Veteran guard Seth Curry spent coaching camp as a member of the Golden State Warriors, enjoying alongside his brother (Stephen; you will have heard of him) in practices and scrimmages (although not any preseason video games).
Proper earlier than the common season started, common supervisor Mike Dunleavy Jr. waived the youthful Curry, but it surely got here with a reasonably clear understanding amongst followers and media alike that the separation was short-term.
Why does such a wierd dynamic exist and persist? Curry and the Warriors are coping with the ramifications of parts launched within the 2023 collective bargaining settlement: arduous caps.
The NBA applied a wage cap 41 years in the past for the 1984-85 season, but it surely spent 4 many years as a smooth cap quite than a tough cap just like the NFL, the place groups can not cross the payroll threshold for any cause for any period of time.
As an alternative, the NBA’s system is extra fluid, permitting groups to exceed the cap to re-sign their very own free brokers through Hen rights, in addition to by means of numerous different instruments just like the midlevel and biannual exceptions without spending a dime brokers and commerce exceptions to facilitate transactions.
Presumably impressed by gifted and costly groups such because the Warriors, at the least some house owners initially pushed for a tough cap when negotiating the present CBA. That was a non-starter for the Nationwide Basketball Gamers Affiliation (NBPA), however the two sides ultimately created a system that ostensibly maintained the soft-cap construction however added triggers that might arduous cap groups at particular factors larger than the bottom wage cap whereas additionally narrowing the team-building instruments costlier franchises might use to enhance their roster.
In impact, the brand new CBA creates 4 tiers of groups, distinguished by the instruments their executives have obtainable to enhance the roster. (Please word this can be a simplified model, as there are hard-cap triggers past those listed under):
Cap area groups: No matter cap area they’ve under the $154.6 million line this season, plus a room exception, which begins at $8.8 million this season
Over the cap, under the primary apron ($195.9 million this season): Non-taxpayer midlevel exception (beginning at $14.1 million this season) and the biannual exception (beginning at $5.1 million this season)
Between the primary and second apron ($207.8 million this season): No entry to the non-taxpayer MLE or biannual however entry to the smaller taxpayer MLE (beginning at $5.7 million)
Over the second apron: Can retain their very own gamers utilizing Hen rights however can solely signal new additions to minimal contracts
As soon as that they had that framework, the events had issues that limiting the instruments and exceptions costly groups might use doubtlessly opened a loophole the place these entrance places of work might use one thing meant for cheaper groups after which push their spending over the unique line, permitting them to have their cake and eat it too.
That impressed a construction by which utilizing one thing prohibited at a better stage of spending triggered a tough cap on the stage of spending the place that useful resource is unavailable. For instance, signing a participant with the non-taxpayer MLE arduous caps a franchise on the first apron as a result of groups over that line can not use it.
That concept is sensible, however in observe, it has run into two main issues. The primary: Beneath the present system, too many alternative issues entrance places of work do set off every of the arduous caps, so these arduous caps are in place much more usually than is right.
Whereas we simplified it for the reason above, one other set off is that taking over extra money in a commerce hard-caps groups on the first apron until they make the commerce utilizing cap area, which only a few groups have in any given offseason now.
As such, virtually each commerce topics one of many groups concerned to a tough cap for the remainder of that season. This was a giant problem the Knicks and Nets needed to navigate within the Mikal Bridges deal in 2024.
As an alternative of those restrictions being an actual inconvenience for a number of entrance places of work annually, they’re a consideration in virtually all negotiations and sometimes a really actual hurdle that requires involving a 3rd staff to facilitate or resorting to different, extra sophisticated constructions.
The second drawback is fascinating as nicely. Do not forget that arduous caps stop groups from going over that line for any cause for any period of time. Most conditions are fairly easy, however we now have already seen some actually spectacular edge circumstances that reveal the restrictions of a tough cap throughout the NBA.
One option to perceive this problem is unlikely bonuses, which have lengthy been a approach for groups to reward gamers for superlative efficiency — and in addition assist brokers “win the press convention” with reported contract values which are larger than what the participant will really receives a commission.
The one greatest instance of how arduous caps create worse outcomes is final season’s Dallas Mavericks. Within the 2024 offseason, common supervisor Nico Harrison introduced in Klay Thompson through sign-and-trade, which hard-capped his staff on the first apron.
Seven months later, he surprised the basketball world by buying and selling Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers, a transfer that, alongside along with his different deadline offers, left the Mavericks perilously near the first-apron arduous cap. After that, the staff suffered a brutal collection of accidents that led to, at one level, finishing a March sport with solely seven wholesome gamers. The Mavericks had been eligible for hardship exemptions due to these accidents, however utilizing one would have put them over the arduous cap, so the CBA prevented them from including reinforcements. It’s truthful to criticize Harrison for poor execution (on this and lots of, many different parts of his now-former job), however the core problem continues to be actual.
Seth Curry (30) swapped jerseys along with his brother Steph (31) throughout a Warriors preseason open observe, however the youthful Curry has remained in a holding sample since. (Noah Graham / NBAE through Getty Pictures)
That each one brings us again to Seth Curry.
The Warriors signed Al Horford utilizing the taxpayer MLE, which hard-capped them on the second apron for the 2025-26 season. After coming to phrases with Jonathan Kuminga following a protracted negotiation, the staff didn’t have sufficient respiration room beneath the arduous cap after Kuminga and their different transactions to signal Seth Curry to a minimal contract for the complete season. Since minimal contracts prorate over the season as groups play video games, they wanted to attend till at the least Nov. 11 to legally signal him — however have waited longer to keep away from what the Mavericks went by means of a season in the past, as every day provides them extra respiration room they might ultimately want to make use of.
Whereas the Warriors are probably the most dramatic present instance, one other 5 groups are inside $5 million of an already-triggered arduous cap, together with the Houston Rockets, who would not have the wiggle room to make use of a disabled participant exception after Fred VanVleet tore his ACL within the preseason (and even simply signal somebody for the minimal), and the Mavericks, who’re once more uncomfortably near a tough cap, this time $1.2 million under the second apron. They’re joined by the LA Clippers (first apron), Orlando Magic (first apron) and New York Knicks (second apron).
There are methods the house owners and gamers can clear up probably the most unnecessarily painful components of the present CBA in future agreements, however arduous caps shall be thorny to navigate with the NBA system for so long as they exist.
