Thanks to a huge new TV rights deal, the NBA’s salary cap will inflate significantly in the 2016-17 season (from $67.1 million this past season to $89 million next year), making this summer’s free agency period an especially fascinating one.
With an eye on a bigger pay day next summer, stars such as Jimmy Butler could be looking at short-term contracts this July and waiting out bigger extensions in 2016.
Butler’s name continues to be linked to the Los Angeles Lakers, though it’s highly unlikely the Chicago Bulls won’t match whatever offer the 25-year-old fetches on the market.
Per the LA Daily News:
“It used to be, ‘Let’s try to get as much as we can for as many years as we can,’” Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak said. “I’m not sure players will look at it that way during the offseason.”
The Lakers will have enough money for one marquee free agent amid their $23 million in cap space assuming they decline a $9 million team option on Jordan Hill. But would Kupchak show a willingness to offer a one-year deal to that big-name player? […] “Sure,” Kupchak said.
[…] Chicago forward Jimmy Butler hopes to take his talents elsewhere and take advantage of the new television deal after his career year coincided with Tom Thibodeau’s firing and Derrick Rose’s chemistry issues. Although Butler wants to sign a one-year deal with the Lakers, according to a league source familiar with his thinking, the Bulls are expected to match any offer for the restricted free agent.
