The Finals are barely in the rearview mirror, but NBA free agency is just around the corner. Teams can begin negotiating with free agents at 6 p.m. ET on Monday, Aug. 2. The salary cap for 2021-22 is expected to go up only 3%, a pre-negotiated number between the union and the league to help offset losses due to the pandemic in each of the previous two seasons.
To illustrate what to expect this offseason, we've separated all 30 teams into four tiers, ranging from teams who can easily generate cap space to those in the luxury tax. We've also highlighted which prospects teams can sign while addressing the challenges that lie ahead.
Will Charlotte, Dallas, Miami, New York or San Antonio make a splashy signing? Or can title contenders finagle a way to acquire another cornerstone player? Here's the latest intel on what each franchise can potentially do moving forward.
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Tier 1: Cap space at a cost
For these 10 teams there is a path to cap flexibility, but it would come at the cost of their own free agents.
The Knicks could have up to $52 million in room but would need to renounce free agents Derrick Rose, Alec Burks, Reggie Bullock and Nerlens Noel. New York could keep Rose and still have room to target a player like Kyle Lowry or DeMar DeRozan.
The Mavericks would have to renounce Tim Hardaway Jr. and hope that Josh Richardson declines his player option in order to have $34 million in cap space. The Spurs would be sitting with $48 million in room if DeRozan, Rudy Gay and Patty Mills head elsewhere.
The Thunder could have up to $29 million in room but are likely to stay over the cap to preserve their four large trade exceptions.
The Bulls have the ability to create up to $32 million in room but would have to renounce Lauri Markkanen and waive Thaddeus Young and Tomas Satoransky.
For New Orleans to have up to $35 million in cap space, their own free agents, including Lonzo Ball and Josh Hart, would need to be renounced and their lottery pick traded.
The cap space free agents: Chris Paul (player option), Kyle Lowry, Mike Conley, Lonzo Ball (restricted), Spencer Dinwiddie, Dennis Schroder, Reggie Jackson, Kendrick Nunn (restricted), Devonte' Graham (restricted), Norman Powell, Tim Hardaway Jr., Evan Fournier, Gary Trent, Jr. (restricted) Kawhi Leonard (player option), DeMar DeRozan, Duncan Robinson (restricted), Josh Hart (restricted), Doug McDermott, Kelly Oubre, Jr., John Collins (restricted), Kelly Olynyk, Lauri Markkanen (restricted), Jarrett Allen (restricted), Richaun Holmes and Andre Drummond.
Possible room: $8.7 million
Note: Cap space could increase to $13.5 million if Devonte' Graham is not brought back
Who returns/joins: Gordon Hayward, Terry Rozier, LaMelo Ball, Mason Plumlee, Miles Bridges, P.J. Washington, Vernon Carey Jr., Nick Richards, Cody Martin (non-guaranteed), Caleb Martin (non-guaranteed), Jalen McDaniels (non-guaranteed), Devonte' Graham (restricted free agent), James Bouknight and Kai Jones.
Who might be gone: Cody Zeller, Bismack Biyombo, Malik Monk, Brad Wanamaker, Nate Darling and Grant Riller.
Possible room: $32 million
Who returns/joins: Nikola Vucevic, Zach LaVine, Al-Farouq Aminu, Patrick Williams, Coby White and Troy Brown Jr.
Who might be gone: Thaddeus Young (waived and stretched), Tomas Satoransky (waived and stretched), Cristiano Felicio, Denzel Valentine, Daniel Theis, Garrett Temple, Lauri Markkanen, Javonte Green, Devon Dotson and Adam Mokoka.
Possible room: $30 million
Who returns/joins: Kristaps Porzingis, Dwight Powell, Luka Doncic, Maximilian Kleber, Dorian Finney-Smith, Jalen Brunson (contract guaranteed), Willie Cauley-Stein, Moses Brown, Trey Burke, Josh Green and Tyrell Terry.
Who might be gone: JJ Redick, Boban Marjanovic, Nicolo Melli, Nate Hinton and Tyler Bey.
Key free agent: Tim Hardaway Jr.
Possible room: $12.2 million
Who returns/joins: Jerami Grant, Mason Plumlee, Sekou Doumbouya, Killian Hayes, Josh Jackson, Isaiah Stewart, Saddiq Bey, Jahlil Okafor, Deividas Sirvydis, Rodney McGruder (non-guaranteed) and Cade Cunningham.
