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NBA Free Agency: 4 Reasons Teams Should Stop Spending

By Jared Mueller

Jul 7, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Kevin Durant poses for a photo with his jersey during a press conference after signing with the Golden State Warriors at the Warriors Practice Facility. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 7, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Kevin Durant poses for a photo with his jersey during a press conference after signing with the Golden State Warriors at the Warriors Practice Facility. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /
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Apr 13, 2016; Dallas, TX, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki (41) falls to the floor during the second half of the game against the San Antonio Spurs at the American Airlines Center. The Spurs defeat the Mavericks 96-91. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 13, 2016; Dallas, TX, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki (41) falls to the floor during the second half of the game against the San Antonio Spurs at the American Airlines Center. The Spurs defeat the Mavericks 96-91. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports /

Salary Floor Shouldn’t Force More Spending

One of the biggest reasons many expected, and still expect, big spending is the salary floor. While many are aware of the salary cap and the tax line, the salary floor hasn’t been as big of a deal until this season.

The salary floor was written into the collective bargaining agreement to force NBA owners to spend money on players. The NBPA wanted to make sure that if they allowed a salary cap to limit players’ earnings that they forced spending with the salary floor.

This year, the NBA’s salary floor is $84.73 million. If teams do not spend this much on players’ salaries by the end of the season, the team has to pay out the difference to the players on the roster.

For example, if a team is $15 million below the salary floor for the 15 players on the team (spending $69 million on their roster), the team would owe each player on their roster a check for $1 million.

In years past, the Philadelphia 76ers and the Sacramento Kings have made moves to make sure they reach the salary floor. If a team is close, small moves to hit the salary floor make a lot of sense.

There are currently eight teams with between $4 million and $31 million in cap space. The Brooklyn Nets lead the way with $31 million, while with the Philadelphia 76ers and Denver Nuggets have $21 million in space apiece.

Worst case scenario, these teams have to pay extra money to the players on their roster and keep cap space for next year. Signing players to multi-year deals would just impact the space available next year.

Signing players to one-year deals is not a long-term plan especially for rebuilding teams like the Nets, Sixers and Nuggets.

Fear of the salary floor is not a good enough reason for teams to continue to spend big money, even those with a huge amount of space left. Signing players out of fear is not a way to run a franchise.

Next: Remaining Talent Available

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