NBA Agent Says 2025 Free Agents Are 'F--ked' Because Teams Lack Salary-Cap Space

Cap restrictions could cause issues for NBA free agents looking for new contracts ahead of Year 2 of the second luxury tax-apron.

As one NBA agent told ESPN's Brian Windhorst: "These free agents are f--ked."

The list of players potentially set to hit free agency this summer includes LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and James Harden, who all currently hold player options for the 2025-26 season.

Referring to the Brooklyn Nets, the agent told Windhorst that "there's only one team that has a lot of cap space, and they may want to do a slower rebuild and aren't looking to spend it all now."

"I've never seen a free agency where only one team has real cap space in my career," the agent said.

Another agent told Windhorst that they have prepared their clients "for a free-agent recession this summer."

"Next year will be different, the cap will be going up and teams will clean up their books as they deal with the new spending rules," the agent told Windhorst. "So you may have to wait and try again."

The same agent told Windhorst the situation will limit offer-sheet opportunities and give "no leverage" to players set to hit restricted free agency this offseason, a list that includes the Nets' Cam Thomas, Chicago Bulls' Josh Giddey and Golden State Warriors' Jonathan Kuminga.

Thomas, for example, is expected to earn a contract "in the $20 million to $22 million range," per Brian Lewis of the New York Post. Only the Detroit Pistons and New Orleans Pelicans are projected by Spotrac to have enough 2025-26 cap space to submit that kind of offer sheet.

The NBA told teams Tuesday that the salary cap is expected to increase by 10 percent for the 2025-26 season, the maximum allowed under the current CBA, per ESPN's Bobby Marks. The jump includes a $17.8 million increase in the second apron, Marks reported.

Despite that increase, ESPN projects the Nets as the only NBA team with more than $50 million in cap space heading into next season, per Marks.

The final salary-cap numbers for the 2025-26 season will be finalized when the 2025-26 league year begins around June 30, per the AP's Tim Reynolds.