Jazz Salary Cap Outlook: Busy Summer Awaits in Salt Lake City
As expected, the Utah Jazz made some moves at the trade deadline. With the roster reshuffle, we now have a clearer picture of how Utah can maneuver around the salary cap at season's end. Let's dive in and look at where Utah's salary cap situation stands today and what it means moving forward.
It has been reported that the salary cap for the 2024-25 NBA season is projected to be $141,000,000. The Jazz currently have eight players under contract for the 2024-25 season. Those eight players include Lauri Markkanen, Collin Sexton, John Collins, Jordan Clarkson, Taylor Hendricks, Keyonte George, Walker Kessler, and Brice Sensabaugh. Omer Yurtseven has a non-guaranteed salary of $2,660,000 that becomes fully guaranteed if he is not waived before 1/10/2025.
The total guaranteed salary the Jazz have on the books for 2024-25 is $92,337,401. Currently, the Jazz are sitting at 11th in the draft order, which would mean, barring a jump in the lottery, that pick would convey to the Oklahoma City Thunder. There are still 26 games remaining in the regular season, and a lot can happen between now and the draft lottery. They would keep that pick if the Jazz fell in the standings and into the top 10.
The estimated year-one salary for the 10th overall pick in 2024 is $5,026,800. The Jazz also currently own the 28th and 32nd picks in the 2024 draft thanks to two trade deadline deals sending Kelly Olynyk and Ochai Agbaji to the Toronto Raptors and Simone Fontecchio to the Detroit Pistons. The 28th pick has an estimated salary of $2,448,600, and the 32nd pick has an estimated salary of $1,708,143 in year one.
Presuming the Jazz waive the cap holds of everyone else besides Dunn, whose cap hold is $2,093,637, and adding in the 10th, 28th, and 32nd picks in the 2024 draft, that would bring their total salary to $103,614,581 with 12 players. In this scenario, Utah would have roughly $37,385,419 of functional cap space for free agency in the off-season 2024.
That number could change depending on where the picks they own end up in the draft order and if they end up trading up, down, or out on draft night. Trading away and acquiring players before, during, or after the draft would also impact their potential cap space.
Their estimated salary cap space is enough to sign a player to a max contract in free agency or two free agents to some decent-sized deals. Utah could also take on much more salary than they send out, similar to the Collins trade in the 2023 offseason.
Markkanen is also eligible for an extension this upcoming offseason, and part of their salary cap space could be used to re-negotiate and extend him, similar to what they did with Clarkson last year as well. The possibilities are endless, and having that much cap space puts them in an advantageous spot.
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