Ten days into NBA free agency, 36 players have signed true one-year contracts or deals with options that could have them back on the market next year. Only 20 players had signed similar contracts after two weeks last July.
We saw this coming. Anticipating the financial crunch, a striking 20 of 28 players signed up for their 2018-19 player options back in June. Teams made it clear that future flexibility would be paramount after spending sprees the past two summers.
The good news (well, for some): We're set for another unprecedented July in 2019. The cap is projected to rise from $101.8 million to $109 million -- and then reach $116 million in 2020-21. At least 15 teams should have room north of $20 million. And more than 200 free agents will flood the market.
That's right. Almost half the NBA could hit free agency next summer. This summer the number was close to 120.