Key free agent: Hamidou Diallo (restricted), Saben Lee and Frank Jackson.
Who might be gone: Wayne Ellington and Dennis Smith Jr.
Possible room: At the salary cap
Who returns/joins: Steven Adams, Eric Bledsoe, Dillon Brooks, Kyle Anderson, Ja Morant, Tyus Jones, De'Anthony Melton, Jaren Jackson Jr., Brandon Clarke, Grayson Allen, John Konchar, Desmond Bane, Xavier Tillman, Sean McDermott, Ziaire Williams and Santi Aldama.
Who might be gone: Justise Winslow (team option declined), Tim Frazier, Killian Tillie and Jontay Porter (waived).
Note: The Grizzlies are declining the Winslow team option and acting as a team under the salary cap. That move will allow them to take back Steven Adams and Eric Bledsoe in the trade with New Orleans. The Grizzlies will now have the $4.9 million room exception.
Possible room: $25 million (could increase to $35 million without Lonzo Ball and Josh Hart)
Who returns/joins: Brandon Ingram, Zion Williamson, Jonas Valanciunas, Jaxson Hayes, Kira Lewis Jr., Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Wes Iwundu, Naji Marshall, Wenyen Gabriel (non-guaranteed) and Trey Murphy III.
Key free agents: Lonzo Ball (restricted), Josh Hart (restricted) and Didi Louzada (restricted).
Who might be gone: James Johnson, Willy Hernangomez and James Nunnally.
Possible room: $52.6 million
Who returns/joins: Julius Randle, RJ Barrett, Obi Toppin, Kevin Knox II, Immanuel Quickley, Luca Vildoza (non-guaranteed), Mitchell Robinson and Quentin Grimes.
Key free agents: Reggie Bullock, Derrick Rose, Nerlens Noel and Alec Burks.
Who might be gone: Elfrid Payton, Taj Gibson, Frank Ntilikina, Theo Pinson and Jared Harper.
Possible room: $29.3 million
Who returns/joins: Kemba Walker, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Aleksej Pokusevski, Darius Bazley, Ty Jerome, Lu Dort, Theo Maledon, Gabriel Deck (non-guaranteed), Kenrich Williams (non-guaranteed), Isaiah Roby (non-guaranteed), Charlie Brown Jr. (non-guaranteed) Josh Giddey and Tre Mann.
Who might be gone: Mike Muscala, Tony Bradley (restricted), Svi Mykhailiuk (restricted), Jaylen Hoard and Josh Hall.
Possible room: $48 million
Who returns/joins: Dejounte Murray, Derrick White, Jakob Poeltl, Devin Vassell , Lonnie Walker IV, Luka Samanic, Keldon Johnson, Tre Jones, Drew Eubanks (partial guarantee), DaQuan Jeffries and Joshua Primo.
Key free agents: DeMar DeRozan, Rudy Gay and Patty Mills.
Who might be gone: Trey Lyles, Keita Bates-Diop, Gorgui Dieng and Quinndary Weatherspoon.
Possible room: $15 million
Who returns/joins: Pascal Siakam, Fred VanVleet, OG Anunoby, Malachi Flynn, Chris Boucher (contract guaranteed), DeAndre' Bembry (contract guaranteed), Paul Watson (contract guaranteed), Yuta Watanabe (non-guaranteed), Freddie Gillespie (non-guaranteed) and Scottie Barnes.
Key free agents: Kyle Lowry, Khem Birch and Gary Trent Jr. (restricted).
Who might be gone: Rodney Hood (waived), Stanley Johnson and Aron Baynes (waived).
Tier 2: The midlevel exception club
These teams are not in a position to have cap space but can use all of their $9.5 million midlevel exception and still avoid the luxury tax. That will be valuable in this constricted market.
The Hawks and Cavaliers can retain their key free agents, John Collins and Jarrett Allen, and have enough room to use the full midlevel.
In the unlikely scenario that Atlanta does not bring back Collins, it will have $14 million in cap space.
