On Thursday at 12:01 a.m. ET, the NBA's 2014-15 season begins. That's when the league's salary cap, luxury tax threshold, maximum salaries and other figures all adjust to their new values.
And teams will officially be open for business.
With the news that the league's new salary cap is $63.065 million, it represents a nearly 7.5 percent increase from last season's $58.679 million. Most NBA business ceases for the first several days of July as the league conducts its annual audit to determine the league's earnings and expenses from the previous season. With these figures in hand, the league huddles with the players association to make sure they're both on the same page, and then sends a memo to all 30 teams announcing the new figures.
This year the memo hit the team in-boxes at approximately 5 p.m. ET Wednesday. It's the NBA's version of Christmas morning. While teams and players have been free to negotiate since July 1, no actual deals could be struck (although there are a few exceptions to this rule). Any agreements between players and teams regarding contracts and salaries made before 12:01 a.m. on Thursday are deemed unofficial and non-binding.
The league's new cap figure reflects a healthy increase in revenues over the past year. But things can get muddy with all the dollars and cents flying around. How will it impact teams this offseason? So let's to clarify things
