As most teams scramble to spend the high amount of cash they had this summer, two are sitting back and waiting. The Phoenix Suns and the Brooklyn Nets are both planning to save their remaining cap space rather than use it now.
suns GM Ryan McDonough explained his process (via Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic):
“I’d be surprised if we spent a lot of that cap space now or over the summertime,” Suns General Manager Ryan McDonough said. “More likely, we’ll preserve most, if not all of it, and go into the season and look at either in-season signings or probably more likely in-season trades that are lopsided where we take back more money than we send out. There are a decent amount of advantages to operating as an under-the-cap team in terms of player aggregation and trades and things like that.”
Nets GM Sean Marks explained it in a slightly different way (via Mike Mazzeo of ESPN):
The Nets have 15 players under contract but that doesn’t mean GM Sean Marks is done with the roster. Marks said the team will continue to listen and see what else is out there. Marks is glad despite missing out on his restricted free agent targets that the Nets have plenty of cap space and flexibly moving forward.
Saving cap space can have a few different reasons and effects. Firstly, the Suns and Nets will now have space for in-season signings so they can snag D-League prospects or waived NBA players. They do not need to reach the salary floor until the end of the season, so they can do so by making such mid-season deals.
Secondly, the teams can roll over cap space into next year. With a solid incoming free agency class, that flexibility could potentially be used to bring in multiple high-level players.
Finally, the cap flexibility will help Brooklyn and Phoenix in making trades during the season. For the Suns, it could be a case of trading several young players, mostly on cheap rookie deals, to find a star who is being paid much more. For the Nets, it would almost certainly be a case of a salary dump, in which they could take an unwanted player with a big deal and get some draft picks or young players for their troubles.
There will be another rise in cap space next year so Phoenix and Brooklyn could have a ton of flexibility, soon. The question is how they will use it.