The $6.0 to $9.5 million midlevel free agents: Cameron Payne, Derrick Rose, T.J. McConnell, Patty Mills, Alec Burks, Danny Green, Hamidou Diallo (restricted), Alex Caruso, Malik Monk, Bruce Brown, Jr. (restricted), Reggie Bullock, Rudy Gay, Talen Horton-Tucker (restricted), JaMychal Green, Nerlens Noel and Daniel Theis
Room under the tax: $37 million
Who returns/joins: Clint Capela, Danilo Gallinari, Bogdan Bogdanovic, De'Andre Hunter, Trae Young, Onyeka Okongwu, Delon Wright, Cam Reddish, Kevin Huerter and Jalen Johnson.
Key free agents: John Collins (restricted) and Lou Williams.
Who might be gone: Tony Snell, Solomon Hill, Brandon Goodwin, Nathan Knight and Skylar Mays.
Room under the tax: $29.5 million
Who returns/joins: Kevin Love, Larry Nance Jr., Taurean Prince, Cedi Osman, Darius Garland, Isaac Okoro, Collin Sexton, Dylan Windler, Damyean Dotson (non-guaranteed), Dean Wade (non-guaranteed), Lamar Stevens (non-guaranteed), Mfiondu Kabengele (non-guaranteed) and Evan Mobley.
Key free agent: Jarrett Allen (restricted).
Who might be gone: Isaiah Hartenstein (player option declined), Matthew Dellavedova, Brodric Thomas and Jeremiah Martin.
Room under the tax: $26 million
Who returns/joins: John Wall, Eric Gordon, Christian Wood, DJ Augustin, Danuel House, Kevin Porter Jr., Khyri Thomas (non-guaranteed), Jae'Sean Tate (non-guaranteed), Kenyon Martin Jr. (non-guaranteed), Jalen Green, Alperen Sengun, Usman Garuba and Josh Christopher
Key free agent: Kelly Olynyk
Who might be gone: Avery Bradley, Dante' Exum, David Nwaba, DJ Wilson, Sterling Brown, Anthony Lamb and Armoni Brooks.
Possible room: $39 million
Who returns/joins: Jimmy Butler, Goran Dragic, Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro, Precious Achiuwa and KZ Okpala
Key free agents: Kendrick Nunn and Duncan Robinson
Who might be gone: Andre Iguodala, Victor Oladipo, Trevor Ariza, Nemanja Bjelica, Udonis Haslem, DeWayne Dedmon, Omer Yurtseven, Gabe Vincent and Max Struss.
Room under the tax: $29.5 million
Who returns/joins: Gary Harris, Terrence Ross, Markelle Fultz, Jonathan Isaac, Mo Bamba, Wendell Carter Jr., Cole Anthony, Michael Carter-Williams, Chuma Okeke, R.J. Hampton, Dwayne Bacon (non-guaranteed), Jalen Suggs and Franz Wagner.
Who might be gone: Otto Porter Jr., James Ennis III, Moritz Wagner, Ignas Brazdeikis, Sindarius Thornwell and Chasson Randle.
Room under the tax: $27 million
Who returns/joins: De'Aaron Fox, Buddy Hield, Harrison Barnes, Marvin Bagley III, Tristan Thompson,Tyrese Haliburton, Robert Woodard II, Jahmi'us Ramsey, Louis King, Justin James (non-guaranteed), Damian Jones (non-guaranteed), Chimezie Metu (non-guaranteed) and Davion Mitchell.
Key free agent: Richaun Holmes.
Who might be gone: Maurice Harkless, Hassan Whiteside, Terence Davis and Kyle Guy.
Room under the tax: $16.3 million
Room under the hard cap: $22.6 million
Who returns/joins: Bradley Beal, Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Montrezl Harrell, Aaron Holiday, Davis Bertans, Thomas Bryant, Rui Hachimura, Deni Avdija, Chandler Hutchison, Daniel Gafford (non-guaranteed), Anthony Gill (non-guaranteed), Caleb Homesley (non-guaranteed) and Corey Kispert.
Key free agents: Robin Lopez, Ish Smith, Garrison Mathews (restricted), Raul Neto and Alex Len.
Who might be gone: Isaac Bonga and Cassius Winston.
Tier 3: Watching their own free agents
The availability of the full midlevel exception for these teams is still to be determined.
Although each franchise is positioned below the luxury tax, that could change depending on the cost of their own free agents, including: Will Barton (Denver), Cameron Payne (Phoenix) and Norman Powell (Portland).
