NBA Free Agency: 2017 should be the offseason of responsible contracts

A year removed from NBA teams habitually overspending in free agency, organizations should turn their focus to handing out responsible contracts.

When the NBA signed its lucrative new television deal, optimism immediately spread amongst general managers and players alike. Some were more cautious than others, but many executives relished the opportunity to pay a lucrative figure that wouldn’t count for much against a rising cap.

Unfortunately, the rising cap has stunted and the teams that shelled out big-money contracts are now at the mercy of their players’ development.

The salary cap jumped from $70 million in 2015-16 to $94.143 million in 2016-17. The salary cap floor became a whopping $84.7 million—$14.7 million more than the salary cap itself in 2015-16—and the luxury tax line increased to $113.3 million.

Many expected another massive jump between 2016-17 and 2017-18, but the figure projects to increase by less than $5 million.

That’s still a substantial increase, but it’s not quite the leap that teams expected to see after the $24,143,000 jump between 2015-16 and 2016-17.

It was projected in April that the luxury tax line would rise from $113.3 million in 2016-17 to $121 million in 2017-18. That, again, is a relatively substantial raise—if it holds—but it’s not the 2016-17 to 2017-18 increases that matter most.

The salary cap will increase will increase by just $1 million between 2017-18 and 2018-19, and the luxury tax line will rise by just $3 million.

Take note: Jeff Zillgitt of USA TODAY Sports reported on the manner before the rise in the salary cap was reported as lower than expected.

A primary reason for the decline in the salary cap is the fact that there were fewer postseason games played than expected. That could potentially continue as the Golden State Warriors play with even more confidence in future seasons.

Regardless of what transpires from hereon out, the reality is this: When rumors first surfaced of the new television deal being signed, many expected the salary cap to rise to upwards of $110 million.

In 2017-18, it won’t even reach $100 million.

After a season of remorse, another slew of big contracts would be tough to justify in 2017.

A year ago, teams such as the New York Knicks and Portland Trail Blazers made hefty long-term investments under the false pretense that the cap would continue to rise. They’re a shining example of the mistakes that organizations must avoid making in 2017.

There may be appealing players to evaluate and potentially sign, but lucrative long-term deals should be reserved for the stars.

That may seem like a bold statement, but unless a player is crucial to a vision, they shouldn’t be given four-year deals worth largely consuming salaries. Doing so would handcuff an organizations with a player of debatable value—see:Solomon Hill, Joakim Noah, and Evan Turner.

Players deserve as much as teams are willing to pay them, but organizations must be more responsible with the salary cap in 2017 than they were in 2016.

Next: 2017 NBA free agency tracker - Grades for every deal so far

As the Cleveland Cavaliers displayed against the Golden State Warriors, even a team with LeBron James and Kyrie Irving can fall victim to the restrictions of the salary cap.