NBA executives are calling this one of the most talented free-agent classes in years. Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, Klay Thompson, Kemba Walker, Kyrie Irving, Al Horford, Khris Middleton, Kristaps Porzingis, Tobias Harris and Jimmy Butler headline the group of 170 players projected to hit free agency at 6 p.m. ET on June 30.
With 13 teams having cap space -- including nine that have $20 million or more -- expect new contracts to approach the $4.1 billion spent in total salary during the summer of 2016.
Here is an early look at the teams that are projected to have cap space, including seven wild-card teams that could enter the mix in July.
Atlanta Hawks
Projected room: $13 million
Who returns/joins: Kent Bazemore, Miles Plumlee, Trae Young, Alex Len, Allen Crabbe, John Collins, Kevin Huerter. DeAndre' Bembry, Omari Spellman, Jaylen Adams (partial guarantee), Solomon Hill, De'Andre Hunter and Cam Reddish
Who might be gone: Dewayne Dedmon, Vince Carter, Justin Anderson, Alex Poythress and Isaac Humphries
The Hawks have followed a familiar pattern from the past two offseasons: target teams looking to shed contracts while also sending Atlanta draft assets. By agreeing to take on the contracts of Allen Crabbe ($18.5 million) and Solomon Hill ($12.8 million; both deals cannot become official until July 6), Atlanta will see its cap space shrink from $41 million to $13.5 million.
That number will drop to $3.6 million if the Hawks elect to keep the $9.4 million Dedmon cap hold.
Atlanta has made it clear that the summer of 2019 is not about chasing top-tier free agents. The continued development of this young core is still the priority. The Hawks' two lottery picks, Hunter and Reddish, join a roster that already features five players on rookie contracts, including starters Young, Huerter and Collins.
After another season of development, the Hawks will be well positioned in 2020 with $80 million in projected room.
Other: Atlanta selected Bruno Fernando in the second round and would need to use cap space if the goal is to sign him for more than two seasons.
Boston Celtics
Projected room: $24.9 million
Who returns/joins: Gordon Hayward, Marcus Smart, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Guerschon Yabusele, Robert Williams III, Semi Ojeleye (contract guaranteed), Romeo Langford, Grant Williams, Daniel Theis (free-agent hold) and Terry Rozier (free-agent hold)
Who might be gone: Kyrie Irving, Al Horford, Marcus Morris, Jonathan Gibson, Brad Wanamaker, RJ Hunter and PJ Dozier
Other charges: Demetrius Jackson ($93,000) and incomplete roster charges ($897,000)
This is not the list that Celtics president Danny Ainge envisioned his team would be on when the season started in October.
Instead of balancing the books against a substantial luxury tax bill, Boston will now probably become a team with cap space with the potential departure of three starters: Irving, Horford and Morris.
How the Celtics handle restricted free agency could determine how they fill out the roster. They can keep Rozier and operate with $25 million in room or let him walk to increase that to $34 million, enough to sign a max player (or they could split the money among multiple players).
Brooklyn Nets
Projected room: $46.8 million
Who returns/joins: Taurean Prince, Spencer Dinwiddie, Joe Harris, Jarrett Allen, Caris LeVert, Dzanan Musa, Rodions Kurucs, Shabazz Napier (non-guaranteed), Treveon Graham (non-guaranteed) and D'Angelo Russell (free-agent hold)
Who might be gone: DeMarre Carroll, Kenneth Faried, Jared Dudley, Ed Davis, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Theo Pinson and Alan Williams
Other charges: Deron Williams ($5.4 million) and incomplete roster holds ($1.8 million)
Brooklyn started free agency early with the Allen Crabbe trade. Once the trade is completed on July 6, Brooklyn will have $46.8 million in room -- enough to sign a max free agent such as Kyrie Irving, retain restricted free-agent D'Angelo Russell and also have $15 million left in room.
Brooklyn could renounce Russell and sign a second max player -- in addition to Irving -- who also has seven to nine years of service.
To sign Kevin Durant (at 10-plus years of service), Brooklyn would see the final salary cap number come in at $109.6 million. If the cap increases only slightly, Brooklyn would need to trade Musa to clear room for Durant.
If the cap stays at the projected $109 million, Brooklyn would need either player to take a minor discount even if Musa is traded, because the Nets would be $266,000 short of a max for Durant.
