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NBA Salary Cap Set at $109,140,000 for 2019-20 Season; $132,627,000 Tax Line
June 30, 2019
The NBA has finalized the salary cap ahead of the start of free agency Sunday.
Mark Berman of Fox 26 in Houston shared the league's official release confirming the 2019-20 salary cap ($109,140,000), luxury tax line ($132,627,000) and salary floor ($98,226,000):
Those figures effectively match what Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium reported the projections to be in April ($109 million cap and $132 million tax line).
The cap has climbed a little over $7 million compared to 2018-19 ($101,869,000), with a similar jump likely to come in 2020-21. ESPN's Zach Lowe reported the league is tentatively expecting a $117 million salary cap.
Kevin O'Connor of The Ringer noted a four-year max contract will be worth $140,790,600 based on the 2019-20 cap. That's particularly notable because two of this summer's biggest free agents already appear to have max deals in place.
Charania reported Kemba Walker "plans to commit" to those terms when he meets with the Boston Celtics on Sunday. According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, Kyrie Irving is also seeing representatives from the Brooklyn Nets and "both sides are motivated to move quickly" on an agreement on a four-year contract.
Kawhi Leonard's future remains more unclear. Fox Sports' Chris Broussard reported the Toronto Raptors' hopes of re-signing Leonard "are fading," with the Los Angeles Clippers and Los Angeles Lakers the strongest contenders.
As O'Connor tweeted, the Lakers needed the cap to rise slightly higher in order to put a full max offer on the table:
Kevin O'Connor @KevinOConnorNBAThe Los Angeles Lakers will currently enter free agency $587K short of the full max contract space ($32.7M). This means, unless more space is created, the Lakers can offer Kawhi Leonard or another max free agent four years, $138.3M while other teams can offer four years, $140.8M.
Wojnarowski reported June 18 the Lakers will land Anthony Davis in a trade from the New Orleans Pelicans. Because the move will be finalized July 6, Los Angeles was set to have $23.7 million in cap space available.
Wojnarowski and Lowe followed up Thursday to report general manager Rob Pelinka was sending the trio of Moe Wagner, Isaac Bonga and Jemerrio Jones to the Washington Wizards, which gave L.A. much-needed flexibility.