Report: NBA Salary Cap to Remain at $58 Million, Rising in 2012


Well, so much for eliminating the cap. According to the NY Post, teams like the Knicks can rejoice, because the League has reportedly agreed to keep the salary cap at $58 million, with incremental increases going forward: “Knicks owner James Dolan is frustrated the lockout rages on and the club’s season opener tomorrow against the Heat at the Garden has been wiped out. But Dolan, part of the owners’ negotiating committee, is content about one of the agreed-upon aspects of a new collective bargaining agreement: the size of the salary cap will not go down. More than any team in the NBA, that will benefit Dolan’s big-market Knicks the most, ironically. According to multiple sources, one of the resolved issues in a new CBA is the 2011 cap will remain at the level as it was in 2010 — $58 million. ‘That’s what we’ve been discussing, though the exact dollar amount is not set until the new deal is done,’ said one league source, who added no new talks have yet been scheduled. Economic projections from sources say the salary cap will then grow to about $60 to $61 million in 2012 — when the Knicks will have the largest cap space in the league and have room to woo either Chris Paul, Deron Williams or Dwight Howard, who are slated to become free agents. The Knicks could be at least $20 million under the projected 2012 cap. Ironically, Dolan has been seated across from Paul, who is the Knicks’ top priority, during many of the labor bargaining sessions because Paul is on the union’s negotiation committee. According to a players source, Dolan has been the least combative of the owners and often serves as a mediator during contentious moments. ‘He’s tried to keep the parties on point,’ the source said. ‘He’s trying to make a deal, seeing a positive spin. He’s been, in a word, productive.’ Early in the negotiations, the owners’ proposals had the cap set back to $45 million, which would have killed former Knicks president Donnie Walsh’s master plan of adding a third superstar to Amar’e Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony in 2012.”