Other: Brooklyn would need to use cap space to sign second-round picks Nicolas Claxton and Jaylen Hands to a contract greater than two seasons.
Chicago Bulls
Projected room: $22.3 million
Who returns/joins: Otto Porter Jr., Zach LaVine, Cristiano Felicio, Wendell Carter Jr., Kris Dunn, Lauri Markkanen, Denzel Valentine, Chandler Hutchison, Antonio Blakeney, Shaquille Harrison (non-guaranteed) Walter Lemon Jr. (non-guaranteed) and Coby White
Who might be gone: Robin Lopez, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, Brandon Sampson, JaKarr Sampson, Rawle Alkins, Wayne Selden and Ryan Arcidiacono
There is nothing wrong with the approach the Bulls took at the trade deadline when they sacrificed max cap space to acquire Porter. Chicago now has the 25-year-old wing under contract for the next two seasons.
Unlike Atlanta, Chicago should be active with its $22.3 million in room -- a number that could increase to $23.7 million if the non-guaranteed contracts of Lemon and Harrison are waived.
Expect the Bulls to focus on two priorities: finding a starting point guard (even with the addition of White in the draft) and adding depth off the bench at shooting guard and small forward.
One name to keep an eye on is Bucks restricted free agent Malcolm Brogdon.
For the Bulls to pry the Milwaukee guard away, the offer sheet probably would need to be in the four-year, $80 million range.
Other: Chicago would need to use cap space to sign second-round pick Daniel Gafford to a contract greater than two seasons.
Dallas Mavericks
Projected room: $28.8 million
Who returns/joins: Luka Doncic, Jalen Brunson, Ryan Broekhoff (non-guaranteed), Dorian Finney-Smith (restricted hold), Maxi Kleber (restricted hold), Kristaps Porzingis (restricted hold), Tim Hardaway Jr., Courtney Lee and Justin Jackson
Who might be gone: Devin Harris, Trey Burke, Salah Mejri and J.J. Barea
Other charges: incomplete roster charge ($1.8 million)
With two franchise cornerstones, Doncic and Porzingis, Dallas can chase a point guard such as Irving or Walker or turn to a player like Horford.
With $28.8 million in room, Dallas would have two choices to create additional flexibility. The Mavericks could elect to either stretch the Courtney Lee ($12.8 million) contract over three seasons, creating an additional $8.3 million in room, or not bring back free agents Kleber and Finney-Smith.
The team also has the $1.4 million Broekhoff contract that becomes guaranteed on June 29.
Remember, this is a team that traded two future first-round picks for Porzingis in February -- a move that signaled Dallas will be aggressive in building a contender.
Indiana Pacers
Projected room: $20.4 million
Who returns/joins: Victor Oladipo, Myles Turner, Doug McDermott, Domantas Sabonis, T.J. Warren, T.J. Leaf, Aaron Holiday, Alize Johnson (partially guaranteed), Edmond Sumner (team option), Bojan Bogdanovic (free-agent hold) and Goga Bitadze
Who might be gone: Thaddeus Young, Darren Collison, Cory Joseph, Kyle O'Quinn and Wesley Matthews
Other charges: incomplete roster charge ($897,000) and Monta Ellis ($2.2 million)
Considering that Indiana did not have to give up a valuable asset, the draft night trade bringing over Warren from Phoenix is similar to signing the small forward to a three-year, $35 million contract.
Counting the $13.7 million Bogdanovic hold, Indiana still has $20 million for a free agent point guard -- possibly Ricky Rubio.
If the price for Bogdanovic becomes too rich and he leaves, Indiana would then have $33 million in room.
LA Clippers
Projected room: $42.3 million
Who returns/joins: Danilo Gallinari, Lou Williams, Montrezl Harrell, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jerome Robinson, Tyrone Wallace (non-guaranteed), Sindarius Thornwell (non-guaranteed), Landry Shamet, Patrick Beverley, Ivica Zubac (free-agent hold), Rodney McGruder (free-agent hold) and Mfiondu Kabengele
Who might be gone: Wilson Chandler, Garrett Temple, JaMychal Green, Johnathan Motley and Angel Delgado
The Clippers head into the offseason chasing the best free agents on the market.