Note: The hard cap triggers only if a team uses more than the $5.9 million of its midlevel exception, the $3.7 million biannual exception or by acquiring a player in a sign-and-trade. A team can sign its own free agents using the Bird, early Bird or non-Bird exceptions and not trigger the hard cap.
Room under the tax: $32 million
Room under the hard cap: $37.2 million
Who returns/joins: Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon, Monte Morris, Facundo Campazzo, Michael Porter Jr., Zeke Nnaji, Bol Bol, PJ Dozier (non-guaranteed), Vlatko Cancar (non-guaranteed) and Nah'Shon Hyland.
Key free agents: Will Barton and JaMychal Green
Who might be gone: Paul Millsap, JaVale McGee, Austin Rivers, Markus Howard and Shaquille Harrison.
Room under the tax: $56 million
Room under the hard cap: $63 million
Who returns/joins: Chris Paul, Devin Booker, Deandre Ayton, Jae Crowder, Dario Saric, Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, Jalen Smith, Jevon Carter, Ty-Shon Alexander and Landry Shamet.
Key free agents: Cameron Payne.
Who might be gone: E'Twaun Moore, Langston Galloway, Torrey Craig, Abdel Nader and Frank Kaminsky.
Room under the tax: $21.0 million
Room under the hard cap: $26.2 million
Who returns/joins: Damian Lillard, CJ McCollum, Robert Covington, Derrick Jones Jr. (player option), Anfernee Simons, Nassir Little, CJ Elleby and Jusuf Nurkic (partial guarantee).
Key free agents: Norman Powell and Zach Collins.
Who might be gone: Enes Kanter, Harry Giles III, Carmelo Anthony, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Keljin Blevins and T.J. Leaf.
Tier 4: Full midlevel but at the cost of becoming hard capped
Due to the $143 million hard cap, these teams will need to find a balance between using the full midlevel and retaining their own free agents.
The Lakers could have the full $9.5 million midlevel exception but need to balance new contracts for Dennis Schroder, Talen Horton-Tucker and Alex Caruso to stay below the hard cap. The Lakers could also acquire a player via a sign-and-trade, but that would also trigger the hard cap (and likely eliminate the option of bringing back all of their own free agents).
Re-signing T.J. McConnell and Doug McDermott would leave the Pacers with only the $5.9 million taxpayer midlevel to use.
The $2.5 million to $5.9 million midlevel free agents: Ish Smith, Frank Ntilikina (restricted), Elfrid Payton, Dennis Smith (restricted) Wayne Ellington, Victor Oladipo, Furkan Korkmaz, J.J. Redick, Lou Williams, Garrett Temple, Tony Snell, Stanley Johnson, Kent Bazemore, Bryn Forbes, Otto Porter, Svi Mykhailiuk (restricted), Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, P.J. Tucker, Torrey Craig, Terence Davis (restricted), Denzel Valentine, Wesley Matthews, Nicolas Batum, Solomon Hill, Jeff Green, Paul Millsap, Carmelo Anthony, Blake Griffin, Markieff Morris, Jarred Vanderbilt (restricted), Trey Lyles, Mike Muscala, Zach Collins, James Johnson, Georges Niang, Bobby Portis, Robin Lopez, Enes Kanter, Khem Birch, Cody Zeller, DeMarcus Cousins, Boban Marjanovic, Gorgui Dieng, Tony Bradley and Alex Len.
Room under the tax: $13 million
Room under the hard cap: $15.6 million
Who returns/joins: Malcolm Brogdon, Domantas Sabonis, Caris Levert, Myles Turner, T.J. Warren, Jeremy Lamb, Justin Holiday, Goga Bitadze, Aaron Holiday, Edmond Sumner, Kelan Martin (non-guaranteed), Oshae Brissett (non-guaranteed), Chris Duarte and Isaiah Jackson.
Key free agents: Doug McDermott and T.J. McConnell.
Who might be gone: JaKarr Sampson, Cassius Stanley and Amida Brimah.
Room under the tax: $8.7 million
Room under the hard cap: $15 million
Who returns/joins: Karl-Anthony Towns, D'Angelo Russell, Ricky Rubio, Malik Beasley, Anthony Edwards, Juancho Hernangomez, Jarrett Culver, Jake Layman, Josh Okogie, Jaden McDaniels, Jaylen Nowell (non-guaranteed) and Naz Reid (non-guaranteed).
