NBA Free Agents 2011: 10 Teams with the Most Money to Spend
Once, if ever, the new CBA is agreed upon, the NBA free agents of 2011 are going to need to find a home. There are 10 teams that have plenty of cap space to fill and some teams have more money to spend on these free agents to go over the salary cap.
There may not be as many great NBA free agents for 2011 compared to 2010 or maybe even to the 2012 free-agent class, but many teams still have money to spend.
All salary cap data is from hoopdata.com.
Dallas Mavericks
1 of 10The Dallas Mavericks have $36,137,344 to spend on free agents. They may be going over the salary cap by almost $27 million, but they have that extra money to spend.
The returning NBA champions are going to use this extra money to their advantage in 2011, but who knows if they can find the right pieces to make another championship run.
Denver Nuggets
2 of 10The Denver Nuggets also went over the cap amount by about $23 million in 2010 and in 2011. They have $35,792,689 to spend if they want to match the same amount of money they spent in 2010.
The Nuggets were a great surprise team after they traded Carmelo Anthony away and this extra money in 2011 should help them secure some top free-agent talent.
Golden State Warriors
3 of 10The Golden State Warriors were barely over the salary cap with $63 million in 2010. In 2011, they have $20,231,184 in cap space to fill and they need to spend it wisely to get back into the playoffs.
The Warriors have two great players in Monta Ellis and Stephen Curry, but they need to make a splash in the free-agent market to be a strong playoff contender.
Houton Rockets
4 of 10With $39,162,3709 to spend on free agents, the Houston Rockets could become an elite NBA team in 2011-12.
The Rockets have lost Yao Ming to retirement and now owe him nothing in 2011. They need a viable center to backup Luis Scola in 2011, so hopefully they spend all this money to their advantage.
Indiana Pacers
5 of 10The Indiana Pacers had a solid 2010 season, but with $37,860,985 to spend on free agents in 2011, it is only going to get better for the Pacers
Memphis Grizzlies
6 of 10The Grizzlies were able to make a great playoff run in 2010 and they have $45,806,379 to work with in 2011.
Most of this money will be spent on team options, but they should have some extra cash to get some other viable options on the free-agent market.
Milwaukee Bucks
7 of 10The Bucks have multiple middle of the pack caliber players and, with $24,840,769 to spend on free agents in 2011, they have something to look forward to once the CBA is agreed upon for the 2011-12 season.
New York Knicks
8 of 10Amare Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony may be on the 2011 team, but they still have money to spend in 2011 to get some free-agent options.
Oklahoma City Thunder
9 of 10The Oklahoma City Thunder are on the verge of becoming a great team and with $32,031,514 to spend in 2011, the Thunder should make an even bigger name for themselves.
They had a great playoff run in 2010 and have many team options to think about before they sign anyone to a big deal. So, watch out for the Thunder in 2011.
Phoenix Suns
10 of 10The 2011 season looks promising for the Phoenix Suns. They have $23,969,071 to spend on free agents and they want someone who can run with Steve Nash. They could even somehow trade Nash to have even more cap space, but we shall see what happens when the CBA is agreed upon.
