NBA this summer, the signings of each team are progressing very quickly, leaving only minor repairs.
The Cavaliers once occupied the No. 1 position in the salary list this summer, but after laying off J.R. Smith, whose contract was only partially guaranteed, the team’s salary dropped sharply.
The Blazers will become the No. 1 team in the salary list next season.
According to estimates by ESPN salary expert Bobby Marks, the current top five teams in the salary list next season are the Trail Blazers, Warriors, Thunder, Heat and Pistons.
The Blazers will have 3 players with an annual salary of more than 27 million and 5 players with an annual salary of more than 12 million next season.
Lillard’s annual salary is $29.8 million, and McCollum’s annual salary is $27.56 million.
Whiteside is worth $27.1 million, Bazemore is worth $19.27 million, and Nurkic is worth $12 million.
The Blazers traded with the Eagles this summer, Turner and Bazemore swapped clubs, and both of their contracts were on the high side.
Bazemore signed a four-year $70 million contract in 2016. Last season, he averaged only 11.6 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game, and his three-point shooting percentage was 32.0%.
The Blazers reached the Western Conference finals last season, which encouraged the team’s top management.
The team continued to burn money, including an early 4-year contract extension of $196 million with Lillard, making Lillard a player with an annual salary of more than $50 million in the future.
The Warriors triggered the hard salary cap clause because of the sign-and-trade deal, and the team’s total salary for the new season cannot exceed the local tyrant line ($138.9 million).
At present, the total salary of the Warriors next season is 138.7 million US dollars, which is 219,000 US dollars lower than the local tyrant line.
The Warriors rank second in salary.
The Thunder will rank third in the league with $137 million in salary next season.
The Thunder are frantically saving money, but they are still above the luxury tax threshold.
In the case that the team decides to completely rebuild, the Thunder should continue to operate to save money, and one of the important tasks is to trade or buy out Paul.
The current total salary of the Rockets is 131 million US dollars, which is slightly below the luxury tax line.
Although the Rockets owner Fertitta shouted that he was not afraid of paying the luxury tax, when it came to specific operations, Rockets general manager Morey kept saving money.
Last season, the Rockets operated in the middle of the season and successfully avoided the luxury tax.
Judging from the current operating mode of the Rockets, the team is still likely to avoid paying the luxury tax in the new season.
In terms of courage to burn money, the Rockets are really inferior to the Blazers, Warriors and Thunder.