Key free agent: Jarred Vanderbilt (restricted).
Who might be gone: Ed Davis and Jordan McLaughlin.
Room under the tax: $5.4 million
Room under the hard cap: $11.8 million
Who returns/joins: Tobias Harris, Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid, Seth Curry, Matisse Thybulle, Tyrese Maxey, Shake Milton, Isaiah Joe, George Hill (partial guarantee), Paul Reed (non-guaranteed) and Jaden Springer.
Key free agents: Danny Green and Furkan Korkmaz.
Who might be gone: Anthony Tolliver (waived), Dwight Howard, Mike Scott, Gary Clark and Rayjon Tucker.
Tier 5: Tax teams
Outside of re-signing their own free agents, these teams will have only the $5.9 million midlevel and minimum exceptions available to add to the roster.
The Celtics have the full $9.5 million midlevel available but bringing back Evan Fournier would put them in a position where they likely couldn't use the full midlevel without going over the apron.
Room under the tax: $3.2 million
Room under the hard cap: $8.7 million
Who returns/joins: Jayson Tatum, Josh Richardson, Al Horford, Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart, Kris Dunn, Bruno Fernando, Romeo Langford, Robert Williams, Aaron Nesmith, Payton Pritchard, Grant Williams and Carsen Edwards
Key free agent: Evan Fournier.
Who might be gone: Luke Kornet, Semi Ojeleye, Jabari Parker (waived), Tremont Waters and Tacko Fall.
Above the tax: $23.5 million
Who returns/joins: Kevin Durant, James Harden, Kyrie Irving, Joe Harris, DeAndre Jordan, Nicolas Claxton, Alize Johnson, Cameron Thomas and Day'Ron Sharpe.
Key free agents: Spencer Dinwiddie, Jeff Green, Bruce Brown and Blake Griffin.
Who might be gone: Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, Tyler Johnson, Reggie Perry, Mike James and Chris Chiozza.
Above the tax: $39 million
Who returns/joins: Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins, Draymond Green, James Wiseman, Kevon Looney, Jordan Poole, Eric Paschall, Juan Toscano-Anderson, Damion Lee (non-guaranteed), Gary Payton II (non-guaranteed), Alen Smailagic (non-guaranteed), Mychal Mulder (non-guaranteed), Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody.
Key free agents: Kelly Oubre Jr.
Who might be gone: Kent Bazemore, Nico Mannion and Jordan Bell.
Below the tax: $20.6 million
Who returns/joins: Paul George, Marcus Morris, Patrick Beverley, Luke Kennard, Serge Ibaka , Rajon Rondo, Ivica Zubac, Daniel Oturu, Terance Mann (non-guaranteed) and Keon Johnson.
Key free agents: Kawhi Leonard, Reggie Jackson and Nicolas Batum.
Who might be gone: DeMarcus Cousins, Patrick Patterson, Yogi Ferrell (waived) and Amir Coffey.
Room under the tax: $6.3 million
Room under the hard cap: $12.6 million
Who returns/joins: LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook, Marc Gasol, Alfonzo McKinnie (non-guaranteed).
Key free agents: Dennis Schroder, Alex Caruso and Talen Horton-Tucker (restricted).
Who might be gone: Andre Drummond, Markieff Morris, Wesley Matthews, Ben McLemore, Jared Dudley and Devontae Cacok.
Above the tax: $5.5 million
Who returns/joins: Khris Middleton, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jrue Holiday, Brook Lopez, Pat Connaughton, Donte DiVincenzo, Jordan Nwora, Elijah Bryant (non-guaranteed), Sam Merrill (partial guarantee) and Mamadi Diakite (partial guarantee).
Key free agents: P.J. Tucker.
Who might be gone: Bobby Portis (player option declined), Bryn Forbes (player option declined), Thanasis Antetokounmpo, Justin Jackson and Axel Toupane.
Below the tax: $14.8 million
Who returns/joins: Rudy Gobert, Donovan Mitchell, Bojan Bogdanovic, Joe Ingles, Jordan Clarkson, Derrick Favors, Royce O'Neale, Udoka Azubuike, Elijah Hughes and Miye Oni (non-guaranteed)
Key free agents: Mike Conley
Who might be gone: Juwan Morgan, Georges Niang, Ersan Ilyasova, Trent Forrest and Jarrell Brantley.