It hasn’t been too common in recent years for prospects to enter free agency with significant salary cap space, but the Sixers and, to a lesser extent, the Thunder have shown this year that it can still pay off in a big way.
Philadelphia planned for over a year to maximize its salary cap for the 2024 offseason and postponed a contract extension for Tyrese Maxey to generate additional spending power by keeping his modest salary advance on the books and then going over the salary advance to re-sign him. This approach put the 76ers in a position to Paul Georgearguably the best unrestricted free agent on the market to sign a four-year, max-salary contract and then use the remaining salary cap to sign complementary players like Caleb Martin And Andre Drummond.
Oklahoma City, on the other hand, had no room for the maximum salary and did not go after the best free agents of the year, but the Thunder used their room to Isaiah Hartenstein a front-loaded contract starting at $30 million that outbids the Knicks to get either the best or second-best center available (depending on how you feel about it Nick Claxton).
Currently, there are few teams expected to operate below the salary cap in 2025, and many of the clubs that could have salary cap space – such as the Nets and Wizards – are still in the restructuring phase.
However, there is a possible exception. The Rockets finished last season with a record of 41-41 and appear ready to take another step forward this season as their young core (which now includes the No. 3 overall pick) Reed Sheppard) continues to grow. Houston also has the opportunity to create salary cap space next offseason.
However, the Rockets’ path to maximum salary cap space isn’t quite as clear as the Sixers’, and they may have to trade away a core player or two. Let’s take a closer look at the team’s potential path to maximum salary cap space.
Houston currently has just two players with guaranteed salary for the 2025-26 season, but that number could rise to seven once the team acquires multiple 2025-26 rookie options by the Oct. 31 deadline. Here are the details:
Unlock exclusive articles like this for subscribers with a Trade Rumors Front Office subscription
- Access to weekly subscriber-only articles by Luke Adams
- Join exclusive weekly live chats with Arthur Hill
- Remove ads and support our authors.
