LA Clippers: NBA salary cap will be lowered due to coronavirus
According to league sources, the LA Clippers and all other teams around the league will have less money to operate with as the cap will lower next season.
Financially, the 2019-20 season has not been great for the NBA. The season started with issues with China surrounding Darryl Morey’s comments, which was then followed up with reports of viewership being down. While both of those issues weren’t great for the league, the coronavirus pandemic that shut the league down will have ramifications for the LA Clippers and every other team in the league.
According to a report by Marc Berman of the New York Post, league sources have all but confirmed that the salary cap for the 2020-21 season will be lowered. Given that a decision has still not been made on the continuation of this season, it’s interesting to already know the league is preparing for the worst next season.
This change in the expected cap for next season comes at an interesting time. The free agency class in 2021 is one of the most anticipated, including reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, LeBron James, Blake Griffin, and Chris Paul, just to name a few. (Seriously, check this list out.)
The cap decreasing will likely mean the cap in 2021 is also going to be a bit lower than expected. Teams will be forced to consider spending less on players this offseason or possibly only committing to players to one-year deals in order to preserve space for the big-name players that become available the following season.
This remains true for teams that have bird rights, like the LA Clippers. While they can re-sign Leonard and George over the cap in 2021, they still will have less space when approaching the hard cap and will have to check their math this summer when signing and re-signing players like Montrezl Harrell.
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We don’t have an exact figure yet for the salary cap and likely won’t until the fate of the current season is decided. Until then, make sure to check back here for all your LA Clippers’ news and rumors!