NBA Teams' Updated Salary Cap After Day 2 of Contracts, Trades in 2026 Free Agency
The 2026 NBA offseason is in full swing. The draft unfolded last week, the free-agent negotiation window opened on Tuesday, and we've already seen a flurry of blockbuster trades and signings.
The stream of activity is unlikely to slow anytime soon.
While it wasn't the only bit of news to break on Wednesday, the reported trade that will send Jaylen Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers was arguably the biggest. According to ESPN's Shams Charania, the Boston Celtics have agreed to deal Brown for Paul George, a pair of first-round picks, and two second-round picks.
Brown certainly won't be the last notable player traded this offseason, and we've barely scratched the surface of free agency—unrestricted free agent can't even begin signings with new teams until 12:01 p.m. ET on July 6.
While we don't know who the major players will be in the coming days, we do have an idea of where every team stands financially.
NBA Cap Primer
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Before we take a look at where each franchise stands financially, let's provide a little context for the NBA's salary cap.
According to Spotrac—and without factoring in cap holds and options that are likely to disappear—the Memphis Grizzlies are the only franchise under the cap, which was officially set at $164.961 million on Tuesday.
The NBA doesn't utilize a league-wide hard cap, which is why almost every team is already over the cap. However, the league does impose financial restrictions and other penalties for teams that exceed the luxury tax line, which was set at $200.428 million for the 2026-27 season.
Teams over the tax line essentially pay increasing penalties depending on how high over the line they go. Half of the penalties will go to the league, while half will be distributed to non-taxpaying teams. The penalties become steeper for teams that repeatedly exceed the tax line, as well as for teams that surpass the first and second tax aprons.
This year's first apron has been set at $209.015 million, while the second apron is set at $221.686 million.
There are roster-building limitations for teams over the tax line and the aprons. Teams over the first apron, for example, cannot add a player via a sign-and-trade if the deal keeps them above the apron. Teams over the second apron lose access to the mid-level exception entirely.
Teams over the tax line have the non-taxpayer exception ($15 million) replaced with the more restrictive taxpayer exception ($6.1 million).
Now, there are penalties for exceeding the salary cap, as well—most notably, teams over the cap cannot sign external free agents without using an exception or a minimum contract. However, teams rely on exceptions and sign-and-trade deals so regularly that they rarely intend to operate under the cap.
The implications of the tax threshold are why we'll focus on tax space rather than a soft cap that franchises largely ignore.
2026-27 NBA Tax Space
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Los Angeles Lakers $115.8 million
Chicago Bulls $95.7 million
Brooklyn Nets $92.5 million
Washington Wizards $76.9 million
Los Angeles Clippers $70.4 million
Detroit Pistons $65 million
Memphis Grizzlies $56.2 million
Charlotte Hornets $52 million
Utah Jazz $49.4 million
Dallas Mavericks $48 million
Atlanta Hawks $42 million
Miami Heat $37.3 million
San Antonio Spurs $36.1 million
Golden State Warriors $30.4 million
Milwaukee Bucks $23.5 million
Cleveland Cavaliers $20.5 million
Philadelphia 76ers $20.4 million
Boston Celtics $19.6 million
Houston Rockets $12.9 million
Toronto Raptors $12.5 million
Minnesota Timberwolves $12.4 million
New Orleans Pelicans $12.1 million
Phoenix Suns $11.8 million
Portland Trail Blazers $8.9 million
Sacramento Kings $3.4 million
Indiana Pacers $1.8 million
New York Knicks -$532,628
Denver Nuggets -$11 million
Oklahoma City Thunder -$13.3 million
Orlando Magic -$17.4 million
*Tax space estimates from Spotrac.
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Anyone tracking trades and free-agent contracts may have noticed the term "agreed" being highlighted in several instances. According to Charania, for example, Tobias Harris has "agreed to a two-year, $31 million deal with the San Antonio Spurs."
This may seem straightforward for free agents, since they can't officially sign with new teams until Monday. However, it can impact trades, too, since some pending contracts will impact how teams stand in relation to the various tax thresholds.
On Tuesday, for example, the Los Angeles Clippers agreed to trade Kawhi Leonard to the Toronto Raptors. However, the trade will hard-cap Toronto to the first apron, so the deal isn't set to be executed until July 6, according to ESPN's Bobby Marks (h/t Bleacher Report's Timothy Rapp).
What all of this means is that, in many instances, there is still time for a blockbuster deal to be undone—and we saw plenty done over the past 24 hours.
The Brown trade was the biggest deal we saw on Wednesday in terms of leaguewide profile, but it wasn't the only major trade. The Los Angeles Lakers also swung a deal for Walker Kessler. According to Charania, the Utah Jazz will get a substantial haul for the big man, while Kessler will get a new contract from Los Angeles.
The Lakers have, of course, been looking for a quality center to pair with Luka Dončić and the recently re-signed Austin Reaves. However, the trade felt like an overpay, even in an offseason that didn't feature a ton of center talent.
Unsurprisingly, it didn't take long for folks to start comparing the Brown and Kessler trades.
Of course, those trades weren't the only things that unfolded on Wednesday. Along with Harris, Jaxson Hayes, Jonathan Isaacs, and Kelly Oubre Jr. were among the players who reportedly agreed to new contracts.
Teams hoping to land LeBron James, meanwhile, saw little more than speculation. According to The Athletic's Tony Jones, for example, the 76ers have joined the list of squads interested in James. The Cleveland Cavaliers were already interested, according to Chris Haynes of NBA TV and NBA on Prime. So were the Golden State Warriors, per NBA insider Marc Stein.
According to Charania, James may accept a league minimum contract to join a contender. However, fans should probably expect the 41-year-old to float around the rumor mill a bit before making any decision.
To track the latest rumors, news, and grades, check out Bleacher Report's NBA Rumors Live Blog from Wednesday.
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