Remember the summer of 2016 when the cap spiked and some very questionable contracts were handed out? If so, you might shudder when you read that history seems poised to repeat itself in the summer of 2019. The NBA’s salary cap is projected to jump from just under $102 million for the 2018-19 season to $109 million for the 2019-20 season. This means multiple teams will be flush with cap space in July of 2019.

A jump of $7 million itself is pretty big, but that alone won’t cause the cap space to grow around the NBA by such big margins. Several of those questionable (read: bad) contracts are now coming off the books. Combine the jump and expiring money and you have a situation where 14 teams are expected to have between $13.5 and $54 million in cap space.

The Indiana Pacers project to have the most space, by virtue of conservative roster building following the Paul George trade. Indiana has several expiring contracts and is locked into only Victor Oladipo for more than $7 million. This gives the Pacers the flexibility to go in any number of directions, which could include re-signing some of their own free agents, adding new talent to their burgeoning core, or a mixture of both.

While it’s unusual for a playoff team to have so much cap space, a handful of perennial postseason teams project to join the Pacers. The Los Angeles Clippers, Utah Jazz and New Orleans Pelicans should each have between $23.6 and $52.5 million in space. In an always tough Western Conference, those four teams have a shot to set themselves up for years to come with smart summers.

In the Eastern Conference, the Philadelphia 76ers are looking at their last offseason with cap room for some time. The Sixers project to have over $28 million in space come July. After the 19-20 season, extensions will kick in for Ben Simmons and Dario Saric, to go along with the max extension Joel Embiid already signed. If Philadelphia is ever going to add a big-time free agent, this coming summer is probably their last chance for several years.

And then you have the rebuilding teams: the Dallas Mavericks, Brooklyn Nets, Chicago Bulls, Sacramento Kings, Atlanta Hawks, New York Knicks, Cleveland Cavaliers and Orlando Magic. Each are at different points in their rebuilds. Some could be looking for the player or two that will put them over the top and back in the playoffs. Others will be prime candidates to eat bad contracts for future assets, as they continue to turn things around.

Finally, looming over everyone are the Los Angeles Lakers. After signing LeBron James this summer, the Lakers only signed palyers to one-year contracts for the rest of the summer to keep long term flexibility. With the game’s best player already in the fold, some exciting young talent and the ability to add another max free agent, the Lakers will set the market this coming July.

Every four to five years, the NBA goes through a major reset in the offseason. With the cap spiking again, and nearly half the league positioned to have cap space, the summer of 2019 feels like it will be the start of a season of change across the league.

A few notes on the projections in the tables:

The NBA’s most recent cap projection of $109 million is used.

Rookie Scale, Minimum Scale and Exceptions all bump up accordingly by the percentage of the cap increase.

Projections are made on which options will be picked up (both player and team), and which partial/non-guaranteed players will be waived or kept.

No extension projections are made.

Luol Deng (LAL) and Joakim Noah (NYK) are projected to be waived and stretched.

Starting Cap Space = the amount of space each team will have without renouncing or waiving any players/picks. Projected 2019 draft picks not included.

Maximum Cap Space = the amount of space each team could have if they waived or renounced all players/picks who are not fully guaranteed.

Projected Cap Space = the amount of space each team is projected to have after roster decisions are made.