With more than $40 million in room, LA has the flexibility to add a player such as Leonard or Durant and still bring back 11 players from a team that won 48 games.
For the Clippers to sign two max players, Gallinari would need to be traded to a team with space.
Other: LA would need to use cap space to sign second-round pick Terance Mann to a contract greater than two seasons.
Los Angeles Lakers
Projected room: $32 million or $23.1 million
Who returns/joins: LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Kyle Kuzma, Moritz Wagner, Isaac Bonga and Jemerrio Jones (non-guaranteed)
Who might be gone: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Rajon Rondo, Lance Stephenson, JaVale McGee, Tyson Chandler, Reggie Bullock and Mike Muscala
Other charges: incomplete roster charge ($3.6 million) and Luol Deng ($5 million)
The timing of the Anthony Davis trade will dictate what Los Angeles has in available cap space.
If the Lakers can find a third team to take back the contracts of Wagner, Bonga and Jones -- with the cooperation of the Pelicans -- the team will be allowed to use $32 million in free agency and still conduct the Davis trade on July 6. Davis in this scenario would need to waive his $4.1 million trade bonus.
Not finding a third team has the Lakers with $23.1 million of cap space (after the Davis trade) to use for multiple free agents (without Davis waiving his $4.1 million bonus). If the Lakers elect to leave the $4.75 million Bullock cap hold on the books, the team would then have $20 million in room -- but with the ability to exceed the cap to bring back the shooting guard.
Other: Los Angeles would need to use cap space to sign second-round pick Talen Horton-Tucker to a contract greater than two seasons.
Milwaukee Bucks
Projected room: $13 million
Who returns/joins: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Eric Bledsoe, Jon Leuer, Ersan Ilyasova, D.J. Wilson, Donte DiVincenzo, Pat Connaughton (when contract guaranteed), Sterling Brown (when contract guaranteed), Khris Middleton (free agent hold) and Malcolm Brogdon (free agent hold)
Who might be gone: George Hill (waived), Nikola Mirotic, Brook Lopez, Tim Frazier and Pau Gasol
Other charges: incomplete roster charges ($1.8 million) and dead money of Larry Sanders and Spencer Hawes ($4.2 million)
Milwaukee probably will start the summer under the cap and end it over the luxury tax.
After the trade of Tony Snell and their first-round pick to Detroit, the Bucks now have a projected $13 million in cap room, a number that could increase to $19 million if the newly acquired Leuer is stretched. The Bucks also have the non-guaranteed contracts of Connaughton ($1.7 million) and Brown ($1.6 million) that are expected to be on the roster past their July 1 guarantee date. The room could be used toward Lopez or a replacement at center.
To go under the cap, the $18 million ($1 million is protected) Hill contract would need to be waived by July 1 along with all their cap holds except for Brogdon and Middleton being renounced.
Once cap space is used, Milwaukee will turn to signing its own free agents, Middleton and Brogdon. Their combined salaries project to be north of $50 million, putting Milwaukee into the luxury tax.
If the Bucks do receive an offer sheet on Brogdon that they do not intend to match, the team would need to use its available cap space before the contract is not matched. Not bringing back Brogdon would create only an additional $3 million of room (before Middleton is signed).
New Orleans Pelicans
Projected room: $31.3 million
Who returns/joins: Jrue Holiday, Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart, E'Twaun Moore, Frank Jackson (non-guaranteed), Jahlil Okafor (partial guaranteed), Christian Wood (non-guaranteed), Kenrich Williams (non-guaranteed), Dairis Bertans (non-guaranteed), Zion Williamson, Jaxson Hayes and Nickeil Alexander-Walker
Who might be gone: Julius Randle, Elfrid Payton, Darius Miller, Cheick Diallo, Ian Clark, Stanley Johnson and Trevon Bluiett
Moving Solomon Hill to Atlanta the night of the draft now has the Pelicans in position to sign a max player or use the $31 million room to build out their bench with veterans -- but with only two roster spots available.
To create the extra roster spots, New Orleans would need to decide what to do about the non-guaranteed contracts of Jackson, Bertans, Williams, Okafor and Wood. Jackson's $1.6 million contract becomes fully guaranteed if he is not waived by June 30.
Other: New Orleans would need to use cap space to sign second-round pick Marcos Louzada Silva to a contract greater than two seasons.
