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Another day, another new set of NBA-related news. It feels like each day we get a little bit more information on how the upcoming 2020-21 NBA season is going to look, and yesterday was not different.
The salary cap ($109.1 million) and luxury tax ($132.7 million) will remain the same next season. In future seasons, the cap and tax will increase by a minimum of 3 percent — and a maximum of 10 percent, sources said.
— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) November 10, 2020
Besides the salary cap & luxury tax remaining the same this season as they were in 2019-20, there will be a reduction in the luxury tax bill for teams at the end of the season based off the percentage BRI decreased from initial projections during the 2020-21 season, sources said.
— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) November 10, 2020
Let’s start with the boring stuff, the financials. In a nutshell this is probably the 50%ile outcome for most contending teams. The luxury tax staying stagnant isn’t ideal, as that hurts a team like the Lakers who would’ve greatly benefited from the luxury tax increase we would’ve seen without the pandemic.
On the flip-side, offering a luxury tax bill reduction will help to at least soften the blow, and will hopefully help to motivate ownership groups to spend despite the bumpy road ahead for the league until fans can safely be allowed back into home arenas.
For example: If Golden State used the $17.2M trade exception and revenue decreased by 30%, they could save close to $50M.
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) November 10, 2020
This will help out the Warriors, Boston, Brooklyn and Philadelphia plus possibly a team like Milwaukee. https://t.co/uxII5oQXzl
The mechanics around it are a little complicated, but the moral of the story is the league is going to do what it can to incentivize teams to spend while not going overboard with a raise in the salary cap and luxury tax this year.
Now, for some of the more interesting stuff as it pertains to the Timberwolves.
Talks on opening the NBA’s transaction window — trades, contract opt-ins and outs, etc. — are progressing toward firming a date two or three days prior to the November 18 draft, sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) November 10, 2020
The NBA and NBPA have reached agreement on an amended CBA, sources tell @TimBontemps and me. Free agency begins at 6 PM on Nov. 20, with signings allowed at 12:01 PM on Nov. 22.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) November 10, 2020
To summarize, this is going to be chaotic, and it’s going to be awesome. Basically, the league is going to be crazy active beginning this weekend and running for about the next two weeks. The possibilities are endless for what the Wolves could do during this time. It seems unlikely they’re making a big swing via trade with the number one pick, but we could see several micro-transactions via trade as well as a few new names join the team via free agency.
The Timberwolves roster has remained static for months on end. A month from now, we can expect to see a new-look Wolves team that Gersson Rosas will expect to compete for the playoffs, which means we should too.