The NBA consists of the world’s best basketball talent and is one of the richest leagues in the world.
Although the 30 teams are allowed to have star players, there is a cap space that all teams must adhere to.
However, the NBA operates on a soft cap that allows teams to go over the cap, but it comes with a few restrictions.
The salary cap of the league for next season is set at $154.6 million, but this does not mean the rosters have to be under this limit.
They are allowed to go into a luxury-tax threshold which is at $187.9 million and first apron at $195.9 million.
Teams that breach these marks will fall into the second apron, which is set to $207.8 million for next season, but teams that are in it face a lot of problems.
The second apron was introduced for the first time in the Collective Bargaining Agreement that came out in 2023.
This is an intense penalty zone for offending teams and is a reaction to teams spending money and agreeing to stay in luxury tax to compete for championships.
Teams in the second apron lose major roster construction abilities, including draft pick penalties.
Another major penalty teams in the second apron suffer is the inability to sign a taxpayer midlevel exception.
What that indirectly means is that they lose the ability to sign a player on a team-friendly deal. An example of a taxpayer midlevel exception is Dario Saric, who signed on a two-year $10.6 million deal with the Denver Nuggets last offseason.
Teams in the second apron also cannot trade first-round picks that are seven years in the future, making it difficult to build a good roster.
The Phoenix Suns, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Boston Celtics were the teams that were in the second apron this season.
All these sides are working towards moving out of the second apron and this may require them to trade away a few of their stars.
The Celtics are a team expected to see a lot of changes, while Brian Windhorst has already stated Kevin Durant could be on his way out of Phoenix.
The Timberwolves, on the other hand, have three players with a player option, and they could make it out of the second apron if they opt out and sign as free agents.
Windhorst also revealed that would give Minnesota a chance to sign KD which would be a great move for them.
