Starting in 2015:
- $110 million
Starting in 2018:
2xCap ($87,600,000)
Penalty for going over:
Any time you acquire a player(s) (through draft, FA, or trade) that takes you over the hard cap, you lose your next available first round draft pick. This is a penalty for going over the cap. If you able to get under cap before the end of the current season, you will not have to forfeit the pick. You cannot, however, trade your next draft pick while over the cap. If you do forfeit the pick, the pick will be CPU selected, then after the draft the player will be cut from your roster.
You cannot make any moves while over the cap, unless that move results in a decrease in your team salary. The only moves that can add salary are the signing of minimum players prior to sim 1 that are needed only to give you 12 men on your roster.
Nobody should have a hard time getting under $110 million. You have just about 4 years to do so, and currently only the Hornets, Nets, Pacers, Mavericks are over that limit for this year, with nobody being over it for 2015.
- The Nets have 53.1 million in salary for 2015
- The Hornets have 14 million
- The Pacers have 89.6 million
- The Mavs have 31.8 million
Reasoning:
2012 182 Pistons Sign PG Stephon Marbury for $13,000,000 over one year.
2012 182 Raptors Sign SG Micah Hunter for $10,950,000 over one year.
2012 182 Magic Sign C Loren Woods for $10,000,000 over one year.
2012 182 Magic Sign SF Troy Murphy for $11,000,000 over one year.
There's no incentive not to give even a mediocre guy you have bird rights to a huge deal for one season. It limits the effectiveness of FA.
Barring a huge league-wide protest, this is the new rule. I think it's necessary to not only lose a pick, but also to limit your ability to make transactions (as it won't matter to someone like the Hornets or Pacers or Nets to lose the 28th pick in the draft).
