2013-14 NBA salary cap to be $58.5 million, according to report

Early projections given to NBA teams in May have the salary cap rising to just $58.5 million for the 2013-14 season, according to ESPN’s Marc Stein. Grantland’s Zach Lowe confirmed Stein’s report.

The cap sits at $58.044 million this season, and Stein notes that some expected it to go up to as much as $60 million for next year. Nothing is binding until the NBA does a full season audit in July, but this $58.5 million projection is not good news for some teams. It also is not good new for players who will be signing max contracts, as those are based on the cap and will be slightly smaller than expected.

The slight nudge upward in the cap is surprising because next year is the first year outside the recent two-year period where the cap was agreed to be set at $58.044 million during lockout negotiations. With the recent growth of the NBA in terms of ratings, teams figured the cap would see a more substantial increase and that teams would have a bit more cap space with which to work.

As for the luxury tax, that’s calculated using a percentage based on the cap. The tax is currently at $70.307 million, and there likely will be a similarly small increase. With the harsher tax rates kicking in next season, this again is not good news for some teams.

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