NEW YORK -- NBA teams will be working with a salary cap of $101.86 million for the coming season, with a luxury tax level of $123.73 million.
The league released those figures Saturday night, hours before the annual moratorium starts and teams can begin negotiating with free agents. The figures are virtually the same as what teams have been expecting for some time.
With the cap set, the exact amounts of the various exceptions are also known: The non-taxpayer midlevel exception is $8.64 million, the taxpayer midlevel is $5.33 million, and the midlevel for teams with salary-cap space will be $4.44 million.
The new numbers mean that the max salary LeBron James could sign to stay with the Cleveland Cavaliers is $206.79 million over five years. If James signs with a new team, the max would be four years, $153.3 million.
Among the most interesting numbers in the memo were the projections for the 2019-20 cap, which is up to $109 million, and then 2020-21, which is up to $116 million.
The minimum team salary for the 2018-19 season is $91.68 million.
The moratorium ends at 12:01 p.m. ET Friday, when free-agent signings can become official.
The Associated Press and ESPN's Bobby Marks and Zach Lowe contributed to this report.
