The NBA has "delivered teams a new salary cap projection" of $101M for the '17-18 season, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of THE VERTICAL. The tax level is "projected to rise" from $113M this season to $121M in '17-18 (TWITTER.com, 4/6). NBCSPORTS.com's Kurt Helin noted while the NBA salary cap is "going up next season," it will not go up as much as had been "projected just a couple of seasons ago." That could lead to "decreased player movement in future years because teams are not going to have the cap space they thought." The bump to $101M is $1M "less than the last projection teams got, and that number has steadily fallen" from the $107M projected a couple of years ago. The reason for the decrease "primarily is that teams spent last summer." It was "projected that NBA teams would not meet the minimum spending goals" in the CBA because the cap spiked by 35% last summer (NBCSPORTS.com, 4/6). CBSSPORTS.com's Colin Ward-Henninger noted the NBA salary cap has "continued to grow steadily," starting with the '14-15 season. Since then the cap has "seen increases every season, including a huge jump" from $70M in '15-16 to this season’s figure of $94M. The increase in money is "largely due to the nine-year partnership the NBA reached with ESPN and Turner for the rights to show games" (CBSSPORTS.com, 4/6).
