned, the Raptors have plenty of maneuvering room on the horizon.

With Jose Calderon's contract set to come off the books and Toronto in possession of a few team options, Bryan Colangelo is going to have a wealth of financially flexibility thrown his way over the next couple of years.

Will the Raptors use it to chase a superstar? Will they spend it conservatively? Will they give Fields a raise?

Who knows? What matters is, there will be money available and those types of decisions will be made by the team, and the team alone.

Breakdown: Raptors have an opportunity to put the Steve Nash nightmare behind them in the not-so-distant future.

9. Atlanta Hawks

2012-13 Player Salary Total (All-Inclusive): $65,551,227

2013-14 Player Salary Total (Guaranteed): $18,483,800

2014-15 Player Salary Total (Guaranteed): $17,450,000

Yearly Payroll Average: $33,828,342

After ridding themselves of Joe Johnson's obscene contract, the Hawks have set themselves up quite nicely down the road.

Atlanta is more than $6 million over the salary cap this year, but the team clears a boatload of dollar signs off its books entering next summer; over the next three seasons, the Hawks, on average, are more than $20 million under the cap.

And yet, at the same time, Atlanta is one of those teams caught in the middle. They're clearly gearing up for a promising future, but it has the talent to win now.

Just not a championship right now.

Breakdown: One eye on the future with the other focused on understated relevancy now.

8. Philadelphia 76ers

2012-13 Player Salary Total (All-Inclusive): $63,341,044

2013-14 Player Salary Total (Guaranteed): $26,465,685

2014-15 Player Salary Total (Guaranteed): $9,410,869

Yearly Payroll Average: $33,072,533

The Sixers will gladly give up their impressive financial flexibility if it means re-signing Andrew Bynum.

That said, should he opt to take his talents elsewhere after this season, Philadelphia goes from a team with little to no maneuverability, to a team with the luxury of options.

As it stands now, the Sixers will have around $30 million of financial flexibility. This, of course could be used on re-signing Bynum, extending Jrue Holiday and picking up Evan Turner's option.

Or, it could be used to take the team in a different direction.

The choice is theirs.

Breakdown: Sixers will be brimming with financial flexibility heading into next summer.

7. Detroit Pistons

2012-13 Player Salary Total (All-Inclusive): $67,725,875

2013-14 Player Salary Total (Guaranteed): $21,532,227

2014-15 Player Salary Total (Guaranteed): $8,797,865

Yearly Payroll Average: $32,685,322

Once the Pistons finish out the season, the rebuilding can officially begin.

Sure Charlie Villanueva may disrupt the flow of their cap space by picking up his player option, but Detroit will have plenty of room to spare by that point.

Outside of Villanueva, the Pistons have five players who are at their mercy.

Subsequently, this can be a team with a few returning faces and an ample amount of cap space, or a roster in need of filling with an obnoxious amount of cap space.

Either way, Detroit can be flexible in both its planning, and its spending.

Breakdown: Bring on the future free agents.

6. Houston Rockets

2012-13 Player Salary Total (All-Inclusive): $56,723,600

2013-14 Player Salary Total (Guaranteed): $24,154,492

2014-15 Player Salary Total (Guaranteed): $16,749,292

Yearly Payroll Average: $32,542,461

Daryl Morey may believe that the Rockets have what it takes to make some noise now, but he is sorely mistaken.

That said, with the ability to shed a massive amount of payroll over the next couple years, Houston has placed itself in a position of attack for the future.

The Rockets are void of almost any guaranteed deals after this season, leaving them free to pursue any other avenues of potential success they want.

So, while their offseason antics essentially killed any chance they had at obtaining Dwight Howard, they've set themselves up quite nicely for offseasons to come.

Breakdown: It's all about the future in Houston.

