The NBA has provided teams with an updated salary cap projection for the 2025/26 season, reports Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter link).
According to Marks, the NBA’s latest projection remains exactly in line with its estimate from last summer. The league is still calling for a 10% cap increase for ’25/26, which is the maximum increase permitted in any single season under the current Collective Bargaining Agreement.
This season’s salary cap line is $140,588,000, so the projection for next season remains at $154,647,000. That’s the figure we’ve used to project minimum salaries, maximum salaries, and mid-level and bi-annual amounts for 2025/26.
As Marks details, a 10% cap increase would also cause the luxury tax line and the first and second tax aprons to rise by the same amount. They would be as follows:
- Luxury tax: $187.9MM
- First apron: $195.9MM
- Second apron: $207.8MM
The 2024/25 season represents the first year in which all of the new apron-related restrictions have been in place. Navigating those aprons has proven to be a challenge for many teams, in large part because the cap only rose by about 3.4% last offseason, as Marks observes (via Twitter).
A 10% increase in 2025 – and perhaps in the next couple seasons after that, aided by the league’s lucrative new media rights deal – will help push those apron numbers higher, creating a more manageable landscape for teams going forward.
Next Season Assumptions – both teams keep all superstars
76ers – play-in team
Suns – play-in team
How about this trade?
76ers get Durant and Beal ( $108 million next season)
Suns get Embiid and George ($107 million next season)
Need more trades to make it work
This is horrendous. I’ve never seen a worse mock in my life, where did you get this from, 2k? In what world would the Suns do this? Assuming they don’t make a somewhat decent run and give the FO a reason to keep KD, why would they want two injury riddled (one who’s career may be over) and old players? This would only set us back further.
To add, the Suns are hot. We have a 4 game win streak, including a win against the Cavs (missing Grayson and Nick) and the Bucks. We are pushing the 9th seed, and 13-3 this year without Brad. In my opinion, KD stays regardless of the playoffs. 36 has lots of potential as a duo, they’ve shown it not only this year (as I said, 13-3 which is on pace for roughly 50+ wins minimum) but in the 2023 playoffs, where we took 2 (the most out of any team) from the Champs (nuggets) without a PG, C, or depth. Beal is gone, and we retool around 36. Assuming we can trade Beal and get a few more depth pieces, we will easily be a top 6 seed, maybe even top 6 in the league.
Is ’36 the year when the Suns will.have potential again? As in 2036?
This wasn’t a “good comeback” or “tough” like you thought it was, nice try tho.
35 is KD’s number, 1 is bookers. Suns fans call them 36. Wether you like to admit it or not, its true. 13-3 without Beal, and we started the season 8-1. Book and KD can get it done, and take us far. The issue isn’t those two- never was, it was if our FO can build around them. We have a solid roster, if we can move Beal and add a better backup C and a few more solid defenders, we can make a run.
Suns are a second apron team and therefore unable to aggregate salaries in a trade
Yes, I’m aware, but correct me if I’m wrong- moving Beal would get us under, correct? Assuming we can find a team dumb (or desperate) enough to take that contract on (he still isn’t bad at all), we can get more options. However, this team isn’t too far from being competitive to where we would need to aggregate salaries and upgrade via trade. If we can find a better backup C, find some solid defenders (for minimums or close to it) we can def make a run.
I was replying to the Beal+Durant argument. But, in theory, if Phx could unload the 53+ mil owed to BB next year and his 57 mil option for 26-27 without taking back more than about half of that, they could duck under the 2nd apron and aggregate other salaries. But with no picks to offer, nobody is touching 110m for 2 years of BB. Thos is all to say nothing of his NTC
I mean, we do have 2 firsts this year. While from bad teams, we can still end up with a decent enough player to entice a team. We took Dunn low in the draft, hopefully we get lucky again and find someone similar.
I’m kinda newer to the NBA and its many trade rules, but we still have picks. I think we just don’t own the rights / can’t move them. So correct me if I’m wrong, but we will still be able to get players via draft with the picks we swapped?
You can definitely still draft players and sign them. But, the Suns are about 26 mil over the second apron. Over the second apron means they aren’t allowed to trade 2 players in the same trade, so Beal+Durant (or Beal+anyone for that matter) wouldn’t be allowed. The only way to duck under the second apron would be to get a team with cap space (Like Brooklyn) to take Beal and only give back about 26 mil or so. Even if they would do that, Beal probably wouldn’t waive his no-trade clause to go play for the Nets. So if they were to trade Beal it would have to be to a good team he would approve and would have to be him going out by himself