New York Knicks
Projected room: $70 million
Who returns/joins: Dennis Smith Jr., Frank Ntilikina, Kevin Knox, Mitchell Robinson, Damyean Dotson, Allonzo Trier and RJ Barrett
Who might be gone: Lance Thomas (waived), Emmanuel Mudiay, DeAndre Jordan, Mario Hezonja, Luke Kornet, Noah Vonleh, John Jenkins (option declined), Henry Ellenson (option declined), Billy Garrett Jr. (option declined) and Isaiah Hicks
Other charges: incomplete roster charge ($5.4 million) and Joakim Noah ($6.4 million)
Expect the Knicks to take an all-or-nothing approach to free agency. Plan A is to use the $70 million in room to sign one or two of New York's three primary targets: Durant, Irving and Leonard. If they miss out on all three, expect the Knicks' front office to continue the retooling of the roster with a focus on player development.
The Knicks could sign players to bloated one-year salaries with an eye on preserving room for next summer.
Remember, teams have to spend at least 90% of the $109 million salary cap. For New York that would mean spending an additional $60 million this summer.
Other: New York would need to use cap space to sign second-round pick Ignas Brazdeikis to a contract greater than two seasons.
Phoenix Suns
Projected room: $14 million
Who returns/joins: Devin Booker, Tyler Johnson, Deandre Ayton, Josh Jackson, Aron Baynes, Mikal Bridges, Dario Saric, Elie Okobo, De'Anthony Melton, Cameron Johnson, Ty Jerome, Richaun Holmes (free-agent hold) and Kelly Oubre Jr. (free-agent hold)
Who might be gone: Ray Spalding (waived), Jimmer Fredette (waived), Troy Daniels, Dragan Bender, Jamal Crawford and George King
The salary cap dump of T.J. Warren to Indiana was thought to put Phoenix in position to target a $20 million-plus free-agent point guard (possibly D'Angelo Russell) this summer.
However, the addition of Baynes and first-round draft pick Jerome from Boston saw that room decrease to $14 million.
There are paths to creating $23 million in room: Phoenix would need to renounce free agents Oubre and Holmes or trade Jackson, a former lottery pick.
Sacramento Kings
Projected room: $14 million (but fluid)
Who returns/joins: Bogdan Bogdanovic, Marvin Bagley III, Nemanja Bjelica, De'Aaron Fox, Buddy Hield, Harry Giles III, Yogi Ferrell (non-guaranteed), Frank Mason III (non-guaranteed), Harrison Barnes (free-agent hold), Caleb Swanigan and Willie Cauley-Stein (free-agent hold)
Who might be gone: Kosta Koufos, Corey Brewer, Alec Burks and BJ Johnson (waived)
Other charges: Matt Barnes ($2.1 million) and incomplete roster charge ($1.8 million)
How the Kings maximize their cap flexibility will depend on what happens with Harrison Barnes and Cauley-Stein.
They count a combined $46.8 million toward the cap, and the Kings currently have $13.7 million in room.
If Harrison Barnes signs back at a starting salary of $20 million, Sacramento would have $26.4 million -- a figure the Kings could increase to $40.5 million by letting Cauley-Stein go.
Other: Sacramento would need to use cap space to sign second-round picks Justin James, Kyle Guy and Vanja Marinkovic to a contract greater than two seasons.
The wild-card teams
There would be a significant cost for the Nuggets to join the list of teams with cap space. Currently over the cap, Denver would need to decline Paul Millsap's $30.4 million team option and renounce Trey Lyles.
Denver would have $17 million in room but a void at power forward.
If the Magic join the list of teams with cap space, it will come at the cost of Nikola Vucevic. Because the All-Star has a $19.1 million cap hold, Orlando is operating over the cap despite having only $83 million in guaranteed contracts.
If Vucevic and Terrence Ross leave in free agency, Orlando will have $17 million in room.
The 76ers took advantage of the free-agent market early when they acquired Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris during the season. Because those players combine for $52.8 million in free-agent holds, Philadelphia is operating over the cap.
For the 76ers to be active in free agency, it would come at the cost of Butler or Harris. Not bringing back Butler would leave Philadelphia with $23.8 in room, including JJ Redick's $15.6 million cap hold.