5. Charlotte Bobcats

2012-13 Player Salary Total (All-Inclusive): $56,853,129

2013-14 Player Salary Total (Guaranteed): $21,342,927

2014-15 Player Salary Total (Guaranteed): $11,438,430

Yearly Payroll Average: $29,878,162

While the Bobcats' payroll certainly could suggest they're gearing up to at least remain relevant now, such a notion could not be further from the truth.

Charlotte was—and remains—under the cap heading into next season, but the team didn't have enough room to make a major offseason splash.

That all changes starting next summer, when the Bobcats will have plenty of money to burn. And by then, they should know what they have in their young prospects and what holes need to be plugged.

Subsequently, it is by then that we will no whether or not this grind-it-out rebuilding blueprint holds any merit at all.

Breakdown: Bobcats planning for future, hoping a steady dose of embarrassment pays off down the road.

4. Dallas Mavericks

2012-13 Player Salary Total (All-Inclusive): $60,165,513

2013-14 Player Salary Total (Guaranteed): $26,718,653

2014-15 Player Salary Total (Guaranteed): $0

Yearly Payroll Average: $28,961,389

Of the four players that count against the Mavericks payroll in two years, all of them can be shown the door, courtesy of a series of team options.

So, effectively, Dallas could actually be starting with a clean slate by the time Dirk Nowitzki is ready to consider hanging it up.

And that's not a bad place to be at, especially considering the team is nowhere near the luxury tax line in each of the next two seasons, yet possesses enough talent to contend for a playoff spot.

Breakdown: Mavericks can win now, but are built to deconstruct in a way that will help them win even more later.

3. Washington Wizards

2012-13 Player Salary Total (All-Inclusive): $55,405,413

2013-14 Player Salary Total (Guaranteed): $17,319,280

2014-15 Player Salary Total (Guaranteed): $13,000,000

Yearly Payroll Average: $28,574,897

On paper, the Wizards have a plethora of financial flexibility after this season. In theory, though, they don't.

Washington will be ready and willing to pick up John Wall's option or negotiate an extension with him next summer, and the team's cap space goes south if both Trevor Ariza and Emeka Okafor decide to pick up their player options.

That said, the Wizards have less than $20 million in guaranteed commitments heading into next summer. And that's not a bad place to be, especially the year after, when both Ariza and Okafor are guaranteed to be gone.

Breakdown: Wizards will soon have flexibility necessary to pair Wall with more than just Bradley Beal.

2. Utah Jazz

2012-13 Player Salary Total (All-Inclusive): $66,596,786

2013-14 Player Salary Total (Guaranteed): $1,660,27

2014-15 Player Salary Total (Guaranteed): $1,794,871

Yearly Payroll Average: $23,350,638

To answer your question, yes, this is the same team that most likely won't want to pony up any more than $25 million over three years for Paul Millsap next summer.

Utah has made a substantial investment in this year's roster, but come next summer, and the one after, they have the potential to have more cap room than certain team's entire salary bill will wind up being.

Incredible?

Yes and no. The Jazz have been a stingy bunch the past couple of years—see Deron Williams in addition to Millsap—but by all indications, such penny-pinching seems like it's about to pay off.

Breakdown: Jazz have 99 problems but future cap flexibility ain't one.

1. Cleveland Cavaliers

2012-13 Player Salary Total (All-Inclusive): 46,885,575

2013-14 Player Salary Total (Guaranteed): $14,564,044

2014-15 Player Salary Total (Guaranteed): $4,000,000

Yearly Payroll Average: $21,816,540

After this season, the Cavaliers will be a wealth of flexibility.

Cleveland can either opt to make a major splash next summer, or an even bigger one after that, because, if the Cavs play their cards right, they have just $4 million in guaranteed salaries committed to their roster heading into the 2014-15 campaign.

That's a staggering number, and one, that combined with next offseason's space leaves them free to build their team in any way they see fit.

Case and point: Operating within the confines of the salary cap won't be a problem for Cleveland soon enough.

Breakdown: Cavaliers are all about tomorrow.

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