Team Starting

Cap Space Maximum

Cap Space Projected

Cap Space Atlanta $ (10,055,673) $ 75,252,814 $ 38,542,052 Boston $ (60,086,891) $ 52,949,866 $ (62,734,371) Brooklyn $ (42,395,551) $ 84,173,288 $ 51,776,079 Charlotte $ (66,311,906) $ 54,969,515 $ (44,241,168) Chicago $ (32,699,206) $ 65,641,443 $ 47,428,419 Cleveland $ (35,294,594) $ 25,818,331 $ 19,131,312 Dallas $ (40,536,754) $ 90,219,782 $ 52,754,767 Denver $ (36,160,027) $ 25,686,122 $ (34,743,175) Detroit $ (43,325,060) $ (81,383) $ (44,158,448) Golden State $ (76,159,019) $ 21,940,783 $ (72,021,906) Houston $ (57,914,617) $ (33,290,097) $ (51,933,835) Indiana $ (24,503,202) $ 67,346,109 $ 54,366,936 LA Clippers $ (44,693,365) $ 56,583,695 $ 52,509,571 LA Lakers $ (16,457,648) $ 42,095,506 $ 34,348,999 Memphis $ (44,573,926) $ 27,316,619 $ (35,395,600) Miami $ (74,448,712) $ 50,838,788 $ (39,523,300) Milwaukee $ (36,140,444) $ 29,013,198 $ (32,175,232) Minnesota $ (66,884,219) $ 53,456,021 $ (63,379,739) New Orleans $ (30,304,315) $ 26,823,755 $ 23,652,023 New York $ (46,407,281) $ 46,575,392 $ 32,878,799 Oklahoma City $ (65,103,808) $ (29,844,270) $ (59,158,148) Orlando $ (34,801,624) $ 34,335,631 $ 13,548,797 Philadelphia $ (24,410,706) $ 57,161,675 $ 28,505,909 Phoenix $ (39,318,707) $ 34,772,650 $ (34,150,647) Portland $ (35,652,284) $ (14,009,737) $ (38,776,484) Sacramento $ (10,799,248) $ 74,881,531 $ 43,747,115 San Antonio $ (28,685,137) $ 13,164,030 $ (34,281,577) Toronto $ (87,078,968) $ 24,592,107 $ (81,338,821) Utah $ (31,161,702) $ 45,413,789 $ 40,567,060 Washington $ (85,395,476) $ (8,443,231) $ (86,544,830)

Sorted by Starting Cap Space

Team Starting

Cap Space Atlanta $ (10,055,673) Sacramento $ (10,799,248) LA Lakers $ (16,457,648) Philadelphia $ (24,410,706) Indiana $ (24,503,202) San Antonio $ (28,685,137) New Orleans $ (30,304,315) Utah $ (31,161,702) Chicago $ (32,699,206) Orlando $ (34,801,624) Cleveland $ (35,294,594) Portland $ (35,652,284) Milwaukee $ (36,140,444) Denver $ (36,160,027) Phoenix $ (39,318,707) Dallas $ (40,536,754) Brooklyn $ (42,395,551) Detroit $ (43,325,060) Memphis $ (44,573,926) LA Clippers $ (44,693,365) New York $ (46,407,281) Houston $ (57,914,617) Boston $ (60,086,891) Oklahoma City $ (65,103,808) Charlotte $ (66,311,906) Minnesota $ (66,884,219) Miami $ (74,448,712) Golden State $ (76,159,019) Washington $ (85,395,476) Toronto $ (87,078,968)

Sorted by Maximum Cap Space

Team Maximum

Cap Space Dallas $ 90,219,782 Brooklyn $ 84,173,288 Atlanta $ 75,252,814 Sacramento $ 74,881,531 Indiana $ 67,346,109 Chicago $ 65,641,443 Philadelphia $ 57,161,675 LA Clippers $ 56,583,695 Charlotte $ 54,969,515 Minnesota $ 53,456,021 Boston $ 52,949,866 Miami $ 50,838,788 New York $ 46,575,392 Utah $ 45,413,789 LA Lakers $ 42,095,506 Phoenix $ 34,772,650 Orlando $ 34,335,631 Milwaukee $ 29,013,198 Memphis $ 27,316,619 New Orleans $ 26,823,755 Cleveland $ 25,818,331 Denver $ 25,686,122 Toronto $ 24,592,107 Golden State $ 21,940,783 San Antonio $ 13,164,030 Detroit $ (81,383) Washington $ (8,443,231) Portland $ (14,009,737) Oklahoma City $ (29,844,270) Houston $ (33,290,097)

Sorted by Projected Cap Space